Day 4 #highlights – August 4

Sail away.

It rained most of the night. When we were ready to get going it stopped. So we set out about 10:30, once again having packed up without battling the rain.

We had to cobble together some rain gear with things being wet. Jaron looked great in his poncho dress.

The sky was overcast for our paddle but didn’t drop more than a sprinkle. The wind was strong but in our favour. This led to many a makeshift sail.

K&A and the boys were first out on the water. We were the last (Lisa, Lilli, and I). The Fishers were with us. The boys and K&A crossed the lake and we weren’t sure if they were in our party and couldn’t find the boys at all – we thought they may be way ahead of us. It soon became apparent as this white canoe came cruising closer with a tent fly as a sail that it was in fact K&A and Jaron and Steven were with them. They had lashed themselves together and were making decent progress down the lake. We caught up to them and lashed ourselves 3 abreast. I was impressed at the speed we were getting when the wind was strong. We kept up fairly well with the other 3 canoes in our group. We had lots of fun singing songs and generally being merry.

When the wind died we broke up and forged ahead. In the remaining 300 meters we found ourselves in a race to the shore against the Fishers. They won handily. Later Ted and I took a canoe to the wood lot. We were happy to find wood this time but they sure don’t like to stack it or put it under a tree where it won’t rot or get water logged. We managed to get a good haul. It was a different experience paddling with Ted and an empty canoe. We flew across the water.

K&A, Jaron and Steven, and Matt all opted to try the chute today. They all did well with a little coaching. Matt took Ted through. The water in the chute is high making it relatively gentle. The rollercoaster proved more challenging but they all made it. In fact, Dave took Steven and Tommy too. Jaron steered when the two boys went. I was proud of him.

The shelter was a nice reprieve from the rain and the tarps. We all did well to dry out wet things and get prepped for further adventuring.

We finished our terribly long game of Phase Ten. I believe Steven won with no end of hi-jinx from Andrew. Poor Jaron was several phases behind and he and I finished with the highest score counts. This was not our game.

We met a couple families in the shelter. I did my good turn of the day and gave them a pack of cards. The cards app I downloaded does not work offline which is a shame.

There was some heavy rain after we got through with playing in the chute. So far, we have managed to hit the best part of the weather we’ve been given everyday. I am anxious for the river with everyone tomorrow. I’ll be happy when that section is over and hope we all come through unscathed. Tommy loved the chute. He told me many times.

Day 3 #highlights – August 3

RAIN.

We were all on the water by about 10:40am. Jaron and Steven and Matt and Vivian were out first. They went looking for wood at the wood lot just past campsite 19. They wouldn’t find any. It was a good thing we brought most of the wood we had left over from the day before. The morning was overcast but we managed to pack up and get going before the rain came.

We had an hour on the water before the rain started. It began with a little shower and I hoped we might escape with just that. Then it really got going. Soon we were all pretty wet. My feet could not stay dry forever. Kirsten and Andrew slowly fell behind. This had me worried for them but it seemed prudent to press on and get camp setup than to double back for them.

Robyn and Ted were first to arrive at campsite 21. They got a fire going immediately. When we hit the beach next we got our tarp strung up right away. Matt arrived to setup his tarp with Ted over the fire pit. K&A rolled in sopping wet and cold. It was quite the lesson for these kids. Getting them to keep working and keep moving is not an easy task.

Lilli’s gear was suboptimal. She got chilled but she kept moving and when all was setup she had the grit to throw on her bathing suit and go swimming with me. The water wasn’t too bad. I was able to go under a half dozen times.

We got K&A situated with their tent and a tarp over that. They squirrelled away in the tent for an hour or so before they rallied and joined the rest of us. The tarps were handy and we all got a warm meal. Several crashed out early but a number of us including Jaron, Steven, K&A, and Matt managed to stay up till the fading light and body heat made it too difficult to continue our game of Phase Ten.

Day 2 #highlights – August 2

Better wheels and bears.

We had a casual morning. I think it was close to 9am before I drug myself out of bed. Robyn spotted a bear about 30 yards from the outhouse while she was doing her morning ritual. Ted stormed over with his knife, Matt with his bear-spray, and the rest of us made a bunch of noise. The bear did not stick around. It was 10:30 by the time we were on the water. Jaron and Steven were first off the shore. I told them to go scout things out while the rest of us got moving.

Matt found a frog sleeping in his hat in the morning. Jaron picked it up and it promptly peed on him. Steven enjoyed showing the frog off.

Our portage went remarkably smooth. This despite the awkward exit points on either end. They put a dock at the exit from Indianpoint. The entrance to Isaac Lake is mud holes and tricky wood bridges barely wide enough for a cart. Matt and Vivian had a much better time with the new wheels. I am very glad that got sorted.

The weather was great as we took our time down the western arm of Isaac Lake. The wood lot was again empty. Jaron and Steven scouted it for us. Robyn and Ted kept us entertained with a small orange ball we’d throw out in front of the canoes and race for it. Ted made a great throw that skipped across the water and right into the back of the Chatterton’s canoe.

It was about 3:30 when we pulled into site 14. This gave us plenty of time to setup, carve little paddles, and go swimming, Ted and Matt paddled over to the ranger’s cabin to swipe some wood. They didn’t have any either. It turned out that there is a wood lot 200 meters from our camp (not marked on the map) and there is a pile of wood just past the outhouse at camp here.

We roasted marshmallows and played games around the fire. We moved back and forth between the shelter of a tarp and the fire a few times as the rain would start up and then stop. We played the nail and pin hammer game. Ted won the first round, followed by Matt.

At 3am Lisa woke me up to say there was a bear behind the tent. At least, that is what I heard. I was half asleep and apparently she was just asking if I heard what sounded to her like a bear. All I heard was “there is a bear.” So I was up yelling at a bear… Matt and Ted were soon by my side. I never saw a bear nor any sign of it. It was likely a false alarm. I’m sure our yelling and stomping around helped everyone sleep soundly…

Kirsten drew an impressive landscape with a long stick she burned in the fire. Lisa preserved it from the rain we had most of the morning by storing it under a bench before going to bed.