March 20, 2021 - Our Mission: A Spring Paddle!

Our goal for a March camping trip was simple, find a place we could put the canoe in and paddle to a campsite. That goal proved to be more difficult than it sounded.

We intended to do our trip the weekend prior in the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area. About a year ago I did some scouting and discovered a new access to one of the lakes in the Medway Lakes system. On that lake, there is supposed to be a campsite which would be our destination for March. It would also be a great scouting opportunity for the trip we have planned in April in the same chain of lakes.

With the weather changing from cold to warm back to cold over the last few weeks it was hard to know what the ice conditions were like. Some lakes in our area are almost completely melted, while others still have a fair amount in them. We decided to do a scouting trip before packing our gear.

When we arrived to the lake access, the small cove was still completely frozen, though the middle of the lake was wide open. Looking at the map we tried another spot nearby, but same result. In a last ditch effort, it looked like it would be possible to hike to the site we wanted to stay at, but it required a small water crossing that turned out to be to deep and wide to cross. Alas, we were not camping at this location and it was too late in the day to find another spot, so our weekend trip would be postponed.

After looking at maps on and off over the next week, we decided on a campsite we stumbled on during hunting season near Third Chub Lake. While it is a forty-five-minute drive on some old logging roads to get there, it is only a short walk from the road to the campsite. This worked out perfect as this particular weekend we had a curling bonspiel to play in on Saturday. Being able to drive almost to the site means it doesn't matter how late we end up arriving. The other benefit to this site is that it is located on a nice piece of dead water which hopefully would be thawed enough for us to get our canoe in.

Having packed our bags Friday night, it was just a matter of loading our gear, the canoe, and hitting the road after curling. By 4pm we are on our way. With the temperature well above freezing all week, it meant a muddy journey on the woods roads to our site. Slowly but surely we arrived around 5pm.

This particular campsite was built by the forestry company that created these old woods roads a couple decades ago. It comes equipped with a good tent pad, a table and a couple benches. Luckily the recent time change means we have an extra hour of daylight to setup camp. This is good because we need to set up the tent, find and cut firewood and make a suitable firepit as there is none at this site.

Splitting up our tasks, Melanie got to work on setting up the tent and I proceeded to find some suitable dead, dry firewood. As luck would have it, only twenty feet from the campsite a perfect hardwood had recently blown over. A bit small in diameter, but very dense growth rings. I'm not sure of the species but it will make a great ash bed for cooking supper. We would need a bit more wood to last us until bedtime, and only a short distance away is a good size spruce that had recently blown over as well. The base is rotten but the rest of the tree seems to be in great condition. This will get us through the night.

As Melanie has finished setting up camp, she offers to finish cutting up the last of the spruce while I prepared the fire. Fire prep is a skill in itself which has taken me a long time to learn the patience needed to do it properly. You need to get all your fuel of various sizes ready first, from small twigs, to pencil size, to finger size, to wrist size and finally to arm size or larger. Then you need a Tinder bundle to take the flame. This can vary in type depending on what you have available. Birch bark is probably the go to that most people know of, but there is none in sight here. My next favorite is Usnea, more commonly known as old man's beard. This amazing lichen will easily take a spark or flame even when wet and is usually easy to find in all types of forests. It also has many medicinal properties, but that is territory I have yet to explore. With a base of wood on the ground to keep the fire above the snow and wet ground, I use my lighter to get the old man's beard going, and quickly add my tiniest twigs. From here it is just a matter of adding larger and larger fuel as the smaller stuff takes. This method always makes easy work of getting the fire going, just make sure you have the prep done ahead of time so you are not scrambling to find fuel to feed the fire after it gets going.

While the fire burns to a hot bed of coals suitable for cooking, we take time to relax and gaze at our beautiful surroundings. We are literally only feet from a gorgeous still water flow. The only down side is the water has a large area that is still frozen. This means no canoeing for us here this time.

With the fire almost ready we start food prep for supper. You already know we are having steak, ribeye to be specific, like we always have the first night, but we are going to try something a bit different for the side. Mushroom and onion, not so different, and mashed potatoes. We usually cube and bake potatoes in tin foil. This time we are doing a traditional boil and smash. It is a pretty straightforward process, just something we have never done in the backcountry. And I have to say, it turned out fantastic. I know I always say food tastes better over an open fire, but even stuff boiled in a pot seems to as well! It never ceases to amaze me at how good food tastes in the wild.

With supper done, we pile a few rounds of softwood on the fire to keep us warm while we talk about future plans and trips. By 10pm, we are ready to hit the sleeping bags. Same set up as our January trip, only with a couple less blankets as the temp is supposed to stay around the freezing point, not too cold for our winter sleeping bag. Through the night we are treated to the hoots of a barred owl, at one point it sounded like it was right in our campsite. Perhaps the most pleasant sound to hear in the woods next to the cry of a loon.

Morning comes quick and it is an absolutely stunning one. Blue sky and no wind, there is no question Spring is in the air. There are still a few hot Ambers in the firepit, and it takes little effort to blow it back into flame. The instant oatmeal has made a return for breakfast this trip, along with some Mr. Noodles. Maybe a strange breakfast combination, but hey, out in the woods there are no rules.

With breakfast done, camp broken down and the fire well saturated, we still need to find a place to put the canoe in. On the other side of the road where we parked is a lake, the same lake the dead waters flow to. We make our way back to the truck in hopes we can find a portage and some open water, but with a pretty good view through the trees we can see the snow covered ice still packed in the majority of the lake. At this point we have pretty much given up on getting the canoe in the water, but while travelling the muddy road back out I remember of a spot on another nearby lake I was told about. Apparently this spot has a beautiful sandy beach and is very popular in the summer. It only requires a short detour to check out on our way so having nothing to lose we go for it.

About an hour later and through some rough old roads we arrive at Frankland Lake. I guess it was true about it being a popular spot, as when we arrive there is a large group of ATV'er taking in the sunshine. It is actually a very nice beach, and will make a great spot for another overnight trip at some point. But what is even better, there is no ice on the shore and it is ready for a canoe to hit the water. We don't waste time launching as we are eager to try out a new to us canoe. The wind has picked up a bit, but everything seems stable and there are no leaks. We make our way to a narrow channel where one section of the lake opens up into another larger one, but there is still ice in the channel, preventing us from exploring any further. I am pretty sure this is the first time I have been in a canoe with ice still in the lakes, but it won't be the last. It is getting late in the afternoon and we are both pretty burnt out after a busy weekend. We make our way back to shore having accomplished our mission, load up and head for home.

It is not unusual to be more burnt out at the end of a backcountry vacation than at the end of a busy work week, but it is all worth it in the end. The memories made last for ever, and the experiences gained from each trip only make the next that much more enjoyable. Even if you can only get out for one weekend a year, I highly encourage it. Try challenging yourself just a little and it will make your memories that much more powerful. Being just a bit out of your comfort zone is a great way to work on that Backcountry Evolution.