Barry Hill Canoeing: 11/02/14

Barry and Steven 2014 - Companionship and More

Great country to stop and appreciate life.

Forest fire smoke creating a ruby red ball of sun. Note the raven appearing below the sun.

At this location one evening after supper, I was farther down the bay (below bottom of picture) having my bath, wearing only my Crocs™ rubber shoes. I had gone into the water and was all wet and soaped up on shore, just about to rinse off when I heard Steven yell "Dad ... bear!" I walked quickly to Steven standing at the fireplace, in time to see a small Black Bear cub at the far end of the bay on the opposite shore (top left of picture). The wee guy was bawling constantly. The mother was bleating back from the bush at the other side of the bay (top right of picture). The cub jumped into the water and swam remarkably fast across the bay. In the meantime, Steven had got the gun and loaded it, giving it to me while he went back to the bath site to get my clothes. I dressed and walked through the bush to the end of the bay to make sure the bears had moved on. While I had been bathing, the mother had come to camp when Steven yelled for me. Before I had reached Steven, she had retreated to the end of the bay and called her cub. The wind was blowing towards our camp so I think she did not realize we were there. I like when bears avoid me and take off not to be seen again.

I record a daily journal. A calendar/planner helps keep track of time and location and document the use of a SPOT™ Messenger device to notify family of my daily location. If my contacts fail to receive my "OK" message in a three day period, they will notify Search and Rescue. The device is both a blessing and a curse as it is dependent on technology that could fail. Ah, for the good old days when there was no remote communication and if I did not return according to schedule my family would notify authorities of my trip plan. My wife did warn me though that if I came back without the children, not to bother coming back.

Barry and Steven 2014 - Water

Barry and Steven 2014 - Portaging

"Anyone who says they like portaging is either a liar or crazy, or both."
- Bill Mason

"There are only three bad spots on a portage
... the beginning, the middle and the end."

- Robert Beymer

Barry and Steven 2014 - Camps

The entire area we travelled was burned by forest fire in 1995, four years after we canoed through it when Steven was a youngster. In 1991 we had started in mid-Saskatchewan, canoeing the Churchill River system over a period of 22 days into Manitoba and then south to our take-out point. The entire area has regrown the typical small thickly spaced trees. The above camp was where I had stayed several times in 1992, but now unrecognizable and required a trail to be cut into a small clearing with just enough room for our tents.

A small area around this campsite was spared from forest fire. We did not realize until rechecking our map that this spot was where we camped in 1991. There was no well-protected place for the tents, so we placed the canoe to help protect against wind.

This campsite also was spared from fire.

Barry and Steven 2014 - Fishing

We caught fish almost every day for supper, five medium-sized pike being enough to fill the 10-inch Dutch oven twice, just right for two people. The weather was hot and sunny, hence Steven wearing the hat bandana.