Wednesday
Mike: We were on the water
Wednesday morning near 8:00 am. We missed a left turn and ended up going around
an island then back tracking in north-east direction to get back on route. We
took two portages then were on Versailles Lake. We paddled north-east with a
healthy west wind mostly behind us. I was in the rear and found steering
when I was on the left side difficult as the wind kept turning the canoe so that
it pointed North. I believe the problem was the back end was higher than
the front so the wind would push back more than the front causing the canoe to
rotate counter clockwise. I pushed the packs up towards the front which
seemed to help a little however steering when I was on the left hand side
remained difficult. Nevertheless, I was happy not be paddling into the
wind. We made quite good time. We portaged from Versailles Lake to a nameless
lake, then to Hutchings Lake, then to another small nameless lake located
between Hutchings Lake and MacLean Lake. We decided to stop and camp on
this nameless lake as we had plenty of time to complete the trip the next
morning from here. We prefer to camp on islands however no island on this
lake but there is a very nice camping spot on a point on the south side of the
lake.
While the others were fishing, Wayne and Peter erected the kitchen tarp.
While we were camped, the canoe party we had seen at the start passed, on their
way south. While we had completed two-thirds of the trip, they had done
one-third in the same time.
Mike: Kevin, Brent and I
fished and Kevin caught a smallish Northern Pike. A few bites were felt, Brent
claims he hauled in a big one that snapped his line at the side of the canoe,
but nobody else caught a fish. I filleted the Jack and Kevin fried it up in
butter and Shake and Bake. We ate fish, flavoured rice and Brent's tasty
mixture of dried hamburger for supper.
Wayne:
Spirits brighten in the fresh morning sun. Warm, partially rested and having
easier paddling conditions, still I found I was having trouble steering my canoe
since I had sprained my wrist the day before. So though I could carry my canoe
through the portages, I had to have Brent take over steering my canoe with
Megan, while I moved into the front of Peter’s canoe. This was a blessing in
disguise because “He who walks (and paddles) with the wise shall be wise.”
Our conversations were enlightening. Reaching camp early with wonderful weather
and scenery cemented a great day.
While
Brent demonstrated the correct marathon paddling technique.
[ Home ] [ Monday ] [ Tuesday ] [ Wednesday ] [ Thursday ]
Mike: We were on the water
Wednesday morning near 8:00 am. We missed a left turn and ended up going around
an island then back tracking in north-east direction to get back on route. We
took two portages then were on Versailles Lake. We paddled north-east with a
healthy west wind mostly behind us. I was in the rear and found steering
when I was on the left side difficult as the wind kept turning the canoe so that
it pointed North. I believe the problem was the back end was higher than
the front so the wind would push back more than the front causing the canoe to
rotate counter clockwise. I pushed the packs up towards the front which
seemed to help a little however steering when I was on the left hand side
remained difficult. Nevertheless, I was happy not be paddling into the
wind. We made quite good time. We portaged from Versailles Lake to a nameless
lake, then to Hutchings Lake, then to another small nameless lake located
between Hutchings Lake and MacLean Lake. We decided to stop and camp on
this nameless lake as we had plenty of time to complete the trip the next
morning from here. We prefer to camp on islands however no island on this
lake but there is a very nice camping spot on a point on the south side of the
lake.
