Good to have finished the long drive from Alberta to Saskatchewan and be on the first body of water, a large lake. Thanks to Kelly and Sara for providing a safe secure place to park for an extended period of time.
A stop for lunch at the spot of last year's first camp when I could not get any farther because of the very strong wind, making me windbound. This year I am making good time on a beautiful day. Took a chance on the weather by not covering gear with a tarp but so far, so good. I am tired but it feels so good to be away from the city in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with its necessary important restrictions (masking, physical separation, minimizing contact, sanitizing, hand washing). I have received my first vaccination and will have to wait until returning home for the second shot.
Back on the lake, clear paddling, getting into the rhythm again of paddling and navigating with topographic map and compass.
Reaching the halfway point of 15 km and the first camp on a large island, I am greeted by a gull and two common loons who stay in the bay for the duration of my stay.
The second day brings dark threatening clouds but only very light rainfall.
My "rule" is to erect the Tarp shelter as the first chore in any camp after unloading the canoe. Note the clothesline beneath the Tarp on the second day because of the rain. This 10'x14' Tarp is a new one as the old one was starting to leak at the seam and had quite a few burn holes (sealed with duct tape). After trying various manufacturers, I now only use tarps from "Inland Plastics"™, a Canadian company; these tarps are of heavy polyethylene, with sturdy grommets and excellent reinforcing at hems and corners.
This year I tie each barrel to a tree to help thwart bears. When in camp, I also attach a bell to help notify if someone is tampering with the barrel. Thanks to Mike and Rose for the gift of the harness bells. I have no idea if either the rope or the bell will be of value, but perhaps the rope will at least slow down a bear and the bell might alert me; the bell may just be a placebo for me, hopefully never tested. At night in the tent, I keep a headlamp handy along with the loaded gun, extra ammo and boots handy to slip on.
The first day I set up the nylon tent which holds gear not stored under the canoe.
The second day, it is time to erect the new canvas Tent to make sure I can put it up and everything checks okay. (The old Tent broke down last year after 35 years of use.) Thanks to my sister Anne for the suggestion on how to place the Tent roof tarp in place (before raising the Tent to its full height). The new Tent is about six inches taller and too high for me to place the tarp as I was accustomed with the old Tent. The additional height though is welcome inside the Tent. As with the old Tent, it is suspended by a rope between two trees. I use 1/4"x2" chain links in the ridge grommets from which the Tent is suspended by the braided nylon 1/4" rope. (Typically tents such as this are used in a semi-permanent camp, suspended by an A-frame of poles with a ridge pole run through a series of rope loops in the grommets at the top of the tent.)
The Tent is raised by two poles felled, limbed and cut to length at camp. At least one sturdy branch near the top of the pole is trimmed to about one inch long to suspend each end of the Tent.
The walls of the Tent are guyed out with attached ropes pegged to the ground. Poles are cut at camp to anchor the sod cloths at the bottom of the Tent. (Normally the sod cloths would be placed inside the Tent with floor tarps laid on top and the tent base anchored with tent pegs. I have found that poles work well, with stones if possible to hold in place, and in sub-zero weather there is no concern about pegs freezing into the ground. In winter I guy out each wall rope to a long pole to obviate the need for pegs.)
The roof tarp is tied in place against wind. I often have to fasten the four corner ropes earlier if there is any breeze lifting up the tarp.
There is a screened window which proves very beneficial for air flow in warmer weather.
A screen door is wonderful in bug weather.
A waterproof polyethylene tarp is placed on the ground inside the Tent to insulate from the ground.
On top of the poly tarp is laid a heavy canvas tarp, the "floor".
Gear is situated at the back and sides of the floor, which also serve to help anchor the floor and walls.
There is a clothesline below the ridge to suspend bedding and clothes, vital in damp or cold weather with the stove for drying and warmth.
Spruce branches, from the trees cut for poles, form a mat in the doorway.
The Tent is 8'x10'x7'6"h. The features of this Tent that I love that are superior to my old Tent: rear screened window, screen door, extra height, Velcro beside the door zipper, reinforced roof eave extension, reinforced peak extension further reinforced with poly rope sewn in place curled around the ridge end grommets, heavy polyethylene sod cloths, wide two inch Velcro (window, door, stove port), Sunforger™ marine boat canvas CPAI-84 10oz (100% Cotton pre-shrunk army duck, UV resistant, water repellent, mildew resistant, fire retardant). Thanks to Jeff Phythian and Kerry Egan and staff at CalgaryTent & Awning for the excellent customized construction. https://calgarytent.com/
I am sweating, so I keep the LifeStraw® and a supply of raw water handy. Since starting to use the LifeStraw® filter a few years ago I have much lower incidence of headaches and muscle cramps associated with dehydration because it is easy to drink an unlimited amount of safe water, not dependent on boiling.
After shedding my clothes and trying to take a bath in the very cold water and cool wind, I heat water to take a shower. The before and after photos show how much I appreciate the hot bath.
The first hot cinnamon bannock of the season, eaten with bacon crumbles and Parmesan cheese (and hot water).
Often while eating, I read Reader's Digest and do puzzles. Note the Digest is an old one, saved specifically for camping instead of reading at home.
Two Tilley® hats that cannot be patched any longer after several years of service are replaced under lifetime warranty. Without this wide-brimmed protection, I would suffer from sun, bugs, rain and tree branches, so I always take a spare.
Thanks to my sister Anne for letting me use her heated shop for two test runs of the new canvas Tent last winter.
Last season, the new Chiappa® gun's factory-installed rear peep sight disappointed me by not standing up to the rigors of the trip so had to be replaced with an open sight that did not have to be adjusted up. (The peep sight bent down so it was no where near on target.) The real problem is the fixed front sight, too high for the rear sight, a design issue. Note that when sighted (at sister Anne's acreage) the gun did shoot a bit low but not enough to require moving the rear sight up from its more stable position.
Due to some equipment changes, I did a "dry" run at home to confirm how to best configure the load in the canoe.
After last season's trip the canoe had three new cracks (which did not leak). I am impressed how well this "Clipper Prospector" 17' Kevlar®/Duraflex® Canoe stands up to 14 years of abuse.
Thanks to Jeff McDougall of "The Old Boathouse YYC" for doing his usual excellent repair job.
I patched two small holes in the keel myself (hence the discolouration from old epoxy resin). The one hole on the bow opened again during the trip, so I used "Amazing GOOP® Marine" as a fix in the field and it survived intact so I will leave as is. I never cease to be amazed how well this product seals (boots, raingear, tarps, and now canoe).
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Summary:
Good weather for first day of canoeing. New canvas Tent setup and critique. A hot shower. This year's first encounter with a bear. Detailing some new gear and repairs. Distance travelled 15 km.
Preamble:
I decided to try to finish last year's trip, which ended prematurely because five weeks grub were taken by two different black bears. This route is more practical than some other journeys during the pandemic. I still want to attempt to complete my 2019 trip via a different route to get across the height of land, but with COVID-19 still very active, the parking and transportation requirements are more complex. (The 2019 trip could not be completed because the river I had to ascend was too high to wade, too fast to paddle, too wide into the bush to line.)
May 30:
Arriving at my destination by 08:00, I am glad to get the canoe loaded and be on my way. Unlike last year, I make good time with a light tailwind and bright skies. I stop for lunch at the spot where I was windbound and forced to camp last year, surprised to see how fast I have been going. Arriving at today's campsite by 13:45, I easily was going three km per hour. It is great to stop as I am weary after the long drive. Mosquitoes and blackflies are bothersome as I work to set up camp. There is a gull and two common loons in my bay to welcome me and they stick around for the duration of my camp here; fishing must be good for them here. Being sweaty after setting up camp, I decide to have a bath. With my clothes off, I start wading into the lake, but wimp out quickly; the sun has disappeared, the water is very cold and there is a cool breeze. Supper is just finished when I spot an animal across the bay, not sure that it is a bear until I use binoculars which is when I see there is a cub accompanying the beautifully coloured cinnamon black bear mom; from this distance with the naked eye, the cub is just a dot and the adult appears quite small. They are weaving in and out of the bush along the shore looking for anything edible, slowly making their way towards my camp. When they get closer to me, about 400 metres away out of sight in the bush, the mother finally smells my camp and runs off with no encouragement from me. I stayed still on watch the entire time; there was no point in making noise to scare them off when they were so far away at the first sighting as she may not have been able to figure out where and what was making the noise. This way I know that she realizes I am present, glad that she took off so readily, hopefully not to be seen again. Camp is on a large island about two km long and one km wide and the cub may have been born on the island, though they do swim quite well; hopefully we can share the space. After they run, I bang the axe head several times on the shovel to reinforce that I am here, 90% confident that she will not return. With the excitement over, time for bed at 20:00.
May 31 :
Up at 05:00, a long and good sleep, after going to bed tired and weary. The plan is to stay three days to get a good rest. My clothes, especially the undershirt, are damp from yesterday's sweat. They dry on me as I eat breakfast, my first bannock of the season, while I see and hear my first of many Canada geese migrating north. Flies are bothersome and I kill four with one blow of the flyswatter, still a far cry from Jack's seven. Testing last year's bear spray, as I do anytime the 225g cannister has reached its suggested expiry date, it gives 30 quick spurts of half second each. Previous years I have tested one second spurts, yielding half that number, and once testing a continuous spray for half the time again. From my research, and my testing, if I ever have to use the spray, I will focus on one second spurts, saving some in reserve if possible, both for a repeated bear charge and for future use during the season. I pick new growth birch leaves for supper salad. My neck is sore and aching, probably from paddling, for which I take anti-inflammatory naproxen at supper; I tend to forget about getting a sore neck every year, but if I remember properly it usually lasts up to one month. The act of paddling uses new muscles, or as my doctor says "abuses" them. I erect the new canvas Tent to make sure I can do it and to double check everything; also the Tent with its larger footprint and height is more comfortable than the nylon tent. A hot shower is very welcome and feels good on my neck.
From my journal: "Two common mergansers land on my bay near the far shore ... where I still scan occasionally for bears. Seeing the bear coming towards camp on my first day may have been a bad omen. Seeing the sow and her cub running away after getting closer and closer to camp, but finally detecting me with no provocation on my part, is a good omen. I like it when bears run away with no initiative from me!"
June 1:
Yesterday's bannock was over-baked, and today's still a bit overdone; it will take a bit of practice to get back into the routine, timing being variable, dependent on how hot the coals are. My two loons repeatedly call, the sound echoing from the shoreline trees. A gull is screeching nearby. A bald eagle lands in the brush near shore across the bay, taking off after about ten minutes; there must have been something good to eat. The loons swim close to me, checking me out, one about 20 metres away as I talk to him, asking how he's doing and how is the fishing. A beaver surfaces nearby before diving again. Two gray jays spend a few moments at camp, flying so silently, murmuring in their soft tones. Nearby a raven croaks in its deep voice. Two blue-winged teal ducks swim along shore in front of me. A white-throated sparrow sings its cheerful tune close to camp, perhaps the bird that earlier startled me, flying beneath the Tarp shelter, circling right around me. A beautiful morning, and everybody seems to be enjoying it. A good day to be alive!
Before lunch, I brave the cold water and have a bath, getting out chest deep where the lake is very cold, but feels so good. I use a different type of earplug that my daughter wears but to no avail; like the several other types I have tried, they float away as soon as I dip under the surface. Now I just focus on submerging a minimum duration and clearing my ears right away; cold water especially seems to aggravate vertigo. With clothes on again, sitting reading some Reader's Digest and doing a puzzle, some unseen bugs are biting my neck so I put on a bandana; must be sandflies. As soon as I remove the bandana, I get bitten again. Flying ants are crawling over me, but not causing any problem. Supper includes freshly picked alder catkins and birch leaves, and hard gouda cheese which I use for the first part of my trip so that I do not have to depend on catching fish. Hoping for the wind to continue as is to provide a tailwind, I prepack as much as possible to move on tomorrow.