Overreaching

One of those annoying things I know about myself is that I tend to overreach myself. I will plan on having something done in an afternoon and it will take me three days of hard work. Things just look easier in the planning stage.

It was the same with this trip. I have done many expeditions on wilderness rivers from Quebec to the NWT (Northwest Territories), but there was always a group of us. We would haul three weeks worth of food and all our gear over the longest portage in two or three trips each. It never seemed to be a problem. That, and we needed heavy gear for sheltering and feeding a sizable group. I was carrying too much gear and it was too robust for a southern solo trip.

Coming out of North Tea Lake, I was looking at three short portages into Biggar Lake: 240 meters, 90 meters and 140 meters. Then after a 2 km paddle on Biggar Lake and up Loughrin Creek I would have a the long, 2 km portage and then a shorter one into Lawren Harris Lake. After that, a short and long portage into my destination, Calm Lake. In the planning stage, that meant I had time to do some fishing at the portages. So that was how the morning went, easy, fun, with a bass thrown back and a brook trout kept for supper.

The creek to the portage was like nothing I had ever seen before. The alders grew so thick, they made a tunnel overhead that I had to duck at times to get through. I started thinking that a machete might have come in handy. That half kilometer of narrow creek took quite a bit longer than I had anticipated.

It was late afternoon when I arrived at the yellow sign indicating the portage. I was not particularly worried. I had bought the new canoe because, at 60 pounds, it was 25 pounds lighter than my ABS canoe which I was used to carrying.

The trail started out fairly benign. I threw my pack on my back and started hiking up the trail, hurrying to make up for lost time. That was where I made my first mistake. I had my water bottle in the pack and it was already half empty.

On long portages, I like to leapfrog my gear. So, after walking a half a kilometer or so, I set the pack down. It was a hot day. I took out my water bottle and had a drink. Then I put it back in my pack and started back for the canoe. That was my second mistake; I should have carried the water bottle and filter back to the canoe. The dominoes were lining up.

I brought the canoe up to the pack and walked a little further until I came to the first steep hill. With a lot of effort, I managed to carry the canoe to the top and rest it on the cross-bar that the park rangers had nailed between two trees. Then I went back to the take-out to get the food barrel. At that moment, I realized I had too much gear. Everything should have gone in one pack. With my food in a 30 liter barrel, I had created one trip too many.

I brought the barrel to the canoe and left it there. I went back to the pack and struggled up the hill for the third time. A much needed drink almost emptied my water bottle. I was a little worried, but I thought, there is always a creek somewhere in the bush. And I had my water filter at the top of my pack .

There were three steep hills on that portage. The trail went along a crest and kept climbing. No creek of any sort flowed across or beside it. It didn’t take long before I had emptied my water bottle. Bushwhacking when I was alone was not an option. And, it was getting late. The portage was taking much longer than I had planned. The dominoes were starting to fall.

My journal: Monday, 15 June 2020

“Day 2

This was a difficult portage with vertical climbs both up and down. Down meant I had to climb back up for my second and third trips. I guessed I was about two thirds of the way across the portage and the sun was getting low.

I was getting desperate for water…starting to feel cramps in my left leg. I decided I would leave the boat on the portage trail and take the large pack… see if I could find some water ahead.

I did not have to hike very far before the trail dropped back down to Loughrin Creek. I slid down the hill, pulled out my filter and pumped a few milliliters of water. I swallowed that small drink with a huge sense of relief. Then I pumped a full bottle.

I made the decision to camp on the portage trail right there beside the creek. The sun was near the horizon, my legs were feeling weak and threatening to cramp, and both the canoe and the food barrel were back up the trail above the steepest hill I’d yet encountered.

With whatever energy I had left, I climbed the hill and made may way back to the food barrel. I decided the canoe could stay where it was until morning. I needed to eat — and get some rest.”