Blackfly bites on my forehead and below my eyes, the result of cutting portage the previous day. The bites below my eyes always cause swelling. I wore a hat scarf, but should have donned a headnet.
Camp 11 on a small unnamed lake, two km from previous camp including the 520 metre portage. There is only one good site close to the upper end of this lake. This camp is very tight for space up against steep rock cliffs. It takes one hour to cut and pull a thicket of about 50 small trees to make room for the tent. It is hard to park the canoe and have to remove some trees for that too. There is no room for the tarp shelter. Because of cool wet weather and the fact that I have to find and cut another portage I erect the canvas tent. The overnight temperatures while I am here range from 1-5°C, so the stove sure feels good. Lunch is late even though I want to eat earlier, but I need to get the tent up and gear under cover to beat the rain. I am stumped for a bit on where to have a fireplace, but when I dig some soil close to the tent to insulate the bottom of the stove, I realized I could dig a fireplace in that spot.
My new portage trail is tight for the canoe in three spots. At one place I have to set the canoe down and pull it through on its side because I cannot make the turn. Poor design on the part of the trail cutter.
My new portage trail is tight for the canoe in three spots. At one place I have to set the canoe down and pull it through on its side because I cannot make the turn. Poor design on the part of the trail cutter.
Based on topographical maps, I first plan to check for a portage at the side of this lake to reach the next small unnamed lake. As with the previous portage there is no evidence of an old trail. Using my compass I explore inland but run up against a set of rock cliffs too steep for a trail. It proves hard to climb with a light load let alone portage heavy gear. There has to be a better way. Because the bush is so thick I use orange flagging tape to mark my route, and pick it up again on my way out. I carry my personal pack with survival gear "in case". The birch bark is to take back to camp as there is none there.
The upper end of the lake that I now hope will provide a route. In order to reach the target lake that is off to the side I plan to go to another unnamed lake first. I walk the one km length of a small valley to that lake to make sure a trail is doable. When I reach that lake, I hear a moose in the water at its upper end. There is some very thick bush in places and a length of muskeg, but it is mostly level. Then I walk about 1/2 km through bush up and across a steep hill to the creek emptying this lake into the target lake. I walk along the creek one km to its outlet at the target lake, checking both sides of the creek. One side leads through deep water to a steep cliff that is not easily traversed. The other side crosses a very wet boggy muskeg but is the best route. I retrace my route and have a well-earned lunch. So far today, I have walked about six km through thick bush and wet muskeg, identifying two portage routes of one km each that have to be cut. Younger self says to start cutting trail, but older me says it will keep until tomorrow. I then catch a pike for supper and pick some fireweed salad growing on an old beaver lodge. A good days work.
My lunch spot. Because I keep the fire small and brief, and douse with lots of water using the plastic bag, it is safe to have a fire to shoo blackflies and to boil water. Each day as I work and get sweat-soaked, the mosquitoes, blackflies and horseflies are bothersome, but my hat scarf makes them tolerable.
The end of my first day's work of cutting 900 metres of a portage trail, a big job. Half way through the day I go back to eat at my lunch spot. When cutting a virgin trail I usually check and doublecheck where exactly I want to create the one metre wide trail. Sometimes this involves walking here and there to find the best route, keeping as straight as possible but involving the least clearing and the easiest surface to walk. Once sure of the route, I break over branches or small trees to mark the way. If lucky, I follow a portion of a game trail. For this trail there are several spots of very thick bush which require felling many trees. Interestingly, I uncover pieces of an old game trail that disappeared after a forest fire when the new growth obscured it and were not kept open by the travel of large animals. The 200 metre area where there is deep muskeg, I simply break over small spruce to mark the trail. When carrying heavy loads the trail needs to be self-evident so I do not take a wrong turn, especially important when carrying the canoe so I do not end up stuck in trees and setting it down.
I finish the 1200 metre trail the next day cutting the remaining 300 metres. The upper end is an area of tall black spruce and thick moss. I blaze two trees where I create a 75 metre trail off to the side to a good spot for a campsite on a raised rock ridge. My lunch is taken at the new campsite where I build a fireplace, fetch firewood, saw stovewood, make a route to the lake and a spot to park the canoe, and clear a place and cut poles for the canvas tent. It is a beautiful site. I sure hope that ultimately I will reach the target river. If I face any more country like the too steep cliffs of the first morning, I would hate to have to backtrack.