DTB Update June 30

I took a short side trip to Flin Flon, Man. courtesy of my brother and his airplane. I was picked up in Fort Frances and delivered back the 29th. Flin Flon was the home town for Gib and I and where we got our start in the paddling game. There was a big FF reunion with 4000 people coming "back home"

Back in Fort Francis, a big rain storm passed through the night of the 27 and 28th. Ground very wet and Rainy Lake very high. The paddling crew left for Lac la Croix and a camp out while the road crew took the spare vehicles to French lake camp ground. (this was supposed to be the start of a 6 night camp out trip with a restocking of food and supplies at Lac la Croaix the middle of the third day. Most of the crews arrived in Lac la Croix a day ahead of time) Lac la Croix was the start of the Quetico Park and the French lake Campground would be the north east end of the park. We met the crew at Lac la Croix and found they had had a good trip with mechanized transport over two small portages on the USA side of the border. We camped at Lac la Croix and then took off for what was supposed to be a three night camp out. Paddling in this area is in "the Shield Country" and very good with lakes, small rivers and creeks and portages between lakes. We made our way a lot faster than had been planned and only camped out one night. Many teams did take the full three night/day timetable but we and the Cumberland crew plowed on to the finish and a couple of extra days off. We did make one wrong turn, not having paid attention to the GPS, and made a couple of extra portages. This did not enhance the humour of the crews!

Portaging was a real exercise in teamwork. We found a way of taking all of the camp gear over in one trip and then the canoe in another trip. As well, the two crews would carry one canoe over then go back and get the other one. The problem was that the trails have been allowed to grow in to a narrow track suitable to tandem canoes or single canoes. Carrying a Voyageur canoe needs a trail 6-8 feet wide. The folks carrying the middle of the canoe were constantly walking over stumps and through brush.

We finally met other canoers and boaters. It was surprising to us that we had paddled almost 3000 km of waterways across a good part of Canada and had seen only one or two other canoers.

The Parks people joined the Brigade for a few days with a Voyageur Canoe and at French lake, challenged us to a race. I organized an event whereby all paddlers (except the Parks folks) were put in a hat and the canoes in another hat. A canoe then a 6 person crew were chosen and the event turned out to have 8 teams. The route was out, around an island and back. All had a good time and the Parks people came in 4th. It was a good chance for the paddlers to paddle in a different canoe with people they would not normally have had a chance to paddle with.