Looking back at campsite 20 as I leave on July 30 at 07:38.
As I paddle the one km to the inlet waterfall I question if it is a good idea in the presence of such dark foreboding skies.
Approaching the 10 metre portage over the falls, I am glad to see that water is not rushing over the boards, as it was when I arrived in the spring. There is no question that I will take a 10 metre smooth trail versus the 100 metres across land used at camp 8. After tying up it is quick work to carry all gear to the upper end and then pull the canoe across the boards.
Exiting a narrows I reach the target island where camp 7 was located.
A view to the west past a nearby small isle across the lake expanse, better showing the layer of interesting clouds at the horizon that look like a row of cotton balls.
Because I am approaching the island from the opposite direction compared to the spring I do not immediately recognize the old campsite. After paddling past and turning the corner to see open lake I reverse course to return to the proper spot at 11:59.
After dark skies on July 30 and rain the next day with very bothersome mosquitoes and blackflies I am blessed with a gorgeous sunny day on August 1. Bedding can be aired; then I doff clothes to have a bath and relax unbothered by bugs.
Heavy rain leads to setting up canvas Tent and stove on August 2. Rain continues through the next day.
Three nice walleye caught from shore on July 31, representative of those landed every day from then on through August 3.
One area of the channel between my island and another where I cast for walleye.
Another spot farther from camp that also produces walleye for supper.
Looking east across the lake shows very dark sky every day except August 1:
July 30.
July 31, morning and afternoon.
August 2.
August 3 at 04:57, beautiful but foreboding red sunrise.
August 3 at 05:42.
**********************
Summary:
Decide to leave even though I remark that it may be a crazy move because of the ominous looking sky. Talk to my camp mouse while breaking camp. Because of rising wind paddle straight through 14 km (including the 10 metre portage) with only one brief stop and no breakfast or lunch until reaching camp 21 (old camp 7). After being flooded in the spring the board portage is dry, a short 10 metre carry. Headnet against bothersome mosquitoes and blackflies; mosquito coils and camper's dance help foil bugs in the tent. Very happy with the next camp setting and its excellent walleye fishing without having to use the canoe. Jeanette says my route out still burning. One gorgeous day of sunshine with few bugs cheers me up. Two days of rain make it easy to decide to erect canvas Tent and stove. Give thanks for the sunshine but also for the cooling rain which should help decrease fire risk.
July 30:
Up to alarm at 03:30, still in pyjamas I step outside to check weather. Calm, the sky looks very ominous, grey, dark all over. Getting in the Tent with at least one mosquito I climb back in bed until 05:00. When I empty the pee can and scan the sky again it is still calm, a bit of sun peeking through clouds. From my journal: "A mouse greets me just outside the door; we both pause to stare at each other, its whiskers moving as its nose wiggles. I ask 'Are you the one that I hear scurrying on and past the Tent?' She just turns and runs into the bush; I imagine she gave a little shrug of annoyance at my invasion of her home turf. Talking to her perks me up. May be crazy but decide to leave. Will stop for breakfast later." Having not prepacked anything I start the stove to dry the pots. To minimize sweating I pack gear inside the Tent unclothed. The stove is emptied into the fireplace to start a small fire until departing. After placing all packs under the Tarp shelter I take down the Tent. Only the front sod cloth is wet which I wipe with a sponge. Surprising myself I am ready to go at 07:30. There is only one km to paddle to the falls so I do not tie down or cover the load. Pleased that the waterfall is contained to one side of the board portage I tie up along side. I unload and carry the short 10 metres to the top, a very easy portage. With just a very light headwind I make good time. By the time I reach the lake proper and the first of several two km open crossings the wind has picked up; I give thanks out loud and say "I hope you don't get stronger". After passing through a narrows to the next big stretch I stop on a small isle midway intending to eat breakfast. It ends up just being a pee break when I see that the wind has picked up. I will stop somewhere else or just go straight through to the target to have combined breakfast and lunch.
Going through another longer narrows I near the island of old camp 7. I have paddled 14 km (including the 10 metre portage) with no breakfast and only the one brief stop. Clouds still look quite threatening but I give thanks that I have made good time without getting rained on. Approaching the island nothing looks familiar as I am coming from the opposite direction. I paddle right past the landing after first thinking it was actually a bit earlier; once I start going around the corner of the island to see a broad expanse of lake I have to turn around and go back. Very ominous dark grey sky and clouds make me unload right away, carrying all camp gear to the Tarp shelter spot behind the fireplace. After canoe is parked with other gear stored beneath I finally eat breakfast and lunch. From my journal: "Hungry! Good thing I'm not diabetic cause sure don't get regular meals. Glad to have arrived though without getting windbound or wet." Next I erect the Tarp shelter over the gear. Some gear had already been carried to the tent site but retrieve it to shelter after rain starts. I manage to get the nylon tent up with only a few drops of rain. Mosquitoes and blackflies are quite bothersome so I place all the inner tent gear in the front vestibule. Other gear is stored in the rear vestibule as usual. If I enter the inner tent right now to lay out sleep gear many bugs will go in with me. Back at the fireplace I start a fire to boil water and to shoo blackflies. Without dallying I return to the tent swatting clothes all round with my hat. I hope I enter mosquito-free to lay out the gear but light a mosquito coil before exiting. Back at the fireplace I prepare supper of oriental noodles (with Parmesan cheese, sardines), protein bar and hot water. Having a bath just before I eat makes me chilled so I drink hot water, a mistake because then I get too hot and start sweating. I hate going to bed with sweaty clothes still damp when I dress the next day. After washing dishes, I aliquot breakfast and lunch; I always keep two days worth in the Lunch Bag for occasions where I have to eat a forced cold meal because of weather or illness. Intending to update my journal I am too weary and tired so head to bed by 19:15. I remark out loud that this is a much nicer campsite than the previous two; I feel more comfortable and relaxed, but it is difficult to describe why.
July 31 Sunday:
After sleeping in until 06:00 I start fishing assuming I would catch pike. It is cool, very light wind and dark cloudy sky with some sun peaking through occasionally. Mosquitoes are very bothersome so I soon put on the headnet. To my pleasant surprise I land a walleye directly from shore at the path to camp. After trying several places as far as I can easily walk along shore, I go back to the first location intending to take out the canoe. I had seen fish surfacing out in the channel between my island and the larger isle nearby. Because I am using the heavy one ounce yellow/black lure I can cast quite far out; the weight is more than specified for the rod, but it is an almost indestructible "Ugly Stik®" model so I am not concerned. Before getting the canoe ready I think it might be worth trying fishing again. In a few casts I catch two more walleye for a total of three (one 18", two 17"). Now I like this campsite even more! Sporting a great big happy smile, I give thanks for the fish, for not having to take the canoe out and for a wonderful campsite. Taking my catch to the spot where I had a bath last evening, I fillet them for supper; I prefer not to clean fish at camp but I have no choice here. At least it is an island and as usual I throw the remains as far out into the lake as I can. Next I check for messages; a text from Jeanette: "Ok. No new fires 4u. Route out still burning. Some rain Tue,Fri,Sat." (The forest fire mapping systems used by Manitoba and Saskatchewan show not only the location of fires but if they are still active and the details of the area of burning as it spreads.) I collect firewood until the mosquitoes are less bad when I take the headnet off to prepare breakfast. At 10:00 it is 17°C, very dark clouds as I sit at the shore to catch a bit of breeze while eating; I am at the top of a bare vertical rockface one metre above the lake surface so have to be careful that nothing falls into the water. At 10:25 rainfall starts and I have to move to the Tarp shelter to finish breakfast. By lunchtime it has been raining on and off from a completely overcast sky in the presence of a strong wind. When the rain slows I clear a path to the far corner of my side of the island through thick bush. By 15:40 I finish cutting the trail which will give me access to more shoreline for fishing if necessary and hopefully some salad plants. I should have stopped work to come back to the shelter sooner before the wind blows a rainstorm through; now at 15:40 I am drying near the fireplace. Luckily the fire is still burning when I add more wood, getting my clothes wetter in the process. Supper includes fried walleye that overfills the pan; I make sure to get all the pieces cooked as the species can harbour fish tapeworm. Thinking of parasites I have seen some insects suspiciously like ticks but so far none on me that I am aware. By 17:40 mosquitoes start to be bothersome again so by 18:45 I move to the tent. There is a strong wind and clear blue sky in the west. After a high of 20°C today it has cooled to 17°C as I sit in pyjamas doing a few puzzles before climbing into the fleece shell for the night, later partially covered by the sleeping bag.
August 1:
It is a clear sunny day, 10°C at 05:00 as I land two nice walleye before breakfast. I give thanks for unknowingly camping in a walleye "sweet" spot. Taking advantage of the beautiful day I hang sleep gear and some damp clothing in full sun near shore. It is a gorgeous morning with very few bugs and I thoroughly enjoy eating breakfast in shade under the Tarp shelter at 07:55 while updating journal, doing a puzzle and napping. There are only a few mosquitoes, no blackflies or other flies. Before lunch I do more chores: gather firewood, cut some spruce boughs to lay over those that are thoroughly dried out from last time in June, walk on my new trail to the far point to gather salad. I pick a medley of plants, just a few of each but enough for supper: purple mint flowers, new growth alder leaves, partially ripe lingonberries, green blueberries, grass seeds, fireweed tops, yellow salsify flowers, green dock seeds. Such a nice day cheers me up and I find myself grinning, a welcome change after dark or rainy days. However I repeat my thanks for the wet weather which has cooled temperatures and hopefully damped fires and fire risk. After lunch I have a welcome bath, able to leave clothes hanging in the sun for at least 30 minutes while I sit on the shore with no attacking flies, a first so far this trip. There is nothing like biting horseflies to hasten dressing again after a bath. Moving to the shelter to do some puzzles, a pretty orange butterfly, wings spotted with black, lands on my journal as I write. Life is good! By 17:35 at supper, temperature now 23°C, I prepare my favourite meal of fried walleye sauteed in ghee and a mixture of sugar, lemon pepper, Parmesan cheese mixed with couscous, along with the salad, a protein bar and hot water. By 19:15 I am in the tent; I could stay outside longer but mosquitoes are now quite bad and I cannot be bothered to use the Bug Tent. The longer I would stay out the more likely to bring mosquitoes into the tent. From my journal: "I do the camper's dance as I approach the tent, swinging my hat before entering front vestibule. Zipping up the outside door I perform a kneeling dance swinging hat all around and on me. Small items I toss in the partially opened side zipper of inner tent. Then I unzip side and bottom to throw in my pack, crawl inside, closing the inner door quickly. All an organized frantic dance. Mosquitoes hang out between inner tent and outer fly, so the swinging hat chases them farther back for a few moments. I treat the front vestibule as an intermediate zone like the decontamination zone in a lab." As I do another puzzle I give thanks again for such a great day. Falling asleep in bed, I hear the "chip, chip" of a nearby junco, the haunting wail of two loons and raucous cawing of a crow; everybody is happy.
August 2:
Jeanette's weather forecast is proven true as rain continues to fall after beginning sometime after midnight last night. There is visible smoke at horizons and the definite smell of smoke in the air; it is completely overcast, 17°C. Rain lets up to make it easier to fish but I have to don the headnet against mosquitoes. I catch a walleye right away but the second takes a lot of effort; I try all my usual lures but return to the yellow/black spoon which I think is possibly more successful because its heavier weight lets me cast farther into the channel. Light rain starts again just before landing the second fish. Not wanting to fillet the fish in the rain, I set them close to the shelter covered with moss so I can keep an eye on them; I do not want to lose my supper to an animal such as a mink, otter or eagle. By 08:20 I am eating breakfast under the shelter; mosquitoes are tolerable, perhaps in hiding from the rain, so I remove the headnet. Hot water hits the spot. I stoke the fire well, covering with a big log so it will not be doused by the rain, continually adding wood to keep it going. The rain slows and I clean the fish by 10:35, getting a bit damp, finishing before a heavy downpour. Steady rainfall keeps up all afternoon.
After eating lunch, by 12:15 a gusty wind has picked up, driving rain directly under the Tarp shelter prompting an easy decision to erect the canvas Tent and stove. Rain continues the entire time as I set up the Tent. I am thankful that I prepared Tent poles and scouted out locations for Tent and soil for the stove when I camped here in the spring. From my journal: "When I first fasten the ridge rope to suspend the Tent I choose the wrong anchor tree at the back end. When raised, the Tent is in the wrong position too far up a side slope. Aie! Have to drop the Tent and fasten an extra length of rope to place it around a tree farther away that will move the Tent over. Just what I want to do when raining!" The Tent floor takes four big armloads of moss to level. Soil must be carried from an overturned stump found in the spring, to be carried 150 metres on the trail I cleared then. I fetch spruce branches for the doorway, split kindling and saw stovewood. After all gear is carried to the Tent and two pots of water on the stove, one with diced fish to boil for chowder, I light two 2" lengths of mosquito coil and close the door. Outside I prepare more stovewood, kindling and birchbark tinder. The sky is still completely overcast with dark clouds. When I get back in the Tent I swat one mosquito that comes in with me. A good sign is that there are no mosquitoes on the screen door. I had thought about wearing the raincoat as I prepped the Tent but I would then be sweat-soaked with all the work and even more uncomfortable. When I bring the sleep gear from the nylon tent I notice how damp and clammy from humidity everything feels. It will be nice to dry it all with the stove on, along with my damp or wet clothes. After a hot meal is prepared I add no more wood and will let the stove die. By 20:30 I go to bed, in the sleeping bag by midnight. There is one more mosquito that I manage to get when she lands on my ear, coming out of hiding in the dark; buggers! Weary, I sleep well, intermittent rain all night, with the last downpour at 04:00.
August 3:
Up by 04:45 after the rain seems to have stopped I start the stove. There is a strikingly pretty red sunrise through dark clouds; I wonder if it predicts more rain. It is calm, 13°C. Because I am 50 metres from the fireplace which is another 20 metres from the lake I clear a shorter trail for fetching water; now there are enough spruce boughs for the outside doorway. At 06:50 I sit in the warm Tent waiting for bannock to bake while I do some puzzles. After eating I try fishing at my usual place and not surprisingly have no luck as it is much later than usual, walleye having moved on to forage elsewhere. Walking on the trail to the other corner I start casting and work my way back towards camp along the shore. Trying different spots I finally am in luck and land two nice walleye; this is removed from the channel but I am still successful after thinking for sure I would probably catch pike. Just before lunch I bathe in the usual location and walk back to the Tent to dry off. The nylon tent has dried enough to be packed. By suppertime it would be cooler to use the fireplace but I cannot be bothered to carry pots, pans and food so I decide to use the stove. Luckily there is a breeze passing through the window out the door, so much more comfortable than my first canvas Tent which had no window. As a mosquito coil burns I saw stovewood and collect a salad similar to that collected August 1 but also containing some unripe bunchberries, a few orange northern comandra berries and one raspberry; raspberries are a favourite, always amazing me that I can taste even one in a mixture. After supper is finished I open the stove damper wide to let coals burn down. At 18:45 I go outside to close the window wearing just moccasins, taking the fly swatter to shoo mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are bothersome; I sure would not want to be outside very long without clothes. Somehow I re-enter bug free. The Tent has cooled to 19°C near the floor where I sit and I am in bed early by 19:30, now a bit chilled. I hope to move on tomorrow but not at all sure about weather I only prepack the tools.