April 2, 2021 - A trip not meant to be.

Like so many of our other trips recently, this trip didn't go as originally planned, but it turned out to be great just the same. In the March blog I wrote about a scouting trip in the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area to find an access point for our next trip. We were planning to leave Friday morning and return Sunday afternoon, but on Thursday night, a look at the forecast changed our mind. The first couple days didn't look too bad, but Sunday was giving strong winds and possible snow. While I do have experience canoeing in rough water, it is not something I set out to do, especially when water temps are still near the freezing point. With Melanie having no experience in those kinds of conditions, I made the call to postpone that trip to another weekend. We were still both pumped to go somewhere, so we decided to go to Kejimikujik National Park this weekend instead.

Officially, Keji does not open until the long weekend in May, but starting April 1st, a select few backcountry sites and cabins are available on a first come first serve basis. You can't reserve anything so you really have no idea what you will be doing or where you will be going until you get there. That sounded like a good adventure to us.

We set out Friday morning in hopes of getting one of the three rustic cabins which are offered in the early season. All of them can be hiked to, so the weather would not be an issue. Plan B was one of the walk-in camp sites on Big Dam Lake. Upon arrival, we look at the self registration book and see one of the cabins are still available, awesome! It happens to be one near the front country called Rogers Cabin. Close to Jakes Landing and only a five minute walk from the parking lot, this worked out perfect. We quickly complete our self registration, put our cash in the drop box and head to our cabin. With April's weather always being so unpredictable, we may have just found our new Easter Tradition.

Knowing we had the possibility of staying in this cabin, we threw a few luxury items in the truck too, just in case. That includes a couple camp chairs and a large Coleman stove. It's not long before we have all our gear to the cabin and set up.

As we take in the surroundings of our new oasis we get a fire going in the cabin. Melanie is still developing some backcountry skills, so I give her the task of splitting some kindling and lighting it. While a lot of what you need to know can be learned from reading or watching videos, the only way to get good is to practice it yourself. She nails this fire making exercise with the help of some birch bark.

Part of the reason for this trip is to complete our twelve months of camping challenge for April, the other is to go fishing. This is the first weekend of fishing season and is going to be the focus for this trip. Today, we will go to Mill Falls, part of the Mersey River system.

Melanie does have some fishing experience, but it is mostly in saltwater. We did do a bit of trout fishing last year, but this year she wanted to learn a little more. In my opinion, the only way to trout fish is with a fly rod, so it was time for me to teach her how.

I believe anyone who has spent any amount of time doing it would agree, fly fishing is more fun, more relaxing and arguably a more reliable way of catching fish. I already have several fly rod setups, so all we had to do is get Melanie a pair of chest waders. Fortunately Canadian Tire had a pair on sale the week before that were the right price and the right fit. With waders donned and rods in hand we head into the river.

Now, I have been fly fishing for most of my life, but I have never taught someone how to do it. By 'doing it' of course, I am referring to the most difficult part to master, which is casting. Unlike a spin or bait cast rod where you just fling a heavy lure as far as you can into the water, fly fishing requires a different technique, as the bait you are using, an artificial fly, weighs almost nothing. It is for this reason the fly fishermen use a thick heavy line as the method to land the lure in it's desired spot. The thick line gives the weight needed to cast. On the end of the fly line is a leader, more or less your typical mono filament line, six to ten feet in length, to which your fly is attached.

The technique to get your fly out is almost a whipping action, with each back and forth cast, you let out a bit more line until finally you have enough line flailing around in the air to land your fly in it's desired location. As I explain to Melanie what to do, it quickly becomes apparent there are details which I am not even aware of as I am casting. In addition to that she is left handed, so I also have to explain it "backwards". Left handers always make things more complicated, eh? After a few turns back and forth, I think I have explained all the nuances and Melanie casts her first fly, and does a great job! Just being able to cast without wrapping the line around itself or a tree is a success in fly fishing. Only with practice will the technique becomes smoother and more natural.

With the water levels extremely high after recent heavy rains and ice melt, we don't have much luck at catching anything, but spend enough time on the river that Melanie gets a good grasp on her new found skill.

While we have the option to cook supper in the cabin, we decide on the firepit as that is the best way to cook our first meal. Ribeye steaks, mashed potatoes, broccoli and grilled asparagus will be this evenings supper. As darkness falls, we settle into the warmth of the cabin for the evening.

Morning comes quickly and it is a beauty. Blue skies, spring birds chirping there wakeup songs and only a slight breeze. Our plan today is to cross Keji Lake and head up Little River. Being such a beautiful morning we decide to head out on the trail first and work up an appetite for breakfast.

For the past year, the front country camping areas of Keji have been getting a face lift including new washrooms, and some new camping structures called Oasis Pods. We figure we will take a hike through the area and check out some of the new additions. The Oasis Pods are in the group camping area and overlook Kedge beach. Each red pod stands about eight feet off the ground, supported by metal legs. It honestly looks like something from War of the Worlds! At about a ten foot diameter, each teardrop shaped pod has a hammock ceiling, convertible bed/table, and a small built in heater. I don't think this is the type of place you would want to be rain bound with a family of four, but they are cool none the less. I think we will try to book one this year just to see what they are all about.

We continue our hike past the group camping area and into the front country campground. The new washrooms look great. A sleek modern design but still somehow fits into the surrounding without being too intrusive. Anyone that used the old washroom facilities knows they were definitely past their best before date. I am sure these new buildings will provide front country comfort for many more years to come.

It has been a while since I've been through some of these areas, and it looks like these are not the only additions that have taken place over the past few years. Otenteks are another popular attraction that have made their way into the Keji front country over the years. These small canvas covered cabins are not quite as rustic as the backcountry cabins, but still give you a sense of being in a back woods cabin with some modern amenities such as a propane heater, bunks with mattresses and a deck with a view. Some are even wheelchair accessible. Last time I was though here there were only about five in the group camping area. There are many more there now, as well as a dozen or more near Jeremy's Bay Campground. It is really too bad the park is not open year round as these are the perfect winter camping solution for those who want to get away for a weekend but don't have the gear or experience to camp in a tent in the woods. The park is really being under utilized, and it is sad to see.

Our hiking adventure takes a little longer than we expected, so we end up having breakfast for lunch. Bacon, scrambled eggs and homemade hash browns.

The wind has picked up a bit since morning, so we debate our plans to go to Little River. It is about a two hour paddle from the closest put in on Keji Lake to the mouth of the river, then another hour up the river. Given how high the water levels are, we decide it is probably not worth the effort to likely get skunked again. We go back to

Mill Falls and throw the line in a couple more times, but came up empty again.

With fishing not in our favour we decide to give it up for the rest of the weekend. Just across the river from our cabin is a short hiking trail known as Rogers Brook. It is a pretty unique trail as most of it is a boardwalk over a marshland. Only problem is, that marshland has turned into a lake with the rising water levels. The entire boardwalk is floating, but still passible without getting wet feet until we get about half way around, at which point we would have had to swim to continue. We opt to turn around. It is a pretty cool experience as we feel we are walking on water with it completely surrounding us on both sides.

By early evening, the wind has calmed again, so we take the opportunity to throw the canoe in the river and do a short paddle to the mouth of the Mersey River. Escorted by a pair of Canada Geese (how Canadian). They tire of us quickly and continue out into the lake, at which point we turned around. I try my hand one last time with the fly rod, but not a nibble. As we paddle back up the river we see a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree looking for his next meal. I hope he was having more luck fishing than we were.

We had planned on having a traditional Easter dinner at our original location in the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area. Even though those plans fell through, we still brought the same meal for this trip. Honey Ham, Mashed potato's, corn, and sauerkraut, all cooked in the cabin between the wood stove and Coleman stove. Definitely not the average camping meal, but it is fun to make more elaborate meals in the wilderness sometimes.

The forecast is still calling for nasty weather Sunday and this time, the it was right. The wind howled all night, blowing through the cracks of the cabin walls. We kept the wood stove full all night and despite the cool breeze it is still a comfortable 15c in the cabin by morning. Waking up to the sound of freezing rain and hail tapping on the windows of the cabin was a reassuring reminder that we made the right decision to change our plans this weekend. We don't bother adding any more wood to the stove so it is out by the time we are ready to leave. I make pancakes on the Coleman stove while we pack up our gear. By 11am we are ready to head out. By this time there's a good coating of ice covering everything outside. We loaded the canoe last evening so we wouldn't have to deal with it in bad weather, good move on our part. We throw the rest of our gear in the back of the truck under the tonneau cover and head for home.

This is the second time in the past six months we have cancelled a trip or changed plans due to the weather forecast. It is a hard decision to make, but always made with safety in mind. Both times it turned out to be a good call. It would have been a miserable three or four hours getting out of the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area with wind and freezing rain surly making it an unbearable paddle out. I am sure one day we will get it wrong (or rather, the weatherman will have gotten it wrong) but that is ok. We are both at different skill levels, but we are also both continuing to develop and know what our comfort levels are. Having to ability to not put yourself in a situation you're not ready for may very well be one of the most important things one can learn as part of their Backcountry Evolution.