Leaving Camp 16 at 6:30 am. On travel days I typically arise by 4 am, break camp, load canoe and have breakfast. I carry a travel alarm clock in my sleep gear to make sure I wake up on time. It is preferable to get going early and stop mid-afternoon to have camp up well before dark.
Looking back from below rapid #2.
I run an easy rapid #3 before I reach rapid #4.
A sentinel welcoming me to the portage at rapid #4.
The portage for rapid #4 goes 300 metres across bare rock. I put up a mother spruce grouse and her brood along the path. There are little balls of feathers flying every which way. The mother lands nearby and is softly clucking to call her chicks as I carry my loads over the portage.
Just downstream of rapid #4. As I am portaging this rapid I realize I could have run it. Over the past two months I have become so used to having to portage that I just did it automatically here. I will not make the same mistake again!
An overturned boulder by a black bear searching for ants on a portage.
I portage 400 metres at rapid #5 .
Approaching above the falls at rapid #6.
The portage at this five metre falls is just to the right side in the above photo, over 50 metres of bare rock. It is a very steep slope so would be dangerously slippery if wet.
Just above rapids #7.
Camp 17 at rapids #7 between the trail and the river, about 3/4 of the way down the 400 metre portage. It is a nice open site among tall mature pine trees, but there are many rocks under the moss so have to be very selective for the tent site. I had travelled 14 km with four portages 300, 400, 50 and 400 metres in length, a wearisome sweaty day. Very glad to stop. It is hot and humid, blackflies very bothersome.
In order to get access to drinking water I cut a trail from camp directly to the rapids. Even if I wanted to walk the long distance to either end of the portage trail, the water there is shallow, stagnant and dirty.
Taking a bath in the rapids is a challenge. I am covered in mosquitoes, 20 or so at a time. I try walking out to deeper water but it is too fast. Then I test the waters closer to shore but still quite fast and too shallow. I cannot keep my feet and bend over far enough to wash my hair. The stream bed is all rocks difficult to walk through. Finally I try a pool of water right at shore where I fetch fresh water. I try sitting down but there is not enough water depth to dip my head. Aie ... if someone was watching this it would be comical and I laugh out loud. But I am determined and at last I kneel carefully on the rocks and I bend over and can wash my hair. Success at last! I feel so much better, and the bugs are not as bothersome after the sweat is gone.
Poplar trees stripped of bark by moose in the winter.
Fishing is not possible from shore, so I canoe out to the base of the rapids and catch four walleye for supper. I think fishing at any rapids on this river would be successful. It starts raining as I clean the fish on shore at the upper end of the portage. A small smoky fire helps subdue the blackflies. I finish filleting the fish during lots of thunder and lightning. As I am erecting the bug tent under the tarp, it rains harder so I rig the damaged white tarp over top, but before I can finish, it starts pouring buckets of rain and hail. Some close lightning flashes and booms. I kneel under the tarp pushing up on it when the wind gusts, and holding the one corner of the white tarp that I have not secured yet. The downpour lasts 30 minutes. It is a good thing I got back to camp after fishing when I did. As it is, I get soaked, between securing the tarp and then starting a big fire when the worst is over. To get the fire going, I use about 10 cylinders of birch bark lit under the tarp, and some dry willow kindling.
The weather turns cool and wet, hence the big wood on the fire.
Finally I erect the canvas tent in the rain and I am able to dry out and warm up in comfort. This photo was taken early morning July 18 when I am breaking camp to move on, so the stove is already taken down and packed. The rain lasted for the night prior and on and off all day July 17.