2014 Canoe Trip Day 4
Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:01 pm
Day 4. Fun type: 1
We woke after a sound night’s rest and felt a little bit reluctant to leave the camp which we had worked hard to find and even harder to make comfortable. The fact that the wind was still blowing pretty strong from the northwest and squalls were still threatening didn’t make it any easier to head out. Also because of the weather we had decided to pass on trying to make it to Isinglass Lake. We just didn’t have enough time left to get back to the pickup point if there were any delays getting up there, or getting back, and the wind meant that delays were on the cards. It was a bit disappointing that it wasn’t going to happen and the feelings around camp were pretty mixed because of this. It was something we had been aiming for but also it meant that the focus was on the return leg. We knew we didn’t have that much time left.
The trip across Shingwak went well enough, I was with Jason and we had the sounder on going across the lake which was pretty deep, over 100 feet, and we did see a few trout but not as many as on Crow. When we got to the west side of the lake we had a bit of a fish but without luck. Dave and Mike were fishing along the shore there and snagged a lure so Mike took the opportunity to go for a swim, climbing up the cliffs to jump in so he could get a bit of depth. He managed to get the lure which was a good one. There was a pretty decent sort of portage out of Shingwak, across a road into Cameron Lake. There were some poles there that we used to sling our gear on for the carry which made it pretty efficient.
There were quite a few cabins around the put-in on Cameron Lake which was a bit of a contrast to Shingwak in that it was quite shallow and turbid. It did have some Bass in it though, and everyone was getting a few, particularly Dave and Mike. Must have been that lure Mike retrieved. By this time the wind had backed right off, the clouds had gone and it was a great looking day. When we stopped at the end of the lake we had a really nice stringer of good size bass between 1.5 – 2.5 lbs, to the point where Jason and I decided to fillet them there and then rather than carry the extra weight on the portage to Steven Lake, although it was not a big walk. By the time we finished them all the portaging had been done, but by the end of that chore my back was more sore than if I had been carrying the canoes etc. It was worth it though because we needed the bass for dinner.
Steven Lake was another shallow turbid one, and we got a couple of small pike trolling around the shore before crossing the lake. John and Carrie were leading the way and stopped on the far shore at the base of a bluff that featured a lot of lichen covered boulders and outcrops as well that poke through some scrubby oak and blackberry vegetation. They had stopped having spotted some impressive rock paintings which we all stopped to have a look at. Some interesting animals were featured, including buffalo, as well as a bunch of hash marks. We couldn’t help speculating on what they might mean. The area was still in use with a number of modern items left at the site presumably by the same people who did the rock paintings so long ago. Despite the modern nature of the items and our closer proximity in time we didn’t have any better idea of what these meant.
About a km down the shore we found a great campsite at the other end of the bluff on a low lying outcropping area. The vegetation indicated it had also been used as a camp site for a long long time. Mike repaired his Tevas which were de-laminating (awl in a day’s work) while dinner was being prepared. Dinner featured the dutch oven and a bunch of those bass we had caught – deep fried curried fish balls with carrot kofta, green beans on the side. Also an exploding rock that caught Carrie with a bunch of fragments, fortunately no serious harm done. By this time is was really calm and glassy, and there was a really nice sunset.
We woke after a sound night’s rest and felt a little bit reluctant to leave the camp which we had worked hard to find and even harder to make comfortable. The fact that the wind was still blowing pretty strong from the northwest and squalls were still threatening didn’t make it any easier to head out. Also because of the weather we had decided to pass on trying to make it to Isinglass Lake. We just didn’t have enough time left to get back to the pickup point if there were any delays getting up there, or getting back, and the wind meant that delays were on the cards. It was a bit disappointing that it wasn’t going to happen and the feelings around camp were pretty mixed because of this. It was something we had been aiming for but also it meant that the focus was on the return leg. We knew we didn’t have that much time left.
The trip across Shingwak went well enough, I was with Jason and we had the sounder on going across the lake which was pretty deep, over 100 feet, and we did see a few trout but not as many as on Crow. When we got to the west side of the lake we had a bit of a fish but without luck. Dave and Mike were fishing along the shore there and snagged a lure so Mike took the opportunity to go for a swim, climbing up the cliffs to jump in so he could get a bit of depth. He managed to get the lure which was a good one. There was a pretty decent sort of portage out of Shingwak, across a road into Cameron Lake. There were some poles there that we used to sling our gear on for the carry which made it pretty efficient.
There were quite a few cabins around the put-in on Cameron Lake which was a bit of a contrast to Shingwak in that it was quite shallow and turbid. It did have some Bass in it though, and everyone was getting a few, particularly Dave and Mike. Must have been that lure Mike retrieved. By this time the wind had backed right off, the clouds had gone and it was a great looking day. When we stopped at the end of the lake we had a really nice stringer of good size bass between 1.5 – 2.5 lbs, to the point where Jason and I decided to fillet them there and then rather than carry the extra weight on the portage to Steven Lake, although it was not a big walk. By the time we finished them all the portaging had been done, but by the end of that chore my back was more sore than if I had been carrying the canoes etc. It was worth it though because we needed the bass for dinner.
Steven Lake was another shallow turbid one, and we got a couple of small pike trolling around the shore before crossing the lake. John and Carrie were leading the way and stopped on the far shore at the base of a bluff that featured a lot of lichen covered boulders and outcrops as well that poke through some scrubby oak and blackberry vegetation. They had stopped having spotted some impressive rock paintings which we all stopped to have a look at. Some interesting animals were featured, including buffalo, as well as a bunch of hash marks. We couldn’t help speculating on what they might mean. The area was still in use with a number of modern items left at the site presumably by the same people who did the rock paintings so long ago. Despite the modern nature of the items and our closer proximity in time we didn’t have any better idea of what these meant.
About a km down the shore we found a great campsite at the other end of the bluff on a low lying outcropping area. The vegetation indicated it had also been used as a camp site for a long long time. Mike repaired his Tevas which were de-laminating (awl in a day’s work) while dinner was being prepared. Dinner featured the dutch oven and a bunch of those bass we had caught – deep fried curried fish balls with carrot kofta, green beans on the side. Also an exploding rock that caught Carrie with a bunch of fragments, fortunately no serious harm done. By this time is was really calm and glassy, and there was a really nice sunset.