Day 7: August 17 Black Otter to Donald to Hammerhead.

“And then it was windy”

We got up around 730am. It was already windy from the west. We broke camp with hotdrinks and oatmeal with raisins and walnuts. We launched around 915am and retraced our steps from yesterday.

We pushed a great blue heron ahead of us up the river to Donald when just after the narrows we startled a mama bear and two cubs. One cub climbed quickly up a snag and then quickly down following its mama’s calls from the forest. Super cool. We released the Kraken (our round WindPaddle sail) on Donald and made good time (max speed 5 mph) down to the portage. Here we picked up beer bottles, can lids, tin plates, and a plastic bait container, and after putting them in a plastic bag left them at the portage with a note asking the motorists to dispose of them at the outpost. Lots of floatplanes overhead today. We triple portaged the 350m portage from Donald to Hammerhead trying to save Tony’s knee which was starting to feel better. It was a lovely walk along the river with scenic falls. We fished for a bit here and along the river in a light rain catching a handful of small walleyes and a pike. Launching onto Hammerhead, we checked out a couple of potential campsites, one very small with no cover and another non-existent triangle on the map. We watched two motorboats jet down into the southwestern arm of the lake and ate lunch near a beaver kill (many chewed and stripped branches) and then checked out another small camp on a point about a mile south (ok, but not great). We continued down the SW arm of the lake against the wind to the next marked site but couldn’t find it either so we drifted back pushed by the wind watching a flotilla of mergansers and a great blue heron. The two fishing boats were anchored near the end of the bay fishing. We set up camp (230pm) on the “Ok, but not great site”, waved to the motorists as they cruised by, and observed our first other canoeists paddle west behind a nearby island toward the portage into “C” lake. It’s a busy day in the WCPP, I feel like I’m at a crossroads. The wind really picked up between 300-500pm blowing in stormy looking clouds. I went for a quick swim before dinner while Tony napped. (chicken -cornmeal stuffing and gravy) A third of our trip is accomplished. I’m winning at gin, ha.

Day 8: August 18 Hammerhead to Rostoul

“Release the Kraken, we’ve got fish to fry!”

We got up at 700am for some hotdrinks and oatmeal watching the same fishing boat from yesterday scream into a bay to the northeast. The wind was up early today from the west blowing all the clouds away with it. We paddled down Hammerhead past the outpost to the Gammon inlet but it was super shallow and muddy. No fish. Following that we paddled to the base of the falls and snuck around a motorboat that was tied there.

There are motorboats stashed along the portages here so fisherman from the outposts can make the short hops into a variety of lakes. We fished for a while but it was extremely windy and there were no takers so we scooted over the 60m portage into the next scenic little lake. We tried fishing the upper end but the wind made it difficult and eventually we took turns until we reached the next portage into Rostoul. It was here at the windy base of the falls that I hooked into four walleye and kept two eaters for dinner. Tony caught a small pike before cleaning the walleye at the other end of the portage. After a quick lunch we launched, paddled onto the lake, and deployed the Kraken sailing down lake in search of a campsite (max speed 6.8 mph). A motorboat returning to the portage passed us with a smile and small wave. Eventually we tucked ourselves onto a small rocky knob out of the wind, behind the big island on the southern end of the lake. There was a second camp available across the small bay but we chose the less windy, east facing site and quickly set up the tent on a lichen covered flat spot, went for dip, and had a short planning session before dinner. Fish tacos with tartar sauce and siracha mayo were on the spit tonight and they hit the spot! After dinner we watched some leeches swim around in the shallows and a snail try to attach itself to a rock, then cards and bed. It’s what you do when there is no television :) As crazy windy as it was all day it is completely still at 900pm. It was chilly and rained a bunch in the night.

Day 9: August 19 Rostoul to Hanson to Glenn

“The Day of the Kraken”

We left Rock Camp after a breakfast of shelf-stable bacon and scrambled Ova eggs and headed for the portage into Hanson.

Here we caught a bunch of small walleyes before crossing the 275m portage. It was good fun but they were all small. On Hanson we looked for the pictographs for a while but never located them. Hanson has many nice camps. The first peninsula camp southwest of the large island is the first true 5* we have seen in the WCPP. It could fit several tents and has a very nice landing. We had lunch there near two broken fishing rods someone felt it necessary to leave, and then moved on with a Kraken assist (6mph) to the camp on “Bird Island” across from the Hanson Outpost. This is also a very nice spot on a rocky point. We wandered around here for a while glassing the outpost which appears to be boarded up for the season. Next, we sailed down to the first portage toward Glenn lake. There is purported to be walleye here, but today it was shallow and very windy. We did see a big bear track in the mud as we made the 50m portage into the next pond where we fished around for small pike with an eagle watching. The next 300m portage around a waterfall was a smooth trail through the woods with scenic overlooks. These portages obviously get more traffic than those in the SW part of the park. They are more worn, easier to follow, and boat paint can be seen at rocky landings. We made the final 50m jump around the last rapid into Glenn Lake. It was a super windy as we paddled SE a couple of miles to a well-used camp on the point of a peninsula on the western side of the lake. It has a nice open rocky ramp with firepit on the rocky point and tent/tarp spots back in the trees. Unfortunately, upon further inspection people have left lots of trash in the bushes-wheels, motor oil cans, beer caps, multiple long lengths of black tubing, limes(4), and we found our first TP bomb sitting on the edge of a scenic outcropping. Really people? Anyway, it started looking stormy so we set up the tent and tarp well back from the rocky point and went for our daily swim, before having a dinner of dehydrated burger and dirty rice with key lime pie for dessert. Later we went for a short fish in the evening light but no luck.