Back from the Ishpatina Ridge area of Ontario. The trip was to be a
loop up to the ridge and then down the South Lady Evelyn River through
Florence Lake and back through the Solace Wildlands PP. Ambitious, yes,
but also a bit of a farewell trip for me through the wilder area of
Temagami as we are moving to the lower mainland area of British Columbia
at the end of July to be closer to our daughter and more importantly
our 16 month old grandson Isaac.
I had factor
ed
in the spring water levels (I'd be traveling upstream on day 1, lining, when necessary, on the Sturgeon R., Stull and Scarecrow Creeks till I reached Woods Lk)
from there on it would be mostly downstream and lake travel. What I
hadn't counted on was the numerous balsam fir and other winter damaged
conifer blowdown on the portages from an ice storm and heavy snowfall
this past January!
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| one of many blowdown areas on the portage I cleared |
The first portage from Stull Creek to Hamlow Lk is 1650
metres and it was heavy with blowdown from start to finish :-( What is
normally about a 2 hr double carry for me turned into an all day affair
of cutting and clearing upwards of 20 blowdown areas in those spots
where a simple bypass wasn't readily available. So 5 hrs later and
somewhat spent,
I found a spot for my hammock at the Hamlow Lake end of the port and
settled in for the night, having only travelled about a third of my planned distance for the day.
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| a quick set up for the night |
Temagami, just when you think you have it figured out it lets
you know that it's still a place where nature holds sway and we have to
adapt to it's moods and rhythms. I awoke to near freezing temps and some spotty snow flurries and a
stiff north wind - of course I was headed north! I also recalled that a
friend had been on a trip in January to the Ishpatina area with
Lure of the North
and remembered that they had encountered much blowdown on all the
portages while traveling from the northern approches to Scarecrow Lake, and that they had also camped short of their intended destination. I quickly
realized that the all the portages on my intended route were probably
all in the same condition and that time wasn't in my favour. I decided
to just move up to Woods Lake and camp for a few days, relax, read,
climb the ridge and enjoy myself and soak in the Temagami ambiance one
last time. Spent some time in the water again wading/lining against the current on Scarecrow Creek.
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| Scarecrow Creek |
Day 3 dawned with a cold wind blowing, my nalgene froze overnight so I just spent the day around camp puttering and reading with the idea of paddling up to Scarecrow and climbing the ridge the next day. The next day was a beautiful spring day, no wind to speak of, warm and oh yea, somebody woke up the blackflies!! Anyway, climbed the ridge (trail also had many areas of blowdown) and enjoyed the day.
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| tower trail blowdown |
Came across a wolf kill on the lower portion of the tower trail, last years moose calf by the look and size of the few bones left.
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| winter wolf kill site |
Anyway, long story short, I had an enjoyable and satisfying
farewell to an area that has sunk deep into my being and while one
chapter closes another adventure awaits.
Oh yeah, it rained on my return trip out - soaked to the bone, wouldn't have had it any other way!
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