Kawnipi Lake-Montgomery Lake-Shelly Lake-Keats Lake

   The morning was cool but clear and sunny. A slight wind indicated we were in for some choppy water. After camp was broke we traveled north and tried to catch some fish but only a couple pike were caught. The final open stretch of the lake gave us a workout as we battled through the wind and waves that had developed. 

   This day was part of my mission to add more pictographs to our list. We headed to Montgomery Lake where there are at least two separate locations with pictographs. The first of these is not indicated on the maps but is marked in the book “Magic on the Rocks”. The second set is marked on the map and is located to the northeast of the lake along Montgomery Creek a good distance from the lake. This set is what I really wanted to see. It was apparently discovered in 1987 by a trapper traveling through the area in the winter. Reaching that set of pictographs would end up being our “bushwack” of the trip.

   As we paddled across Montgomery Lake in search of the fist pictograph we attempted to catch fish. The water was dark and tannin stained. It appeared to be “fishy” looking but I don’t believe anyone caught anything besides a couple snags. When we arrived at the fist site Greg and Brian B were all ready there. It was not what we were expecting exactly.  It is one image of a man. A lot of comments were made about it among our crew, but the one that sticks out the most was what Nate said. He tried to imagine back when it was created and set the scene of two natives traveling up to it and their conversation going something like this: “So you made a drawing, what is it? A bird? Moose?........ Real classy!”

   We continued on towards the northeast corner of the lake after we had our chuckle. As we cruised across the lake I heard something that I couldn’t place. It wasn’t thunder or was it? The sky was clear and didn’t indicate rain in any direction. I soon discovered the source, or at least I think it was. To the south of us we saw a cow moose along the edge of the lake occasionally wading into the lake. Nate and I allowed the others to catch up then we went in for a closer look. Before we got to close she wandered off into the brush and disappeared into the forest. We resumed our course to Montgomery Creek.

   Once on Montgomery Creek we paddled as far as we could through the lily pad filled stream. The landing appeared pretty obvious so we shored up our canoes, stashed our gear there, and hoped no critters were around that might be interested in our stuff. The trail seemed pretty obvious and it appeared that it was going to be an easy walk. It was such a rookie mistake to think that. It only takes a couple times bushwacking through the North Country to realize that things that “look like the right way” are usually not at all “the right way”. Well, embarrassingly enough, we made that mistake. We didn’t realize it for quite a while though. Eventually the “trail” faded away and we retraced our steps several times to determine where we lost the “trail”. Well, when the compass was referenced, our ignorance was revealed. We were traveling in the wrong direction on a moose path. That wasn’t the first time we have been in that situation.

   After getting our bearings and consulting the map we decided that we could get back to Montgomery Creek by heading southeast of our current location. We eventually found the creek again but now we didn’t know whether to travel upstream or down. This was one of the only instances we encountered black flies. They made the situation seem increasingly dire as they tired to get into our eyes, ears, and nose. I grew concerned that there may be a mutiny with the crew convicting me of taking them on a wild goose chase. I made my way downstream and found a rock cliff along a pond and then remembered the description of how to get to the site from the book “Magic on the Rocks”. They had passed this cliff and continued on past at least one more rock face before finding the site. So I turned around. We proceeded upstream through a tangle of boulders and tag alder. We came to another cliff face and tried to find any place that a picto sight might be as we climbed over the boulder field below the cliff. We found nothing.

   I insisted that we should keep going further up the valley but I was starting to question myself. The crew continued to follow along and did not question the decision as much as I did or at least didn’t let on to it. We eventually came to another clearing with a rock face on the north end of the valley. The guys stood at the edge of the clearing while I proceeded ahead to check. I am glad I did as there was a definite image drawn on the rock face. I let out a whoop to let the others know we were successful on our mission. The first panel had at least one caribou and what looked like another along with possibly a man holding a club or tool below the caribou. Chad ended up finding another panel further down the cliff which had a caribou and a man with a bow. I thanked the guys for not getting frustrated with me but Mike assured me they would follow me anywhere through the woods.

   The trip back to the canoes was a long one but not as difficult as going in. We did encounter a couple pieces of orange ribbon tied to trees here and there on our way back but no real distinguishable trail. We remained to the south of the creek as we traveled back. We were trying to stay on a ridge above the swamp but it eventually dropped off in a valley full of old growth pine. The forest floor was primarily covered in a thick layer of lime green sphagnum moss and Labrador tea. The scents in the air of the pine, Labrador tea, and moss were providing an amazing aroma. It was also providing tricky footing as there were many places that were not solid under the moss. Eventually we popped out of the bushes and recognized the way we came in so very long ago. It was relieving to know that the water bottles would be filled soon.

   Immediately after getting back onto Montgomery Lake we filtered some water and hydrated ourselves. After a short paddle we stopped on an island and had a lunch of creamy pasta to refuel. The rest of the way across Montgomery Lake we fished but only one walleye was caught. As soon as Nate and I portaged to Shelly Lake we began fishing below the portage and picked up a few smallmouth before the others arrived. We trolled lures on our way across Shelly Lake but the fish were not cooperating. 

   Shelly Lake has been hit with a fire not to long ago and the forest appears to be just starting to regenerate. Nate and I arrived at “Have a smoke portage” shortly after Greg and Brian B did. We found their canoe set on the side of the portage by a path leading to Snake Falls so we set our gear down and went to explore the falls with them. The water level at the time was at least 3 feet above normal and the power of all that water falling was awe inspiring. We goofed around while we waited for Chad and Mike to arrive by launching logs off in Shelly Lake and watching them go down the falls and by taking a couple staged photos. 

   We had figured Chad and Mike busy catching fish so they were not in any hurry. I can’t remember what happened to them, but good fishing wasn’t the case. When they arrived we continued down the portage to Keats Lake. At the base of the falls we did a little bit of fishing for dinner with a mixed bag of fish being caught. Then we maneuvered our canoes through the rapids and looked for a site to camp. The first one on our map was currently under water but we found a nice island site right out in front of the falls. Mike ended up catching a pretty good size walleye by the island before landing the canoe. That night we were blessed with a brief showing of the aurora borealis before we called it a night.

If you want to see pictures of Montgomery Creek picto's, you'll just have to go there!