Marten River 98 Trip

Marten River Provincial Park-Wicksteed-Chokecherry-Redwater-Rabbit-Temagami

Final Participants: Ross Ventrcek, Jay Collins, Dr. Terry Aitken, Andy Anderson, Dr. Doug Thompson, Norm Bird

Terry's side of the story...

29 July 98

Got up to Richard's (Dr. Richard Denton, mayor of Kirkland Lake, resident of Tarzwell) on Monday night after dinner. Ross and I stopped along the way since we weren't sure if Biz (Elizabeth, his wife) was expecting to feed me, a good plan, since Richard was at a meeting until quite late. When he came home, he had to attack the pile of camping gear piled in the living room.

Met the Swedes last night, last-minute trip additions Robert Bromley (a Brit transplant), his daughter Maria (16 years old) and son Phillip (14 year old, very tall!) and Robert's bodyguard/chief of security Jonas. Richard and company were interviewing a potential new doctor at a pot-luck dinner at "Denton Acres" - very busy place this last two days. I earned my keep by loading Richard's van and tying his two canoes to a jury-rigged roof rack. Looks like it'll hold. Everything's packed but the Swedes' "carry-on" gear and last night's leftovers for our lunch at the meeting point.

Ross and I went on ahead at 8:30 this morning and left Richard to give the Swedes breakfast (Belgian waffles - everything in a grand style!). We're waiting in Temagami at the moment so we can show Jonas where to park the shuttle vehicle. Richard is over an hour late! We'll be leaving in a few minutes to meet the other trip members at Marten River Provincial Park.

Weather continues quite wet, very breezy today. Apparently the fire-ban was lifted this morning because of all the rain lately, good news.

30 July 98

Weather intermittent today, heavy rain mixed with warm sunshine.

Yesterday - We got some advice when we were checking in at the park from an ex-park ranger who'd been involved in setting up the route we're traveling. The water level is quite low, so we'll probably have to portage a little more than we'd hoped. He recognized my cedar-strip/epoxy canoe (atop Ross' van) as a Redbird, and he and I swapped canoe-building stories while Ross got more route details from his fishing partner. He commented, at little tersely I thought, on how new it looked (looking to warn me about impending scrapes, no doubt) and I told him I'd been using it for five years and had just re-varnished. I also told him about "field-testing" the 'Bird on the Grand, and some prior adventures... He visibly relaxed and looked re-assured.

Big changes in the trip plan (again...). After some basic canoeing instruction and a few trial paddles across the Marten River, just above the bridge in the park, the Swedish contingent decided not to go on with the trip. They, and Richard, as their host, will camp at the park. If they elect to leave before we return, we may need to arrange our own transportation back from Temagami.

Our three canoes (2 Kevlars and my stripper, six participants) left about 2:30, about 2 hours behind schedule. Our route will mainly be upstream, but there is apparently little current to worry about. No other canoes sighted since the first portage, around the dam on the Marten River. Ross spotted a hummingbird. I didn't know they came this far north!

We saw a few loons through the day. Their plaintive calls reminded us that we were in the north. Ross and I had some fun whistling back to them, and managed to confuse at least one of them.

We camped on Wicksteed Lake, on what we first thought was an island but turned out to be a point. Terry had a little trouble with his stove and managed to set the ground cover on fire. Doug (also a Scouter) and I did a little dance on it to try and put it out, with some difficulty, since the spilled fuel kept re-igniting. No harm done, in the end. Terry later went out fishing in his canoe after dinner and claimed to have caught a 9-in. perch. No evidence was presented to support this...

Norm and Andy took some razzing re their colour-coordinated outfits. Norm was resplendent in green and white knee pads, with shorts and T-shirt to match. Andy's sported a bright pink U of Michigan (his alma mater) baseball hat and matching pink SurfMocs.

Doug lit the trash fire, using stuff from my fire-bag. My turn tomorrow, he challenged. Doug's been letting everyone use his water filtration pump. Gotta get me one of these!

Jay and Terry man the pump

Ross and I set up on a bit of slope. I spent a good part of the night trying not to slide out of our tent and woke with a nasty stiff neck.

Today - I've been stern paddler today, to give Ross more leg room in the bow. The 'Bird is riding better with more of the weight in the stern, though I find I'm having the same problems with over-paddling as Ross had yesterday. Norm and Doug have been a team before - Norm is bow man, Doug is the stern. Andy and Terry take the same respective positions. This is Andy's first canoe camping trip. The group is telling him horror stories...

Lunch on Boyce Lake, vegetable noodle soup (courtesy of Doug and Norm), smoked wieners and sauerkraut (Ross and my contribution) - a big hit! Fried up the sauerkraut, per Ross' taste. Terry and Andy were doing canned meat paste and bagels. Terry's been taking a lot of ribbing about his "paste."

A heavy rain slowed us down during the previous portage (#2 - 290 yards, going on 500... along the Ontario Northern tracks for a bit, good thing the train passed before we did), so the warm sun during lunch was appreciated. [N.B. Terry's account is also correct, it rained a little as most of us were completing lunch.]

As we approached the portage into Chokecherry Lake, we had another sudden, intense deluge. The portage was along what is normally a very rocky stream bed and had become very treacherous footing. Just as I finished reloading the canoe, I slipped, smashing my left foot quite hard against a rock, and wedging the right under water between two others. Fortunately the damage was relatively minor. The three middle left toes have bruised joints and some discolouration. The first joint on my second toe is very swollen and may be dislocated. I've splinted the toes to the adjoining ones. The doctors concur with my procedure.

We set up camp around 5:30 on a small island in Chokecherry Lake, not far from the fourth portage. Ross had prepared and dehydrated an excellent spaghetti sauce for a communal spaghetti dinner tonight. Doug broke out his Chablis and some pate fois gras, very fancy chow for camp! Terry now insists that his lunch was a kind of pate and that he should get a little more respect shown his food choices...

Norm's quandary: wash, or wine? Ross, looking for the package of spaghetti. (Look down, Ross!)

After dinner, Doug challenged my fire-lighting skills for our trash-burning fire. I used flint and steel (three strikes), as much to show off as anything else. I got it going, and he and I promptly smothered the tiny flame with twigs, as effectively as any Cub Scout could have done... I restarted (on the second strike) and all was well. Very interesting, burning the pate can, major flames. I recommend pate as an alternate fuel...

Weather today ended sunny and cool. Tomorrow, we expect at least seven portages, some tracking and a few lift-overs over beaver dams.

31 July 98

Day dawned with a wonderful fog, very magical watching the sun rise through it. I hope some of our pictures do it justice! Quick wash in the lake, not too cold.

Ross, at sunrise. Norm's eggs survive to day #3.

Left camp about 8:30, not a cloud in sight, could be a hot day. Ross and I led off.

12:00 - 1:00: Lunch at Lower Redwater, at the end of the bulk of our portages. We managed to add one or two to the ones on our maps, not sure how, probably by portaging some of the spots we'd normally track through with higher water. We had to make some changes to our first portage of the day, getting back into the Marten River. The portage was mostly OK, maybe 10% bog, got caught by it once, recovered my SurfMocs, and alerted everyone else. Getting off either the crumbling bridge or the rocky bank was a bit of a challenge, given my sloppy toes. I slid our empty canoe over the edge of the bridge, with a little gymnastics, and saved having to dance on rocks for a little while.

A novel way to launch, they tell me...

Most of the portages have been slightly longer than marked, because of the low water. I was able to paddle the 'Bird solo through bits that would normally be tracked. It went well, not too many boggy spots and only one relatively steep, narrow bit of trail. Doug helped me carry the 'Bird (and did most of the carry without me!) on that one, which was very welcome. Weather continues good, bugs very mild. I haven't had to use my bug-hat once, but thank heavens for my camp hat! I combed out three blacks flies who were struggling in my dense mat when I had it off at one point. Got lots of Ross' DEET on the hat brim, seems to keep them away from me. Maybe it's because they prefer Norm? He does seem to be getting chewed on more than the rest of us.

Ross, Doug, Norm, Andy and Terry

Andy's been talking education issues with Norm and Doug, sounded like a good discussion. Norm seems to be an especially good listener, very thoughtful in his replies. The group seems quite knowledgeable, open-minded. No evidence of ideological conflicts here!

Good passage to Upper Redwater Lake (once we found the tiny connecting stream in the corner of the bog at the top end of Lower Redwater), only one beaver dam to lift over.

Doug and Norm challenged Ross and I to race to a point as we went up Upper Redwater. The 'Bird got her nose out of the water "right smartly", and, since I didn't, uh, "waste" any time on steering strokes, we pulled well ahead of them. Unfortunately, we also pulled across their bow, not my intention, but we had to be ahead of them to do it... My apologies, guys! I let Doug try the 'Bird out later. Like everyone else, he finds that paddling a keelless canoe takes a little adjustment, but liked it. I'm finding my walnut paddle a little stiff and will take the belt sander to it to thin it out when I find time.

Our campsite tonight is on the northeast end Upper Redwater Lake, just at the start of our longest portage (2200 yards) partly along the ONR right-of-way. There's a small sandy beach here, very little room for our tents between the water and the portage. There are quite a few rowboats piled here, local owners no doubt. Ross and I have set up about 15 feet (downhill, of course) from the railway tracks, the only flat spot left. We'll see what happens when a train goes by.

We set up here about 3:00. Norm and Doug have gone back for their dishes, which they'd hung in a tree at our lunch site. We'd missed them when we did a ground site check before we left (Ross has resumed his "traditional" duty of making final site sweep, so we're the trailing canoe.). The wind has died down again, so they'll make good time, dinner'll be around 7:30 tonight.

Terry has proved himself an excellent story-teller, very dramatic. A certain old-time doctor in Kirkland Lake, Terry's introduction to Canadian medicine, was the focus of one very fine tale. He's also got himself a souvenir this trip, a small promotional Swiss Army pocket knife with "Ontario Northern Railway" on it, a good find on today's first portage, and very appropriate, given our campsite!

We were been enjoying shooting the breeze and waiting for Doug and Norm, sitting on a home-built party platform/fishing platform/cargo shuttle (finally, somewhere flat and dry to sit on!) when a group of people suddenly appeared, pushing wheelbarrows along the railway line. All sorts of stuff in them, too, including groceries, a caged cat, and an electric guitar! Our platform's very congenial owner and his family live in a group of houses we'd spotted back along the lake, beside the ONR line. Apparently the train no longer makes custom passenger drops along here, so they've got to go by water or Skidoo. They were having a bit of a party this weekend, so we could expect others to come along through the rest of the evening. He offered us the use of his wheelbarrows for our portage tomorrow morning, as long as we bring them back to the beach. Done deal!

Terry and Andy asked him about fishing, and he obliged them with directions to a "no-name" lake one portage away from the lake on the other side of the ONR tracks. He guarantees they'll catch something!

Terry, with proof...

Later - Norm and Doug return successful, as did the others, two nice bass! Honour is restored, no more jokes about blowing up stoves, meat paste is henceforth to be called pate. Dinner aboard the platform, very pleasant. Two kinds of pasta, sweet-and-sour oriental vegetables and rice, and bass for dinner, followed by the remains of the wine (with me abstaining, as usual, more for everyone else!) and some very good butter tarts Norm had sequestered. There is a story associated with them, which Norm will tell at the appropriate time to the appropriate audience...

I took a walk along the tracks after dinner, spotted ribs scattered along the right-of-way. My guess is a moose and train had it out. I found a clear glass insulator, intact, and took it back for Ross. We'd been discussing the reduction in capacity on the telephone poles we'd passed earlier going up Upper Redwater, so I thought he'd be interested. Turns out he collects them and doesn't have a clear one, so this one becomes not only an addition, but a souvenir as well!

1 Aug 98

On the way home - Well, we found out about the trains - 8:40 P.M., 10:40 P.M., 1:55 A.M. and 2:30 A.M. I'll tell you, it's "very interesting" to be woken up to the sound of "long thunder" and bright lights shining into your tent. Ross had a brief moment where he thought the train might derail and crush us... I didn't know sand could vibrate like that! No wonder it was a flat spot...

Since I was awake anyway, I took the opportunity to answer a call of nature. I almost forgot why I was outside when I saw the sky - incredible! The moon had set and the stars were so clear and sharp, they seemed almost crystalline, like you could just reach out and "ping" them. The Big Dipper rested just above the horizon, as bold as anything. The Milky Way arched across the sky, a grand path indeed. The difference in the latitude between here and home was apparent in the glow around the entire horizon line, 360 degree false dawn, and the rest of the sky's background a velvety black! It's easy to see how the "bowl of the sky" entered mythology. Impressive and humbling.

Dawn - clear and still, very cool overnight, dew as heavy on the tents as the night before. Summer is drawing to an end up here. Doug insists he's heard wolves howling every night of the trip, no one else confirms this.

Breakfast - personal disaster, the buckwheat pancake batter was WAY too thick. At least the blueberries and raspberries helped the taste. I was ribbed mercilessly by the rest of the group, of course.

Doug, Andy and I started the dreaded "long march" solo carry portage about 8:30, Doug setting the pace as well as leading several verses of "The Quartermaster's Store" (we've got to work on Andy... ). Very good path beside the tracks (packed down by the wheelbarrows, no doubt) to the rock quarry, good gravel road from there to our (awkward) put-in at Rabbit Creek. Spotted a cow moose skull, so my guess of last night is confirmed. Passed lots of fishermen coming from their parking spots at the quarry. Terry gave away the location of the "no-name" lake with carefree abandonment... These generous New Zealanders...

We got some brush cleared away from the put-in point, and Doug and Norm led the pack, Terry and Andy loading up next. As Andy shifted his footing, he slipped into some much looser muck and sank in it to his left knee. Unfortunately, there was about a 1-1/2 foot of water above his knee... As he lay on his back on the shore, moaning and struggling to reclaim his footwear from the mire, Terry asked him, "Where's your camera?"

To add insult to injury, the first beaver dam lift-over of the day, and our steepest so far, was only a few yards away... Ross and I had no trouble with the 'Bird, she slid down the dam as nicely as you could ask for. One more lift-over and one more portage put us into the south end of Rabbit Lake, straight paddling, going with the current for the rest of the trip.

Ready to face civilization again!

Andy proposes a toast. Terry breaks a tooth...

Lunch on Cassels Lake, I had a good wash-up and shave, ready to face civilization again. Saw our first canoeists since Wednesday, a couple camping near our lunch site. Wind very changeable, blowing from all quarters. Many motorboats, some quite inconsiderate with their wake. Also many cottages along the shores here, some very expensive, some more, shall we say "traditional?"

Interesting vertical cliffs along west bank of the northwest branch of Rabbit Lake. Spotted and snagged a Nike baseball cap floating in the lake. Ross was feeling the trip a little, some muscle stiffness. I put it down to sleeping on sand instead of rocks! Despite his objections, he has a good many trips in him yet. He maintained a good pace, using a shorter, faster stroke than I'd use, but he's got that wide paddle, so it worked well for him. Besides, the three canoes were well matched for speed, No one was ever been too far out in front or dragging behind.

A lone heron had been standing vigil as we entered the mouth of the last channel into the town of Temagami, doing it's best to remain at attention yet stay invisible.

Trip over at the Temagami boat livery. We'd paddled into heavy winds, along increasingly, but not heavily populated shores for most of the afternoon, and it was almost jolting to suddenly reach our destination. No vehicle waiting for us, so Ross hired a ride for the three drivers back to Marten River Provincial Park. Andy, Norm and I unloaded and re-packed the gear. Accidentally left the Nike hat drying on the dock. Oh well, I never wear baseball hats anyway...

Last trip dinner together at the BusyBee restaurant in Temagami, across from the train station. Very odd, not to hear, "Try some of this, we've got extra, it's good!" I got the group's taste up for fish and chips, then changed to liver and onions (my annual dose) for myself. After dinner, we posed at the train station for pictures, with everyone talking about "next year's trip." Andy and Terry then drove off, and the rest of us ducked back in for monster ice cream cones before leaving on our separate journeys.

Norm, Andy, Terry, Doug, Jay and Ross

Another man's view - Terry's side of the story...

Get your own Free Home Page