Day 4 - Isaac Lake (is big)

Today we paddled the rest of Isaac Lake. It was a fairly long paddle, coming in at 16.5 km. I was in the stern this time, with Adam in the bow. Time to put my thinking cap on!

Every day sometime near the beginning of our paddle, Lance would bring us together in a group and teach us how to do more specialized canoe strokes. In addition to the J-stroke, the pry, the draw, the forward stroke, the scull and the sweep, we also learned the Canadian stroke and the pitch stroke. In fact, I am certain we learned more strokes than that - I just can't remember.

No rain today. Amazing views. Just check out the photos if you don't believe me! Today I was truly feeling the gratitude of having the opportunity to do this trip. It wasn't like Day 1 and 2 never happened, but it sure made it seem more and more worth it.

We paddled by a huge waterfall and I briefly joked with Adam about how I wanted to get out of the boat and get my photo taken on the rocks at the bottom. I quickly retracted that though, and to our amazement two of our group had the same idea. We watched as Roj and Erin got out of their respective canoes and climbed up the rocks.

And kept climbing. Waitaminute, where are they going? Apparently the photo ops from higher up were more desirable, but once they finished their poses, it became clear that coming down again would be no easy feat. I was imagining all sorts of horrors and Adam was getting nervous as well. From where we were sitting we could see that their footing was very slippery and the rockface was steep. Suddenly this didn't seem like such a great idea after all. I was glad I wasn't up there with them!

Their athletic prowess served them well, however, and perhaps luck also played a part. They made it down pretty much unscathed. Talk about drama! Yikes!

Before arriving at each campsite, we needed to stop at a woodpile and pick up our firewood for the night. The woodpile sites were not often near the campsites, and seeing as how we didn't want to leave camp once we got there, that meant everyone made the pit stop on the way. It basically meant pulling up to a bank (designated with a large sign with a "W" on it), the bow person clambered out of the boat, and hiked off to find the woodpile. In the meantime the stern person usually needed to pull out of the bank to let other canoes in. Then we rotated back around to pick up our bow person and the (hopefully dry) firewood they brought back with them. It was like a slow-moving traffic jam. By the last day, we had it pretty coordinated but the first few times it seemed a bit of a gong show.

Today I was in the stern, so Adam got out of the boat, found the woodpile and hucked a bunch of semi-dry logs into our boat. I had to navigate the canoe by myself without his help, which wasn't too hard since I didn't have to go too far. It was kind of fun, actually.

Arriving at camp (#28/29) this time was great because the group campsite was located right beside the group shelter - you know, the covered area with a stove and picnic tables. This was especially handy and made meal-making an enjoyable and social time. Inside the shelter are all sorts of graffiti & notes and mementos left by previous paddlers. Hanging from the boughs and the ceiling are hand-carved paddles and canoes that people inscribe with their names and dates. They were everywhere at this shelter! It was really neat. We had fun reading the stories people left and their little poems and carvings, and seeing where everyone was from. I don't think we left any of our own... our legacy came in the form of blood, sweat and tears! ;) That was more than enough for me.

Right beside the group shelter was a river, and Lance took people out before dinner to have a little "fun" on the rapids. Quina & I were still setting up camp at the time people were going, so we just decided to watch from the safety of the bank. I took video clips of several twosomes crossing from one side of the river to another and there were a couple of dramatic moments! River canoeing is fun, but you sure gotta be on the ball!

After dinner, we went for a hike down the portage trail that we'd be doing tomorrow. It was nice to use our legs for a change. At the end, we got to see where the rapids ended up - in a huge waterfall (which was part of the reason for the portage, so we wouldn't canoe over the falls to a watery demise!). When we got back, we had a meeting about the next day's plan, and took a few more photos.

I was either back at the shelter or on the bank by the river when I caught the news of a moose in our camp. Well, not only was it in the camp, it ran directly beside our tent to get to the lake on the other side! Furthermore, Quina was IN our tent when it happened! She got out rather quickly and joined the others who watched the moose swim across the water to the other side. Pretty exciting!

This trip just keeps getting better. :)



(Day 4 photos here.)