A stop for a break and lunch, a nice day at 22°C with a light tailwind most of the way.
Thirteen km to camp 13 on a long skinny island, where I camped last year before the next portages out of the Churchill River.
The chance to do laundry is welcome on June 14. The canoe hull serves as a clean spot to lay the laundry into two piles, "cleaner" and "dirty". My Waist Pack sits on the canoe while I work. This place is ideal, close to water and a spot to dump used water to soak into the ground well away from the lake. Thank goodness for the use of a 23 litre pail (5 Imperial gallons) which is harder to come by but I even have a backup one thanks to Omar's mother. The new 19 litre pails would make washing and rinsing harder and mean more smaller loads.
Heavy socks take much longer to dry. These are Mark's "T-Max® HEAT™ Socks" which I have found to be excellent, thick, cushioning, comfortable. I keep four pairs on the go in my Rubber Pack to make sure I have dry feet as much as possible, aided by "Gold Bond® Medicated Extra Strength Body Powder" applied at bedtime nightly (and likewise great to help prevent bum rash when wearing undershorts for a long time between laundries).
Fishing is great here, as indicated by a large number of fish head remains all along the shore left by animals such as bald eagles.
The following photos illustrate the preparation of fish chowder on June 14 for supper.
A 31 inch northern pike caught on June 15, much larger than that caught June 14 for fish chowder.
Note the pulverized reeds shovelled into the pile behind the fireplace that filled it completely. The entire area behind shore is coated with a layer of the reeds due to spring overflow from the lake.
Diced deboned fish is boiled for about five minutes. Northern fish can harbour fish tapeworm so cooking needs to be complete.
The broth poured off to be measured back in with the fish. The stainless steel double-walled cup holds 1¼ cups, but the remaining broth is saved to add later if needed. The brown flesh in the pot is liver.
To the cooked fish is added broth, potato flakes with nutritional yeast, chicken soup base and lemon pepper, then butter. The latter can be omitted, but the chowder is much tastier and creamy with butter.
The pot is covered and set near the fire to keep warm and to melt the butter.
Parmesan cheese added to the mix (optional).
Extra broth is added as required. I start cooking with 2½ cups of water and usually add all of the broth to the chowder.
Supper is served - fish chowder, fireweed salad, hot water to drink, protein bar ... mmm good.
On arrival at this campsite I picked all available fireweed in and around the fireplace and tent site before it got trampled or covered, stored in a Ziploc® bag under moss.
The two heavy barrels tied to trees. With practice I manage to develop a system of using the six metre ropes to bind as tightly as possible.
Overturned trees on thinly soiled rock showing the strength of wind sometimes.
Video of very very strong wind buffeting camp. Note that the embers in the fireplace are banked under protective rocks and a thick piece of wood. I extinguish them soon and have a cold supper.
**********************
Summary:
First laundry this season. Making fish chowder. Rope configuration for tying barrels to trees. Video of very very strong wind buffeting camp. Distance travelled 13 km.
June 13:
Awakening before the 03:00 alarm, I leave camp 6 by 06:30, to a clear and sunny day that reaches 22°C. Making better than expected time with a light tailwind most of the way, I arrive at camp 7 site by 10:45 after paddling 13 km. Breaking my rule of first erecting the Tarp shelter, because it is such a gorgeous day with what appears to be little chance of rain, I try fishing from shore after unloading the canoe, first carrying required gear to camp and placing other gear under the canoe. In short order I catch a 20 inch pike and 11 inch walleye and fillet them for supper, storing in doubled Ziploc® bags under cool moss. Then it is time to make camp, having to fell two trees each for the canvas Tent and the Tarp shelter, after they are partially up because I underestimated the required footprints. The ground at the site, except for the Tent area, is still damp from spring overflow of the lake that brought broken reeds far enough onshore to completely fill the fireplace. There is a foul smell drifting in occasionally from pollen in the water and the wet soil. Before supper I have a much needed bath. At this stage of the trip, one of the fish would have been adequate for a meal and I make a mental note to cut back. Supper includes fried fish, orzo with Parmesan cheese, a protein bar and hot water to drink ... mmm good! To bed by 21:00 I feel great, placing a folded tarp at one side of the mattress to counteract the sideways slope evident after laying down.
June 14:
Breakfast under the Tarp shelter sitting on a mat of spruce boughs at 08:00, it is a gorgeous morning. Crows are cawing nonstop, perhaps voicing their displeasure at disrupting their home. There are many flocks of Canada geese overhead honking as they fly to the Arctic for summer nesting. Before the meal though I catch a 21 inch pike for supper chowder, cubed and stored under moss. If I fish first thing in the morning I am usually successful, much easier than having to launch the canoe to find good spots as the fish move away from shallower shore later in the day. Catching fish or game is required for four meals per week this year, increased from only two meals previously, so volume and weight of portage loads is reduced. Giving thanks as usual for the provision of the fish and fireweed, I am not a catch-and-release fellow unless the fish is very small or too large for one meal; I do not fish for the sake of catching, seeing it as just one of my necessary chores. I used to store additional fried fish overnight in moss for supper the next day to minimize the number of times having to fish, but I will no longer as I want to lessen the chance of bear encounters, which seem to be on the increase, both in my experience and the reports by other people.
Checking as usual on Sunday when possible for a text message from Jeanette, the message states "OK [on home front].No fires.JH". I wonder where the forest fire smoke originated at camp 3. On the agenda today is first laundry this season, so I can safely change to clean underclothes. It is a job I dislike, next after portaging, but the result in both cases is welcome. I carry two extra sets of clothes and this year I am doing even less routine laundry, making do with outer clothes for a third of my trip before changing, so I have marked my calendar for two periods of five weeks plus two days. I will store dry dirty outers as backup and for washing on return home (jeans, long-sleeved heavy cotton shirt). Likewise I will not routinely wash my Tilley hats, rotating to the second one at the halfway mark. So now I have fewer and smaller wash loads, down to two instead of three. First load in 23 litres of cold water with half teaspoon of granular laundry soap, is of course the cleaner clothes (handkerchief, bandana, pillowcase, undershorts, cotton "pajamas" (undershorts, socks, long underwear top and bottom)). Next the dirty clothes (undershirt, three pairs of heavy socks). It takes four minutes per cycle (count of 120 twice) to mix the soap in water at the start with the plunger (a toilet plunger), then the cleaner clothes, last the dirty clothes in the same water. Then four minutes per rinse cycle, fresh water each time, four rinses for dirty, five for cleaner clothes. Dirty clothes are rinsed first so they can be hung on the clothesline, being heavier taking longer to dry. There is a brisk wind but the sky gets very cloudy by the time I am done and the wind lessens, just in time for lunch at noon. Hopefully most clothes will dry before rainfall. I burned one very beaten up bandana, patched many times by me (poorly with my way of sewing, the "pucker" stitch). Temperature has risen from 15°C to 26 and flies are very bothersome buggers. At 13:00 light rain starts with only a few laundry items dry; the remainder get hung in the Tent with screen door and window open. Just when I think it might not rain, it has started quite steadily. The good news is that the flies have disappeared, replaced with a few mosquitoes. The rain stops by 16:00, sky is clearing and the darn flies return. All clothes are dry and packed except for the heavy socks so I take down the clothesline, and hang the socks on the ridgeline of the Tarp shelter. Supper is yummy fish chowder. Flies have mostly disappeared, perhaps being either on the clock or because of the cloud-covered sun. I often notice that certain bugs seem to leave at a specific time of day. Prepacking to move on tomorrow, I turn in by 19:00 to a strong wind.
June 15:
Up to alarm at 03:00, darker than normal and very strong wind, I go outside to see that the sky is very cloudy and dull all over and threatening, so I go back to bed until 05:15, deciding not to move on today. Right away I go to the shore and catch a 31 inch pike on the seventh cast, a bigger fish than I need. It is filleted and stored under moss for supper. I unpack the Kitchen Barrel and boil three pots of water. At 08:55 I go to the Tent to get out of the wind for a hot cinnamon bannock breakfast. The bannock is done too well on top because of wind-fanned coals. I had to remove the coals from the Dutch oven lid and let the bottom bake more, then put rocks and a large piece of wood on the fireplace to protect from the wind and to keep coals alive. The sky has cleared quite a bit, still cloudy but white ones. I do not forecast weather well, but anyway the wind is far too strong for canoe travel, however would be great for portaging. The noisy crows can be heard farther away on my island. Taking advantage of the wind drop to moderate, I go for a bath at the place about 100 metres from camp where I fish. It seems now that it would have been a good day to travel. Oh well, c'est la vie. Many dragonflies dart in front of me along the lake shore. At lunchtime, the temperature has reached a too hot 30°C and now the wind is very very strong, making the Tarp shelter and the Tent flap madly, not good but seem to be holding okay. Closing the Tent door is worse, so I leave it open which seems to allow the wind to blow through the back window. At 16:20, past my usual suppertime, the wind has been so strong for at least three hours and I will not be able to use a fire safely to make supper anytime soon. Considering taking down the canvas Tent, I scout a less windy site where I could erect the nylon tent, even going as far as starting to clear an inland site, about 30 metres from the present camp. It is not an ideal site, would be an uneven bed for sure, deep moss but lots of dips and underlying roots and branches, lots of lumps and bumps. I walk farther around camp, but sites on this narrow island are all exposed to the wind through fairly open bush. Out loud, I ask when will the wind be dying?! The Tarp shelter is flapping so badly, that I take it down. Thank goodness the brand of tarps I buy is quite sturdy with strong reinforced grommets and corners ("Inland Plastics™", a Canadian company). At 18:45 I extinguish the fire with water from the large and small pots. All gear is either in the Tent or under the canoe. I place more stones on the five windward Tent pegs as well as some more on the sod cloths, also more spruce branches from the Tarp shelter site at the front of the Tent to help keep dirt from blowing inside. A pole on the ground in front of the doorway also helps. Unfortunately I cannot cook the filleted pike and sadly I have to discard it (into the lake for others to eat) as it will not keep in this 30°C heat, saying I am sorry for doing so. At 19:15 I have a cold supper in the Tent, then prepack to hopefully move on tomorrow, even a short way if possible to be better protected from wind if still strong.