Saturday, May 24, 2014

Another brilliant morning! We all slept in a little, simply because we could. Vickie finally crawled out first to get her coffee going, while I stayed in the tent to wait for Aurora to wake up.

It was scrambled eggs & bacon for breakfast. Vickie spiced up the eggs with some dehydrated peppers & mushrooms and I cut up part of an onion too. Meanwhile, Aurora had oatmeal & hot chocolate.

Most of the deciduous trees & plants were just beginning to sprout their green foliage, so it made for a largely barren landscape in some areas. Still, there were some small vestiges of life showing through - if a person just looked close enough.

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After the breakfast dishes were done, we started preparations for our day trip. Once we were loaded up, we set course to check out the big rockslide on Brule Lake.

We paddled north towards the 12 rod Weird Lake portage. The start of this portage began at the base of a very scenic set of rapids. There was an enormous boulder out in the middle of the river, which reminded me of an intriguingly similar scene on the route to Malberg Lake.

Looking at my Voyageur map, I couldn’t help but notice that both boulders were practically on the same longitudinal plane. Don’t know what -or even if there is any-significance that could be derived from this fact. I just felt it was a strangely curious set of circumstances.

Beyond the huge boulder, the entirety of this portage is quite picturesque. Closer to the Weird lake end there is a little granite island crowned with a mature jack pine that has chutes of whitewater on either flank perpetually generating a root beer hued foam. This hydraulic panorama was undoubtedly enhanced by the high water of the season.

Shortly after we put back on the water, we paddled past the currently vacant Weird Lake campsite. Since the channel was very narrow here, it was impossible to miss. From the lake it didn’t look as bad as we’d heard. If we had time, we’d check it out closer on our return trip back to camp.

As we rounded the corner into the main body of the lake, abundant waterfowl were milling about the waters, as well as a number of painted turtles care freely basking on the exposed shoreline rocks.

There is a nice landing for the 57 rod portage. The trail slowly climbs across a somewhat rocky path. The river had breached the trail in a few section & we had to occasionally trudge through ankle to calf deep water. Once again the put in was quite close to the head of the rapids, but we were able to press on without incident.

The Temperance River has a few zigs and zags in this section before the next portage. It is also a maddening area from a map reading perspective. While I do prefer Voyageur Maps, at this point in the trip there is a need to switch from map 8 to 9. It should be noted that navigation through this area was obvious and quite easy, so having a map open at all time isn’t an absolute necessity. Although, both Vickie & I always like to follow along as we go, not only to maintain our bearings, but, to aide in determining what type of terrain will be encountering etc.

With that in mind, we were now passing through a very marshy area immediately south of the 226 rod portage into South Temperance Lake. As the canoe nosed its way around another sharp bend in the river, Vickie motioned to keep quiet & still. There was a cow moose browsing along the shoreline! Apparently those instructions were impossible for Aurora to follow, as she could neither sit still nor keep quiet. Before we could get a really good look, the cow slowly retreated into the underbrush then trotted up the hill and out of site. Lesson learned.

Still, we hit the portage grateful for the few moments we did get.

I grabbed the canoe and led the way across the portage. As with every portage along the Temperance River Flowage, the trail was once again located on the western side. This one gradually climbs on its way to South Temperance Lake. As an added bonus, there are a few minor ups & downs with rocky sections too. Once again there were also some flooded areas but, for the most part, it was a well worn, wide open trail. Wearing my canoe helmet, the sun was really starting to make its presence known. As I continued on, the aromatic indulgence of pine served to reinvigorate me. I wasn’t sure if my sense of smell was heightened due to the partial loss of vision while under the canoe or if the scent really was that pungent. Never the less, it made for a great walk in the woods. Once across, I went back to give Vickie a hand with the remainder of the trek. Aurora did a fantastic job too! She needed to be carried across some of the sections were the water was nearly knee deep, but, otherwise she was ‘gung ho’ to get across on her own.

A quick snack and we were back on the water. South Temperance isn’t the biggest body of water we’ve ever crossed. But, it was the first lake that we paddled on this trip that didn’t have a distinctly river like feel to it, so it felt a lot more expansive than it actually was.

Besides the windstorm of ’99, there was also a fire here in ’96. The lakeshore has recovered nicely from both events, yet there is still clear evidence of both that can be readily observed.

Also, we paddled past and exchanged greetings with a friendly lone fisherman at the southern most camp site on our way to the 10 rod Brule Lake portage.

This portage also started at the base of some full rapids. The only dry sections were the landings on either end. Daddy wound up carrying Aurora across this very rocky portage.

Our hopeful destination was the camp site in the narrows on the large island just south of Headlight Lake. The last time I paddled through this part of Brule, we had a cow moose hop into the lake and swim in between our canoes. (see old photo)No such luck this time, but our desired campsite was open.

There was a large rusty chain bolted to a protruding boulder near the southwestern entrance of the narrows that this camp site is located in. Furthermore, besides the obvious tent pads near the fire grate, there were several expansive open areas just back from the main site area. I surmised that this might have been the location of a logging camp or something of that nature. Regardless of the accuracy of this thinking, it made for great easy exploration.

There was a neat little finger of shallow water for Aurora to play in while Vickie prepared our chicken alfredo lunch. Per usual, Vickie & Aurora also scoured the area for neat or interesting rocks while I lounged in the shade on the little log bench just off of the fire grate.

After lunch we paddled the short distance over to the awesome Brule Lake rockslide.

Coming from the low lying, swampy lakes the way we did made this escarpment all the more striking. Some 15 years after the fact, this bay also still exhibits clear evidence of the '99 windstorm.

We landed in the shadows of these towering cliffs and climbed out into a lovely grove of cedar trees. The portage to Wench Lake is also located in this very spot. So, while Vickie & Aurora explored the rock slide, I decided to hike that trail.

Essentially, the exceedingly rocky trail follows a very small creek all the way up. While steep, the gradient wasn’t nearly as severe as most other dead end brook trout lakes in the Gunflint region. And, there was a nice opening to fish from shore if one were to travel up sans canoe. There was also a smaller continuation of the rock slide along the north shore.

Later, reunited with Vickie & Aurora at the bottom of the rock slide, we explored some more and took some photographs in this very neat area.

I was hoping to fish a little but, it was getting late & the wind was beginning to pick up. As we pushed off we could see some whitecaps crashing into the shoreline rocks out near the main body of the lake. The wind was coming out of the south, so we were quickly able to hide & play hopscotch in the wake of the scattering of small islands before reaching a more permanent windbreak behind the large elongated island. It never got too serious, although we later looked upon this situation with extreme satisfaction that our Souris River canoe more than proved its worth and stability in these, less than ideal, conditions. Aurora was oblivious, as she went asleep right in her seat as we traveled back towards camp in the swiftly pacifying waters.

By the time we finished the portage out of South Temperance, the sun was hanging low providing a soft illuminating glow on the eastern shorelines and horizons. When conditions are optimal like this, with intermittent beams of sunlight contrasting brilliantly with the shadows of the forest, it makes for my most preferred time of day to be on the water.

As we paddle through this marshy area, the cacophony of frogs was absolutely deafening. I cautioned Vickie that we need to ‘stick’ the landing for the portage to Weird. The rapids just below were pushing class III, and wouldn’t be very forgiving of any misstep. We approached very slowly, near shore and were thankfully able to hop out without any difficulty.

Once back on Weird, the waterfowl and turtles were still out and about, and we discovered the camp site was now occupied. As we passed by I noticed the familiar orange & black bwca.com sticker affixed to the canoe. It was SDEBOL and partner. We exchanged friendly greetings and quickly chatted as we paddled by. In these situations, I’m never sure if I should linger and talk some more or if I should paddle on because I’ve already said too much?

Back in camp we discover my collapsible little green cooler has ‘given up the ghost’, and the remainder of our fresh meat is mostly thawed out. So, it’s breakfast sausage & bagels for supper this evening. Hopefully our remaining bacon will hold until morning.

While Vickie enjoys an after supper cup of coffee, Aurora & I hang out in the hammock and marvel at the various sights and sounds of the evening.

Afterwards, as Auroras’ reward for being such a trooper today, I get a fire going in anticipation of indulging in a long standing camping ritual. Graham crackers, marshmallows & Hershey bars are dug out and, in no time, we are all besmeared with our scrumptious oozing delicacy. The all-time best bed time snack ever!

Jack Lake, Weird Lake, South Temperance Lake, Brule Lake, Wench Lake