Hex -

Congratulations to you & your group on reaching the interior lake!  It seems your Kawnipi approach was best or at least more sane than the Cairn Lake approach.  

Had Ben & I gotten in a day earlier, we would have circled around to Kawnipi to try to get in that way.  Originally, we planned to reach Cairn on Monday evening & check out it, then, going in on Tuesday morning, if possible.  If not, we would move over to Kawnipi at midday.  However, we got bogged down & slowed up along Cutty Creek & didn't even arrive on Cairn until Tuesday afternoon.  Then, the sight of those wet cliffs & the rugged terrain from OUR Cairn vantage point stopped me cold, even though Wednesday morning's bright sunshine held out some promise.

Hex, I'm curious... why was your first choice the Kawnipi route?  Had you been there before?

Stumpy -

You know better than I do... you take only what current Park & group conditions allow you to take.  To go for more is sometimes not very smart.  As leader, you have to make decisions in the best interest of your overall party.  I am SURE your choice was the wise & best one possible under the circumstances.  As you know, ten years ago my wild man brother & I did something VERY stupid under MY leadership.  We went for the "glory", so to speak & got VERY lucky in that we did not suffer a major mishap.  It could have turned out QUITE different.

I play it a little more conservative these days.  This is less exciting for my son, I suppose, but "excitement" experienced while being strapped down on the inside of an emergency medical evacuation helicopter is something I wish to avoid.  As I return to my office this morning, I am hearing a horror story about 2 local canoe campers who nearly experienced a fatal mishap while paddling in another part of remote Canada last week.  One guy went unconscious for two days as a result of a bad infection & had to be moved paddled out by the other (a kid) until some help was found.

I'll pass on that kind of experience, thanks.

Peace of mind goes well with the Peace of Nature in my book.

Having said all that, however, I must confess something.  A really stubborn part of me wishes I had followed Hex into the Bush....

Later,

Jimbo   8)