TOURduPARK
By 5pm the wind had died down a bit so I decided to put up the tent. Seeing how the whole campsite was one giant rock, I first had to collect 8 big rocks to keep the rain fly ‘pegged-out’. There were big rocks scattered all throughout the campsite so it wasn’t an issue. With the tent ready to go and firewood already collected, there wasn’t much left to do. Angela and I entered the bug shelter and began to cook dinner. Tonight it would be Butter Chicken on a bed of Indian Rice. Absolutely amazing, it may not look like much, but it sure tastes amazing. With a big hot meal in my stomach, I sat back in my chair and just relaxed for a bit, hands clasped together behind my head. I was in heaven. It didn’t take long for Angela to bust out the whiskey (we were mixing it with different flavours of Crystal Light – not my primary choice of mix for whiskey, but when camping – anything goes!) Evening arrived and we got the fire going. I said I wanted to have a nice big fire because I had too much energy for going to bed early tonight. So with the drinks flowing, we hung out around the fire for a good few hours, eventually retreating to the tent just after midnight.
Another view of this awesome campsite
It was just after 2:00pm when we began to set up camp. There was a nice breeze blowing through the campsite so I delayed putting up the tent. Even with the breeze, the bugs were making more of an appearance than on Little Carcajou Lake – so I busted out the bug shelter. I decided to gather some firewood, and just like on the previous lake there was plenty of wood to be found. It didn’t take long to get a pile bigger than what I needed, which allowed me to leave a bunch of wood for the next group who visits this awesome campsite. I walked around the campsite a bit more and realized it’s kind of an island, only connected to the main land on a very thin stretch of marsh and if the water was 2ft higher it would definitely be a full-fledged island. On one side of the campsite, the view up the lake was amazing and on the other side the view down the long bay was equally impressive. Little rock outcroppings covered in white & red pines could be seen all the way down the bay. It was just beautiful. I went down to the shoreline to cast a few but after looking in the water decided against it – I would surely become snagged among the rocks and would have to get out into the boat to free my lure.
As they pulled away, Angela and I got in the canoe and began our journey for the day. There was a sense of urgency coming over me – something told me if I didn’t get to Carcajou Lake before they did, the dream campsite would be taken and we would be stuck somewhere in the buggy forest. Angela didn’t seem too concerned at first, but when I explained the geography of the potential campsite she immediately recognized why it was imperative we get there – bugs! We started towards the end of the lake where the portage to Wenda lake beings when we noticed they were headed off in the wrong direction. When we landed at the portage I realized these guys weren’t taking the portage, they were taking the creek and fishing. ‘Oh good! We don’t have to rush!’ I said to Angela. We made a quick crossing of the 380m trail and arrived at Wenda Lake by 11:40am. I looked down the creek – no sight of the red canoe. I looked up the lake – nothing there either! Not seeing the red canoe led me to believe these guys were fishing the whole way up the creek and weren’t in a rush to get to Carcajou Lake. As we paddled up Wenda Lake and reached the cabin, the group from the night before was outside the cabin getting their gear in order. I said hello and asked if the cabin was in good shape. ‘Yep’ they replied. I was happy to hear that because when I stayed at this cabin last July, it was a total mess. My friend and I filled 2 green garbage bags with all the shit left behind. From food to gear to clothing – just everything. We continued up the lake and arrived at the take out to the 180m portage. I looked down the lake and still could not see the guys in the red canoe. All pressure was relieved at this point. We crossed the trail without issue and launched on the creek. Less than a minute later we arrived at the 80m portage – once again crossing it with no trouble at all, except the landing on the other side was tricky. Shortly after this portage we encountered a beaver dam. Having crossed literally hundreds of these, I pulled up to it and said ‘Okay, hop out!’. ‘Hop out onto what? This dam? Are you serious?’ Angela replied. I was rather confused by this, ‘What do you mean am I serious?’ What I forgot was, this was the first time Angela had encountered a beaver dam, and wasn’t aware you could get out and stand on one without getting soaked (or attacked by a beaver) I laughed a bit and apologized, then gave her instructions on how to deal with beaver dams and eventually helped her up onto the dam.
Just as I was pulling the canoe up and over the dam, I hear voices behind me. I turned around and looked, ‘Oh shit!’ It was the guys in the red canoe. I couldn’t believe it. I was a bit mind-boggled because when I looked down Wenda Lake, I couldn’t even see them, and here we were not even a half hour later and they were right on our ass! We chatted again and they had mentioned they have not portaged since the 2180m. Awesome I said! So far they saved 3 portages, and would likely save 2 or 3 more. We paddled side by side for a minute chatting then when we approached the 110m portage I told them I was going to take a page out of their book and jumped in the water to start creek walking. I let Angela out at the trailhead and told her to walk the trail as it follows the creek anyway. She wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but she wasn’t wearing a pack either, so it seemed okay for now. As we continued up the creek, I saw a huge beaver dam where there used to be a logging dam. This beaver dam was easily 3ft high and had a rush of water flowing over it. The creek in that spot was also studded with rocks and boulders and after what had nearly happened on the 20m portage the day before, I opted to take the portage for the final 30 meters or so. As I landed and proceeded to unload the packs, the guys in the red canoe hauled ass up and over the beaver dam and continued on – leaving us in the dust! Well, that was it. We lost the race. The awesome campsite only a couple km’s away would definitely be occupied. Oh well, no biggy – we’ll make do with whatever campsite we get.
Evening fire on Carcajou Lake
Carcajou Creek above P110
The dam at P110 where we were overtaken in the race to Carcajou Lake
A quiet morning on Little Carcajou lake
A look at the entrance to Stone Chute
Company at Carcajou Lake. The fire on the right is the guys in the red canoe
The prize: The Great Campsite of Carcajou Lake
Since we were no longer in a race, I decided we should take a break at the former logging dam site. There is a giant rock overlooking the creek right at the dam and I’ve sat here before on previous trips to take a break. This particular spot was especially interesting because it is thought to be the site of a Tom Thomson painting called ‘The Drive’. We hung around for about 15 minutes but the bugs started to ‘bug’ us so we decided it was time to move on. Since my feet were already wet from creek-walking, I told Angela to stay in the canoe for the next portage, and I would drag her and the boat up the creek. It was a hot day so I had no problem jumping into the cold creek. I walked the canoe and Angela up the creek and into deeper waters where I jumped back in the boat. Not bad! Two portages skipped! Only one left for the day. Just beyond the 115m portage the creek becomes very narrow and rocky, so I jumped out again. There was a fairly large beaver dam so I remained in the creek until I was able to drag the boat passed the dam. A little further up and we arrived at the take out to Carcajou Lake. I was happy that we were at our final portage of the day, but still a little bummed out about the prospect of losing the awesome campsite. We crossed the 220m portage with ease and proceeded to load the boat. When I looked around the lake from the portage, I noticed some boats around the giant rock outcropping – our targeted campsite. It wasn’t the red canoe, so I turned to Angela and said, ‘The race would’ve been in vain anyway, the site is already occupied.’ I then noticed the red canoe on the shore at the first campsite on the east side. They were skunked too. I guess someone was up super early to get here, or they were camped there from the night before. We started up the lake and I noticed the second campsite on the east shore was also occupied. ‘That’s odd.’ I said. ‘Why?’ Angela asked. ‘Well, this lake only takes 3 reservations and it has four campsites.’ I replied. ‘Why is that weird?’ She continued. ‘We can see three campsites from here and the 4th is up a little further. Of the three campsites we can see, all three are occupied – which means someone is here when they shouldn’t be.’ It didn’t matter because there was still a 4th campsite, but I felt the lake was too crowded. As we were passing the big rock campsite, Angela noticed a canoe pulling away and thought it was now vacant. I told her that canoe was fishing out front of the campsite, and likely not staying on it – it very likely still has occupants. We couldn’t see anyone, so we decided to paddle over to check it out. Just as we arrived at the campsite, a canoe came around the rocky point and greeted us. We asked if the site was vacant and to our delight – it was! These guys were just on a day trip down from Greenleaf Lake and stopped to have lunch at this campsite. How funny is that? Had we rushed and actually beat the red canoe, we would’ve assumed the campsite was occupied and made camp across the lake – just as they did! But instead, we took our time after admitting defeat only to be rewarded with the campsite we were targeting. I have to admit, I felt bad for the guys in the red canoe. I just know they were aiming for this campsite – who wouldn’t?! We were so happy to get this site – but at the same time and as uptight as it may sound, I think a rule about occupying campsites for lunch needs to be created. It isn’t fair (though it worked out positive for us this time) that people are deferred to less desirable campsites just because someone on a day trip is having lunch. There is no way of knowing, without asking, if the campsite is vacant or if the occupying parties are just stopping for lunch. Chances are, if you see people walking around on a campsite, you’ll just move on, assuming it’s occupied. It is what it is, but I’m sure a lot of people get screwed over like this.
Carcajou Creek south of P110
Portage landing from Wenda Lake north to Carcajou Creek
Carcajou Creek exiting Wenda Lake
Nice view down the lake from the campsite
Little Carcajou Lake to Carcajou Lake
tr 58: Little Carcajou - Carcajou - greenleaf
Day 2: Little Carcajou Lake to Carcajou Lake
Awake a little early today – 6:30am. I wanted to quietly duck out and paddle down to the Stone Chute to check it out and get some photos. I put on some water for coffee and had the boat in the water ready to go. Coffee done, I poured a cup and jumped into the canoe. Just as I was pulling away from the campsite, Angela emerged from the tent. She hadn’t slept well and was in desperate need of a coffee. I swung the boat around and headed back to camp. I really wanted to check out stone chute, but Angela was awake and I didn’t want to leave her at the campsite all alone – it’s one thing if she’s sleeping, it’s another if I ditch her to go explore while she’s awake at the campsite. We decided to get a fire going and enjoy some coffee. It was overcast and looked as though it would rain. We made a breakfast of BLT’s on bagels and enjoyed some more coffee. As I began to take down the tent, I mentioned I’d like to get an early start on today because Carcajou Lake was fully booked and I wanted a very specific campsite – one that I had seen previously when passing through the lake. It was a beautiful long rocky outcropping, really high above the water and an amazing vista views of the lake proper and the giant bay headed south. Knowing how awesome this campsite was, I also assumed that the other two parties booked on this lake were aiming for that campsite too. We took everything down and had our bags packed fairly quickly. With the boat in the water, we began to load it for the day’s journey. It was just after 11am – so much for my early start! Just as we were completing a final walk around the campsite checking for miscellaneous gear, I spotted a red canoe coming our way. As they passed the campsite, I greeted them and we had a quick chat. ‘Where ya headed? Carcajou Lake?’ I asked. They replied with a ‘yup’! And that was it – the race was on! I told them we were headed there as well, just for a night then would continue to Greenleaf for two more nights. They had mentioned they will be on Carcajou for two nights, with a possible day trip to Greenleaf.