The Brigade is camped at Lac du Bonnet, MB. There are nine crews still with the Brigade as three crews left at Prince Albert and The Pas, as they had planned to do. We said good bye to the Amisk Lake gang (all from the Flin Flon area) and the Alberta Land Surveyors. Joining us in Ontario to paddle with us through the Boundary Waters and Quetico Park area will be two to four more crews.
The new crews joining will do so at a bit of a disadvantage. We who have been with the Brigade since leaving Rocky Mountain House May 10, have become a much leaner and meaner bunch. Everyone is getting up early, getting on the water and paddling hard all day 4 -12 hours.
After The Pas, we tackled Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Manitoba. The weather was fair to us with wind and a bit of rain to deal with. The second to last day on Lake Manitoba was very bad with 60 km winds out of the NE and driving rain with temperatures in the single digit range. The canoes and teams were pulled off the water half way through the day and transported back to The Narrows. The next day was a road trip to Portage la Prairie. A day off, badly needed, gave us time to regroup, do the laundry and dry things out. The next day was another adventure in the cold. Rain plagued us all day and the eight hour paddle caused some mild hypothermia in some paddlers.
We were well received by all the small communities along the lakes mentioned with many people remembering the canoes passing through their communities in 1967 with the Centennial Canoe Pageant. They were happy to meet Gib McEachern and I as they had been cheering for the Manitoba team and there we were visiting again 41 years later. These small communities really went all out with celebrations and community meals in our honor.
Our arrival in Winnipeg at The Forks was another highlight as there was a great turnout of people, many of them old friends from the canoeing and skiing fraternity. The parade of canoes was festooned with flags and our BC 150 Canadian Voyageur canoe led the parade with a bag piper standing and playing as the canoes did an intricate maneuver in front of the grand stand. We camped across the river at Fort Gibralter.
Our route then took us down the Red River to Lower Fort Gary then to the mouth of the Red River as it emptied into Lake Winnipeg. From there it was on to Grand Beach, the Winnipeg River on up to our present location at Lac du Bonnet. Here again the small community has taken us under their wing, fed us and entertained us. We did our usual canoe arrival show and were piped ashore and on to our camp ground. (The piper needs a bit more training!)
The Winnipeg River is about three feet above normal and some of the fast water places are really fast. We are having to negotiate these rapids and in places, have had to portage through home owners yards to get around some tight spots. We should arrive in Kenora, ON, sometime Saturday then will have to tackle Lake of the Woods. The weather has warmed up and with that, mosquitoes and black flies have mad an appearance. As well, we are in tick country and thses pests are new to a lot of people and causing no end of annoyance! June 15 would prove to be the last day we would wear long underwear. What a long, cold spring.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
DTB Update June 8
Here we are in Portage la Prairie on a day off. Thank goodness the weather cleared up!
We made our way down the last part of the muddy Saskatchewan River and finished that leg at The Pas, Manitoba. For Gib ands I and others on the team, it was 40 hours of paddling over four days. We did a seven hour then a 9 hour into Thunder Rapids at the east end of Tobin Lake then 12 hours to Cumberland House and another 12 hour leg to The Pas. We then set up to paddle most of Lake Winnipegosis and portaged into Lake Manitoba at Meadow Portage. After two long days on this lake, we had to abandon the last bit into Delta due to very high winds (70 km) and sleet. After pulling the canoes through the wet grass and cow droppings in a farmer's field, we drove on to Portage to keep on schedule. We had great receptions in all the small communities along both lakes with many people coming forward and looking for 1967 Manitoba team members. They were children when we went through their communities in 1967 and they are still talking about the arrival of the canoes.
We will be in Winnipeg Wednesday then eastward to Ontario. Follow us on the GPS operated map via www.canadianvoyageur.com. As well, there is a link on that site to three you tube clips so you can see us in action! Also available on that site is my book, Journals of the New Voyageurs". You can follow the 2008 route via my journal entries and experiences in 1967 as, 41 years later, we are on the same waterways and visiting the same communities.
Norm
We made our way down the last part of the muddy Saskatchewan River and finished that leg at The Pas, Manitoba. For Gib ands I and others on the team, it was 40 hours of paddling over four days. We did a seven hour then a 9 hour into Thunder Rapids at the east end of Tobin Lake then 12 hours to Cumberland House and another 12 hour leg to The Pas. We then set up to paddle most of Lake Winnipegosis and portaged into Lake Manitoba at Meadow Portage. After two long days on this lake, we had to abandon the last bit into Delta due to very high winds (70 km) and sleet. After pulling the canoes through the wet grass and cow droppings in a farmer's field, we drove on to Portage to keep on schedule. We had great receptions in all the small communities along both lakes with many people coming forward and looking for 1967 Manitoba team members. They were children when we went through their communities in 1967 and they are still talking about the arrival of the canoes.
We will be in Winnipeg Wednesday then eastward to Ontario. Follow us on the GPS operated map via www.canadianvoyageur.com. As well, there is a link on that site to three you tube clips so you can see us in action! Also available on that site is my book, Journals of the New Voyageurs". You can follow the 2008 route via my journal entries and experiences in 1967 as, 41 years later, we are on the same waterways and visiting the same communities.
Norm
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