Tuesday, May 27, 2014

7:30am - Felt good to sleep in. Temperature is already 65ºF. The air is calm this morning. I end up finding a couple wood ticks crawling on me at this site. I guess it was bad site for mosquitoes and ticks.

I eat breakfast get camp packed up. I'm on the river a little at 9:10am. It's only a third of a mile to the first portage of the day.

P580 19 rods - It's a short portage and I'm now in Fishdance Lake. The pictographs are on my agenda, so I paddle my way down to the rock cliffs. The pictographs are easy to spot and I take some pictures. The striped rock cliff reminds me of the one on Makwa Lake.

I then head back north and round the bend to the left towards the 2 portages that will take me to Alice Lake.

P587 95 rods - 10:00am - It's a long portage but has some very scenic and powerful rapids. I wouldn't attempt trying to run these. The next portage is less than a quarter mile down the river.

P589 24 rods - Not much for a landing at this portage. I park the kayak and scramble up the hill to check out the the rapids. I spot a couple of guys in a canoe at the bottom fishing. I see that the rapids are not much of a challenge and no strainers, so I feel they are safe enough to run and within my abilities. I head back to my kayak and paddle up the river and out to the left hand side of the river to avoid the downed trees. I run the rapids easy enough and slow the kayak to where the 2 guys in the canoe are fishing. They said they noticed me on the portage and then I disappeared. They then knew what I was up to when I came down the rapids. They said the fishing has been great and they've been catching their limit. I leave them to their fishing and continue into Alice Lake.

Alice Lake is quite large and the first few campsites are occupied. I stop at the next one (C1166) which is empty and has a nice sandy beach. It's about 11:00 so I stop and eat and also use the pit toilet while I'm there.

I get some photos of a loon and also talk with a large group (8 or 9 guys and 4 aluminum canoes) at the next campsite. They said they also came in from Lake One, same as the other fishermen I met. I paddle on north and up the narrow top of the lake.

P888 9 rods - It's about noon when I reach this short portage. It's a steep but short portage into Cacabic Lake. I paddle the length of the lake to the next portage.

P537 205 rods - My longest portage. As I pull the kayak in I see bluegill right by the shore. Could probably scoop them right out of the water if I was quick enough. I start the portage at about 12:30pm. There's some boardwalk sections, some of it deteriorated slightly, so I have to pay attention to my footing. I get my pack and paddles to the end of the portage and then hike the 2/3 mile back to get my kayak. By the time I get kayak to the other end and gear loaded up, it is 1:40pm.

Thomas Lake is so clear and pretty. It's a long paddle to the narrows but the clear lake reveals some huge rock slabs under the water near the rocky islands. It's quite mesmerizing looking down at them that I have to be careful to keep my kayak upright. I reach the narrows and it's a cool sight to see the 2 big lakes connected by a narrow and deep rocky channel.

I find the channel is loaded with 24"+ suckers. Over 1000 of them in the channel I estimate.

Fraser Lake is a very long paddle, about 2.25 miles. I see one campsite occupied in the distance as I make my way to the portage.

P460 18 rods - Short portage into Gerund Lake. I stick to the right side of the lake to get to the next portage.

P452 28 rods - Very steep and rocky climb up to Ahmakose Lake. It's about 3:30pm now. It only takes a few minutes and I'm at the next portage.

P442 98 rods - I find a grass snake at the landing of the portage and get a picture.

This is a long portage that has some slanted cliffs on the portage trail. I start to hear some voices and shouts from the Wisini Lake area as I'm portaging my kayak. As I reach the landing, 4 guys in 2 canoes are coming toward the portage. I quickly load up and clear the portage for them. I ask if the campsites on Wisini are open and they said all of them are. I quickly spot the awesome rock cliffs to my left and put the camera to work.

I paddle on toward the campsite on the east side of the lake that's up on the cliff. On the point to my left I see a large boulder propped up by some smaller rocks and get a picture of it.

5:00 pm - There isn't much of a landing at the campsite, so I tie up the kayak to the tree that's growing in the rocks there. I lug my gear up the rocks to the campsite. It's a beautiful campsite!

I setup my tent on the nice grassy area. I lay my camp shower on the rocks to heat up and I cook up supper. I enjoy my supper on the rocks overlooking the lake. A nice breeze on the high campsite helps keep the bugs away. After supper, I clean dishes, take a nice warm shower, and also do laundry. I finish my journal entries at about 7:15. It is still about 75ºF. I enjoy the sunset and am in bed at about 9pm.

Day 4 Summary

12.71 miles | 8 lakes |1 river | 8 portages | 496 rods

Kawishiwi River, Fishdance Lake, Alice Lake, Cacabic Lake, Thomas Lake, Fraser Lake, Gerund Lake, Ahmakose Lake, Wisini Lake