Rendezvous in the Bush
by Jim Carrier
I was gut hooked on this proposed adventure. Accompanying me would be my son, Ben, a freshman at the University of Minnesota. His fervor for the challenge was a real blessing, returned. I had watched my two boys "grow up" during trips to Canoe Country, hoping they would come to share my love of the park. Both boys were eager but only Ben's schedule permitted participation.
In a few short months, it was time to swap out the Palm Pilot and cell phone on my belt for a Leatherman tool and my brand new GPS unit... purchased with bushwhacking in mind.
We hired Doug Chapman, of Canadian Quetico Outfitters, to truck us over to Stanton Bay late on a very overcast Friday morning in mid-June. When Doug discovered Ben was a member of the U of M's rowing team, he shared "crew" tales from his own rowing experiences at the Henley Championships. An hour later, Doug waved us an enthusiastic "goodbye" as we hauled our packs down the well-corduroyed portage, passing some bedraggled-looking folks coming out. Anxiously we asked each, "How was your trip?" In response, we heard, "lots of wind and rain", "fishing is so-so", "coming off early", and "hope your luck is better than ours".
Buoyed by our quest, Ben and I were not dismayed by these comments.
We shoved off into the drizzle and gray-green dreariness on Pickerel Lake, bound southwest for Pine Portage Bay. Ben noted the early-growth stage of forest recovery along Pickerel's fire-damaged northern shoreline. He vividly recalled a charred and barren version of that same shoreline from a trip during his early teens. This trip would take us down to Sturgeon Narrows, and wind us around to Heron Bay, Fred Lake, and Cutty Creek. We planned to camp two days on remote Camel Lake, then work our way east, enjoying Cutty Creek and several smaller interior lakes en route to our proposed bushwhack "staging area" on Cairn Lake.
We slipped our raincoats on as the early afternoon rain became steady while crossing Pine Portage Bay. Steady rain grew into a real "frog-strangler" by the time we reached Dore Lake. Ben and I beat it for the shelter of a small campsite on the far side, near the portage to Twin Lakes. There, we gulped down our much-anticipated crackers, cheese, and sausage. Fresh air and paddling surely invigorates the appetite! Three friendly fellows in an Alumacraft, thoroughly soaked in their makeshift "plastic bag" rainwear, paddled past us. We waved and exchanged pleasantries. Loose gear and small packs lay strewn about their canoe, so we were not at all surprised to learn this was their first trip. As they moved on, Ben and I finished lunch and considered the bathtub-like quality our canoe had taken on in the drenching. We untied its painter and hopped in. It was only a short way over to the portage. We could flip and empty her there. We caught up with the "rookies" at the hump of bald Canadian Shield rock, the portage entrance.
What happened next was the unfortunate highlight of Day One.