Mossback,

Wind & waves on big lakes give me more worries than just about anything else on my canoe travels... especially in the shoulder seasons when colder water is in play.  Lightning, bad portages, bad bushwhacks and even fire might occasionally grab my attention on a given trip.  However, I exercise the most caution around the possibility of big wind when I plan to travel big water.

Twenty-some years ago I found myself in a rough situation.  My paddling partner had a plane to catch.  We had failed to position ourselves close to our exit (Nym) at our last camp.  Sure enough, that night a fierce wind blew in from the NW.  We were camped on Maria so when we got up onto Pickerel, headed W/NW, we had a white-knuckle experience battling wind & waves, magnified by the local funneling effects of landform. 

We chose to "ferry" our way ever-so-slowly up to Batchewaung Bay.  We were both strong paddlers but the real trick was coordinating our strokes to keep the bow pointed at just the right angle.  Power had little to do with our eventual but painstaking success.  One wrong move & we would have been bashed on the cliffs of the southern shoreline OR have gone cross-ways and flipped as we negotiated the wide stretch of water we HAD to cross to our north.  The wind was absolutely howling out of those narrows at the far west end of the bay we were crossing.   

Never again!  I'd rather not be catching that flight as a corpse. 

Since those times I've been ultra-careful about positioning my last camp, especially if someone in the party has a "hard deadline" of some sort.  Actually, one of the blessings of travelling as a semi-retiree with full-time retirees is the complete lack of such hard deadlines.  Also, the existence of SPOT Messengers (& the like) relieve anxieties you feel about what loved ones back home might be thinking about your delay.  Ultimately, it is best for everyone that temporary human "imperatives" (ie. "I got to get home!) play second-fiddle to what Mother Nature happens to be tossing in your direction on a given day.

Yes, many of us have pushed the envelope a bit and have taken calculated risks.  Some of our best stories come from those experiences.  Nevertheless, "calculated" is the operative word in that statement.  You either get wiser with age... or you simply stop aging because you've done something really stupid.  Looking back, I was pretty stupid plenty of times, but I got lucky, and managed to get a decent story or two out of those experiences to boot (bushwhacks gone awry, lightning strikes at mid-lake when I shouldn't have been on the water, big wind & waves).  I can't figure on much more "luck" in my lifetime; I've likely used it all up.  So, I've grown more conservative, figuring I need to "stay alive" first in order to tell grand kids & future QJers my tall tales from yesteryear.

I'll have to read that Kinziger book.  Sounds like he is reflecting the wisdom of many years in a canoe.

Later,

Jimbo   

At Wally13’s suggestion I bought and read Michael Kinziger’s book “Alone In A Canoe”.  I very much enjoyed his details and insight. Mr. Kinziger has more grit than I will ever know, having chosen some extremely challenging paths and very long trips. 

My problem is it has left me both awed and worried.  This is a gentleman who has spent much of his life in a canoe.  I could not help but notice there were many times he showed cautious restraint and stayed in camp due to wind and wave when he wanted to be moving.  Trying to gage the size of lakes he was on and the season, I believe several were in a size range that I will be traveling on solo this September.  If he is showing that much concern, I likely have no business being on the water "alone in a canoe".

I hope I am reading too much in to this, or maybe just wringing my hands too much?

Other opinions or observations?

Regards,

Mossback

MossBack was bestowed on me by a co-worker accused me of not being very "Progressive".  He was correct, I thanked him and have been trying to live up to the name ever since.

Mossback you have my favorite board name.  My Dad used to say "Don't swim over by the rocks. There's a big 'ole mossback that likes to hide over there."   

MossBack wrote on Mar 7^th, 2017 at 5:01am:


Like this?

Damn, I still can't correctly do a quote.

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Mossback,

Your wish is my command.  I've started such a thread over on the General Discussion Board.  FYI

Jimbo   
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Jimbo,  You are entirely too accommodating, but thank you.

MossBack

MossBack wrote on Mar 6^th, 2017 at 8:18pm:


Mossback,

Your wish is my command.  I've started such a thread over on the General Discussion Board.  FYI

Jimbo   

Over the years I have run onto several travelers in the park that became hero's for one reason or another, but I do not remember a matched pair.

Jimbo, can you or someone give a brief explanation on how a cached food supply works?  I always just assumed a 3 week food supply would be freeze dried gunkus and whatever fish a person could coax out of the water.  I have seen reference to caching food, but no details on the logistics of how it works.

Maybe this is a discussion for another area of the forums instead of the Bookshelf?

Regards,

MossBack

Wally13 wrote on Mar 5^th, 2017 at 5:42pm:


That's about MY time frame, too, Wally13.

About twenty-five years ago on a day in early June, my paddling buddy & I came across a couple of older gents shortly after entering Lonely Lake.  I'm pretty sure I was still checking myself for ticks accumulated  over that long portage from Yeh Lake (I had flicked off something like 17 of them) when we spotted two white-haired guys, each paddling a solo canoe on mirror-still water.  There was barely a ripple.  Each had a wonderfully-behaved Black Lab sitting patiently and gazing forward in the bow of his canoe.  It was a curious sight.  We altered our direction and intercepted them just as they were approaching their camp.

After exchanging pleasantries, these fellows each lit a cigar.  They told us that they had worked together for many years.  Frankly, they looked so much alike that I thought they were brothers... and possibly even twins.  They were even dressed similarly, each wearing plaid flannel shirts and leather hats.  It turns out that, several years earlier, they had made a pact.  They & their identical Labs (possibly twins, too) would do a month-long joint solo canoe trip all around Quetico.  Well, THIS was that trip; they had retired together just a few weeks earlier.

Those guys immediately became our "heroes." 

We didn't chat long, eager as we were to set up camp (and to check ourselves more thoroughly for ticks) and because we wanted to leave these guys to the peace they were seeking (and, possibly a good Bourbon or Scotch to go along with their cigars).  Nevertheless, their story really struck a chord with my buddy and I.  We talked about it not only for the balance of our trip but for years beyond.  We talked about doing something similar.

Well, unfortunately, my buddy won't be making that trip.  Sometimes Life short-circuits even the best-laid plans.  Still, in 2-3 years I figure to be imitating my "heroes" and doing a nice long retirement solo, too.  Food cache replenishment, that sort of thing.  It's part of a plan that I'll keep, if at all possible.

Might even find me a dog that will stay in my canoe.  My current version of canine swims like a fish but simply won't tolerate being paddled around.

Yep, let the countdown begin.

Jimbo