The View from Terry's side...

Participants: Terry Aitken, Andy Anderson, Norm Bird, Jay Collins, Doug

Thompson, Ross Ventrcek.

Wed. July 29: Reached starting point (Martin River Provincial Park) 12:30. Had picked up my canoe en route at Lake of Bays behind Huntsville, but had to borrow blocks and rope because mine had been left behind in Stratford. Considerable time spent with Richard and Swedish friends deciding whether they were coming with us. in the end it was decided that the Swedes couldn't handle it, but an excellent lunch was provided by Richard. We set out around 2 and reached our campsite half-way up the right side of Wicksteed Lake about 5:20. I lost my balance alighting and briefly submerged my camera which appears to be non-functional. However got a lot of good "people" shots, and it was a sunny day (the pictures all came out OK).

After supper we chatted on shore till the mosquitoes got the better of us around 9:20. We paddled about 12-15 km today so, even though there was only one easy portage, I was pretty pooped, having got up at 4am. Slept fairly well.

Thursday July 30: I got up at 5:55 and had a swim. After breakfast 3 of us went out in 2 canoes (Ross and Doug & I) and I landed a 9 in. perch with my new pickerel lure. We set out at 8:25. Very overcast, but very calm (just as well as we had about 12 km of Wicksteed Lake still to traverse.) Lots of fisherfolk. One couple said they had caught 13 pickerel. The tubing in my whisperlite burner was blocked this morning, so had to give up using this too! It took us two hours to leave the lake. The first portage involved trekking over a route which was partly railway line. Andy could hardly believe it when the folk ahead of him called out to watch out, a train was coming. He was carrying pack and canoe, and had to get off the line in a hurry! Also it poured with rain during this portage, so we had to get the tarp out. We got into Boyce Lake around 11:30, and had lunch on a point near the narrowest part of the lake around 12:00. We decided to press on to Chokecherry Lake. This involved 2 fairly difficult 300 yard portages with two liftovers in between. We reached the campsite on Chokecherry around 3:20. Most of us had a swim, and I fell in while fishing unsuccessfully, from the point. We had a good fire tonight. We've been getting wet on and off all day. There was even a shower during lunch. I have earned a reputation as something of a pyromaniac, as in trying to get my stove going this morning, I started two fires. We had a spaghetti supper tonight, provided by Ross, with dehydrated ground beef. We had pate provided by Doug! It seems we may be out by Saturday evening. A few blueberries in this island campsite this evening. Some also on our point last night, and some very good ones on our first portage to Chokecherry today, but we were too busy to pick any. The water is cooler than in Algonquin. So far, wild life has consisted of loons, black ducks, herons and mergansers only. I have stayed in the stern on this trip as Andy has not canoed before.

However Andy does get alarmed, fearing he will get tipped out, when we launch off from portages. After supper I invited Doug to go out in the canoe for a spot of fishing. The long and short of this was that I foul-hooked (through the gills) a 23in 2 lb pike that had jumped at my hulapopa 3 times. Lots of hilarity. We put it back. Retired 9:00 pm. My rod got broken during portages today. Not to worry, doesn't owe me anything.

Friday 31/7. Arose 6:25. Very cold and distinctly misty. Mosquitoes had not been so bad last night as the previous. Cream of wheat plus brown sugar for breakfast. Departed 8:35. First portage (300 m) fairly difficult. Andy and I carrying the canoe. Got stuck up to his knee in muck early on. Found an Ontario Northland pocketknife near the end. Second portage followed by lift-over, but Andy and I went further through the rocks. Fourth portage the worst. Very steep climb near the end. Shorter portage brought us through to Lower Redwater Lake, a wonderful sight, and on this lake we had lunch, before setting out to traverse the rest of this lake, then crossing a short portage to Upper Redwater, and we reached the campsite beside the railway line at the end of this lake around 3:15. Exhausted. Headache still present. Slept 1 hour. Doug and Norm found they had left stuff behind at lunch site, and went back. Andy and I changed our campsite three times. A local person told us about a lake full of small-mouth bass over a small portage. Andy came along and we caught two nice bass, 12 in and 14 in ( I lb and 1 ½ lb ) on #2 meps with black spoon and yellow dots. These fish were speedily fried up for supper. Also butter tarts and apple sauce and pasta for supper. Busy place here by the track which is also a launching place for boats. We have cached the food as chipmunks are around , and covered the tarp with moth balls. Clear, calm almost cloudless day. Mosquitoes bad at 9:20. Retired 9:30.

Two trains went past in the middle of the night. Seemed to take forever to reach us, and the noise and light and shaking as they went past were something else, esp. for Ross and Jay who were camped within feet of the track. Norm wondered if perhaps there was an engine in the middle, as it got even louder at one point.

I arose at 6:05 and had a much-needed bath in the lake. Doug commented that there must be a beaver or rabid bear about because of the splashing, then I was accused of befouling the drinking water! Some dew, but not as bad as Friday morning. The culinary capacities of the more experienced campers continue to amaze the likes of novices like Andy and myself. Doug produced a huge oval tin of ham, which he proceed to slice and fry. Jay had a gray pancake mix which didn't look too appetizing, even though liberal quantities of the local blueberries and raspberries had been added, but I don't know what it tasted like. Norm produced another pancake mix and expertly produced large fine- tasting pancakes that went well with the fried ham. I used our maple syrup mix to make maple sugar. We have not suffered dietary-wise! We were ready to tackle the 2200 yd portage at 8:30, and this is the way it was handled. Andy, Jay and Doug each took a canoe over the whole portage which was either railway track or road to the Martin R. Norm, Ross and I brought packs and wheeled a wheel-barrow full of packs to the half-way point, a gravel pit. (This wheelbarrow had been very kindly made available to us by the locals). We were able to let some new arrivals wheel their stuff back in it while we walked back to get the rest of the packs which we then conveyed the whole way across the whole portage.

In the meantime Andy , Jay and Doug had come back to the half-way point, and were able to take the first stuff to the end. Thus no-one did more than I plus two half traverses to the end of the portage which we had all reached by 11. Launching the canoes in the river was something of a challenge as there was no easy access. Andy went ahead to push the bow of our canoe in the river, and in short order was up to his waist in water, and up to his knees in mud, but with great effort was able to extract his right foot from the mire, with his surfsock still attached to his foot, no mean feat! (no pun intended.) This spectacle was greeted with some hilarity, but unfortunately no camera was readily available. Fortunately Andy had taken his camera out of his pocket. Jay and Ross launched their canoe right off the rickety bridge. [N.B. Nope. That was the day before. We went off the bank this time. - Jay] We had one small 140 yd portage further on, and one or two liftovers, before stopping a short way down Rabbit Lake at 11:40. Further amazing gourmet delights were produced! Andy was offered wine but declined unless it was produced in a silver cup, so Doug dug one out!

Yours truly was chewing on gorp while sitting on a rotting limb that was in the process of collapsing, when something hard was bitten into , and a large fragment of lower molar was revealed! At this lunch spot Andy and Doug enjoyed a swim. Our last tin of paste turned out to be sockeye salmon nice surprise. We set out on the last leg around 12:30 Stopped for a pit stop in Cassel Lake at 3, spied a nice heron off Snake Is, but alas my camera is still not working and reached Temagami at 4:45. For our final 5 hr paddle down Rabbit Lake the weather was bright and the water calm, praise be!

Arrangements were speedily made for 3 of us to be transported back to Martin R. P.P. to pick up our cars for a total cost of $30.

We had supper at the "Busy Bee" aptly named - generous servings but a long wait. Group photos were taken by a visitor from Forrest, in front of the Temagami Railway Station. Andy and I set out at 7:50, and had two huge strawberry ice creams in cones at South River the place At Trout Creek having stopped making them at 8.

The place at South River was called Moose River crossing. A timber wolf crossed the road from west to east just a few miles north of Tilden Lake, and was clearly seen. We stopped for coffee Orangeville and reached home at 2:00 am, 2 Aug.

On this trip more birds were seen than heard. However great gray herons seen quite often, cedar waxwings seen at both railway and island campsites, and thrush were seen.

Terry Aitken, Aug 4,1998