First Trip as an Interpreter

And I’m back! The trip went great, despite the worst weather I have ever seen here. My crew (5 people) was great; I am not going to go into details to protect their privacy, but suffice it to say that they were fantastic. Our trip lasted 7 days and 6 nights and covered about 63 miles. We had one layover day (we were wind-bound on Lake Agnes).

Canadian Portion of our Trek

Day 1: Base (Moose Lake) to North Bay (Basswood Lake)

            The first day we got out of base at a reasonable time, 8:50 (at least considering how long it’s been taking many people as the system shakes itself out). We made Prairie Portage before 11:30, and were able to check in and eat lunch before any other crews arrived. As we were getting ready to leave a couple came up. As far as portaging goes, the day was actually one of our easier days. We had Prairie Portage, Yellow Brick Road, and two out of Burke Lake out to North Bay. We camped on one of the northern islands that was right next to an eagle’s nest.

Day 2: North Bay (Basswood Lake) to Grey Lake

            Day two was a lot rougher than the first. We had several portages, one which we river walked. We had some difficulty finding the portages from out of Shade Lake and to Grey Lake, but we eventually were able to find them. The portage into Grey Lake took us through a swamp which was interesting. There were logs through the swamp that served as a path, but after a couple of days of rain they were slick. Everyone except our two adult leaders fell in the 2-3 foot deep moose muck at some point (including myself). If it wasn’t tricky to get out it would have been hilarious. Around 2-ish we decided to call it a day and camp on Grey Lake instead of pushing all the way to Kahshahpiwi due to rainy weather and rough portages. The campsite was fairly nice, although it was a little hidden back on the point.

Overview of our Grey Lake Campsite

Day 3: Grey Lake to Trant Lake via Kahshahpiwi

            It turned out that deciding to camp on Grey Lake instead of going on to Kahshahpiwi was a great choice. We had another rough day of portaging, including one that took us up a rock face. After arriving on Kahshahwipi and eating lunch at an old campsite (sadly now burned), we decided to push on to Trant Lake.

            To give a little background on the Kahshahwipi-Trant portage, it runs through a valley with a stream/swamp. On older Fischer maps, the portage is actually marked as two separate portages. In 2004 when I crossed it, it had become a single, longer portage, a change which new Fischer maps reflect.

            Now after arriving at the portage, I helped load up my crew and started them along the trail before getting my stuff together. As I go up the trail a stream diverts onto it. I pass by a fairly sizable beaver dam and keep going. About 20 yards later, I run into my crew backed up. The portage trail has disappeared into the beaver’s new pond. We backtrack, scale the beaver dam and load the canoes.

One of the Beaver Dams

It slowed us down a little, but it wasn’t too bad. Hey, it was a little less portaging we had to do! So we paddle down the new pond, passing swamped pine trees, some alive, some dead, until we reached another beaver dam. Without too much issue we crossed it too. After a short paddle, we ran into a third beaver dam. Fortunately, after crossing it we found the portage trail again and were able to finish up without difficulty.

            The Trant campsite was really pretty nice, and one of my participants was able to catch a nice bass, which unfortunately, was the only fish we got the chance to catch all trip (often due to weather).

Day 4: Trant Lake to Agnes

            The next day down to Agnes through Silence Lake wasn’t too bad, although it was a windy day. We were mostly on small lakes, so were not affected too much. Several of the portages had recently down trees (we actually had to break out the saw for one), so we were probably one of the first groups down this route this season.

Once we hit Agnes, we spent about an hour eating lunch and trying to wait out the wind. I did a little bushwhacking to try to find a close by campsite (I found two) that we could stay at for the night. The wind never died down, but we were able to paddle to the campsite without too much difficulty.

Day 5: Wind-bound on Agnes

             The original plan was to dawn paddle down Agnes. However, the weather did NOT cooperate. When I awoke at 3 am, the wind was still howling and the rain still coming down. After reanalyzing and talking to the crew later that morning, we decided to have a layover day and try again the next day.

Day 6: Agnes to Burke

            Sadly, we were unable to dawn paddle the next day either. We still got up earlier than usual and were on the water by 6. We made it down Agnes quickly despite wind and rain. We stopped briefly at Louisa Falls (no swimming in the bathtub this time) before heading on to the B&B (two back-to-back half-mile portages. The name doesn’t come from Bed & Breakfast). My crew, which had sharpened their teeth on the difficult portages up to Kahshahwipi pushed through that portages with ease.  Without further ado, we passed through Sunday Lake on our way to Burke Lake. We got a nice island campsite that overlooks the Yellow Brick Road portage. There is a nice hill behind the campsite that overlooks Burke, the portage, and a small part of Basswood Lake beyond.

            I learned a valuable lesson as an interpreter this day. When we got into camp, I made doughnuts for lunch. NEVER eat doughnuts with Hudson Bay Bread.

From the Hill behind our Campsite: Burke, Yellow Brick Road, Basswood

 Day 7: Burke to Base (Moose Lake) via Prairie Portage

            Our last day was our only sunny day the entire trip. We slept in – woke up at 7:00 – and packed. We made it to Prairie Portage early, so we relaxed there for a while (we cannot come into base before 2:00). We were about an hour early on Moose Lake, but instead of hanging out on Scout Island like most crews, I took my group over to a small rock face and took them swimming, since they hadn’t gotten to all trip. Overall it was a great trip.

I’m sorry I didn’t get to make this entry longer, but I’m already being sent back out on trail today – 9 days on water, Basswood River entry point. We’ll be doing a modified Argo-Darky loop.