Paddling Canada by John depa...Day 20 & 21 | SouthernPaddler.com

Paddling Canada by John depa...Day 20 & 21

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Day 20: Saturday 9-27

Didn't wake until 8 AM, it rained all night (again). Yesterday, I did one thing right and made one mistake:

While breaking firewood, I always set aside a pile of kindling and small stuff to be used for the morning fire. I did that, but forgot to place it under the tarp to keep it dry - DUMB!! The "right" thing I did was to use one of the large ZipLoc bags (that I found at the portage yesterday) to store a piece of birch bark, some dry pine needles and small kindling to be left for the next camper. I have seen this at several sites and think it a considerate gesture: It could actually save someone's life. Well, that next camper turned out to be me. The dry stuff enabled me to get a fire going in no time.

Note: I usually only build a small cooking fire in the morning. I try to find 2 rocks that are "brick shaped", place them about 12" apart and make the fire between them. Once going, I use 2 "green" sticks to make a grate over the fire for the pot to rest on. That way, the fire gets plenty of oxygen and I can keep it going without removing the pot. I know they sell cute little wire grates for this purpose, but I like to keep things as natural as possible, and do not need the added weight of one more "luxury".

Still a slight drizzle, so I kept the fire going for 3 pots of water. Breakfast was a little different this morning. I had one packet each of oatmeal (maple flavored) and grits at the top of my food bag. Decided to combine the two for a large serving of North-South mush. Was really not that bad, in fact, I did it several more times later in the trip. The sweet oatmeal kills the "pasty" taste of the grits, and the grits add that "stick to your ribs" element.

While sitting by the fire, I began to ponder the fate of the guys who had smashed their canoe in the rapids. What would I do in a similar situation? They had tried to repair it, with electrical tape (DUMB!). I carry about 5-6' of duct tape and might have had better success with that, but doubt that it would be enough: There were some big holes in that canoe! Then it occurred to me that birch bark could be used, in conjunction with the tape, as a patch. After all, they make entire canoes from birch bark, so a patch should be no problem. But what if the tape would not hold, or I did not have enough of it? Remembered reading about the Voyageurs "boiling a pot of pine resin (tar)" to make repairs and patch leaks. Great idea, but how does one obtain pine resin? I still don't know. Someone told me that you have to "scar" the tree and then scrape off the sap later?

Note: My current location is, at least, 40 miles from the nearest civilization. There is no way that I could walk out of here. Most of the lakes are interconnected with rivers/streams that would have to be swam, and there are no trails to follow. You would have to plow your way through dense forests, up and down steep mountains: Not very likely!! Only hope would be to repair the canoe.

11 AM: Still a light rain so I have decided to spend another night here. Some might call this a "lost day", I feel quite the contrary. I am deep in the Canadian wilderness, camped at a beautiful grassy area, located on one of the most magnificent rivers I have ever seen. Just upstream is a spectacular set of rapids, and just downstream a large, quiet pool. Trees are turning to a blaze of color and the sound of rushing water is soothing. Where else would I rather be?? Only thing I could add to this picture would be a little sunshine and a few more fish. This river looks like perfect habitat for bass, but I am not catching any. It has to be the effect of the cold front.

5 PM: Turned out to be an enjoyable and eventful day despite the weather. Spent a few hours fishing from the shore, but never had a hit. I did however, enjoy an animal sighting. Looked like a red fox but had a black tail with a pure white tip? He slowly made his way down the opposite bank and never saw me. Later, a bald eagle made several passes over camp and then landed in a dead tree just across the river. I guess he was waiting for me to fillet a fish. (me, too buddy!) At 3 PM, I heard a banging noise back at camp and walked back to investigate. It was 2 guys portaging a tandem canoe. They were on the 6th day of a 2 week paddling/fishing trip. We chatted for awhile and they showed me a nice walleye that they had just caught up river. We compared fishing tactics and they informed me that they always "tip" the lure with a night crawler, or fish a whole one an a bobber. When I mentioned that I did not have any, they were nice enough to give me 6-8 of their worms.

After they left, I spent an hour gathering firewood that I had seen along the bank: Even picked up a cedar root that I know is lighter knot and will burn for hours. Tried fishing a bobber with worms and caught one 13" bass (dinner) and a few dinks. Filleted the fish and walked back to camp for an early fire. Dinner was diced bass cubes cooked in Liptons buttered noodles. Cocktails were excellent. Not a bad day!

Note: I was asked what I use to make my cocktails. At the beginning of the trip, I used those packets of various mixes (Tom Collins, Daiquiri, Whiskey Sour) but they are long gone. Now, I add just a "pinch" of Crystal Light in various flavors (Lemonade, Tropical Fruit and Strawberry). I dislike the after taste of the sweetener (aspertane) so I use very little. Before leaving home, I emptied the contents into ZipLoc bags to conserve space and eliminate tin foil. Next trip, I will just empty it into a 35MM film cartridge and use one of the tops that I have for a salt/pepper (mixed) shaker.

Day 21: Sunday 9-28

Woke at 7:30 AM to a clear sky but cold temperature - 40 degrees. Heat from the morning fire felt good, and the hot tea was even better. Breakfast was 2 cups of Betty Crocker instant mashed potatoes w/cheese. I tried another brand, Idahoen, but did not like that as much. This one will be on my next trip. Really easy to prepare; just put some in the Thermos cup and add hot water. Nothing to clean but the spoon and cup.

Note: Since my return, I have purchased some dehydrated foods from www.AdventureFoods.com, including two bulk packs, one each, of ham and chicken. If I re-hydrated either overnight, I could add it to the mashed potatoes in the morning. This would also be an great "emergency" meal should I be tent-bound and have to cook with a tea-lite candle.

Sunshine did not last long. By the time I launched, 10 AM, the sky was overcast again. I am in no rush today, I want to spend some time on this beautiful river and maybe catch a few quality fish. Idea was to "more or less" just drift and fish. Had not even left sight of my camp when I caught a nice (21") walleye. Too early in the day to keep, so I released it. River varies in width from 50 - 100 yards, and is a combination of swift water and quite pools. Fished the next 3 miles and caught 4 bas and one more walleye. At that point, the river widens and is called Tanner Lake (but reverts back to Maligne River again). Trolled through the lake and caught 2 more bass, one was 17".

At the end of the lake, I stopped for a tea break and ran into the 2 guys who gave me the worms. They reported catching 20-25 bass that morning, but nothing over 15". We walked inland and they showed me an old, crumbled cabin. We tried to guess the time it was built. Had a tin roof, with rolled tar paper, and the nails were cast (not forged) so it could not be that old. The walls were sawn logs and stuffed with "something" for insulation: Looked like horse hair, but it was not. I pulled out a small piece and lit a match to it to see if I could detect an odor: Strong kerosene, and it went up like a torch. I couldn't even blow it out, I had to drop it to the ground and stomp on it. Was going to take some with me for starting fires, but decided to leave the site intact. One other interesting observation: The river splits at this point, and the right fork had been "dammed" with large rocks, WHY? Also, this location is 45 miles from "anything"; what was so valuable here to go through all of the trouble to build a cabin (hauling in all of those materials), and building a huge dam?

Note: Last time I was up here, I was doing laundry in the town of Ely, MN and struck up a conversation with a lady who had worked for the US Forest Service. I asked her how they got all of those heavy, cast iron, fire grates and toilets over all of those portages and out to the remote campsites, in the BWCA. Guess what, they take them out there during the Winter with a dog sled (which is probably the same way the materials for the cabin got here). I guess it would be (relatively) easy to glide across the ice, even with a heavy load.

Left my new friends and continued down river. Had to run a minor set of rapids (even had a name, Tanner Rapids), but no big deal. Paddled/fished another 3 miles and came upon an "unmarked" campsite, located on a an island. this site had plenty of firewood, flat ground for the tent, and I would be able to fish both side of the island from shore. Only 4 PM, but this is "home" for the night. Set up camp and fished until dark: NOT A HIT!! Dinner tonight is Liptons Cajun rice, with a side dish of Liptons Cajun rice. Oh well, the cocktails will still be good. Enjoyed a nice campfire while listening to the sounds of the river.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
John

Ya Asked...........
"The Voyageurs "boiling a pot of pine resin (tar)" to make repairs and patch leaks. Great idea, but how does one obtain pine resin? I still don't know. Someone told me that you have to "scar" the tree and then scrape off the sap later?"

To answer your question about how to get the sap all I can tell you is down here we set up Disney World ............."O" you are talking about the sap from a tree, sorry. :roll:

You score a pine tree with a bunch of marks that look like the Sgt. stripes upside down \ / and about two to three feet high and about 10 inches wide. At the base of the slashes drive in a nail and on the nail hang a bucket.

The tree will try to heal the wound by covering it with sap and the sap will flow down the wound to the nail and then into the bucket. I am sure you have seen the scars on the sides of pine trees when you were down here. The piney wood areas in Ga are full of them.

Chuck.