The Ho Ho and David Man Chain Adventure (September 5 through 13, 2009) -

This year we took it a little slower, poked around in back bays, made more last-minute detours. Our days started late (even by our standards) and ended a little early. Most nights we had time for an after-dinner paddle, something we have not done much on other trips. Although we moved camp every day, and some days we paddled and portaged a lot, it was basically a relaxed trip.

Day 1 - Carp Lake Moonrise -

It was great to visit the Man Chain again. We explored some parts we had not been to before, like High Man and Cheatan Bay, and got to linger at the great campsite on Other Man instead of rushing through. I was recently sent a 1973 trip report by Shan Walshe for a route very similar to ours, and I identified with his enthusiasm and sense of discovery in this region (now if only I had his naturalist's knowledge). It's a beautiful and unique part of Quetico.

Day 2 - High Man Lake -

As always, we took our time on the portages. I'm still amazed many people see them as obstacles instead of highlights of canoe country trips.

Day 3 - This Man-Other Man Portage -

Looping up through Blackstone was one of the best parts of the trip. The little-used portage we used to get there, the remote feel and beauty of Blackstone Lake itself, and the route down Blackstone Creek to Saganagons, all added extra adventure and variety to our journey.

Day 4 - Blackstone Lake Campsite Island -

The weather was absurdly nice, with highs most days in the 70s (I think) and lots of sunshine. In fact, for my taste it was a little too warm and sunny, but I'm not complaining. There were no bugs during the day, with just a few annoying mosquitoes at sunset. Our one cloudy damp day provided a welcome change of pace.

Day 5 - Going Down Blackstone Creek -

Our side trip to Silver Falls was a last-minute idea that turned out great - including the trick portage from there into Lilypad Lake. To add to the enjoyment, no one else seemed to be around. In fact, we saw surprisingly few people on this trip. True, we did not go days and days on end without seeing anyone, as we have during trips a little later in September and deeper in the Quetico interior. And we even found a couple campsites we were interested in occupied. But most of the time we had the place to ourselves.

Day 6 - Silver Falls -

Ottertrack Lake, where we touched back on the border, is another gem. Despite our generally leisurely approach, Ottertrack was one place we went through too fast during our longest day from Jasper to Emerald. I'd like to come back and linger sometime, maybe on a BW trip. We can check out Benny Ambrose's place then, too.

Day 7 - Western Bay of Ottertrack Lake -

There were only a couple minor equipment innovations worth mentioning this year. First, we used fine ground coffee instead of a coarser grind in the Java Press. That may not sound like a big deal, but wow did it make amazing strong coffee. Of course, we got some Turkish-coffee-like sludge in our cups, but that's okay with me. My other innovation was to switch back to cotton t-shirts instead of synthetic tech material t-shirts. (Heresy!) Very comfortable. But next year I need to bring a sleeveless t-shirt for paddling on warm days, since the sun gets to me if I wear no shirt at all.

Day 8 - Brewing Java, Emerald Lake Campsite -

The new camera (a Canon SX 20 IS) is great. Thanks Tom and Heidi for giving us advice. And the latest version of iPhoto helped me tweak the photos to really capture the canoe country scene. As always, David deserves credit for taking a lot of the pictures, as well as for being the best canoeing partner around.

Day 9 - Leaving Carp Lake Campsite -

That's it for 2009. Time to start planning 2010! Thanks for coming along.