Sunrise, 04:05 June 19 at camp 9, beautiful but ominous rose coloured dark clouds.
Recent bear scat, imprinted with a moose track, on the 1180 metre trail to the next lake.
June 20, 05:40, looking back at two islands passed yesterday on the way to camp 10 in heavy rain.
The canvas Tent and stove are welcome in the very strong cold wind on June 20. The stove has been on overnight since arriving.
June 21, 05:15, sunrise through magnificent stratus clouds.
05:16, then 05:23, the clouds moving away, nicely mirrored on the lake surface.
11:07, sky has cleared, now looking very promising for departing tomorrow.
A new fishing rod, "Shakespeare® Ugly Stik® GX2™ Pack Rod (4-pc 6-15lb 6'6")". Finally a rod that will take abuse. It is built using graphite in the centre of fiberglass wraps, sturdy and stiff, yet flexible and can be can be bent into a circle without snapping. Hopefully it lives up to its reputation. My new Rapala Magnum graphite rod broke last year with the first fish and it was a warranty replacement for the new rod that broke the year before. At least I can use the Rapala rod case for the Ugly Stik.
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Summary:
Beautiful red sunrise, an ominous sign. Heavy rain and strong wind make the canvas Tent and wood stove very welcome. Magnificent stratus clouds mirrored on lake surface. New fishing rod that should be able to take abuse, less likely to break.
June 19:
Up to alarm at 03:00, it seems darker than it should. When I finish packing sleep gear and exit tent, I see many dark clouds and an ominous sign in a beautiful red sunrise. Mosquitoes are very bothersome, another bad weather sign. In one hour I stop after three km for breakfast on a rocky point from which I can see the exit bay to the next portage. The wind exposed shore has a reduced number of mosquitoes, a welcome relief from the buggers who followed me for the first 40 minutes during which I wore a hat scarf. Arriving at the portage at 07:45, I make better time than expected with a tailwind except for the last three km. The trail has recent bear scat in two places, one near the portage start where I have to leave the gear while I portage. There is also recent wolf scat and moose tracks. During the portage on a return trip I spot very fresh small scat, perhaps of a mink, fresh because it was not there on the previous walk. After the first carry, I bring back the saw and axe to spend about ½ hour clearing the trail, including sawing off many limbs from two large down trees. When I return to the landing after the second carry I am surprised to hear a chainsaw before I see three men walking towards me (from the fly-in fishing lodge on the lake I am leaving). This season it seems like I am meeting more people than usual. The chainsaw fellow is smoking a slim cigar and I wonder if that helps keep bugs away. It sure is easier portaging after Cory saws out the offending large trees that I previously had to climb over or duck under. He offers me a cold beer from his hip pocket, which I readily accept, saving until supper; I could see why he favoured the tall slim can for carrying purposes, ironically a Corona® brand. So now I have another contact to mark in my calendar, but we are well separated and outdoors. The long 1180 metre portage leaves me quite sweaty when I finish portaging after five hours to the next lake at the bottom of a steep hill, longer than my estimated four hours but includes meeting the men and clearing the trail.
Very hungry, I have lunch even though I would like to move on because the sky has darkened and the onshore wind is strong, looking like rain. Asking for the rain to hold off until I get to camp, I apologize for stopping but say "I just have to have lunch.". Putting on my rain pants and new rain jacket I am impressed by the latter when the rain beads off it so well. The pants are wearing out and definitely have to be replaced next year, but it has been a challenge finding ones that have full length zippers on the legs to allow donning over boots. As I am getting ready to leave in the light rainfall, it then really starts coming down along with loud peals of thunder, but I decide to leave anyway. Shortly, I pull into the lee of a small indent out of the strong headwind which has made paddling difficult. However, I realize that trying to wait out the rain and wind may not pay off, so I shove off again (proving a good call as the rain and wind continue for many hours). It is hard paddling until I get into the lee of an island but once I go past it I hit the wind even harder in the last stretch, raining all the time, sometimes very heavy. Arriving in the rain at the campsite on 'Michael's island' to the rock shore which is a very slippery slope, I have to be careful, planting each foot well before moving the next. I have fallen before on wet rock such as this. Camp 10 is eight km from the previous site (including the 1180 metre portage). Pulling out the Miscellaneous Duffle from under the medium tarp in the canoe, I put the Tarp shelter up and carry up all the wettable packs to store out of the rain. After the remaining gear is unloaded, I drag the canoe onshore to store some items beneath, after emptying several litres of rainwater. The next task is erecting the canvas Tent and stove. First I have to fell two spruce trees, tall enough to make four poles. On suspending the Tent and starting to guy it out, two corners have to be dug out to level the ground, using axe head, shovel and pruners to cut roots. Meanwhile the rain still falls steadily, heavy at times. Because I am sweating even though it is cool, I do not wear raingear which would just make me wetter under my clothes. There are some old Tent poles that are used to finish anchoring the sod cloths, the remainder will make good dry stovewood. After laying the two floor tarps, I lug all the packs from the Tarp shelter to the Tent, without placing in position or unpacking. I want to get the stove going first. Luckily there is lots of easily shoveled soil outside one Tent corner for the stove. Because last year I thought it would be the last time camped here I burned most of the cut stovewood as firewood, so now I have to saw new. Aie! A reminder to always leave supplies for a possible next time. There are many cylinders of birchbark laying around for tinder, so with split kindling the stove readily starts and I get pots out to boil water while I finish setup: moss to cover some freshly exposed soil at the front corner of Tent (where stovewood and pots are placed), spruce boughs for the doorway inside and out limbed from the felled spruce trees, sawing more stovewood hopefully enough for tonight, organizing and unpacking gear. A good appetite makes short order of supper (hot water, protein bar and stuffing mix with butter, Parmesan cheese, sardines). Raingear and gun case have dried already and my clothes are all hung to dry overnight. Weary and tired, in bed by 21:30 after a busy very active day, I give thanks for a good campsite. With the stove on all night, door closed, window open, I fall asleep in my pajamas on top of the bed, getting into the fleece shell later in the night so I know it must be cool outside. There is a very strong cold north wind all night with rainfall until 22:00. I awake a few times to check or feed the stove.
June 20:
Waking chilled at 04:00, I add wood to the stove, damper wide open to warm up, then close it halfway and put on a pot of water to heat, back to bed until 05:00. After hanging sleep gear and dressing, I exit to saw stovewood as I have used all the supply. It is 6°C with a very strong north wind, cloudy but some blue sky. Assembling the fish gear, I have to find a sheltered spot, no sense fishing on the windward side, where it is easier to fish but would be nonproductive. Walking to the far side of the island I soon catch a 21 inch pike, having to stop myself from catching more; at four fish meals per week, that size at this stage of my trip is plenty. Filleting the fish on the spot, I am now cold, made worse by the wind, so head back to the nice warm Tent after storing the fish under moss for supper, away from the butter coolers. At 10:35, temperature now 9°C, still a strong wind with very dark clouds, I finish eating hot cinnamon bannock for breakfast. Opening the door, the Tent becomes too cold so I soon close it a bit and feed the stove with more wood. Before lunch I saw more stovewood, split extra kindling and check the gun sighting. After lunch I do additional chores: check satellite phone for messages, aliquot grub for next week, pick fireweed salad, clip fingernails which manage to get broken even when cut short, dry Waist Pack gear (which I did not cover with rain jacket soon enough in yesterday's heavy rain). The latter gear is in Ziploc® bags so it is mainly laying them out to dry, replacing any outer bags where water wicked through the seal (everything double bagged, the outer to protect the inner). Doing puzzles in the Tent, I solve a hard sudoku that I have worked on over time for several hours. Fetching more stovewood poles, I have sawed about 50 sticks, using 20 throughout the day. After eating a delicious pike chowder supper at 17:00, I lay out gear from under the canoe, having forgotten about it so it does not dry completely this late, in the cold wind, sun obscured by cloud. To bed by 20:00, the stove remains on all night, damper and door closed, window open. I am thankful to have all dry clothes.
June 21:
Up at 05:00, sleeping in feels good! My calendar does not indicate if this is the spring equinox (proved to be yesterday when I check at home), so now the days will start getting shorter again. It is a cool 3°C but calm, very foggy, still with ominous looking clouds; at least it did not snow. There are only a few sticks of stovewood left in the Tent. I take the time to eat a cold breakfast before catching a 20 inch pike for supper. Then more chores before lunch: find and fetch stovewood poles, saw stovewood, pick fireweed salad, gather firewood for supper to fry the fish, take down Tarp shelter, pack tools, have bath. It is 14°C and sunny, lots of blue sky, but bathing in the frigid lake with moderate wind is cold but sure feels good. Chilled, I sit near the stove while I have lunch and drink hot water. Now that some items have been removed from the two heavy barrels, I repack them so that a similar amount has been removed from each and will continue to do so each week, to keep the levels even. This is to help with ease of moving the barrels so the last barrel does not stay really heavy for so long. I make a note to pack grub differently next season, two plus weeks in the Kitchen Barrel as usual, but in the other two barrels spread the supplies evenly so that an equal amount will be removed from each barrel. The weather and myself warmed up, I decide to let the stove die so remove two burning sticks and douse them outside. It would be too hot to cook in the Tent now and better to fry outside to avoid spattering the Tent, but I do eat the meal inside. After pre-packing to move on tomorrow, time for bed. By morning it is 8°C and I have moved into the sleeping bag.