Rendezvous in the Bush
by Jim Carrier
Cold, heavy rain persisted and greeted us the morning. Emerging from our tent was a slow process. Fortunately, our BWJ Ultralight Dry Shelter made it possible to prepare much needed coffee and breakfast in relative comfort. While we did not fancy the idea of breaking camp in this mess, we thought it better to travel than to lie about idle, hoping that conditions might clear. We steeled ourselves to the day's challenge and donned the heavy rain gear.
The portage out of Baird into No Name Lake was just as muddy and steep as the portage in! We exercised care, crossed No Name, and hoofed it along a real ankle-breaker portage into Metacryst Lake. Pushing east on Metacryst was quite a challenge. A stiff easterly wind blew sheets of rain directly into our faces. The morning seemed to grow colder as it wore on. Stumpy's great rendezvous in The Bush was supposed to be the following day. My "plan" had been to get good a "head start" on bushwhacking today. Prospects seemed dim, however, as we crossed Heronshaw Lake and approached Cairn Lake, where we intended to launch our trek to the targeted interior pond.
Those dim prospects turned bleak when, around midday, we eyeballed the tall vertical cliff faces of the eastern shore of Cairn Lake for the first time. Their tops were lost in the blowing mists and rain. Their high shoulders shed rivulets of rain water which gathered and gushed as cascades down into the lake, splashing right beside us. We were cold, wet, and weary. Bushwhacking a couple miles into the interior from this spot was unthinkable. Accordingly, Ben and I silently opted to paddle south where we hoped to find shelter and, perhaps, a better approach to the big "X" on our map marking Stumpy's Bushwhackers Jamboree.
What an incredibly raw and miserable late Spring day! We later learned that a veteran solo hiker in the BWCA had disappeared that very week. Reports said he had likely perished from hypothermia. Authorities never found his body... just his scattered clothes. As we paddled south, we knew other folks were also "on the move" towards Bushwhackers Jamboree. Anyone not prepared for these challenging conditions was at serious risk. We pushed ahead in hopes of finding a place to set up our shelter. We ached to get off the water and get warm!