Bloodvein Trip 2004
By Hoz Joven
July 12-23, 2004
220 kilometers from Artery Lake to Bloodvein Village on Lake Winnipeg
Access: Wamair bush flight from Matheson Island
Egress: Free Government ferry from Bloodvein Village
Sunday, July 11. Partly cloudy, low 70’s. Worth Donaldson and I arrive at Matheson Island around 3pm after driving from Indianapolis, Indiana. We meet the other trip participants on the local beach, where we plan to camp the night. Jim Shaw and Larry Allsop from North Vernon, Indiana and Dan Benthal and Ken Cole from Chicago, Ill. All have varying experience on prior wilderness trips but we have not traveled together as a group.
The rest of the day we arrange our packs, explore the island, check in with Wamair and pay our flight costs. There is some initial confusion between our quoted rate and what the fellow figures at the Wamair office. His price is higher. The owner, William (Willie) Mowat comes in from a flight and straightens everything out by explaining the web site has the old prices and since we established our quote per those he intends to honor the lower of the two, a lucky break for us. Later we try our luck at the Island Delight Restaurant. Cheeseburgers, Poutine and the friendly waitress has been to Indiana! We spend a few minutes browsing their book shelves and I see a pictorial history of Matheson Island. In it we discover the Mowat family goes back several generations on the island.
Monday, July 12. Overcast, mid 50’s. Paddle distance 16K 7am morning flight to Artery Lake. Three planes, 4 canoes nested one single. (Dan and Ken are in a tandem, all others paddle solo canoes.) It is interesting to see how the three pilots tie our canoes onto their floats. All seem to have a slightly different procedure and we wonder which is the safest.
We are surprised upon landing at Artery Lake by Claire Quenzence, Assistant Park Superintendent of Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. Wamair has not purchased permits to land in the park and are issued tickets. I had arranged via the internet for our group to stay one night in the park before heading down the Bloodvein River and it seems Claire took advantage of knowing when our group would be coming in to bust Wamair. There are some tense moments between she and our pilots. I notice Claire is wearing an official looking uniform and has handcuffs on her belt. Ummmm, what a way to start a trip!
The pilots unload our canoes and gear and grudgingly accept the tickets. Claire motors off in an outboard to “check on some campers and clear a trail or twoâ€Â
By Hoz Joven
July 12-23, 2004
220 kilometers from Artery Lake to Bloodvein Village on Lake Winnipeg
Access: Wamair bush flight from Matheson Island
Egress: Free Government ferry from Bloodvein Village
Sunday, July 11. Partly cloudy, low 70’s. Worth Donaldson and I arrive at Matheson Island around 3pm after driving from Indianapolis, Indiana. We meet the other trip participants on the local beach, where we plan to camp the night. Jim Shaw and Larry Allsop from North Vernon, Indiana and Dan Benthal and Ken Cole from Chicago, Ill. All have varying experience on prior wilderness trips but we have not traveled together as a group.
The rest of the day we arrange our packs, explore the island, check in with Wamair and pay our flight costs. There is some initial confusion between our quoted rate and what the fellow figures at the Wamair office. His price is higher. The owner, William (Willie) Mowat comes in from a flight and straightens everything out by explaining the web site has the old prices and since we established our quote per those he intends to honor the lower of the two, a lucky break for us. Later we try our luck at the Island Delight Restaurant. Cheeseburgers, Poutine and the friendly waitress has been to Indiana! We spend a few minutes browsing their book shelves and I see a pictorial history of Matheson Island. In it we discover the Mowat family goes back several generations on the island.
Monday, July 12. Overcast, mid 50’s. Paddle distance 16K 7am morning flight to Artery Lake. Three planes, 4 canoes nested one single. (Dan and Ken are in a tandem, all others paddle solo canoes.) It is interesting to see how the three pilots tie our canoes onto their floats. All seem to have a slightly different procedure and we wonder which is the safest.
We are surprised upon landing at Artery Lake by Claire Quenzence, Assistant Park Superintendent of Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. Wamair has not purchased permits to land in the park and are issued tickets. I had arranged via the internet for our group to stay one night in the park before heading down the Bloodvein River and it seems Claire took advantage of knowing when our group would be coming in to bust Wamair. There are some tense moments between she and our pilots. I notice Claire is wearing an official looking uniform and has handcuffs on her belt. Ummmm, what a way to start a trip!
The pilots unload our canoes and gear and grudgingly accept the tickets. Claire motors off in an outboard to “check on some campers and clear a trail or twoâ€Â