Before leaving camp 13, June 30 at 03:52 and 04:53, hoping the heat of yesterday is not repeated today. Clear sky except for cloud and possible smoke cover over the sunrise does not bode well.
Camp 14, July 1 at 05:10 through cloud and smoke haze (two exposures).
July 1 at 05:48, just before leaving camp 14, as I am about to retrieve the two butter coolers from the fridge hole beneath the pile of birch branches (over a larger pile of pine and spruce boughs).
Fresh black bear scat beside the fridge, but I am thankful that the covering branches are not disturbed.
However, upon lifting off the cover, the coolers are gone! Darn bear reached in and took the coolers without disturbing the cover. From my journal: "My first word is "S...it" (not Aie)!".
Camp 15 (old camp 13), July 3 at 05:38 and 05:40, the first photo showing some cloud (and smoke?) on the eastern horizon at sunrise, but the rest of the sky is perfectly clear. Cloud would be nice to cool temperatures.
July 3 at 13:32 ... yay, some definite cloud cover and blue sky.
Bug tent under Tarp shelter to escape from the little flies that are nonstop biting ankles when I sit with no clothes on in shade near shore.
These pretty black butterflies with white, orange and blue wing bands, always seen this time of year; with wings spread wide, like me they struggle to combat the heat.
July 4, 05:52 a very welcome sight of thick dark clouds to hide the hot sun.
July 4, 16:23 even more welcome rainfall, and ironically now I start the stove to warm up and dry out.
July 5, early morning, extremely strong wind forces me to move the canvas Tent inland about 20 metres. While I move the Tent, I keep the stove going, feeding it occasionally with fresh wood. It is sitting off the ground on two logs, dampers closed, the elbow turned away from the wind.
The mostly vacated exposed Tent site, waiting for me to move a few remaining items to the new location. Note the Tarp shelter being lifted by the strong wind.
A pelican accompanied by a gull land near camp during the strong wind. Can you spot the pelican in the first photo? The gull flew away, but I often see a gull, presumably hoping for a handout, in the company of a pelican.
**********************
Summary:
Move 13 km (including an eight metre portage) to set up camp 14 at unnamed lake 9.6 from where I cut two long portages last year to get to the target river. With heatwave over 30°C in a less than ideal spot to sit it out, I decide to retreat to the previous campsite. The next day when packing the canoe I find the two butter coolers have been taken by a bear, and no luck finding them; bannock will definitely not be as tasty or nutritious without butter. Return to previous camp to set up camp 15 in order to sit out the heatwave. Temperature reaches a hot 33°C over a five day period. Flies of all sizes wield painful bites. The heatwave breaks with two days of welcome heavy rain but strong wind which forces me to move the Tent inland. Start the stove again! Thanks to Candy and Brian for a delicious care package of food.
June 30:
Up to alarm at 03:00 at camp 13, I eat breakfast in Tent. The day starts calm and there is a lot of clear sky with some cloud and possible smoke at sunrise. Stopping at a small isle that missed the forest fire a few years ago, one of few that did, I confirm that it would be suitable to camp on if ever needed, not as good as camp 13 but okay. After a few more kilometres I stop at a second island, another one that escaped forest fire, but it would be a hard luck campsite. Continuing on, I make the short portage to unnamed lake 9.6 to set up camp 14. Making good time on the 13 km trip (including the eight metre portage) I start the SPOT at 11:25. The evidence of my rain-all-day-portage and setup-in-the-rain camp of last year is obvious, now withered spruce boughs that were in the front vestibule of the nylon tent and underneath the Tarp shelter; I can use the branches for tinder and kindling today. I had thought to erect the canvas Tent, but there are no trees large enough to anchor it. Putting up the Tarp shelter right away, I need it for shade, the temperature already getting very hot, reaching 34°C by mid-afternoon. At least there is a light wind which helps make the heat bearable. The sky is clear but hazy all day. Scaring a tiny bird (a wren?) from her nest on the ground in thick brush just behind the nylon tent, I hope she does not desert her three eggs. Sweating doing nothing, I drink lots of water using the LifeStraw®. Anxious about how long the heatwave will last, I phone Jeanette but have to leave a message, also texting "Pls txt focast end date heatwave. Will check tomorrow." (My satellite phone limits message size so we use abbreviations and minimize spaces.) After a much needed bath to cool down, I get in the Bug Tent no clothes on, under the Tarp shelter which provides the only real shade, the trees not tall enough to help much. The bugs are not too bad outside, but the small flies continue to bite, buggers. This small shallow lake has very few if any fish so supper is sardines in stuffing mix with butter and Parmesan cheese, fireweed salad, boiled water to drink, still warm after cooling. From my journal: "Wish now I had stayed at camp 13 till heatwave over, a much more comfortable camp, more shaded, better access to water and fish. [Here I have to step down a sheer vertical drop to bathe in the lake.] I could go back??" Yay, there is a text from Jeanette when I check: "37°C here. Sunday should see relief from heatwave." Aie! The heat appears to be widespread. This is Wednesday so at least five days before possible relief. Deciding to return to the old camp 13 site tomorrow, I prepack. From my journal: "On (not in) bed by 20:30. Hot. First thing on entering tent I remove clothes; if I leave them on for any length of time I will get sweat-soaked. Hang on clothesline in tent ridge undershorts, socks, towel, handkerchief. 34°C, have been mopping face, neck, head all day. Butter is very soft. No moss here for coolers so the water-filled hole covered with branches near lakeshore has to do. Lay on sheet in only pajama undershorts and socks for quite awhile."
July 1:
Up to alarm at 03:00 to a very warm morning. The clothes hanging in the tent are almost dry, which does not usually happen, a testament to the heat. It is Canada Day but I sure do not feel very energetic or celebratory. After breakfast, I get everything packed and ready to load in canoe, placing the Kitchen Barrel first in the bow. Next I need the coolers to store under the bow seat so walk the 100 metres to the fridge, a water-filled hole near the lakeshore. I notice fresh bear scat but the brush cover over the coolers does not appear disturbed. Lifting the boughs all I see is the water filled hole, no coolers; my first word is a long drawn out "Sshh...t", an Aie just not strong enough! The bear took the coolers leaving the branches in place. Aie! Not just one cooler but two. My first thought is I wonder if there were two bears (two year old siblings usually stay together in their second year), though there is only one big pile of scat if that means anything. Or did one bear make two trips as I do not figure he could carry both coolers at once in his mouth. I head back to camp to finish loading the canoe. Getting the gun loaded with a slug, carrying an extra between my lips, bear spray already on my belt, I walk near shore about 200 metres distance through very thick regrowth and fallen burned trees (from an extensive fire in 2008). There is no sign of the coolers and no obvious trail. They could be anywhere inland in the even thicker new growth. Aie! Eleven 454 gram blocks of butter gone. Aie! Bannock or meals will not be the same that is for sure. What if I had tied the coolers to trees? Ironically my son asked me before leaving if I had considered buying metal mesh bear bags to enclose the coolers and tie them to trees. Aie! Already I am thinking about various ways of making bannock without the butter. As my mother said "You just have to make the best of it" (when health reasons forced her to move to a nursing home). I make a note in my journal to investigate various options including butter substitutes and incorporating the butter directly in the bannock mix. I am curious whether the bear manages to get into the coolers which are two hard plastic layers with hard spray foam in between. The only way to find them would be in the late fall when leaves are off trees, though much of this area is new growth pine trees.
After crossing the eight metre portage to the big lake I stop at the large island one km away to allow me to dry out a bit. At 06:00 I am sweat-soaked from breaking camp, walking in search of coolers and portaging. This island is very steep, mountain-like, that I have previously investigated all round for a campsite. I recheck the area behind the long flat open rock point. There is one spot with a bed of moss that would need a lot of tree cutting and moss added to level. A fireplace would have to be on the very open and exposed rockface point. This is not an ideal, or even a good site, would be a hard luck site for sure. Moving on, paddling near a long shore I am serenaded by the cheerful song of a white-throated sparrow, which prompts a smile. Making good time, I arrive back at the old camp 13 by 10:20 and have an early lunch before putting up the Tarp shelter, then the canvas Tent followed by getting pots on fireplace to boil water. Working now with no clothes on, moccasins in Tent and sandals outside, I hang up all my clothes to dry on the outside clothesline, first washing my sweat-soaked underclothes in the lake. After chores all done by midafternoon, the temperature a very hot 33°C, I have a cooling bath. Then I sit in my chair on the rock point in some shade, catching a bit of breeze. I am relieved to be at a good campsite, glad that I made the move from camp 14, even though having to retreat 13 km (including the eight metre portage). As with the last few days, there are no clouds whatsoever, just a grey haze, an unsettling sight. I delay supper until 18:00 when the sun has dipped below the trees, sweating profusely from any activity including eating. From my journal: "I'm fearful of using camp 14 again on unnamed lake 9.6. That bear could come into camp while I clear the two portages and pre-portage the two heavy barrels. He's had a taste (or has he?) and may want more. There would be no food left in camp but bears like to break and chew gear. Wonder if he actually came right into camp last night? If there was a better safer camp somewhere on the big lake, but then I would have an extra trip just to get to the intended portages. And I don't know if there is such a camp, certainly none I know of yet. Need to give serious consideration to the alternate route. Would be disappointing to forgo the planned route but interesting to try a different one. Aie!" Just before bedtime, 28°C, I have another bath; tired and weary I sleep well.
July 2:
Up at 04:15, after a few chores I take canoe out to fish, with no luck along the mainland shore near camp. In the three good spots where I previously caught pike, it will take awhile before bigger fish from elsewhere take up those locations. So I paddle the one km across the lake to the far shore and catch a 22 inch pike. After trying for another with no luck, I finally return to camp at 08:10, a long time for one fish. The sun is already very hot, not a cloud to be seen, and I am sweating from the paddling. I make my first attempt at a cinnamon bannock without butter, and it sure is not the usual good tasting product, but too early to tell yet as I need to try a variety of methods. Late morning I have a motorboat visit by Brian and Candy, the owners of the fishing lodge who were so kind and helpful last year with providing a motorboat and some food treats. They say they are busy with Canadian clients so do not have the problem some others have with an out-of-country client base who cannot enter Canada without quarantining for COVID-19. Temperature rises to 32°C, terribly hot, and I have numerous baths throughout the day to cool down. Large horseflies are monsters, biting me each time I am in the lake, buggers. When not doing chores, I sit in some shade at the rock point, no clothes on, just sandals, and there is a brisk breeze which makes it more bearable. Luckily the horseflies mostly leave me alone when I am dry sitting in the chair ... but ... from my journal: "Killed a big horsefly; one ant is easily dragging it away. You know the best way to kill a horsefly? Wait till she is biting and hit; her focus is on the bite and not avoidance." (Only female flies bite, requiring blood from mammals to support egg production; they have teeth so actually cut flesh rather than pierce like mosquitoes, hence the reason for the painful bite. Both sexes, as with other flying insects, are important in plant pollination, difficult to think of when being bitten.) The downside of sitting by the lake, even though in the shade, is that I get some sunburn on my abdomen due to reflection from the water. I do many puzzles, in between falling asleep, and drinking LifeStraw® water. Having now decided to forgo the planned route due to the bear problem, I text Jeanette of the route change. (My contacts have my route plan so if I deviate from it significantly it is important to let them know.)
July 3:
Up at 05:00, temperature stayed above 25°C last night, hot already, especially in the direct sun. From my journal: "Rain would be good! Will take cloud and rain over this heat! Flies biting when I am outside, big ones, medium ones, small ones, tiny ones ... all the buggers, obviously different species. They all hurt! Wear short shirt for protection from sun and bugs. Then small flies biting my ankles, the only place they seem to land, so have to put on more clothes to work outside, buggers. Flies worse if I'm sweating. Have to retreat to Tent or Bug Tent which are warmer because not exposed as well to the breeze." Thanks to Brian who at midday delivers a care package from Candy, plus two cold beers, such nice people! Now I have a wonderful menu change for several meals including fresh eggs, salad, bread, home-made cookies, cooked bacon, burger, sausages, spaghetti in sauce ... mmm good! Temperature rises to 31°C, but midafternoon there are some definite clouds in the sky, a good sign I hope. I move back out to the point, dressed in short shirt and unlaced boots. There are two peals of distant thunder. It is sure nice to see a normal sky, blue with clouds, not an ominous looking sky completely vacant of clouds, not blue but a hazy grey. From my journal: "Parts of me have had too much sun because of the heatwave wearing less clothes, arms and face browner than usual and my lily white abdomen red. Oh man, the gusting wind feels good. Even though has been 30's today, after the clouds and blue sky returned the atmosphere feels better, less oppressive, wonder why? Killing flies with swatter. One more sign of the improved climate even if still hot - I am dressed but comfortable when not doing any activity - that didn't happen before clouds and blue sky came back."
July 4:
Today is cooler with a high of 23°C, very cloudy when I arise. I have to put clothes on, yay! The cooler weather is so great after the heatwave, which hopefully is over. At noon there is heavy rainfall which continues steadily all afternoon and moderate north wind cooling to 14°C, such a nice reprieve. I have to don more clothes and close the Tent door. From my journal at 13:55: "Would be ironic if have to start stove now after the heatwave.", then at 16:50. "Can't see across lake for rain and mist. I do start the stove again, fetching it from underneath the canoe, luckily quickly starting it from embers in the fireplace." Having prepacked to move on tomorrow, I have to unpack some of the gear such as the tools to saw more stovewood. I will not prepack anymore, but will get up at 03:00 to see what the weather is like. A very strong north wind continues all night and I add wood to the stove several times. With my long outer shirt and jeans being dry, it is almost the ⅓ date of the season, so I pack the old and change to clean, welcoming this small luxury.
July 5:
Even though there is a very strong wind all night continuing into morning, I leave the alarm to ring at 03:00 to check outside. It is very cloudy with dark clouds, so go back to bed, but get up right away as I know I am not going to sleep anymore. The wind is blowing the Tent so much that I decide to move it inland to the spot where I have placed the nylon tent before. I have to pack everything because there is no place dry enough to store gear; the Tarp shelter is being blown up and horizontal. Temperature is a cool 10°C, feeling colder due to the wind. After everything is removed from the Tent, I take the stove pipes down and place the stove on two logs, leaving the elbow in place turned downwind, the stove broadside to the wind so the closed damper at the front is protected. The stove requires more wood several times to keep it burning while I move and erect the Tent. I have to use the axe head to level some humps and the pruners to cut out some roots. There is enough soil from the old location to transfer to the new. After the gear is placed in the Tent, I fetch and saw some more stovewood poles. By 07:50, I am eating breakfast in the Tent in the new location, well protected from the wind, to the sound of waves crashing against the north shore. I have to walk to the opposite side of the island to fetch water, sheltered from the waves. Twice I have baked the new bannock but need to try a few more variations before deciding the best recipe, though none will be as good without butter. The Tent is only 20 metres inland from the old site, but what a difference in the impact of the wind. Thinking to get out the Fishing Kit, I decide not to because if I get the hook snagged I cannot easily take the canoe out. The wind and rain remain steady, 11°C; sweating I work outside in short shirt, being able to dry my clothes in the Tent. I do get chilled when I stop moving, so sit close to the stove until I warm up. With the way the weather is, I am not planning to leave tomorrow. But by 18:00 the wind does subside a bit and the rain seems to have stopped so I prepack everything but the stove, which I douse with a small amount of water after removing a bigger piece of stovewood. With window and door closed, the Tent is comfortable and I sleep well, now hoping to leave in the morning; I have camped here quite long enough and am anxious to move on.