Camp 5 at 04:16 ready to pack across the portage that I cleared yesterday.
Canoe and gear at 06:34 carried to the lower end of the 300 metre portage. Loading is easy on the marshy lake shore, pushing out farther each time more gear is carried aboard, not needing to tie the canoe.
Paddling down the small unnamed lake towards the rapids at the lower end.
Landing where I think the portage starts, I soon find 30 metres of the trail is under water.
After walking up the hill to skirt the water-filled path, I scout out a place just above the rapids where I think I can land, marking the location with orange flagging tape. I manage to back into the spot over and around logs near the shore, getting in quickly to avoid being swept down the fast water.
A well used bear trail worn into the moss.
The trail is overgrown with tall grass, brush, Saskatoon berry shrubs and rose briars. The path does not look like it has been cleared since Dave B and Jeff did so in 2018. It takes me about one hour to move the trail around fallen trees in one area, fill a hole with logs and limb a large fallen poplar across the path.
Because of high water levels I am able to load the canoe tied parallel to shore (just to the right of the main falls in the photo taken after I launch).
To shoot this video of the main waterfall I canoe up the eddy to the right and then let the current take me down the lake.
The lesser falls separated by a tiny island from the main waterfall.
Looking toward the small island 500 metres down the lake where I set up camp 6.
The view from the island back to the falls, the sound of the rushing water quite audible even from this distance.
June 20 at 04:52, early morning sunrise.
June 21 at 04:40 as the sun just peeks through the tree tops. The second photo taken at 09:20.
Two nice 18" walleye caught at the falls on June 20 after only three casts. The next day yields a 19" walleye on the first cast; it is very thick with as much flesh as yesterday's two combined.
A 23" pike taken from shore at camp on June 22.
On the tiny island at the falls I pick some edible leaves and flowers of alumroot to add to the abundant dandelion leaves and flowers.
Camp 6 on the small island, 500 metres from the falls, after travelling a total distance of one km including two portages (300, 150 metres). The rusty fuel barrel is one left from a decades old fishing camp at this location.
A tear in my jeans sewed with a pucker stitch on the outside so the smooth side rests against skin. The exaggerated pucker stitch is the only one I know; it is functional but not pretty. The rip testifies to the sharpness of the Silky saw blade. It occurred near the start of the trip when I was new to using the saw. The blood stain in the material looks worse than the small scratch on my leg would indicate.
On June 21 good weather permits me to do some laundry.
The lake water is a bit brown largely due to the high water levels and wind.
The wash water after the first load of "cleaner" clothes (two handkerchiefs, bandana, two undershorts, cotton socks, long underwear pyjamas, pillowcase).
The same wash water after the second load of "dirty" clothes (two pairs of heavy socks, light long-sleeved shirt, chair towel).
The final rinse water for one of the loads, after plunging clothes for four minutes (2 x 120 count), each in five changes of water. For the soapy wash water I use the plunger for six minutes for each of the two loads.
The light shirt does not get much cleaner looking even after washing. I really appreciate the extra protection the long sleeves and collar give compared to a short-sleeved T-shirt.
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Summary:
Travel a short distance of one km, including two portages (300, 150 metres). Arrive at camp 6 early so erect canvas Tent for my stay. A beautiful set of double waterfalls provides excellent walleye fishing. First laundry day. I accidentally leave the gun at the first portage ... what a doofus!
June 19:
Up to alarm at 03:00, mosquitoes are very bothersome so I do not eat breakfast. There are no issues with the freshly cleared portage, just have to be careful at the spot where I step over the two big logs close together. Using a paddle as a support stick when carrying the two heavy barrels really helps keep my balance. Paddling down the small unnamed lake I land to check the portage. Walking through the bush I soon realize that I stopped upstream much higher than I thought so I keep walking until I reach the lower end of the portage and then backtrack to find the best landing. You would not know that Dave B and Jeff cleared this trail in 2018, and I do not think it has been cleared at all since, as is the case with the two previous portages. I fasten a piece of orange flagging tape to a branch where I think I can land, a bit close to the rapids so I will not want to dawdle coming in to shore. It is upstream from the rapids but still quite swift. The canoe is about 30 metres upstream but I have to walk uphill through the bush to bypass the flooded upper end of the portage. I paddle down to the flagging tape and manage to back paddle the stern to shore, around and over submerged logs, getting close enough to avoid wet feet. Next I spend one hour clearing the portage, having to create a trail around a large fallen spruce tree where I have to fill a hole with four big logs, and limbing a large fallen poplar to be crossed. The trail is thick with prickly rose bushes and Saskatoon berry brush. I also clear out some alder and birch saplings that would trip me up as I carry heavy loads. Because of high water levels I can tie the canoe parallel to shore at the lower end of the portage, making it a lot easier to load. Paddling over to the tiny island that bisects the rapids to form two waterfalls, I stop at 10:00 to eat breakfast and some of my lunch. For supper I pick a salad of dandelion leaves and flowers. From my journal: "As I step into the canoe to move on I notice the gun is missing! Aie! What a doofus! Am quite sure I left it at the lower end of the 300 metre portage but I paddle back to the last 150 metre portage to check both ends of the trail to make sure it is not there. Then I paddle to the shore at the side of the smaller waterfall where I should be able to walk back to the previous portage. I hike through the bush about 300 metres along the unnamed lake ... and yay ... the gun is where I left it. Doofus! At least retrieval is easy. Imagine if I had to portage the canoe back over the trail to get to the location. Aie!"
Back to the canoe I paddle 500 metres to the small island to set up camp 6. After unloading I finish eating lunch, drinking lots of LifeStraw® water, which I have been using lots the last few days, paying off with no leg cramps at night. It is getting cloudy so first up is the Tarp shelter which I situate so the bottom side faces the strong wind, lowering the anchor rope to the ground with heavy logs. Because I have landed in camp early, I decide to erect the canvas Tent. Blackflies are very bothersome with hundreds at the Tent screen door so I cannot avoid a few dozen getting inside as I carry gear. Later I get most of them to leave as once inside they gather on the screen door trying to get out, so I oblige. As I finish putting up the Tent a light rainfall starts, continuing into the evening. I gather spruce branches from the two trees I felled for vertical Tent support poles and place them under the Tarp shelter out of the rain where I trim them with the pruners to place at the Tent doorway. Hot and sweaty I would take a lake bath but the water is so high that the only decent spot at the end of the island is submerged; I do not see a "clean" place to bath, the water quite murky. From my journal: "After supper I have an all over wash with hot water using a basin in the Tent. Oh man ... that feels so good! Then I find that there is no level spot for the bed. Aie! Try at least three spots, sleeping a bit in each. Frustrating! What looked so level when I put up the Tent has deepish valleys! Aie! End up with head at doorway, waking in a few minutes uncomfortable, placing folded medium tarp in a hole to help. To top it all off, mosquitoes throughout the night are bad. There are several I think, not just one, and they are in their dark nighttime element as I awaken several times to try to kill the latest bugger buzzing around my face. Up by 04:00, I can now see several more mosquitoes. Will do today what I should have done yesterday ... light a mosquito coil."
June 20:
Hot bannock is baked at fireplace and eaten in Tent. After last night's poor sleep, I find myself repeatedly napping in the chair as I eat. A priority is to level the Tent floor so I turn back the ground and floor tarps, then use the shovel and axe to level the highest spots. Collecting two big armloads of moss, I use it to fill the dips and soften the peaks. Ironically this spot appears level; last camp's did not, but I made it level enough to get a good sleep. This camp's floor should now be better, but tonight will tell if it truly is. I am owed a good night's sleep. Planning to do laundry tomorrow I clear an area at the shore near the tip of the island, including a dead flooded spruce tree and a big bunch of branches in the water. Hopefully the dirty water will clear overnight. I paddle to the falls and catch two nice walleye in short order, cleaning them on the adjacent tiny island. Just before supper of walleye and dandelion salad I have a hot shower. Crows have been calling raucously all day on the nearby mainland, I think probably because young are either ready to leave the nest or have just done so. A beaver keeps slapping its tail as it swims by when I happen to be doing something that makes it protest my presence; I say sorry and that I will be gone in a few days. Again falling asleep after supper, I am in bed by 20:15. Thank goodness the bed proves to be comfortable and there is only one mosquito during the night that probably came in with me after the mosquito coil cleared the others.
June 21:
Up by 04:45 to the crow cacophony, there is one mosquito on the Tent wall beside the bed. This mosquito meets the wrath of the flyswatter but there is no blood so I know it did not bite me. A female mosquito will bite often until her abdomen is full of blood, rest for a few days and then lay eggs on or near water; she can live for up to five months. Male mosquitoes cannot bite. So was this a male or just a look-alike (a midge or crane fly)? Temperature is 12°C and the sky is mostly clear so I decide to do laundry. Clean socks and undershorts feel good. By 09:20 there is some heavy cloud cover but at least it is white cumulus. Two loads of laundry after breakfast takes two hours. Use of the plunger bothers my right shoulder so I use the left arm most of the time. My hands have not been this clean since the start of the trip. By supper time temperature has risen to 20°C with a light wind and all laundry except the heavy socks is dry. After lunch I canoe to the falls to catch a walleye and pick dandelions for supper, making sure to light a mosquito coil in the Tent before leaving. I use a short two inch length of coil to kill mosquitoes in the closed Tent, and vacate for at least 30 minutes. I momentarily think of moving on tomorrow but am still weary so decide to stay at least one more day. From my journal: "To bed by 20:05, clean pyjamas and pillowcase ... yay! Small things taken for granted at home are really appreciated. Still a problem finding a position to ease my achy shoulder."
June 22:
Up by 05:00 to the usual crow riot. I scare my beaver again who dives below the surface with a mighty splash. Temperature rises from 12°C to 23°C by afternoon, now very cloudy and humid, horseflies quite bothersome. I escape into the Bug Tent to update journal, do some puzzles and sew the hole in my pant leg. I set up the nylon tent and pack the canvas Tent in preparation for leaving tomorrow. Suppertime brings steady rain; I enjoy an easy but tasty meal of pike chowder and fireweed, both collected at camp. Two crows have been crazily cawing in the trees near camp all afternoon. It was bad enough when the racket was on the mainland about 300 metres away, but now it is really annoying. They obviously do not like my presence; I tell them I am leaving tomorrow.