Day 2 - Wigwam Islands to North Channel near Wolseley Bay - 18 kms
Map provided courtesy of Toporama which contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Day2 - Wigwam Islands to North Channel near Wolseley Bay - 18 kms
When I awoke, the river was like glass. The boys were still snoozing in their tents, so I immediately hopped in the canoe in the hope of catching a walleye for breakfast.
I fished for about a half-hour at the drop in front of the site and around the point below the cliffs. It was a humbling and amazing experience paddling below that massive face of granite in the calm and quiet of the morning. I did manage to get something substantial on the line for a bit, but lost it a few seconds later; it wasn't hooked well. Despite returning to the site empty-handed, it was a great moment of solitude in the early morning calm and a fantastic way to start the day.
When I returned to camp, the fellows were getting up. We took our time breaking camp and enjoyed some bacon and eggs with coffee. We eventually got on the water and were heading west by late morning.
Within an hour, we were gliding past the Caulkins Islands and were watching all of the activity at the cottages. Even though it was a Monday, most of the properties there had people present doing cottagey things.
Another hour upriver and we were approaching the first set of whitewater at Cedar Rapids. Though the portage was only 60-meters long, we were able to line the boats up the northern bank, saving a bit of energy. It was in peak afternoon heat on a scorcher of a day, so we went swimming. We then took a break for a bit, had a snack, and fished for a while in and around the rapids. We got a couple of hits, but again had no luck bringing anything in.
Here is a shot of some of the rapids from the top of the portage.
A fifteen-minute paddle upriver took us to the second and largest section of Cedar Rapids. The river narrowed considerably there and was dotted with several small islands.
We arrived at a spot where the river was split by a centre island. There were boney rapids in the north channel and a ledge drop-off in the south one. We had a 10-meter lift-over on that centre island and put in from a rock ledge. There was only room for one boat at a time, but with the three of us, we made quick work of it.
Back in the boats, we paddled for a few more minutes only before we needed to portage again. Between the two portages, there were a couple of large crosses erected on a west-facing point on one of the islands. We assumed it was in memory of a father and son that often frequented those waters.
We had a bit of trouble finding the portage. There was no familiar yellow portage sign; this area wasn't in the provincial park, so no such luxuries were to be found. We originally got out on the north bank at a sloping rock that we thought might have been the start of the walk but found only rocky bush that had no apparent trail. As I ventured into the bush for a bit, I saw that the way was impeded by a ravine, so that was a no-go.
The only other option was up a steep embankment immediately to the left of the rapid. I got out, while Jason and Scott held my boat in the moving water, and walked up the incline, and thankfully discovered the trail.
The take-out was very narrow and had room for only one canoe at a time, so I hauled my canoe and gear up first to get it out of the way. This took a bit of time and a couple of trips. Then, I returned to give the boys a hand with their loads now that they had room to unload, as well.
This left us fairly gassed in the 30-degree heat, but once we were at the top of the ridge, the remainder of the portage was straightforward. Flagging tape and rock cairns guided the way, however, they were somewhat unnecessary as the trail itself was well-worn and easy to follow. Toward the end, we had to guess a bit where to put in. We found a faint path on our right, down a slope to a rock ledge just above the rapids.
We were drenched in sweat and it felt amazing jumping off that ledge into the river to wash it off. Jumping into that cool water after the portage was exhilarating!
We filtered more water to drink and mixed it with drink crystals to replenish some electrolytes. After that, we felt somewhat refreshed and ready to continue.
Continuing east above the rapids, the river was rugged and pretty. We paddled for another hour and we passed several campsites on the northern bank. A few were occupied, but most were vacant. We moved past them though as we wanted to get as close to Wolseley Bay as possible while the paddling conditions were good.
Eventually, we found a point on the northern shore that looked promising after spying a fire ring atop the granite knoll; but after getting out and inspecting it, we found that it was quite bare and there weren't any suitable trees from which I could hang my hammock.
We were about a 45-minute paddle west of Rainy Island at the mouth of Wolseley Bay when we cruised past a small island. At the east end of the island, we saw a fire pit and a crude shelving structure tacked to trees, letting us know that we had found a campsite.
It was a pretty spot, though the site was a bit used and abused. We decided to take it anyway because it was the last site before the channels met up again at Wolseley Bay and we were getting tired and hungry. There were two firepits on the site and the one closest to the shelf was disgusting. The ashes were deep and it was filled with bits of garbage, so we used the smaller one closer to the water. We cleaned up the site somewhat and made camp, finding a couple of nice tent pads on the rock bluff above the site.
Once again, after dinner, we were treated to a cloudless evening as the sun went down. We moved down to the water's edge to get a better look.
Again, the moment inspired Jason to dance in celebration.
Once again, we watched the half-moon rise from the south before the darkness descended.
