My 2021 canoe trip starts May 30 and ends with a float plane flight on August 18 after 12 weeks of a planned 16 week trip. Not feeling well, unsteady, tripping too easily, I decide to cut the season short, not feeling up to making the last two km long steep portage. After a bear takes two coolers of butter early in the trip, I lose more weight than usual. Sticking to my planned menu, but minus the butter at a daily loss of almost 500 calories, by the time I realize the significance of the diet deficiency it is too late to take remedial action. Compounding the loss of calories is smoke inhalation issues exacerbated by four heat waves. For most of the trip, there is wildfire on all sides with smoke at all horizons for most of the journey, sometimes very dense over and around camp.
The trip is a circle route in the centre of central Saskatchewan south and north of the Churchill River. Initially the plan is to complete my 2020 route but the bear problem happens at the starting point of that section and I did not feel comfortable in the safety of leaving camp to clear the two portages to reach last year's end point. My plan is revised to take a new route via winter trails across six small unnamed lakes to reach the rapids of the river I canoed in 2017 (reaching it then by cutting a virgin portage across country). On the new route I meet John, a fellow solo paddler, who overtakes me, kindly clearing and flagging the remaining portages to reach the rapids, where he heads north while I paddle south back to the Churchill River.
Besides the unfortunate encounter with the thieving black bear, another bear bumps my Tent one evening waking me from a sound sleep, fortunately no damage done. The latter is on an island which has a bumper crop of raspberries, bunchberries and some red currants. Interestingly there is recent bear scat on multiple islands that also have many berries. These all are in areas recovering from widespread forest fire so bears are swimming to islands to eat the fruit.
I only see one beautiful cinnamon-coloured black bear and cub at the first camp (on a large island), but witness many small animals including a sleek otter and two minks. At camp 19 a ruffed grouse and her six young entertain me for my time there, and I capture a neat video of the mother shielding the fledglings under her body from the rain. There are the usual insects, but very few biting ones, the only benefit of the heat waves, not even comfortable for the bugs. One campsite is teeming with very bothersome ants, prompting me to vow never to camp there again.
Fishing is productive, catching 20 walleye and 26 northern pike, easily satisfying my need for four fish meals per week. I catch and release four pike too large to eat in a single meal, one a monster over one metre long. Most suppers are supplemented with salad, either greens (fireweed, or early on leaves or catkins of birch, alder, poplar, willow) or berries (red currants, raspberries, bunchberries, blueberries).
New replacement equipment that is tested and used includes: custom-made canvas Tent (Calgary Tent & Awning), fishing rod (Shakespeare® Ugly Stik® GX2™ Pack Rod), two hats (Tilley® T4MO-1 Hiker's Hat), rain jacket (MEC® Aquanator XL), two shirts (Mark's WindRiver, long sleeved, button-up, collar, size XL, cotton), heavy socks (Mark's T-Max® HEAT™), gun sight (Williams Gun Sight Company), waist pack (MEC® Trail HT Waist Pack), barrel 60L (Recreational Barrel Works), shelter Tarp (Inland Plastics™), canvas Tent roof clear tarp (Inland Plastics™). I am generally pleased with my menu changes except for some protein bars containing ingredients that melt in the extreme heat (chocolate, caramel) and will not buy again. Laundry changes are good, doing less frequently (only once per month) and with less work (no longer washing outer clothes, jeans, long shirts and hat, which are repacked dry to be laundered at home), changing to clean sets at one-third and two-thirds of the schedule (hat at half-way point).
I paddle 294 km for a distance between camps of 257 km, the extra 37 km searching for campsites or finding and clearing portages. I descend or portage past 10 rapids, and ascend or portage five rapids, including three large ones and many areas of fast current on the Churchill River. At the last such rapids on the Churchill, Chad, a Cree guide at a fishing lodge, gives me a tow after I wade up the fastest part; later I meet Ray, the Cree owner of the lodge, who convinces me to let Chad come to fetch me back to the lodge to catch a float plane. There are 25 portages with a total length of 3100 metres, a relatively short distance. Portages vary in how much clearing required, with one necessitating cutting 150 metres from scratch.
There is strong wind at times, twice being windbound, fortunately being able to make it to camp. Four horrible heat waves encompassing at least 15 days reach a high of 38°C. There is also significant rain at times when I make good use of the wood stove in the new replacement canvas Tent.
This is the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. It did not directly impact my trip, but as with last year, I selected a route that required minimal involvement of third parties. The usual precautions were taken on the drive (and flight) from/to home (physical distancing, sanitizing and washing hands, wearing mask). I received my first COVID-19 vaccination before the trip but could not get the second until returning home.
A follow-up report on my return home is in an 'Afterword', with the camp 28 post.
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Although much of the above account may seem negative, it is far from it. As usual, in spite of hardships, or perhaps even because of, I enjoyed my trip and the north country's beauty and majesty - the solitude, awesome landscapes, amazing rivers and lakes, interesting wildlife, incredible cloud formations, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets coloured red through smoke much of the time. I look forward to returning.
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"I'm heading back to the north country
With the cold wind in my eye
...
Rustlin' leaves are on the ground
A cold rain coming down
Sleeping there on the dark, damp earth
For what it's worth
no reason can be found
This crazy feeling hangin' round
I'll remember now and then
But don't ask when I'll be back again
...
I'll be back again."
Rankin, Jimmy (sung by The Rankin Family) (From: North Country, 1993)
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