Journal
Amtrak to Grand Junction, Backpacking in the Big Blue Wilderness, return.
July 18 through 27, 2003
Troop 7, Ann Arbor
By Gary Hochgraf
Cast of characters:
Venture: Scouts in Troop 7 at least 13 years and first class, willing and able to tackle the wilderness experience.
Venture Leaders:
Bill Riker, SM; John Schramm, ASM; Bob Hospadaruk, ASM; Beth Hospadaruk, training coordinator
Venture Scouts:
Luke Hospadaruk, crew chief; Max Hospadaruk, Austin Riker, Sam Bates, Daniel Burgener, Brian Mackie-Mason, Allen Eyler, Brendan Schramm, Garrett Schramm, Andrew Copp, William Diebolt.
Core: Scouts in Troop 7 not eligible for Venture, but willing to tackle the wilderness experience. Mostly 11 and 12 years old.
Core Leaders:
Rich Polich; Nancy Terhar, ‘doc’; Carol Burgener, treasurer; Jill Greenburg, committee chair, Gary Hochgraf, ASM
Core Scouts:
Killer Tomatoes: Zach Storey, PL; Chris Ziemba; JD Jooste; William Penner-Hahn
No-Name patrol: Mike Beech, PL; Allen Samaha; Maxime Goovaerts; Joel Burgener
Starfleet: Nate Polich, PL; Andrew Mackie-Mason; Kyle Mattimore; Jeff Bertram
Friday July 18
Thirty-one scouts and leaders met at the Ann Arbor Amtrak station at around 8:00am. But we were supposed to be 32. Kyle was missing so with 10 minutes to go I called his house. His mom answered and was quite surprised that we were to leave today. She had Saturday on her calendar. Kyle was still in bed but fortunately he was all packed. So I told them to meet us in Jackson, the next station. The train was about 15 minutes late, so there turned out to be plenty of time. Crisis #1 averted. The train arrived, and the conductor had 32 seats blocked off for us, which was very nice. So we boarded, and put our packs above, and the boxes near the door, and rolled off towards Chicago.
We arrived about on time, hung around Union Station, then boarded the California Zephyr to Colorado.
We are organized into eight patrols, one adult and three scout patrols in Core, and similar for Venture. Venture consists of 11 older scouts and four adults. They’ll be backpacking the whole week and bag a few 14,000 foot peaks. Core is the younger scouts, 12 of them plus 5 adults. We’ll be doing day hikes and drives from a base camp. I’m a Core leader.
Saturday July 19
Woke to a beautiful sunrise over the eastern plains of Colorado. The terrain became more interesting as we entered the South Platt River Valley, and after a while we saw snow capped mountains in the distance.
After Denver we climbed up and up, with many switch-backs, tunnels and beautiful vistas. The highest point was 9000 feet at a 6 ½ mile long tunnel. There was no snow near the train, but the higher peaks had patches.
Some of the boys are busy defeating monsters on their Game Boys, some are playing cards. One group of card players is playing poker and blackjack, using packets of ketchup (1pt), mustard (5pts) and relish (10 pts) from the snack bar. Very clever. The adults are mostly watching the scenery, reading and dozing.
After the high pass, the train goes through three canyons on the Colorado River. Many people are using the river for recreation. First we noticed people swimming in the river beside the train. They had packs on their backs, kickboards in front, and flippers. As the canyon narrowed and the river steepened, we saw more people with kickboards, some swimming, some walking the shore. There were also lots of kayaks, a few rafts, and inflatable kayaks. Then we passed a HELICOPTER! Down in the canyon, at our level at first, with a camera mounted in front. He flew along with us some, and below us. Its not often that one can look down on a flying helicopter. All along the river we saw many more kayaks, rafts, and dories. Every so often along the shore is a boat livery set up.
Often when we pass a boat they’ll wave to us. Sometimes they collectively moon us. It was amusing at first, but its getting old. There’s also many fishermen.
It looks like it would be a great river to spend about a week on.
Arrived in Grand Junction about 4:30 pm, found our 3 vans, loaded them up, and hit the road. But one van had bad gas, so we re-fueled them all and added dry gas, then rolled out of GJ about 5:30, headed for Montrose, CO.
Reached Montrose, and stopped at the house of Virgil Turner, Scoutmaster of one of the Montrose troops. I had been in contact with Virgil by e-mail, and he has been extremely helpful with good local information. He also has two gallons of white gas for us because we couldn’t bring it on the train. It was nice to put a face with the e-mailed words. We exchanged some gifts of patches and a Troop 7 neckerchief.
Next stop was McDonalds (organized mayhem) then on to camp by the middle fork of the Cimarron River, just upstream from Silver Jack Reservoir. It was getting dark, and nearly all the campsites were taken, but we found a good enough place and settled in by the van’s headlights. The stars came out for an impressive show.
Sunday July 20
I was first up. The half moon was high and the sky just beginning to lighten. I walked over to the river (200yds) and looked up to a beautiful eroded cliff face to the East. The river is only 10-15 feet wide, but flanked by braided gravel beds about 100 feet wide. I collected two armloads of bleached and baked driftwood for a morning fire. It was a bit chilly.
Soon all were up & about, breakfast cooking, and Venture packing up. Rich and I drove Venture to their trailhead and sent them off. Then the Core guys hopped into 2 of the vans (nicknamed ‘Dizzy’ and ‘Haw’ by their license plates. The 3rd van was called Chevy, as Dizzy and Haw were Fords) and we drove out to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
The canyon is impressive. It is 2,700 feet deep, and very steep. At some points it is twice as deep as it is wide! The rocks are mostly gneiss with pegmatite intrusions. At the outlooks, the river was nearly straight down, and the opposite wall nearly as vertical.
We took a 2.5 mile hike along the south rim, and down below the rim a bit too. JD was quite unnerved by the steepness and exposure in many places. So I walked with him, held his hand, and encouraged his progress. Later on he said that he got over his fear of heights on that hike.
Back at the interpretive center, we hung out, admired the view, learned about the natural history of the area, then rolled back to camp. It was quite an awesome place.
Back at camp was the usual routine. Make water, cook… Then the skies, which were threatening, dumped. We had ¼ “ hail, and heavy rain for about an hour. Many of us got into Haw for the worst of it, others were in their tent. We had made a policy of no eating in the vans, so as the rain intensified, there was Nancy, eating her tuna-noodle, in her poncho, in the pouring rain while the rest of us were in the van. So she said ‘the heck with it!” and joined us to finish her dinner. The rain stopped, and we piled out and finished cooking. Everything had mud on it, and some kids were wet and getting cold. So I lit a fire and they all got warm clothes on. Cleanup was more difficult than normal in the wet and mud, and the skies remained threatening all evening. It rained once more in the evening and at least once at night.
Monday July 21
Got up early. The world is wet, but not as chilly as yesterday. We have muffins to cook in a reflector oven, so I made another morning fire. Breakfast went smoothly.
Today we go to Ouray, CO, an historic gold and silver mining town. We chose to drive over the pass instead of the long haul around through Montrose on the main roads. The map says it’s a 4wd road. We found it to be long, twisty and steep, but well maintained, level and uniform. Quite passable in our big vans. And the views were magnificent. Courthouse Mountain looks like a courthouse from its west side. The road is lined with forests of aspen and fir. Lower is the scrub oak we met at Back Canyon. Down in the valley the road was dusty, but it took us to Ridgeway, highway 550, and to Ouray.
Ouray is a tourist town. Summer is their season. You can rent 4x4s and dirt bikes and go tearing around the land somewhere nearby. We found a museum and while Carol and I went to get groceries, the scouts learned some history. The highlight was a jail cell in the basement, with an operable door. Mike especially enjoyed locking people in.
We next drove a short distance to Box Canyon, ate lunch, paid our entry, and did the hike. First up to a catwalk bridge over the chasm, about 30’ wide and 200’ deep.
Then down to the bottom, all the way to the base of the falls via iron stairs and walkways. It was very pleasant and cool down there, with a big rock to climb on and photo ops. A high point for many of the scouts.
Back in town we gave them 20 minutes for souvenir shopping, then treated all to ice cream. The storm clouds were building again as we drove back over the pass. At one section along the road was an accumulation of hailstones in the ground! The ground was white. But soon we were out of the hail area, and the other side of the pass hadn’t had rain all day.
At camp we made a fire to cook our hot dogs and potatoes, then had a light short sprinkle of rain.
Around sunset the sun peeked under the clouds and illuminated the cliffs to the east. Beautiful. So Rich and I took four of the better hikers and walked down the river a short way in the fading light. It was quite magical.
Tuesday July 22
Breakfast and packing went quite well this morning, and Dizzy and Haw soon took us to the trailhead for Courthouse Mountain. The trail was steep, with occasional level spots, about 2 miles each way. The forests of fir and aspen were beautiful with alpine meadows full of yellow, purple and white flowers. We took many rest stops, but when we reached the ridge and looked west the views were worth it. At the next view we looked up at the cliffs of Courthouse. The trail got steeper here, and we were all breathing hard. We climbed through a meadow to a view to Chimney Peak and Silver Jack Reservoir beyond. After lunch, Jill and three scouts stayed there while the rest of us left our day packs and completed the assault on the peak. Very exposed, very steep and magnificent views. The rock is a volcanic conglomerate tuff, and sturdy where it is bedrock, but a challenge on the loose stuff. There were pikas and marmots living between the jumbled rocks. We all heard them, nearly all saw the pikas, and a few lucky scouts saw a marmot. Some of the boys thought the marmot was a wolverine, and the pikas were chipmunks. Some scouts also found a snow cave. From the peak we looked down on towering Chimney Peak, and to the south and southeast we could see Wetterhorn, where Venture was yesterday, and further SE the top of Uncompahgre Mountain, where Venture may be now. So we all yelled to them, but they are about 10 miles away. So we polished off a package of fig newtons, took some photos, and, since the weather was threatening again, headed back down. We re-joined those who stayed below, then back to the vans. This hike was certainly a high point for many of us. It was a major accomplishment for all and the highest peak attained for most of us.
We got back to camp and went wading in the creek. Then I shucked my shirt and went under. It was very cold and fun to drift in the fast current. Very soon all the scouts were summoning up the courage to go all the way in and let the river carry them downstream. The river was only about 2 ½ feet deep and the swim-able area about 20 feet long. Everyone who went in is now cleaner
In the evening we worked on packing for tomorrow.
Wednesday July 23
It took us quite a while to get going, because we had to strike camp. Rich got a fire going early and he and I made about four batches of muffins in the reflector oven. Mike’s ‘No-name patrol’ was the first all packed and ready to go.
Today’s plan is to hike in along the trail that Venture is hiking out on, meet them in the middle and camp there. We cleared out of camp and drove all three vans to the trailhead of the East Fork trail. Jeff wasn’t feeling well, but he managed to hike the whole distance. We took breaks about every half mile and addressed all sorts of issues like pack strap adjustments, water, snacks, and of course, lunch.
At the hour and half hour we called from the front of Core to the rear on our 2-way radios, and about 2 miles in we made radio contact with Venture! They were about 2 miles ahead of us. This really buoyed the spirits of all, but it was still another mile before we met. The lead Core scouts dropped their packs at camp and came back to help the stragglers.
The campsite where we met was great. Right by the river (away from the flies) and lots of space for everyone. Meeting was joyful, and there were no injuries to report either. But Venture had quite an adventure on their first day. The plan was to hike to the head of middle fork, camp, then up and over the pass to East fork, bagging Wetterhorn and Matterhorn peaks on the way. But they turned up the wrong side valley about 2 miles short of the head of the valley. They went in Porphyry Basin, over the pass there (very steep) at 12,900 feet then down to the East Fork valley. The East Fork side was even steeper, and it stayed steep all the way to the river. First was broken rock scree, with a meadow below. But the meadow was just as steep. Some of the group made it down after dark. Those at camp told of looking up the hillside and watching tiny spots of light (flashlights) moving slowly across the slope.
They didn’t do the Wetterhorn, but did go to Matterhorn the next day (not to the top, as that requires ropes and technical rock climbing), and Uncompahgre yesterday (Tuesday).
While we (Core) were on Courthouse, Rich (on top) tried radioing to Jill (at the lunch spot), but Jill didn’t hear just 1000 feet away. However Bob, one of the Venture adults heard the call on the top of Uncompahgre, about 10 miles away! The radio only has a range of 5 miles.
Once tents were set, we gravitated to the river. Just wading was so cold it was more than refreshing. But right by camp was a small waterfall (2’) with a pool below. So we dropped a driftwood log in at the lower end of the pool and placed big rocks on both sides until our dam had raised the water from 2’ to 3’ deep. Then one by one we each (most, anyway) summoned up our courage and ducked in. Wow! Very cold. Very refreshing.
We set up a campfire area out on the gravel bars, then made a log bridge with piers to get to it. We moved a huge log over for seating. It took about a dozen of us to lift it.
Next came dinner, and we out-did ourselves. Five Core adults and four Venture adults brought out our offerings. We had fettuccini Alfredo with ham, red beans and rice, soup, cornbread, pudding, and chocolate mousse. I ate too much.
Daniel and Alan S. made the fire, and we all just drifted in and out as we wanted, and told each other stories of our adventures. It was really fun to be all together.
Thursday July 24
Got up early again, and watched the sunlight hit the peaks and ridges. It was many hours before we had sunlight at the valley floor. Breakfast was great – with all 9 of us sharing. The younger scouts handled their own breakfasts like seasoned veterans.
The Venture guys helped our younger scouts packing up, which gave us adults a break. Very nice. Once we were all packed, we took a group photo, and we were off.
Some of the Venture scouts made it to the vans in about 1 ½ hours. I followed the stragglers, and it took about twice as long. Hiking out was relatively uneventful, as was the drive that followed, except that the vans were very tight with all the people and gear.
We stopped at the Black canyon again, and drove to the upper (East) end, where we could actually drive down to the river. Then we came back to the north rim and the visitor center. Our Core scouts had seen it already, but it was all new for Venture.
From there to Grand Junction was just a long dry drive. We spent the night at the Grand Junction National Guard Armory. We hauled our stuff in, opened the tents to dry, took showers, sorted gear, then went to a Chinese buffet. Special thanks to Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Wagner.
Friday July 25
Mr. Riker woke us all up, and Carol and Jill got donuts for all. The rest of us packed up the tents, gear, and personal stuff. Then packed the vans. After all was done, we found that Amtrak is 2 hours late, but they hope to be only 1-½ hours late when they arrive here. If we arrive in Chicago 2 hours late we miss our connection to Ann Arbor. So we went to the Western Colorado Museum, a short walk from the station. It’s a nice museum. There is a prominent display of a prospector/guide who was convicted of murder, and he ate his victims. But many years later it was found that his story of self-defense was correct, and he was pardoned for the murders. The museum played a role in this later investigation, as did then-modern electron microscopy. They also had Native American pottery, photos, a dentist office, uranium mining stuff, and a large display of arms.
We walked back to the station to find that the train is now 3 hours late. The scouts settled into card games, while we adults worried about what we’re going to do to keep the boys occupied for another hour! Not needed. Eventually the train arrived, and we managed to get all our stuff loaded, and we were off! On the train west our car was too cold. In our new car heading east, its too warm!
We had stopped at a grocery store before embarking. Some of the scouts bought several cases of pop, a Styrofoam cooler, and some dry ice. On the train a can of pop is $1.50, so they were selling theirs for $1.00 and making a nice profit. Going up the canyons of the upper Colorado river, east of Grand Junction, the train slowed due to storms ahead of us. It seems that when the tracks are wet, the signals are unreliable. So they have to stop at every switch and check it by hand. So we’re getting later and later. We missed the grand vistas as we crossed the Rockies because it was dark by then.
Saturday July 26
This morning we are 4 ½ hours behind schedule. And now the toilets in our car don’t work.
We’ve mostly been hanging out in the observation/snack car, and all the adults held a meeting there discussing lessons learned. With no AC there’s no ventilation either, so our car is smelling bad.
8:30 pm we got to Union Station, Chicago. Amtrak has provided a bus to take us to Ann Arbor since we missed our connection. Fortunately the bus has functioning AC and doesn’t smell bad. But the train has much more legroom.
Arrived in Ann Arbor about 1:30am. All the parents came down to the station, collected their kids and stuff, and everybody left.
If I close my eyes, I can imagine I’m standing in a Colorado alpine meadow, surrounded by wildflowers of purple, white and gold. Along the edge of the meadow are aspens – soft and rounded with their pale green trunks. And sharp pointed dark firs marching up the valley walls. Above that, the cliffs, spires, and minarets of bare rock catch the sunlight. I breath the fresh air.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Journal, July 3 through 18, 2008
Missinaibi River, Ontario
By Gary Hochgraf
Thursday July 3
Irene and I drive from Ann Arbor to St Ignace, Michigan. It took us several days to get all packed up. We’re doing three dinners for the whole gang, plus our own breakfasts and lunches and snacks. And of course I had to make the meals interesting with variety.
We stop at a rest area just before the big bridge, and find ripe blueberries! We hope there’s more further north. Just beyond St Ignace, we meet up with Paul and Laura and share a campsite and lots of mosquitoes. Quick dinner, a fire, and to bed.
Friday July 4
Headed out early and crossed the border at Sault Ste Marie, then north along the Lake Superior shoreline to Wawa. This is such a beautiful stretch of road, with hills, woods, vistas over the big lake, beaches, and rocky shores. We passed several bicycle tourists, and it reminded me of many of my past trips, and I yearn for more!
East out of Wawa then into Hawk Junction. Its an incredibly tiny town, but it does have a train station. Here we meet Leo and Deb and their son John and his friend Nate. John and Irene are 15yrs, Nate is 16. John, Nate and Leo have just come off a week-long trip canoeing in the Boundary Waters.
We scouted the put-in, (a scruffy trail beyond the tracks to a creek) and unloaded the cars. Paul, Leo, John, Nate and Irene will camp here by the station, while Laura, Deb and I drive to Matice, 4 hours farther north. We leave two cars in Matice, and drive mine back up the road to Hearst, where there’s a hotel and another train station.
Saturday July 5. Day 1
Up early, breakfast at the restaurant across the street, then we hung out in front of the grocery store for half an hour waiting for it to open, got in, grabbed some lunch fixings, and headed for the train. Hearst is the beginning of the line, so its been sitting here all night.
Hearst is one of the larger towns on the Trans Canada Highway, and is also an anomaly because it is French-speaking. The radio station is French, the waitresses speak French, and kids too. So we asked the grocery checkout girl about it. She called Hearst the “Little Quebec.”
The train is the Algoma Line, and runs all the way to Sault Ste. Marie. We’re rolling along through northern forests of black spruce and aspen with lots of wildflowers. Yellow and orange Indian paintbrush, buttercup, wild roses, daisies, iris, orange tiger lilies, and yellow pond lilies. At the beginning there’s a dirt road that parallels the tracks, and a few towns. Then the road ends and the towns end and the houses end, and marshes begin and streams, rivers, and lakes begin. Further in there are remote camps, and the train stops to pick up passengers. We’ve met two men who have loaded their canoes into the baggage car, and will detrain along the way to paddle the Missinaibi. We may see them again!
By and by we arrived at Hawk Junction about 1pm. After dealing with stuff and greetings, we head for the boats (which had already been brought down to the creek along with most of the gear. And we’re off! Down the creek a short way and into Hawk Lake, then up the Michipicoten River into Manitowik Lake. Technically, the Michipicoten flows against us, but the flow is very slow and we have a strong tailwind. The wind stays behind us all day and blows us (with good sized waves) all the way to the end of the lake, where we encounter the bottom of the rapids on the Michipicoten as it enters the lake. There’s a nice campground here and we take it. The mosquitoes are ok, but the black flies are bad, especially since the wind has died. I write this wearing a head net.
Leo and Deb have brought a screen tent, about 10’x10’ and inside is bug free. Leo has made soup of polish sausage and other yummy stuff. We all sit inside the tent to eat. Quite civilized.
Clean-up then bed. We’re all pretty tired.
Sunday July 6, Day 2
Paul made oatmeal for everybody, with dried strawberries and I added a batch of banana nut bread. It all disappeared. We’re camping on the portage trail to the next lake, so first off we head up the hill with our boats and gear. A short paddle, then some challenging rapids to paddle UP! We had to ferry back and forth from one side to the other to use the shore eddies. The last crossing was through the lower tongue of the falls above the rapids, and was quite challenging. We cheered each other on.
Another portage, and more tailwinds down the length of Dog Lake, and we pull in behind an island for a snack and to stretch our legs. There’s a well developed campsite on the island with lots of daisies. Irene is teaching Laura how to braid daisies and make a crown. So all three women now have daisy crowns.
By the time we depart the island, the wind has increased (but we didn’t realize it) and we’re soon paddling in some heavy waves and whitecaps ‘till we can duck behind another point. In a short distance we find another campsite and agree that the conditions on the water are too extreme for our little boats. So we take out and wait for the wind to die down. It doesn’t. so we’re staying here for the night. Tent sites are difficult to find, but we make the best of it. Paul and Laura make a Korean beef dish, served over rice. Quite good. But John and Nate turn up their noses and eat peanut butter on tortillas instead. This prompts a discussion about interesting menus we’ve enjoyed. As evening settles in the wind finally abates so there are no more whitecaps.
Monday July 7, Day 3
The wind has shifted to the northeast and is still quite strong. So we decide against seeing the pictographs up the lake and head across to the town of Missinabie (different spelling!) We got an early start and have breakfast after an hour of paddling. It’s a long day of paddling with one portage to break it up. The trail is muddy at the take out, with boggy spots all along, but reasonably short. For all it’s insignificance, this is the portage that takes us from the Michipicoten River and the Great Lakes watershed, and into the Missinaibi River and the Hudson’s Bay watershed. Its all downhill from here! The Missinaibi and Michipicoten rivers were the primary route for the voyageurs of the Hudson Bay Trading company. We will retrace some of that historic route. It was the easiest way to get from the salt water and ocean access in James Bay to the Great Lakes and the beaver pelts.
Today we saw several bald eagles flying high, a large family of mergansers, two unidentified ducks (goldeneye perhaps?), a cedar waxwing, raven, many loons, and we hear white throated sparrows in the forest. We’re now in Crooked lake, which has hordes of dragonflies. We find a nice campsite on an island, with two bedrock aprons and a makeshift table. The tents go up, and we all go swimming. A fire is built and we are visited by a yellow striped water snake.
Irene and I have our tent facing a large patch of daisies, and beyond that, the lake. Quite pretty.
Tuesday July 8, day 4
It rains in the night, and again at wake-up. Most of us slept in while Leo makes pancakes
The rest of the lake slips by, stroke by stroke, to the portage into Missinaibi Lake. The wind has died and the mosquitoes are ferocious, so we do lunch on a large rock island in the middle of a bay. Bug free! With glassy water, we paddle to Fairy Point, where there is an impressive array of pictographs. With the recent rain there is water dripping down from high on the cliff, adding sacred music to the ancient images painted on the rock face. There are human figures, moose, other animals, figures in a canoe, a tree, the flying spaghetti monster, tick marks, and Xs.
Now the weather changes to a tail wind with occasional drizzle, but we detour upwind to see another pictograph, then head downwind to a nice campsite where the little Missinaibi River enters the lake in a great thundering falls. There’s a beaver swimming about in the bay. After dinner (I made tacos for the gang) some go out fishing, while Irene, Nate and I take our canoe out and dump it in the tailwater of the falls, then play about on the upturned boat. We pulled out onto a rock, emptied the boat, and did it again! Our tent site is near the falls looking out over the lake, and a sliver of a moon.
Wenesday July 9th, day 5
We’re late getting up, so instead of Deb and Leo being the last on the water, we are! Out of the bay, and we’ve got a tailwind again! It’s a long paddle all the way to the end of the lake. A bit of a storm comes up about an hour from camp, where we arrive cold and damp and tired. The bank is muddy and the bugs are very thick. The lake has narrowed to become the river, with reed beds on either side.
Deb and Leo’s bug tent is quickly set for a welcome refuge. Light rains come and go. Despite the rain, we get a fire going and the smoke helps drive them away. Leo makes spaghetti for us all, and chocolate moose.
After dinner, Leo, Paul, Laura and I paddle across the river and walk the portage trail to scout the first set of rapids on the Missinaibi River, called Quittagene Rapids. Its listed as a class II, and consists of two fairly straightforward Vs with lots of power. Nothing too technical, but standing waves which could splash over the gunnels.
Thursday July 10, day 6
Today is Paul’s birthday, and we begin the river. But tempers are running a bit rough today. Paul and Laura are arguing, and Deb and I have a cold stand-off over parenting styles.
We re-scout the Quittagene rapids, then run it. Exciting. Except that Laura didn’t enjoy it, and Paul didn’t pick up on that fact. A few more riffles, and we hold a pow-wow. Deb says that she, Leo, John and Nate want to abort the trip at the next railroad crossing, eighteen km further on.
Irene and I are out ahead, and we hear something very big crashing through the bushes beside the river. Its gotta be a moose! We continue to Sun Rapids, Class II. Paul and Laura scout it from shore, and Laura doesn’t want to run it. It’s a challenge, with some strong eddy lines to cross, scouting from the eddies in the middle of the rapids, and a big drop at the end. But Irene and I had just run it, so Irene goes with Paul to run the boat down while Laura takes photos. Later on we have about 1.5km of class I rapids and riffles which does a lot to improve everyone’s skill and confidence. By the time we run Barrel rapids Laura is enjoying them too. By and by we arrive at the railroad bridge. Paul and Laura have become friends again, Deb and I agree to disagree, and we pass the bridge by and commit to the end.
Camp is found, on a huge bedrock outcropping in the middle of Peterbell Marsh. Good moose habitat, but we don’t see any. From rocks 6m high we look out over the marsh and river. Leo makes pasta with chicken and I make chocolate cake, and Deb finds a candle, and we all sing Happy Birthday to Paul.
The day started out sunny, clouded over, rained lightly, and is clear again in the evening for a gorgeous sunset. Irene finds gooseberries and I find one blueberry. On an island for lunch, Irene found chocolate mint plants growing in the mud. We pick several tops and enjoy a spot of tea.
Friday July 11, day 7
A theme throughout this trip is mosquitoes. They are very thick in camp, on portage trails, and at lunch breaks. We build a fire most every evening just for the smoke. The bug tent is one of the first things to be set-up. We find lunch stops and breaks on bare rocks in the middle of the river, and don bug nets, long sleeved shirts and long pants whenever we’re on shore. There’s black flies too, but they’re not as bad.
Today dawned beautiful. Blue skies, light breeze (tail wind), and warm. We paddle through Peterbell marsh, scanning every bay and side marsh for moose. Finally we see one! It’s a cow with calf coming down to the river. But as soon as they see us and hear us they bound back into the undergrowth. The marsh ends at a rapids, and we’re back into sections of river, riffles and rapids.
We take out to scout Wavy rapids because we cannot see it all from the boats. The right side is an impenetrable rock garden, with all the water funneling down the left. There’s big waves down there! It ends in a huge wave train of standing waves at least a meter high and about 4m between crests. It’s a Class II. It looks runnable but without packs. There’s a campsite here and its quite nice. The decision is made to stay for the night. We portage the gear to the campsite, and Irene and I are the first to run, and it’s a wild ride! There’s about ten haystacks to crash through, and we take on several gallons of water. As we eddy out Irene looks back at me with a huge smile and declares “That was Fun!” We decide to portage up and do it again. Leo and Nate are next, and a wave catches them wrong and over they go. And Deb catches it all on movies. Irene and I run it again and paddle over to see if they need help, but they’ve made it to shore by the time we arrive. So we run it a third time. Leo and John do another run, then Nate and Irene. Halfway down the wave train, Irene grabs the gunnels and throws her weight to the side and sends them both swimming. Nate and John do a run, and John and Irene. John does a few trips down just in a PFD. Laura gathers her courage and she and Paul run their boat through.
We get camp set-up and Paul and Laura make us Moroccan chicken with couscous.
Saturday July 12, day 8
A thunderstorm rolls through in the early morning, so all our efforts at getting things dried out are dashed.
On the water, paddling down. More rapids and riffles, black spruce, tamarack, cedars, aspen, white birch, willow, dogwood, iris, tiger lilies, roses, daisies, Indian paintbrush, service berry, and others.
We have a long (1.5km) portage at Greenhills rapids. Its horrible! Long sections of very muddy trail, quite overgrown, and with this morning’s rain, its all very wet. We are soaked and covered with mud by the end. Its also slippery underfoot, and many of us fall struggling up and down the trail with our loads. And there are moose prints. Irene and I finish our portage, and launch onto the river to escape the bugs and wait for the others. Also to clear space for the others at the put-in. We beach on a submerged gravel bar, where Irene finds a crayfish and names it ‘dinner.’
The next rapid presents a challenge. Its steep but short. The center channel has some large standing waves and one souse-hole. There’s space to the right, but it ends with several rocks. Paul and Leo line their boats down, as well as Deb’s. But Irene and I portage our gear and run it with an empty boat. We made it, but it proves to be a very challenging run with lots of coordinating maneuvers. Lunch at the bottom, where Irene adds a clam to her crayfish and names it ‘appetizer.’
We meet another paddler just as we’re heading out. More riffles, then we portage Split Rock Falls, and pick the campsite at the height of land. From here we can look down into the gorge where the river drops between canyon walls into a frothing tumult. Not runnable by this crew!. The solo paddler we met briefly at lunch passes through. He started at the town of Missinabie. Then the two men that we’d met on the train came through, and have set up camp at the bottom of the portage trail. Irene returns Dinner and Appetizer to the river.
I gave a challenge to the three teenagers - Irene, John and Nate - to cook dinner. They’re making my curried couscous and vegs, which is a one-pot meal and quite simple. But when it comes time to eat, John and Nate turn up their noses again and make a batch of mac n cheese.
Sunday July 13, day 9
On down the river. We portage Tower Falls and stop to explore the rocks and take a group photo. From here there’s long stretches of boring river, with few rapids. We detour up the Fire River about a kilometer, to the lower rapids for a lunch break. Paul and Laura hiked the trail a bit farther to the falls and a cabin.
At camp tonight, we flush an osprey near the rapids. We go to China tonight for dinner - stir fried vegs with cellophane noodles, but its more like soup. And tuna mushroom cashew sauce over rice. It’s a bit exotic but everyone eats.
Monday July 14, day 10
We’re gonna try to make some extra distance today. The river is slow and wide with very few rapids. Light drizzle around lunchtime. There’s no place to take-out without inviting the bugs to dine too, so we raft-up the four canoes and drift while we eat.
There’s lots of evidence of beaver and moose along the banks, but we see very little. There’s a splash of something next to the bank. Otter? Mink? Beaver? We never saw it. Paul and Laura saw something small swimming at a distance.
Camp at Two Portage Falls, and there’s another group here too. Fortunately there are two sites. The other group is a high adventure camp program of ten guys, about the same age as our teenagers. And two of them are from Ann Arbor MI!
Dinner is tortellini, and the sun comes out strongly.
Tuesday July 15, day 11
Rainy morning. There’s a large flat rock in the fireplace, and last night I set it up on top to make an oven underneath. Paul made a batch of bannock in it. So I got up early and got a fire going despite the rain, and got that oven space good and hot, and put in a batch of berry muffin mix. Yummy.
Deb is getting antsy about finishing the trip. She’s got a family gathering at a cabin in the Porkies in a few days.
Two short portages, then we’re into the Devil’s Shoepack rapids. This is a long series of Class Is and IIs and a ledge to lift the boats over. What a wild ride! Constantly looking ahead, picking a route, ferrying across from one side to the other, eddying out to consider the options ahead. Fun and challenging. We got to the ledge, and Paul helps Irene and I carry the loaded boat over the rock and into quiet water below. But we have to move sideways and make a sharp turn to enter the main flow of the river. The current catches the bow as planned and begins the turn. But I don’t get the stern around quick enough and we hang-up on a rock and over we go! The canoe rights itself after we fall out and we swim a short distance until we find good footing. There’s no place to bring the boat to, and the boat is only half swamped. So we proceed to bail out many gallons of water. Eventually we get enough water out that we can re-enter the canoe and paddle to shore, still bailing.
The others have pulled over and carefully scouted a run near shore, and soon all four canoes are continuing down the river.
After several kilometers of flatwater we enter another set of rapids. This one is a very long rock garden, Class I, and we pick our way down between the obstacles. Our favorite technique for this type of challenge is for Irene to stand in the bow which gives her a superior view of the submerged rocks.
Camp is a small, seldom used campsite beside the rock garden. The mosquitoes are horrible and tent sites marginal. But there’s an inviting bedrock outcrop just downstream. Irene and I go to explore and chose to set our tent on the rocks in the middle of the river. Beautiful site.
Back to the campsite for dinner - minestrone soup and blueberry muffin. Deb and Leo decide that they’re going to push all the way to Matice tomorrow, and Laura, Paul, Irene and I opt to spend one more night on the river.
Under a nearly full moon, in the fading light of the day, Irene and I paddle out to our island for the night.
Wednesday July 16, day 12
We sleep in. Paul and Laura come out to our island (bug free) for breakfast, then Deb & John and Leo & Nate come out once they’re all packed up, and we say our goodbyes. Then they paddled off and we ate breakfast. Lazy morning with a bright sun. We let clothing and dry on the warming rocks, then slowly pack up and head down the river.
Two quick portages, then we take out to scout a Class II-tech. And Irene finds wild onion! We pick a few to add to dinner.
A bit more flatwater and we find camp at the third portage at Glassy Falls. I suppose some hot shot kayaker could run it, but not us! There’s a big bedrock ledge on either side of the falls, and a nice large beach below. Either will give us relief from the mosquitoes, but what about no-see-ums? Or black flies? Its early yet, so we just hang out for a few hours and dry our stuff, nap, and explore. Soon our question is answered, as the no-see-ums come out in force on the rocks. Tonight we camp on the beach! Simple dinner of tortellini with feta cheese and wild onions.
Its so peaceful here, with the sand, rocks, a small amount of bugs, and just the four of us. We’ve had excellent weather all day - deep blue skies with little cumulus-humilus clouds. We’re hoping for good stargazing tonight.
Thursday July 17, day 13
There was no stargazing. Instead we get a very long steady light morning rain. We sleep in, and eventually it slows to a drizzle but the mosquitoes are fierce. We pack very quickly and escape to the sanctity of the river. The drizzle continues but eventually clears and we have sunshine. Around noon we arrive in Matice, with a brief detour to see a first nation cemetery beside the river.
We load both boats and all the gear into Paul’s car and drive to Hearst, transfer our stuff to my car behind the hotel, take a welcome shower, share a pizza, and begin the long drive home.
Friday July 18. Arrive home. Along the way we saw a mink crossing the road, a black bear eating wild strawberries, and we pick many of them ourselves.
Missinaibi River, Ontario
By Gary Hochgraf
Thursday July 3
Irene and I drive from Ann Arbor to St Ignace, Michigan. It took us several days to get all packed up. We’re doing three dinners for the whole gang, plus our own breakfasts and lunches and snacks. And of course I had to make the meals interesting with variety.
We stop at a rest area just before the big bridge, and find ripe blueberries! We hope there’s more further north. Just beyond St Ignace, we meet up with Paul and Laura and share a campsite and lots of mosquitoes. Quick dinner, a fire, and to bed.
Friday July 4
Headed out early and crossed the border at Sault Ste Marie, then north along the Lake Superior shoreline to Wawa. This is such a beautiful stretch of road, with hills, woods, vistas over the big lake, beaches, and rocky shores. We passed several bicycle tourists, and it reminded me of many of my past trips, and I yearn for more!
East out of Wawa then into Hawk Junction. Its an incredibly tiny town, but it does have a train station. Here we meet Leo and Deb and their son John and his friend Nate. John and Irene are 15yrs, Nate is 16. John, Nate and Leo have just come off a week-long trip canoeing in the Boundary Waters.
We scouted the put-in, (a scruffy trail beyond the tracks to a creek) and unloaded the cars. Paul, Leo, John, Nate and Irene will camp here by the station, while Laura, Deb and I drive to Matice, 4 hours farther north. We leave two cars in Matice, and drive mine back up the road to Hearst, where there’s a hotel and another train station.
Saturday July 5. Day 1
Up early, breakfast at the restaurant across the street, then we hung out in front of the grocery store for half an hour waiting for it to open, got in, grabbed some lunch fixings, and headed for the train. Hearst is the beginning of the line, so its been sitting here all night.
Hearst is one of the larger towns on the Trans Canada Highway, and is also an anomaly because it is French-speaking. The radio station is French, the waitresses speak French, and kids too. So we asked the grocery checkout girl about it. She called Hearst the “Little Quebec.”
The train is the Algoma Line, and runs all the way to Sault Ste. Marie. We’re rolling along through northern forests of black spruce and aspen with lots of wildflowers. Yellow and orange Indian paintbrush, buttercup, wild roses, daisies, iris, orange tiger lilies, and yellow pond lilies. At the beginning there’s a dirt road that parallels the tracks, and a few towns. Then the road ends and the towns end and the houses end, and marshes begin and streams, rivers, and lakes begin. Further in there are remote camps, and the train stops to pick up passengers. We’ve met two men who have loaded their canoes into the baggage car, and will detrain along the way to paddle the Missinaibi. We may see them again!
By and by we arrived at Hawk Junction about 1pm. After dealing with stuff and greetings, we head for the boats (which had already been brought down to the creek along with most of the gear. And we’re off! Down the creek a short way and into Hawk Lake, then up the Michipicoten River into Manitowik Lake. Technically, the Michipicoten flows against us, but the flow is very slow and we have a strong tailwind. The wind stays behind us all day and blows us (with good sized waves) all the way to the end of the lake, where we encounter the bottom of the rapids on the Michipicoten as it enters the lake. There’s a nice campground here and we take it. The mosquitoes are ok, but the black flies are bad, especially since the wind has died. I write this wearing a head net.
Leo and Deb have brought a screen tent, about 10’x10’ and inside is bug free. Leo has made soup of polish sausage and other yummy stuff. We all sit inside the tent to eat. Quite civilized.
Clean-up then bed. We’re all pretty tired.
Sunday July 6, Day 2
Paul made oatmeal for everybody, with dried strawberries and I added a batch of banana nut bread. It all disappeared. We’re camping on the portage trail to the next lake, so first off we head up the hill with our boats and gear. A short paddle, then some challenging rapids to paddle UP! We had to ferry back and forth from one side to the other to use the shore eddies. The last crossing was through the lower tongue of the falls above the rapids, and was quite challenging. We cheered each other on.
Another portage, and more tailwinds down the length of Dog Lake, and we pull in behind an island for a snack and to stretch our legs. There’s a well developed campsite on the island with lots of daisies. Irene is teaching Laura how to braid daisies and make a crown. So all three women now have daisy crowns.
By the time we depart the island, the wind has increased (but we didn’t realize it) and we’re soon paddling in some heavy waves and whitecaps ‘till we can duck behind another point. In a short distance we find another campsite and agree that the conditions on the water are too extreme for our little boats. So we take out and wait for the wind to die down. It doesn’t. so we’re staying here for the night. Tent sites are difficult to find, but we make the best of it. Paul and Laura make a Korean beef dish, served over rice. Quite good. But John and Nate turn up their noses and eat peanut butter on tortillas instead. This prompts a discussion about interesting menus we’ve enjoyed. As evening settles in the wind finally abates so there are no more whitecaps.
Monday July 7, Day 3
The wind has shifted to the northeast and is still quite strong. So we decide against seeing the pictographs up the lake and head across to the town of Missinabie (different spelling!) We got an early start and have breakfast after an hour of paddling. It’s a long day of paddling with one portage to break it up. The trail is muddy at the take out, with boggy spots all along, but reasonably short. For all it’s insignificance, this is the portage that takes us from the Michipicoten River and the Great Lakes watershed, and into the Missinaibi River and the Hudson’s Bay watershed. Its all downhill from here! The Missinaibi and Michipicoten rivers were the primary route for the voyageurs of the Hudson Bay Trading company. We will retrace some of that historic route. It was the easiest way to get from the salt water and ocean access in James Bay to the Great Lakes and the beaver pelts.
Today we saw several bald eagles flying high, a large family of mergansers, two unidentified ducks (goldeneye perhaps?), a cedar waxwing, raven, many loons, and we hear white throated sparrows in the forest. We’re now in Crooked lake, which has hordes of dragonflies. We find a nice campsite on an island, with two bedrock aprons and a makeshift table. The tents go up, and we all go swimming. A fire is built and we are visited by a yellow striped water snake.
Irene and I have our tent facing a large patch of daisies, and beyond that, the lake. Quite pretty.
Tuesday July 8, day 4
It rains in the night, and again at wake-up. Most of us slept in while Leo makes pancakes
The rest of the lake slips by, stroke by stroke, to the portage into Missinaibi Lake. The wind has died and the mosquitoes are ferocious, so we do lunch on a large rock island in the middle of a bay. Bug free! With glassy water, we paddle to Fairy Point, where there is an impressive array of pictographs. With the recent rain there is water dripping down from high on the cliff, adding sacred music to the ancient images painted on the rock face. There are human figures, moose, other animals, figures in a canoe, a tree, the flying spaghetti monster, tick marks, and Xs.
Now the weather changes to a tail wind with occasional drizzle, but we detour upwind to see another pictograph, then head downwind to a nice campsite where the little Missinaibi River enters the lake in a great thundering falls. There’s a beaver swimming about in the bay. After dinner (I made tacos for the gang) some go out fishing, while Irene, Nate and I take our canoe out and dump it in the tailwater of the falls, then play about on the upturned boat. We pulled out onto a rock, emptied the boat, and did it again! Our tent site is near the falls looking out over the lake, and a sliver of a moon.
Wenesday July 9th, day 5
We’re late getting up, so instead of Deb and Leo being the last on the water, we are! Out of the bay, and we’ve got a tailwind again! It’s a long paddle all the way to the end of the lake. A bit of a storm comes up about an hour from camp, where we arrive cold and damp and tired. The bank is muddy and the bugs are very thick. The lake has narrowed to become the river, with reed beds on either side.
Deb and Leo’s bug tent is quickly set for a welcome refuge. Light rains come and go. Despite the rain, we get a fire going and the smoke helps drive them away. Leo makes spaghetti for us all, and chocolate moose.
After dinner, Leo, Paul, Laura and I paddle across the river and walk the portage trail to scout the first set of rapids on the Missinaibi River, called Quittagene Rapids. Its listed as a class II, and consists of two fairly straightforward Vs with lots of power. Nothing too technical, but standing waves which could splash over the gunnels.
Thursday July 10, day 6
Today is Paul’s birthday, and we begin the river. But tempers are running a bit rough today. Paul and Laura are arguing, and Deb and I have a cold stand-off over parenting styles.
We re-scout the Quittagene rapids, then run it. Exciting. Except that Laura didn’t enjoy it, and Paul didn’t pick up on that fact. A few more riffles, and we hold a pow-wow. Deb says that she, Leo, John and Nate want to abort the trip at the next railroad crossing, eighteen km further on.
Irene and I are out ahead, and we hear something very big crashing through the bushes beside the river. Its gotta be a moose! We continue to Sun Rapids, Class II. Paul and Laura scout it from shore, and Laura doesn’t want to run it. It’s a challenge, with some strong eddy lines to cross, scouting from the eddies in the middle of the rapids, and a big drop at the end. But Irene and I had just run it, so Irene goes with Paul to run the boat down while Laura takes photos. Later on we have about 1.5km of class I rapids and riffles which does a lot to improve everyone’s skill and confidence. By the time we run Barrel rapids Laura is enjoying them too. By and by we arrive at the railroad bridge. Paul and Laura have become friends again, Deb and I agree to disagree, and we pass the bridge by and commit to the end.
Camp is found, on a huge bedrock outcropping in the middle of Peterbell Marsh. Good moose habitat, but we don’t see any. From rocks 6m high we look out over the marsh and river. Leo makes pasta with chicken and I make chocolate cake, and Deb finds a candle, and we all sing Happy Birthday to Paul.
The day started out sunny, clouded over, rained lightly, and is clear again in the evening for a gorgeous sunset. Irene finds gooseberries and I find one blueberry. On an island for lunch, Irene found chocolate mint plants growing in the mud. We pick several tops and enjoy a spot of tea.
Friday July 11, day 7
A theme throughout this trip is mosquitoes. They are very thick in camp, on portage trails, and at lunch breaks. We build a fire most every evening just for the smoke. The bug tent is one of the first things to be set-up. We find lunch stops and breaks on bare rocks in the middle of the river, and don bug nets, long sleeved shirts and long pants whenever we’re on shore. There’s black flies too, but they’re not as bad.
Today dawned beautiful. Blue skies, light breeze (tail wind), and warm. We paddle through Peterbell marsh, scanning every bay and side marsh for moose. Finally we see one! It’s a cow with calf coming down to the river. But as soon as they see us and hear us they bound back into the undergrowth. The marsh ends at a rapids, and we’re back into sections of river, riffles and rapids.
We take out to scout Wavy rapids because we cannot see it all from the boats. The right side is an impenetrable rock garden, with all the water funneling down the left. There’s big waves down there! It ends in a huge wave train of standing waves at least a meter high and about 4m between crests. It’s a Class II. It looks runnable but without packs. There’s a campsite here and its quite nice. The decision is made to stay for the night. We portage the gear to the campsite, and Irene and I are the first to run, and it’s a wild ride! There’s about ten haystacks to crash through, and we take on several gallons of water. As we eddy out Irene looks back at me with a huge smile and declares “That was Fun!” We decide to portage up and do it again. Leo and Nate are next, and a wave catches them wrong and over they go. And Deb catches it all on movies. Irene and I run it again and paddle over to see if they need help, but they’ve made it to shore by the time we arrive. So we run it a third time. Leo and John do another run, then Nate and Irene. Halfway down the wave train, Irene grabs the gunnels and throws her weight to the side and sends them both swimming. Nate and John do a run, and John and Irene. John does a few trips down just in a PFD. Laura gathers her courage and she and Paul run their boat through.
We get camp set-up and Paul and Laura make us Moroccan chicken with couscous.
Saturday July 12, day 8
A thunderstorm rolls through in the early morning, so all our efforts at getting things dried out are dashed.
On the water, paddling down. More rapids and riffles, black spruce, tamarack, cedars, aspen, white birch, willow, dogwood, iris, tiger lilies, roses, daisies, Indian paintbrush, service berry, and others.
We have a long (1.5km) portage at Greenhills rapids. Its horrible! Long sections of very muddy trail, quite overgrown, and with this morning’s rain, its all very wet. We are soaked and covered with mud by the end. Its also slippery underfoot, and many of us fall struggling up and down the trail with our loads. And there are moose prints. Irene and I finish our portage, and launch onto the river to escape the bugs and wait for the others. Also to clear space for the others at the put-in. We beach on a submerged gravel bar, where Irene finds a crayfish and names it ‘dinner.’
The next rapid presents a challenge. Its steep but short. The center channel has some large standing waves and one souse-hole. There’s space to the right, but it ends with several rocks. Paul and Leo line their boats down, as well as Deb’s. But Irene and I portage our gear and run it with an empty boat. We made it, but it proves to be a very challenging run with lots of coordinating maneuvers. Lunch at the bottom, where Irene adds a clam to her crayfish and names it ‘appetizer.’
We meet another paddler just as we’re heading out. More riffles, then we portage Split Rock Falls, and pick the campsite at the height of land. From here we can look down into the gorge where the river drops between canyon walls into a frothing tumult. Not runnable by this crew!. The solo paddler we met briefly at lunch passes through. He started at the town of Missinabie. Then the two men that we’d met on the train came through, and have set up camp at the bottom of the portage trail. Irene returns Dinner and Appetizer to the river.
I gave a challenge to the three teenagers - Irene, John and Nate - to cook dinner. They’re making my curried couscous and vegs, which is a one-pot meal and quite simple. But when it comes time to eat, John and Nate turn up their noses again and make a batch of mac n cheese.
Sunday July 13, day 9
On down the river. We portage Tower Falls and stop to explore the rocks and take a group photo. From here there’s long stretches of boring river, with few rapids. We detour up the Fire River about a kilometer, to the lower rapids for a lunch break. Paul and Laura hiked the trail a bit farther to the falls and a cabin.
At camp tonight, we flush an osprey near the rapids. We go to China tonight for dinner - stir fried vegs with cellophane noodles, but its more like soup. And tuna mushroom cashew sauce over rice. It’s a bit exotic but everyone eats.
Monday July 14, day 10
We’re gonna try to make some extra distance today. The river is slow and wide with very few rapids. Light drizzle around lunchtime. There’s no place to take-out without inviting the bugs to dine too, so we raft-up the four canoes and drift while we eat.
There’s lots of evidence of beaver and moose along the banks, but we see very little. There’s a splash of something next to the bank. Otter? Mink? Beaver? We never saw it. Paul and Laura saw something small swimming at a distance.
Camp at Two Portage Falls, and there’s another group here too. Fortunately there are two sites. The other group is a high adventure camp program of ten guys, about the same age as our teenagers. And two of them are from Ann Arbor MI!
Dinner is tortellini, and the sun comes out strongly.
Tuesday July 15, day 11
Rainy morning. There’s a large flat rock in the fireplace, and last night I set it up on top to make an oven underneath. Paul made a batch of bannock in it. So I got up early and got a fire going despite the rain, and got that oven space good and hot, and put in a batch of berry muffin mix. Yummy.
Deb is getting antsy about finishing the trip. She’s got a family gathering at a cabin in the Porkies in a few days.
Two short portages, then we’re into the Devil’s Shoepack rapids. This is a long series of Class Is and IIs and a ledge to lift the boats over. What a wild ride! Constantly looking ahead, picking a route, ferrying across from one side to the other, eddying out to consider the options ahead. Fun and challenging. We got to the ledge, and Paul helps Irene and I carry the loaded boat over the rock and into quiet water below. But we have to move sideways and make a sharp turn to enter the main flow of the river. The current catches the bow as planned and begins the turn. But I don’t get the stern around quick enough and we hang-up on a rock and over we go! The canoe rights itself after we fall out and we swim a short distance until we find good footing. There’s no place to bring the boat to, and the boat is only half swamped. So we proceed to bail out many gallons of water. Eventually we get enough water out that we can re-enter the canoe and paddle to shore, still bailing.
The others have pulled over and carefully scouted a run near shore, and soon all four canoes are continuing down the river.
After several kilometers of flatwater we enter another set of rapids. This one is a very long rock garden, Class I, and we pick our way down between the obstacles. Our favorite technique for this type of challenge is for Irene to stand in the bow which gives her a superior view of the submerged rocks.
Camp is a small, seldom used campsite beside the rock garden. The mosquitoes are horrible and tent sites marginal. But there’s an inviting bedrock outcrop just downstream. Irene and I go to explore and chose to set our tent on the rocks in the middle of the river. Beautiful site.
Back to the campsite for dinner - minestrone soup and blueberry muffin. Deb and Leo decide that they’re going to push all the way to Matice tomorrow, and Laura, Paul, Irene and I opt to spend one more night on the river.
Under a nearly full moon, in the fading light of the day, Irene and I paddle out to our island for the night.
Wednesday July 16, day 12
We sleep in. Paul and Laura come out to our island (bug free) for breakfast, then Deb & John and Leo & Nate come out once they’re all packed up, and we say our goodbyes. Then they paddled off and we ate breakfast. Lazy morning with a bright sun. We let clothing and dry on the warming rocks, then slowly pack up and head down the river.
Two quick portages, then we take out to scout a Class II-tech. And Irene finds wild onion! We pick a few to add to dinner.
A bit more flatwater and we find camp at the third portage at Glassy Falls. I suppose some hot shot kayaker could run it, but not us! There’s a big bedrock ledge on either side of the falls, and a nice large beach below. Either will give us relief from the mosquitoes, but what about no-see-ums? Or black flies? Its early yet, so we just hang out for a few hours and dry our stuff, nap, and explore. Soon our question is answered, as the no-see-ums come out in force on the rocks. Tonight we camp on the beach! Simple dinner of tortellini with feta cheese and wild onions.
Its so peaceful here, with the sand, rocks, a small amount of bugs, and just the four of us. We’ve had excellent weather all day - deep blue skies with little cumulus-humilus clouds. We’re hoping for good stargazing tonight.
Thursday July 17, day 13
There was no stargazing. Instead we get a very long steady light morning rain. We sleep in, and eventually it slows to a drizzle but the mosquitoes are fierce. We pack very quickly and escape to the sanctity of the river. The drizzle continues but eventually clears and we have sunshine. Around noon we arrive in Matice, with a brief detour to see a first nation cemetery beside the river.
We load both boats and all the gear into Paul’s car and drive to Hearst, transfer our stuff to my car behind the hotel, take a welcome shower, share a pizza, and begin the long drive home.
Friday July 18. Arrive home. Along the way we saw a mink crossing the road, a black bear eating wild strawberries, and we pick many of them ourselves.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Journal
Huron River from Belleville Lake to Lake Erie. May 16-17-18, 2008
By Gary Hochgraf
Accompanied by L. D.
Friday
We had planned on starting at French Landing, but with an early start, and only a short distance to go from French Landing to our intended camp, we opted to back up the put-in to the west end of Belleville Lake. This gave us the entire length of Belleville to paddle. There were a few fishermen out, but basically pretty quiet. Winds were gusty, mostly a quartering tailwind. The forecast had been for 30-40% rain, but we enjoyed bright sunshine.
The portage at French Landing dam was littered with fishermen’s refuse-plastic bait tubs, packages of hooks & gear, discarded string, food wrappers etc. The put-in was difficult. There had once been a set of stairs down to the water, but they’re now gone and just a handrail remains to help.
It was nice to be in moving water, with overhanging trees, much less wind, ducks, GBHs, and redbud trees in full bloom contrasting with the forest green and river grey-brown. We took out on a sandbar (mud-bar with zebra mussel shells) for lunch, and after a few hours of paddling passed the youth group camping area in Lower Huron Metropark, and began looking for the canoe camp area. Well, apparently they are one and the same, but we didn’t realize that until we were well past. We took out at a picnic area, got water and had dinner. Then decided to make use of a reasonably secluded spot at the picnic area for the night. We waited ‘till dark to erect the tent, and slept to the sound of the river running by, punctuated by jets from Detroit Metro Airport.
Saturday
A bit of rain fell in the night, but the morning broke bright and sunny. And a good breeze keeps the mosquitoes at bay. Again, the forecast was for overcast with 40% rain. We’ve foraged for a few wild edibles. Garlic mustard went into yesterday’s lunch, redbud flowers are eaten out of hand, wild ginger became tea for breakfast. Good stuff!
On down the river. I was to meet with some other paddling friends at Willow Metropark, who were participating in a Boy Scout camporee, with a thousand or so scouts running around. We arrived just in time, but they had changed the location, and I arrived as they were ending the canoeing demo. So I did a quick demo of poling technique, then we set off again down the river. We wasted a couple of hours there.
We stopped for lunch at another picnic area, and were joined on the river by a family of five, embarking on the river in the maiden voyage of their rubber raft, propelled by an electric motor. They looked like they were enjoying their adventure.
We may be paddling through southeast Michigan, less than an hour’s drive from Detroit, Toledo, and numerous smaller cities, but here on the river, its wild. Most of the river is forested on both sides. Occasionally there’ll be a string of houses, and rarely will there be houses on both sides. Wildlife is abundant. We’ve seen squirrels, raccoon, muskrat, and deer prints in the mud. Birds are everywhere. Geese, mallards, wood duck, cormorant, herring gull, tern, swans, an osprey, an adult and an immature bald eagle, kingfishers, kingbirds, swallows, cardinal, blue jay, chickadee, cedar waxwing, baltimore oriole, red headed woodpecker, downy woodpecker, great blue heron, black crowned night heron, white egret, goldfinch, yellow warbler, other warblers, robin, turkey vulture, various sandpipers, and we’ve heard sand hill cranes.
We found a blank spot on the map within Oakwoods Metropark to set up camp for the second night. Across the river, people walked by occasionally with dogs, but none looked across the river and saw us. And the family in the raft drifted by, but we were invisible just a few feet from shore. More wilds were added to dinner - nettles and wild onion. And we had chocolate cake for dessert.
Sunday
Heavy rain in the night, but again the weathermen were wrong and we enjoyed sunny blue skies all morning long. We stopped at the Oakwoods Nature Center and met a group of people spending the morning painting pictures there. This part of the river is a maze of islands, but the channel is easy to follow. Flatrock dam is our next obstacle. A stiff wind brings us there quickly and threatens to push us too far as we search for the portage route. The map says river right, but we find nothing promising. So we try river left. Here we find a couple working in their garden, and ask directions. He says that maps is 30yrs out of date. Perhaps. But he very generously offers to drive us around the dam to a good put-in spot. Its strangers who help out like this that makes an adventure like ours more fun and less daunting.
From Flatrock, we follow the river (only slightly less wild and more urban now) and take-out for lunch where others have had a campfire on the bank. We’re encountering a few spots of rain this afternoon, but none of them last very long or get us very wet, and the sun returns so we dry quickly. The river widens and slows as we approach the end, but the wind picks up so we continue to make good time. About 3:30pm we arrive at the mouth of the Huron river and look out over Lake Erie. I phone Peter, who drives out to bring us back.
The end
Huron River from Belleville Lake to Lake Erie. May 16-17-18, 2008
By Gary Hochgraf
Accompanied by L. D.
Friday
We had planned on starting at French Landing, but with an early start, and only a short distance to go from French Landing to our intended camp, we opted to back up the put-in to the west end of Belleville Lake. This gave us the entire length of Belleville to paddle. There were a few fishermen out, but basically pretty quiet. Winds were gusty, mostly a quartering tailwind. The forecast had been for 30-40% rain, but we enjoyed bright sunshine.
The portage at French Landing dam was littered with fishermen’s refuse-plastic bait tubs, packages of hooks & gear, discarded string, food wrappers etc. The put-in was difficult. There had once been a set of stairs down to the water, but they’re now gone and just a handrail remains to help.
It was nice to be in moving water, with overhanging trees, much less wind, ducks, GBHs, and redbud trees in full bloom contrasting with the forest green and river grey-brown. We took out on a sandbar (mud-bar with zebra mussel shells) for lunch, and after a few hours of paddling passed the youth group camping area in Lower Huron Metropark, and began looking for the canoe camp area. Well, apparently they are one and the same, but we didn’t realize that until we were well past. We took out at a picnic area, got water and had dinner. Then decided to make use of a reasonably secluded spot at the picnic area for the night. We waited ‘till dark to erect the tent, and slept to the sound of the river running by, punctuated by jets from Detroit Metro Airport.
Saturday
A bit of rain fell in the night, but the morning broke bright and sunny. And a good breeze keeps the mosquitoes at bay. Again, the forecast was for overcast with 40% rain. We’ve foraged for a few wild edibles. Garlic mustard went into yesterday’s lunch, redbud flowers are eaten out of hand, wild ginger became tea for breakfast. Good stuff!
On down the river. I was to meet with some other paddling friends at Willow Metropark, who were participating in a Boy Scout camporee, with a thousand or so scouts running around. We arrived just in time, but they had changed the location, and I arrived as they were ending the canoeing demo. So I did a quick demo of poling technique, then we set off again down the river. We wasted a couple of hours there.
We stopped for lunch at another picnic area, and were joined on the river by a family of five, embarking on the river in the maiden voyage of their rubber raft, propelled by an electric motor. They looked like they were enjoying their adventure.
We may be paddling through southeast Michigan, less than an hour’s drive from Detroit, Toledo, and numerous smaller cities, but here on the river, its wild. Most of the river is forested on both sides. Occasionally there’ll be a string of houses, and rarely will there be houses on both sides. Wildlife is abundant. We’ve seen squirrels, raccoon, muskrat, and deer prints in the mud. Birds are everywhere. Geese, mallards, wood duck, cormorant, herring gull, tern, swans, an osprey, an adult and an immature bald eagle, kingfishers, kingbirds, swallows, cardinal, blue jay, chickadee, cedar waxwing, baltimore oriole, red headed woodpecker, downy woodpecker, great blue heron, black crowned night heron, white egret, goldfinch, yellow warbler, other warblers, robin, turkey vulture, various sandpipers, and we’ve heard sand hill cranes.
We found a blank spot on the map within Oakwoods Metropark to set up camp for the second night. Across the river, people walked by occasionally with dogs, but none looked across the river and saw us. And the family in the raft drifted by, but we were invisible just a few feet from shore. More wilds were added to dinner - nettles and wild onion. And we had chocolate cake for dessert.
Sunday
Heavy rain in the night, but again the weathermen were wrong and we enjoyed sunny blue skies all morning long. We stopped at the Oakwoods Nature Center and met a group of people spending the morning painting pictures there. This part of the river is a maze of islands, but the channel is easy to follow. Flatrock dam is our next obstacle. A stiff wind brings us there quickly and threatens to push us too far as we search for the portage route. The map says river right, but we find nothing promising. So we try river left. Here we find a couple working in their garden, and ask directions. He says that maps is 30yrs out of date. Perhaps. But he very generously offers to drive us around the dam to a good put-in spot. Its strangers who help out like this that makes an adventure like ours more fun and less daunting.
From Flatrock, we follow the river (only slightly less wild and more urban now) and take-out for lunch where others have had a campfire on the bank. We’re encountering a few spots of rain this afternoon, but none of them last very long or get us very wet, and the sun returns so we dry quickly. The river widens and slows as we approach the end, but the wind picks up so we continue to make good time. About 3:30pm we arrive at the mouth of the Huron river and look out over Lake Erie. I phone Peter, who drives out to bring us back.
The end
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