My 2020 canoe season started May 31 and ended with a float plane flight on July 24 after eight weeks of a planned 16 week trip. The trip was cut short because five weeks grub were taken by two different black bears, and the target river required too much cutting of new portages to be able to continue with the remaining food. Compounding issues were loss of use of my canvas Tent and stove, sorely missed because of much rainy weather. The trip was a planned circle route in the centre of central Saskatchewan south and north of the Churchill River.
Unique this year was the COVID-19 pandemic which did not directly impact the trip, but did create confounding issues with planning, and caused me to pick a different route than originally mapped. The only change in planning for future trips will be to include a face mask, not just because of the pandemic, but for unforeseen circumstances such as in case I need to clean a cabin of mouse droppings as I did this year (potential hantavirus source).
The trip involved travelling 162 km, including 28 km extra mostly to cut portages and five km searching for a suitable site for camp 14. There were 16 portages for a total distance of 7,276 metres, the longest trail 1860 metres which had to be cut from scratch. I had to make one other virgin trail of 250 metres. Four class II and III rapids were run over a distance of 2000 metres. Three lesser rapids were paddled and poled up, each 100 metres. There was one strong rapid that had to be waded, lined and paddled upstream on the Churchill River. There was significant wind 36% of the time. Most impactful in the absence of the canvas Tent and stove was significant rain 51% of the 55 days. The distance walked during eight days in the cutting of the two virgin portages (250, 1860 metres long) was at least 13 km. This year because of the breakdown of the canvas Tent I stayed in two different cabins along the route, with the stove on all five days at the first due to rain and cold, and three days (of 17) at the second in order to dry gear. Another first was the use of a motorboat at the second cabin to commute 11 km daily in order to cut the two portages over a period of eight days. I was very fortunate to have the use of Michael's cottage, and to be able to cache my canvas Tent and stove there. The use of Bowman and Brady's cabin gave me a welcome reprieve from the weather and made the cutting of the long portage possible. I was also blessed to have the kindness of Brian and Candy from a fishing lodge for use of the motorboat, and for the donation of several much appreciated meals.
This year due to weather and preoccupation with portage cutting, I only fished three days, catching five meals of northern pike. Brian generously donated a freshly caught lake trout for another meal.
Meals were supplemented with fresh salad (fireweed greens and leaves or catkins of birch, alder, poplar, willow) and near the end of the trip some lingonberries and red currants.
Although having unfortunate encounters with two black bears, I saw no large game. I did encounter the usual many small animals, birds and bugs.
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Since the trip, I often find my mind in the last spot before turning back, standing on the shore gazing down the lake. I hope to be back there next season.
"Memorize places. Settle your eyes on a place and learn it. When you are far away, you can call it back. When you need it, it is there, in your mind." From "The Ghostway" by Tony Hillerman 1984.
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Some of my most interesting experiences:
Very strong wind and rain (videos: camps 1, 3, 4, 9, 11)
Dark threatening skies (photos: camps 2, 10, 12a, 12i, 13, 14, 15, 16)
Beautiful sunrises that foretell bad weather with heavy rainfall (photos: camps 3, 5, 9, 15, 16)
Cottage where I cached canvas Tent and stove and spent five days (photos: camp 3)
Some beautiful blue skies (photos: camps 4, 6, 7, 12b, 12c)
Five fast rapids, the lower four which I ran (photos: camp 4)
Beautiful flowers (photos):
- camp 4: violets, white saskatoon flowers, yellow marsh marigold
- camp 6: pink lady's slipper orchids, white lily-of-the-valley, white prickly saxifrage
- camp 8: pinkish-white lingonberry
Two loons calling (video: camp 4)
A gull keeps me company, hoping for something to eat (photos: camp 4)
Bright early morning fireplace flames in the pre-dawn (photos: camps 5, 8, 13)
Deceptively fast rapids that I have to wade, line and paddle up along the shore (photos and videos: camp 6)
Large otter "playground" (photo: camp 6)
Beautiful white clouds mirrored on the lake surface (photos: camps 8, 12h)
Very large anthill (photo: camp 8)
Shoreline trees perfectly mirrored in lake (photos: camp 9)
Two different black bears steal grub (text):
- camp 10 one week supply in food pack
- camp 11 one full barrel of four weeks food
Clearing and cutting portage trails (photos):
- camp 10, two trails
- camp 12b, 250 metre virgin trail, one day's work
- 1860 metre virgin trail, seven days of cutting:
- camp 12c, 300 metres
- camp 12d, 850 metres
- camp 12e, 130 metres (with 50 metres unusable)
- camp 12f, 70 metres
- camp 12g, 460 metres
- camp 12h, the final 100 metres
First fish caught breaks brand new replacement rod (photos: camp 10)
Very bothersome mosquitoes (video: camp 11)
Moose bed after I put her up (photo: camp 11)
Nest with four eggs of bird that witnessed theft of a barrel of food by bear (photos: camp 11)
Cabin that served as a base camp to cut portages to target river (photos: camp 12a, 16)
Canoe transported on motorboat (photo: camp 12a)
Moonset (photos: camp 12d)
Fetching firewood poles in motorboat (photo: camp 12e)
Small frog in canoe (photo: camp 12h)
Heavy dew highlights thousands of cobwebs (photos: camp 12h)
Red squirrels at cabin (photos: camp 12i, 16)
The continuous all day rainfall makes me soaking wet as I carry five loads on the long portage and set up camp in the rain (text: camp 15)
Building a campfire with wet wood (photos: camp 15)
Beautiful rainbows (photos: camp 15)
A common merganser, the most common duck that I see (photos: camp 16)
Floatplane lands to return me and gear to my vehicle (photos: camp 16)