11-Day Solo Camp in the World's Largest Canoeing Reserve

Solitude that wonderful knowledge that you're the only human around for Miles there are rich deposits of it to be found here on these distant lonely Lakes the ones rarely visited and fished even less Quiet Lakes lost and unnamed so I'm here on the most Northerly trip of my life hunting a seldom traveled route that will take me into the world's largest Wilderness canoeing Reserve to me this deliberate Solitude is the ultimate form of freedom out here you can do anything you want absolutely anything oh yeah good Canadian northern water beautiful camp for night number one and that feeling of solitude this is a sweet reward at the end of a long long day of travel I came 9 hours North and I already live in Northern Ontario so I'm almost at the end of the road here toward Pickle Lake up the 599 Highway which is the northernmost Highway in Ontario got to the access point on paska Hogan Lake and was greeted with pretty stiff headwind so I got on my way quickly put in a good 2 hours of paddling and got to this wonderful site I'm tucked away in the in the bush there and I'll give you a quick tour before I lose the Sun and then I'll show you where I'm going on the trip pulled up to this beach and I was hopeful that it was going to work since the sun was getting low and L and behold people have camped here the Moss has grown in so it doesn't look like it's been used for a while and the stools that were cut here are starting to well they're quite rotten but there's no old axe and I'm going to be cozy as can be in the hammock tonight under these jackpine Birch didn't even stake these out cuz it's not supposed to rain but set it up so I don't get Dew or Frost on me supposed to be close to freezing tonight actually getting the stick stove fired up for a classic night one dinner fat juicy thick slab of you know what frois with a nice side of onion sauteed so here's the route I started off Highway 599 over here on paska kogan I'm going to go around into little paska kogan and then down to McCrae Lake probably spend a day there and then the pink dots and lines are portages series of small lakes which I'm really excited for through here and then come out into Green Bush and back and these dotted lines are potential detours if I'm ahead of schedule this is wabakimi Provincial Park just the northwest corner of the seldom visited corner I'm sure there are possible brook trout in there but unfortunately that season closed a week ago so by wall I trip mostly it's amazing how fast it goes from the long days of summer and the heat to potentially close to freezing overnight and man it gets dark so much faster now but cheers got a bit of watch for this trip here to the start of but should be a great one cold gray morning to start off day two and the stiff headwind building so I'm glad I'm up at first light to get on my way and I want to get off this Lake as soon as possible because it does have a bit of development at the South End where I access and if I want Solitude then I need to put portages behind me to to earn that Solitude I love solo tripping but there are pros and cons of course and both of my regular tripping Partners came into my dreams last night right before I woke up I imagined that Aaron was building a fire right in front of the hammock for me and I woke up and it was all nice and cozy but no it was cold and Aaron wasn't there and no fire and then I dreamt that Xander and I were sharing a canoe which we would never do because it would end our friendship a bear started just rushing out to us into the water and Xander did nothing and I bopped it on the nose with my paddle and we got away but we tripping partner on this one time to get getting [Music] [Music] gear well it's been a long 19 km into this headwind to get to the top of paska Hogan Lake but I'm finally there I'm heading down this way into McCrae Lake down here the M paska kogan river flows up there to the Albany River famous Waterway and it's not far away but it's for another time for now I'm just excited to come around this corner and go through the Narrows into East P kogan Lake [Music] stopped a little early before the Portage found a good campsite here the fire pit so I'm starving going to get lunch hooked up L beam burritos [Music] back in my way and I'm almost at the Portage into McCrae Lake which goes around to Rapid and I read online that this Portage is very clear so this should be a really easy one Beyond this one I have no idea what safe the portes are in but I don't imagine they're well traveled yeah instantaneous nice eater walleye this hook thank you like this time well I'm sure there are a ton more fish here but still got some progress to make on mcra so on to the Portage Portage was a breeze on to Merra Lake got to be a few dozen sandhill cranes up there my raing I don't think I've ever seen so many together the C Lake's looking beautiful so far I'm going to slip down the back side of these islands here out of the wind and then cut back over and start looking for Camp I originally planned on blowing through McCrae but it's quite a beautiful Lake worthy of spending today and I'll get out of here tomorrow good for the night it's almost 600 now so it's been a full day on the w water but aside from the morning with the headwind it's been Blissful just hoping a campsite turns up soon because Sun's going to go down fast and I'm hungry long day low energy low Sun perfect night for a freeze-dried backpacking meal no cooking it's almost ready it's going to be so good and just a beautiful evening here it's so calm and the Sun is just about to hit the Horizon just enough time for me oh that really hit the spot chocolate bar dessert and a beautiful quiet evening seem to have this huge Lake to myself and looking forward to exploring it tomorrow if I can will myself to I want to get up for some stargazing tonight it looks like it's going to be perfectly clear so yeah see if I can get my butt out of bed what [Music] a lovely start to day three here along with some stargazing and a Bard owl hooting last night and on my topo map I I keep Canadian too maps on my phone on a on an app that I can view them offline and there's an interesting feature it's an esker which I don't get the chance to see very often so I'm going to take take a flight here and look [Music] [Applause] [Music] around [Music] lovely view up there up sunrise and you can see the ridge of the esker running between those two small turquoise Lakes but it's fored so you can't really make out the esar itself and the sediment that's left there if you're not familiar with an esar basically after the last ice age 8 10,000 years ago all those glaciers were melting and they created rivers of of melt water running through those glaciers and embedded in all that ice was lots of sediment and sand so as it ran and funneled into those channels in the glaciers it also deposited tons of sand so once the glaciers finally melted down you had these rivers of sand left the river beds in the glaciers so I've never really seen one it's more of something you see in the in the Arctic or subarctic so yeah I'm not surprised it was it was forested someday I'll see one so here's the progress update put in just 6 km on that first day into the headwind carried on yesterday morning and then turned down to McCrae Lake and cut around the backside of this island down here to right around there that's 42 km so far 36 of them yesterday today will be a lighter day just head up here three short portes though I think they might be hard to find and rough and get into Sho Lake fish on to start day three taking a quick lunch stop here before the first Portage I'm almost there in the northeast corner of McCrae been an uneventful and gloomy paddle so far but it looks like the sun's trying to break through and I'm just heading down here into the end of the bay and then I'll be looking for that [Applause] Portage muck down there almost at the creek and it's extremely shallow just enough water to float the canoe so I got this route from a friends of wabakimi guide book and I found virtually no other information on it online and I'm guessing they did it in higher water because this is not accessible at all based on their map Portage starts way up there and there's probably 100 m of marsh and muck to get through to get to that spot and that's just the first Portage of many so that's kind of dubious I'm going to get out on Shore and see if I can find something guessing this is the trail which would be absolutely fine okay so once I get to the actual Trail it's quite reasonable yeah some cut logs here okay I better get to work so it's going to take a lot of clearing work to walk through to the end but the upside Solitude what I came for looking a little bit better first load main pack camera bag and and net with odds and ends from the canoe and second load canoe and food Barrel uneven terrain got to pay attention oh man that's one down one short one supposedly short one out of three just to get the shoe Lake still just enough water in this Creek section to float but I love these big Wetlands so I'm pretty happy and on McCrae Lake there was an Outfitter Outpost camp and I was looking for it couldn't see it didn't see any motorboats or anything like that but I guess tourism season's kind of over now and yeah I was all I seem to have the lake all to myself but I didn't feel that remote you know it felt like someone could go by at any point now that feeling is gone I feel like I'm in the middle of nowhere and I love it I'm just hoping I can get to Sho Lake before it gets dark cuz this is not a nice place to Camp after a short paddle I'm at the second Portage and at least the creek was deep enough here for me to get to where the Portage starts on my map so that's a big Improvement now I just got to find it no sign of anything from the water but the Southshore looks a little less terrible so try that first oops Yep this is it just got to wait out a little bit here cuz I'll ground out on these rocks but at least I'm not waiting in mud plenty of water in this section of Sho Creek which is almost like a lake itself and before this trip I was wondering if snowmobiles got into these Lakes at all but based on those Trails I highly doubt it is great looks good well decent the loop I'm doing was more formally established in 2008 or 2009 by the wabakimi project F cotton but yeah I do it seen a ton of use since so that was 15 years ago now and I don't think much work has been done yes shoe Lake looks beautiful Camp number three Spruce woods and a beautiful carpet of moss awesome view from the hammock shoe lake is dead quiet gravity filter got dinner ready to cook up some stuff drying out here and a lake to myself the reward for a few portages non calzones coming up tonight and I built a little rock pile here for this twig stove because his pan kind of covers the whole top of the stove and stifles the draw so it works but it just works a lot better if there's some space there m m [Applause] cheers to deliberate loneliness for for [Music] for what morning the Ravens and loons are finally breaking the silence but it was dead quiet for 12 hours and it was a really cool experience I didn't want to break that silence but it's time to get moving again I'm looking forward to the next Lake it looks beautiful on the map takeoff Lake it's called it looks like a long Runway and I might spend an extra day there we'll see how much I like it got a big pot of Veggie Curry rehydrating should fil me up for a while going to need the calories today I got some longer pores so yesterday I came up from about the middle of McCrae Lake through these three short portages that was the nasty one and to the middle of Sho Lake three portages today takeoff Lake [Applause] how many people do you think fish a lake like this each year it could be zero could have be no one's fish this Lake this year at the East End of shoot Lake looking for the Portage and I have a better feeling about today's portages cuz they're not following a creek system like yesterday in the low water which you can see from the shoreline it's very low Creek travel becomes impossible so these shouldn't be as bad nothing visible from the water but I'm pretty sure I'll find it Yep this is it very nice I love these lowlands tons of Labrador tea and stunted little trees great for Portage Trails they don't get washed out so easily and because of the low water and dry conditions it's nice and dry in here sweet that went quite well and that brings me to this unnamed Lake looks beautiful okay coming through at the second load and Trail's looking [Music] [Applause] [Music] great [Music] another pretty little island studded Lake and too soon I'm through it and looking for the next Portage I'm guessing this is it looks like it decent Trail certainly usable going take a little work [Music] wow that is so [Music] pretty glow to be done that it took a good couple hours with the scouting and clearing but now just one short Portage left for the day to get into the next one which looks beautiful and peanut butter and honey wraps to provide a little fuel until I get there this is one of those perfect little lakes that makes you wish you could just live here and there's a Beaver Lodge over there and I'm a little jealous but a simple perfect life this Lake all to yourself don't have to worry about a job or geopolitics or any other major stresses you just find food which is abundant here for a beaver and try not to get torn apart by wolves I have been fishing these small lakes a little bit can't resist just imagine no one fishes them and surprisingly nothing but take off Lake as we I'll spend a bit more time on that and it's coming into view here it's just a tiny 32 M Portage separating it from this Lake it's a bit messy for a mere 32 M but clear load a little bit do a little more but the reward looks so [Applause] sweet take off is a beautiful Lake as I hoped and it looks so pure that I'm going to risk it I almost never do this but I'm so thirsty and out in the middle of the lake should be okay the main risk here is jaria which sounds just awful it's parasite it can take weeks or even months to get rid of so that's why I [Applause] filter tiny Walley H not that tiny pretty nice eater actually but it's getting late and I want to just make camp and have something easy tomorrow I hope to have a short lunch though really hoping to find Camp soon in fact I would have stayed on the last Lake if I found something good but thick push on the North Shore and steep Rock on the Southshore so absolutely nothing yet nothing even viable another one same thing oh it's got a nice belly on it I would actually I would love to have this for for dinner but I just don't have the energy and get getting low on daylight too oh that one had a bit of blue to it sometimes these Northern Walle I do well I locked out at just the right time fantastic campsite established campsite actually and it's perfect for me really ecstatic what a spot fantastic View and the site itself is outstanding little fire pit which I'm going to use momentarily for a much needed meal great spot for the hammock nice Woods very open but not uh in an used way I'm in heaven refueling with some mint tea and a backpacking meal and can't wait to get in the hammock I might stay here tomorrow it's too nice to have so little time here ah day five and the obligatory cutting of the vegetables shot making some nice breakfast burritos this morning and hopefully not the last time I'll be using this F knife today taking a rest day here it's too good not to enjoy I can cut vegetables sweet onion black bean mix some hash browns and cheese tomato hot sauce time to get these babies in some wraps look at these chunkers holy cow it was a cold and gloomy morning nice to spend it by the fire and in the hammock it's really changed now beautiful day and I'm really hoping to get that fish uh yeah still a little too small I'll show you if it's an interesting fish but best to keep them wet it's three bites here in this little Bay whoa just on the other side of camp and it's the same thing unfortunately I'd be happy to eat pike I love Pike but ideally when they're in kind of like 3 to 4 lb range although you can't keep any between 90 70 and 90 cm in this Zone which is 27 to 36 in roughly um that one's almost keepable might keep this one and let's go for another get a good look at it first um yeah let try it thank you so that' be one of the smallest Pike I've ever kept so we'll see how this goes and I run my thumb down the belly to push out poo and pee so it doesn't end up in my cutting board this Wai oh yeah oh my goodness that's going to be so good perfect that's a really nice one for eating little blue T tinged to the tail and fins oh man can't wait these long pieces are from the pike these are walleye top of it this is just the second round this is wonderful people say they hate Pike I just don't get it it's really delicious as long as you clean it properly and get the wi bones out what a meal that's some mint tea to wash it down there are a bunch of bearberries here but bear berries aren't very good they're kind of dry but call out dessert actually actually aftertaste is better not bad couple bonfires reading in the hammock and a big fish fry it's a perfect rest day normally I wouldn't take a rest day this early after only seven portages but the lake is too sweet and I just wanted to air on the side of costume with my knee since I'm still rehabbing it and essentially will be forever I tore my meniscus in February if you don't if you're not familiar with what I'm talking about and two months later finally got surgery they pulled it out so there's no meniscus in that knee anymore so conditioning is essential moving forward indefinitely until the knee has to be replaced I just have to keep strengthening it to protect the joint so yeah anyway been doing so much busy over the last few months and it's just doubly rewarding to be here right now yeah incredible feelings of gratitude right now and I'm looking forward to the rest of the trip I'm ready to move on now great day here glad I got to enjoy this Lake [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] on day six quick and roller to get going so here's the plan today continue down takeoff Lake one short Portage into Davy's Lake and two short portages into matig Lake which is part of the missa river system which carries down or up this way up to the Albany River hopefully set up camp somewhere around there in W Bim I should add working down the lake and it'll be Port hunting soon at this last Camp there was this weird sound in the night was kind of like it was like a dog toy being squeezed and I finally got to idea on Merlin Bird app and it's a boreal owl that was pretty cool he's waking me up here periodically but it's pretty neat never ceases to amaze me where you'll find oil drums and Industrial Waste a random spot for it but it was probably fire Crews forse firefighters and uh yeah those got flown in and they never got flown [Applause] out [Applause] [Applause] been a dead fall here at the end but a fantastic Trail one of the best yet [Applause] triple carry that one sometimes with all the fishing and filming gear it's easier just to do three quick trips and pack it all up and unpack it at the other end there's a cold East wind blowing on Davy's Lake headwind but at least I'll keep you warm paddling against it taking a quick break behind this point I'm now in wabakimi and I can paddle directly into this headwind for 6 km up Davies or potentially look for a camp tonight and just wake up tomorrow and make up that [Applause] dis it's been spitting on and off all morning now it's starting to rain so I'm even more inclined to get off the water I blew past the campsite marked on the friends of w Bim map so I'm going back to see if it's any good this could be the site but everything around here has really steep access especially with the wet conditions that's that's tough so I guess I'm moving on oh yeah there's the fire pit there it is really tough water access found a little Nook to get the canoe in so I'm going to have a look it's a pretty cool spot and I'm kind of tempted because headwind cold and Rain are kind of the worst conditions for pad so yeah let me have a look that's the spot back there I'm leaving it behind it's just too slick and slippery it's getting pretty chilly though high today is 12 and it's getting down to 2° tonight so I'm probably camping on Davies going look for something else though some moose over [Applause] there went on Shore to try and get a more stable shot but seems like she vanished in that time but that was nice to see good news I made it to the other end of Davies bad news the campsite that was marked on the map here is a thick bush so I don't know if it's around I'm not seeing it so I look around I don't really want to dive into these two portages now it's getting kind of late in the afternoon so see what I can find back to rain again Portage is supposed to be down there and I found a spot that is viable yeah I could set up right here seems pretty [Applause] tempting yeah this spot's growing on me it's hard to describe exactly what makes a campsite appealing to me it's wild secluded pure unique cozy so here's Camp after a little cleanup good water access that's a big one for me unique view both ways set up a little fire pit here although I I'm going to cook on the stick stove anyway but I might use it tomorrow morning when it's supposed to be two degrees for an open fire for a little warmth filter hammock got a little towel just for drying off if I'm wet from rain or washing my face nice lofty pitch under these beautiful jackpine bit of an ugly paddling day but I'm mov great Camp reading back pay medicine tea and a cuddle buddy sleep with us on cool nights in case it gets to freezing I don't want to ruin it all is well it's great to be back inside wabakimi again too and it's funny how that moose appeared within a kilometer of getting to the park boundaries oh yes it's that calm weather says it's one degree right now it's mexic skin quinoa rehydrating this morning along with AAL Gray tea feels amazing along with this flame on a cold morning I don't establish fire pits so Liber liberally anymore I used to like kind of have fires wherever and then leave and yeah I don't feel good about that so I use the sck stove for the ma vast majority of the time now and then if there's like a legitimate campsite to be established and I need for one then I'll set up a fire pit small one in my book m was just uh I was reading about his trip in wabakimi last night I realized wabakimi was part of the book so that's cool and he he breaks up fire pits sometimes just to for like a leave no Trace principle which I really I really respect the leave no Trace thing but there's there's a time and a place and like a fire pit that everyone can use I think is a is a valid Trace same way they'll I'll clear out the portages it's something that everyone can use anyway there there was a ridiculous coincidence in this book last night I I actually can't believe it but he's he's in wabakimi and he wrote Lower Rock Cliff was gorgeous the last quarter mile skirted more wild rice than I had ever seen Dave's Lake produced more glass like still water I could have paddled all day in conditions like this and then the agony the connector stream between takeoff Lake and Redmond Lake was essentially dry so those are the two Lakes I was just on and I had no idea that those were in the book so you can imagine what a surreal moment that is they say we're living in a simulation and I'm believing it right now and the other crazy thing this is getting long winded but the last trip I did on Pickle Lake in pickle Lake Area was with Xander two years ago and I was reading a book and it happened to feature two young men who were on a canoe trip near Pickle Lake so that's just bizarre I can't explain how that coincidence could happen on such obscure places but anyway love these candle Jays well that was amazing I was just brushing my teeth and caught the corner out of the corner of my eye I saw something and yeah there was a cow and then a calf and it's in this area area where I've been just I've looked there 100 times since I've been on the site just thinking that looks like a spot where Wildlife could be and for some reason it's so much more satisfying when you see wildlife in those places where you imagine them and I'll be keeping my eyes out for a bowl too because it's that time of year almost ready to head out here and the sun's trying to break through that would be really nice next couple days are supposed to be a lot sunnier it's been pretty gloomy [Applause] okay very short paddle for the next Portage there nice pool here where three streams converge and then they go down river there's a rapid there I can hear and it seems pretty shallow but I'll give it a shot yep tiny walleye C gorgeous Woods bit of a tangle at the end but not too bad [Applause] back in business for now something over here yep sometimes it just ends up being a stick oh no way no way this is a caribou shed it's not even moose oh that is amazing I'm so glad I checked wow never found one before I've only seen two Caribou Woodland Caribou wow not nearly as heavy as a moose antler [Applause] me take Lake baby wow what a morning two moose Caribou shed and a couple of trumpeter swans here I'm into mtig Lake there it's just labeled as missa River on this map but yeah some maps label it as matig Lake and it looks beautiful this East Wind evil East Wind has finally died and the sun is coming out there've been very few campsites on the route so far but there are supposed to be three on mtig and if I feel enthralled by one of them I'm going to have to stay it's got a real wild Lifey feel here keeping my eyes peeled along the shorelines hoping something will turn up couple more trumpeter swans look at that beautiful down passing by the first campsite marked on the map it's functional but it's not giving me that feeling down there my heart can we be adults please I'm going to move on a little otter there hi this is a funny thing to see out here it's a snowmobile not exactly the latest model this be a horrible spot for your snowmobile to break down [Music] to another great camp for night number seven Great Water Access Sunrise view that way Sunset View that way love when I get both and Northern Exposure just in case Northern Lights kick up you never know nice open Woods cooking area here got all my sticks fuel for tonight and tomorrow the Caribou shed which I'll be leaving here and a Heavenly hang what a great spot oh see I'm leaving the shed behind here because I'm in a park and you can't take that kind of stuff out of parks unfortunately be kind of cool but then again it would just be stuff at home I mostly just like to show Aon but a blissful day perfect combination of Adventure excitement peace Solitude and the only thing that could be said against it is the water quality here on mtig Lake it's so shallow and very muddy in the bottom so you can taste that that muddiness just a hint of it in the water water so I've found substitutes so here's where I'm at still Fair bit left especially on the big lakes next is Green Bush Lake I've got two portages into there up the missal river and another Portage back to East Pash and then back to my car but that's that's not a short distance that's plenty although in the last 5 days or so I've only done this section here and you know what I've loved it Pace has been wonderful what's more symbolic of being alone deafening silence or the echo of your own voice hello out there hello out [Music] there hello out [Music] [Music] there [Music] [Music] my soul let [Music] mus you glor the [Music] Earth I know in [Music] you the for [Music] for wow just wow what can you say what a 24 hours it's been Northern Lights last night one of the better shows I've seen cold night clear turning to to fog and now this this show this morning with it burning off oh my goodness and Ducks Little Beaver swam right by Camp last night otter this morning some little birds black birds and thrush I think the pictures could never do it justice real happy to have this tea it's it's cold for canoe tripping wow for great morning for a paddle here on day eight feels incredible to be back in the sunshine and the warmth much needed this morning and I'm just about at the end of mtig Lake which means I'll be back on the missa River and out of wabakimi what a what a couple of days it's been in the park couldn't vasper anymore so I've got a couple portages this morning to take me into Green Bush Lake which is one of the biggest on the trip got a 23 km minimum paddle to get through that Lake that'll take me to a Portage back into East pth [Applause] Hogan [Music] [Applause] [Music] so this first Trail is supposed to be about 700 M and the first 300 of it was great and then it hit some Deadfall and I can't see any sign of it anywhere so Portage hunting last 100 m or so I just can't find anything so just push whacking it good enough all right back to the river if I had two people I would definitely take the river there and just lift over some of the rocky parts and wait or run if you're going the opposite directions the little Shoots look pretty clear from the air was able to fly again because I'm outside the park onward it's just enough water for me to get through this section hopefully I'll be able to get to the Portage Landing ahead [Applause] time for a peanut butter and honey break it looks like there will be enough water to wade up to the Portage landing and I'll I'll take that for sure I was worried it was just going to be just mud based on what was looking like [Applause] there so I'm going to have a look ahead on this one it gets really thin so I'd be surprised if they didn't make it Portage further back or at least somewhere here so I'm kind of looking for the Portage at this point but it's supposed to be further ahead in the meantime I can clear out this sweeper on this tight little run this sweeper would not be welcome all right [Applause] end of the line here it's too narrow so I'll start portaging over the boulders till I get to the Portage yeah the Portage is supposed to be somewhere way down there this to be is so much easier with two people cuz you could take the PX and then two men or two person in the canoe just lift it over everything taking out my two big packs here for a sec it's just too narrow and now I can lift the canoe over more easily got the canoe through the boulder Garden step one the other two packs are back there and then the trail should be not too far ahead almost there beautiful day for this kind of thing so waiting up that section I was thinking this makes no sense for all the portages around here why would there not be one for this the Portage was marked around here on my map and right now I'm about to get into Green Bush Lake so that there was a Portage somewhere but it wasn't marked in the right spot on on my map so anyway I don't have to do it that's the good news Green Bush is very shallow in the East end but it's full of islands bays and channels just how I like it plenty of rock out croppings for camping and as soon as I found a little depth through my line in in and it took seconds but it's a small Pike how do I get away from you [Music] guys first decent Pike of the trip all right Green Bush is really exceeding expectation so far I was kind of thinking I'd blow past it but it's quite Scenic and the fishing promises to be very good plowing the way through Green Bush trying to find a campsite as soon as possible everything got pretty damp last night with the fog and frost so I would love to be able to dry out the hammock and sleeping bag hard not to get my lawn in the water though this Lake just seems pretty amazing nice little walleye oh wish I had time to have fish for dinner seriously if I can't see bottom I throw my line in and it's it's usually within a minute another nice eater walleye oh thank you that just fish after fish I fish a lot of lakes I would say this one's a pretty special fishery solid Pike it was a very solid Pike holy cow look at that what a beauty thank you okay finally made Camp got water filter was motoring all around the lake trying to find something and finally did I'm just going to leave the canoe in the water it's so sheltered here in this Cove I have this little leash for it with and uh a bungee through this labador te got an awesome view over here barfed all my gear out trying to get some stuff dry while there's a little Sun left and a really cool view into this Bay Sunset and the greater Lake over there but yeah I'm happy and there was a site marked on my map here and evidently this is it but I'm not sure why the water access got so bad for it old fire ring with moss growing in it so that hasn't been used in a long time also got some wet stuff off that feels good now I just need need a meal I'm ravenous I stopped filming the fish and then stopped fishing all together so I could make progress cuz I I couldn't they were just biting non-stop so hopefully this hot bike continues tomorrow I still have a good paddle left on Green Bush for all the perks of solo tripping getting into Camp late and having to set up and cook and everything on your own is not one of them but it's all good I got a backpack backing meal again to keep it quick just boil up some water but yeah it's so nice when I'm with Aaron she let's say sets up the shelter and I get fire going get dinner on it's just such a comfort to have each other at those times but this is this is far from one of those stressful times but it would still be nice so I've got three options to choose from what a delight but there's a catch all three are significantly past their best before date that's best before not expiry so I I'm about 95% sure it'll be fine however two of them are seafood and the other one's pork so that's getting like a little sketchy maybe this one's called Seafood Delight pretty sure we feed our cat something called Seafood Delight shrimp curry with rice or brazed pork with white wine mushroom sauce I think I'll go with that because I the seafood just seems sketchier to me so the pork is also the least expired it was April 2018 the shrimp cry with rice ooh October 2016 that's a that belongs in a time capsule and it's got a stain on it and the seafood Delight Feb 2017 so let's give it the whir okay Moment of Truth ended up boiling it in the pot just to try and make it a little safer taste is good another very clear night and it's still Twilight but I can see the light starting to kick up faintly oh man I can't believe this well the lights went away maybe they'll come back but anyway it's an amazing night for stargazing morning of day nine another chilly one I've got the sun warming me up over there had amazing Stars overhead through the night sweating in the hammock and Northern Lights and sunset over this way so just another unreal experience and and I was planning on hammering out some early distance today before the wind picked up I'm out of the wind here but I can hear the wind and waves behind me so I'm kind of thinking I might have to just spend an extra day here and enjoy the the fishing here it's too good so I think that's the plan definitely feels like the right call to stay here today the wind is building it's doable right now but I'm pretty low energy as well feel slightly hung over and I had no Scotch so maybe it was that dehydrated meal feeling much better after breakfast in a quick nap leaving camp and getting back to fishing yesterday caught all the fish on this jointed crankbait single Buress hook and I bet a wide variety of lures would have caught any any number of fish here but anyway I'll stick with this since it worked the clouds have moved in and it is supposed to rain later today and tomorrow so I'll get this fishing in now while I can I'm camped on a little point and there's a bay right beside it which is really sheltered from this wind so I'll start here it was hard to stop fishing yesterday because you never know when a hot bite like that is going to go cold but yeah there's another fish quickly small bike though [Music] [Music] go for [Applause] Bay here is two shallo for fishing but I had to check out this little stream at the back which is really pretty wanted to keep going down it but I realized I'd have to paddle the whole thing backward so heading back out to the lake into the wind I guess [Applause] there it goes perfect Pike it's eight Pike and three walleye so far today been raining Lightly for a while so I'm going to pack it in I think and head back to Camp no notable fish within those either all fairly small back to Camp didn't get the fish that I hoped to on Green Bush but I still have a fair paddle to get out of it tomorrow and I got to be up early to hopefully make up some progress that I didn't make today so I'm going to just chill out and have a pretty peaceful evening and fall asleep early [Applause] hopefully [Applause] making some peanut butter and honey wraps again for dinner the rain's been persistent in the back half of the day so I'm not going to bother trying to cook but I'm happy I'm content here I'm dry such a great feeling to be dry when it's wet out just is and Mike and his book toward the end here of the book he's uh kind of windbound just watching the clouds pass but he's happy as well he says for all of this and a whole lot more I'm deeply grateful the key to contentment I'm learning is an attitude of gratitude and I think that's so true when I got to take off Lake on day four I was as like content and um just full I was just felt full inside as I've been in a long time and I think that was rooted in gratitude just being able to get back into these places which I haven't been able to get to since the injury and the things that you lose lose you're just so much more grateful for them when you have them and and just like this my sleep my hammock and sleeping bag were kind of damp now they're dry and I'm dry on a wet day and it's just yeah gratitude is a huge part of contentment so Che to Healing to being warm and dry and peanut butter and honey [Applause] [Applause] on the water nice and early for day 10 got about 14 km left on Green Bush so actually to get my line in the water and then I got a 500 met Portage back into East paska kogan back from day two wow [Applause] h [Applause] about 2/3 to the way down Green Bush I'm going to get a fire going have a good meal before this Portage always keep some dry birch bark in my pack for occasions like this where everything is very wet tons of stick fuel here there's a bunch of blowdown lifted up a big root mat too oh it feels nice it's very mild this morning but it's actually cooled down with this cloud cover so I'm camped on a little point right there there wasn't a campsite marked on my map but it was appreciated that there was a fire pit here to cook this up I've been camped there so I've paddled this most exposed stretch and then there's just this little section left in this small Bay Portage and then I cross over I can either do a short Portage into paska kogan or come up the way I came and back so really just depends on the Wind what makes more sense there this way is a little longer this way has a portage [Music] so [Music] see for the road nice big meal before this last Portage potentially I read a book a while ago called The Hidden life of trees and I used to wonder if this was pollution or something but apparently it comes from the decay of trees Perfectly Natural still kind of gross though during that lunch break it got extremely calm so I'm not surprised at all that it started to rain Thunder still occasionally but well away from me so I'm good to continue great lunch stop it's a late fall actually and a cup of tea oh yeah let's do this looks like the rain's passing just as we get to the Portage looks like it might turn beautiful so that fire P that I just cooked on had moss growing on it I didn't see any anyone on this big lake and I was almost expecting it because my mapbook said that there's a boardwalk put in here presumably by The Lodge so I was assuming that there might be some traffic coming through but I think it was actually too shallow for an actual motor to get through there so that might be part of the reason why but anyway the streak of seeing no one continues look at this turn in the weather there an old oil drum here at the end got the first load across and beautiful wet land but with the low water there's going to be it's going to be Mucky getting in I'll see when I get to that point but the trail was incredibly easy and straight and flat with those little boardwalks at the ends where it gets Mucky and at some point I guess there would have been a trolley here like rail traps because there's an axle here steam coming out of here Sun burning off the oh some serious mud making my way along East Pas shogan with a Tailwind haven't said that much on this trip but that's canoe tripping for you there have been about a half dozen fish today but again nothing notable just like this who perfect there are thunderheads in the distance and more rain in the forecast so hopefully it holds off and I can make camp so I'm approaching a campsite on my map hoping to take it there's still some pretty heavy rain forecasted for any minute and then into the evening and night so looks like the sun's about to go behind some clouds and I'm hoping to get a Turf up EAP [Music] made it all squared away for night number 10 final night got about an 18 kmet paddle tomorrow down that way down Pas kakogan this is my access Lake Hammock and tarp all set up so that's a relief prefer not to get drenched again today so I got my wish established campsite here it's a little junky but cleaned it up now I'm happy that's it for today all I got to do is eat something what I really want are those freeze-dried meals but I'm not going to risk it I got about an 18 oo lightning 18 km paddle out of here and I don't want to have one of those like food poisoning esque hangovers like I did with the last one when I got to this Lake I heard a motorboat in the distance I didn't see them but this the feeling of solitude it's just me in the wilderness evaporated in that moment and I missed the feeling already but it helps me go home cuz I really didn't want to yet it's just been such a great enjoyable trip and there's a quote in the book about loneliness and Solitude Mike says he's done in quao big Park in Ontario Canada says I camped at a lonely little campsite on lonely Lake I have a few thoughts tonight on being lonely it's clear to me that anyone anywhere can experience loneliness isolation Solitude and estrangement and most people probably do encounter these things at some point in their lives being solitary is being alone well being immersed in doings of your own choice it's being aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than the absence of others I perceive being alone and Solitude as an achievement when I am alone I belong entirely to myself and deal with just my state of mind and the sentiments in my heart oh man this storm is about to hit wind just picked up like crazy it's dark I pulled the canoe up a lot further my pitch on the tarp was really lofty brought that down oh boy nature heard what I said and it's like oh you want to feel lonely here's a massive thunderstorm on a tiny little island I feel lonely again I debated trying to go further too cuz I didn't love this site so I'm really happy I didn't holy [Music] cow well that was pretty weird seemed like all hell was going to break loose and then it just went pretty pretty calm anyway gives me a chance to eat I don't think it's over yet on my way for day 11 storm was not too bad last night plenty of rain but thunder and lightning were not not not significant but an ugly morning this morning with gray skies cool weather and a headwind so I'm taking a quick break here before I continue but it's been an amazing trip I've really enjoyed it took it a bit slower little bit less ambitious Pace because of the knee but it held up great and I really enjoyed the pace in the end being able to smell the roses stop here and there early or take a rest day it was really nice started out on these big lakes Pas Hogan East and McCrae then got into the Shu Creek System getting back to back country lakes in that beautiful sense that I'm the only human around for Miles took those small Scenic water bodies down to a great two night stay on takeoff Lake which then launched me into wabakimi the wildlife didn't let me down there with the Moose trumpeter swans otter beaver birds and Ducks and the first Caribou shed that I've ever found found that was the wildlife highlight for me then there was a terrific surprise Northern Lights show that night it was not in the forecast so it made it all the sweeter followed by that Frosty foggy morning on matig Lake which was really stunning it was Heavenly then I left wabakimi and continued up the missa River to Green Bush and found one of the hottest bites that I've experienced in a long time too bad I couldn't enjoy it for longer but I'm glad I was there to get a a bit of the auction there was a brief Encore for the lights that night and then I reluctantly completed the loop through the rain and back to the access Lake where it looked like a hurricane was about to hit last night and I say reluctantly cuz I really didn't want this trip to end I could have gone longer for sure if I brought more food or had more time but I got to get back anyway what a trip wabakimi area never disappoints I got my dose of solitude now it's time to return to the real world actually this is the real world isn't it so it's time to go back to the simulation but simulation has great food that I'm really looking forward to and there's little taste of that wait for me in the car so onto the final paddle oh all loaded up ready to go home here's my sweet reward yeah plus some pops it's always a relief to get back to the car and it's not broken into siphon gas Tire slashed or anything like that dead battery it's never happened but I always worried oh man I skipped breakfast too [Music] [Music] cheers [Music]

Channel: Lost Lakes

Views: 434,514

Keywords: lost lakes, camping, fishing, ontario, canada, bushcraft, backcountry angling ontario, winter, wilderness, solo

Id: GEGmnazggYw

Length: 105min 33sec (6333 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 03 2023