On May 29^th, a group of intrepid paddlers met in Frontenac to begin their journey to becoming certified Canoe Trippers.

It started off well, with an uneventful paddle across Big Salmon Lake from the put-in at the end of Big Salmon Lake Road to Campsite 5, which is at the northeastern tip of the lake. The paddle was uneventful, and took us about 1 ½ hours. En route we saw a turkey vulture harassed by some black birds, and a few loons. No other canoes were seen on the lake at this time. Bill and Cathy were already at the campsite, and they had set up the tarp and bug shelter already. However, bugs were surprisingly scarce. Campsite 5 is very nice, located near a stream, and surrounded by high rocks along the water’s edge. After a snack of rice pudding prepared by Greg (instant rice, pudding mix, and hot water) we bedded down for the night.

On May 30^th, we woke up to a wonderful breakfast of eggs, bacon, and fruit salad prepared by Andy and Geoff. After some consultation, we all decided to take the portage into Little Clear Lake, followed by the portage to Little Salmon Lake to get to our next campsite – Campsite 6, on Little Salmon Lake. The weather was good, slightly on the warm side and clear, although not warm enough for swimming! After some lessons on navigation using a map and compass, we headed off to the first portage. One canoe passed straight by the portage, but that was quickly corrected using the on-water signals we had learned in our in-class sessions. The portage started out well, but quickly went downhill, as one member of the party dropped a canoe on their head and broke their ankle (not to worry, this was just a simulation!). As a spinal was suspected, the group decided a course of action and discussed it with the course instructors (one of whom was the clumsy victim!). At the end of this troublesome portage, we decided to stop for lunch, a (very rare!) cooked lunch of homemade bean soup (black beans, sauteed carrots, celery, and onion, and vegetable soup stock cubes) and bagel sandwiches. In general, the portage was very clearly marked with an easily navigable trail.

After lunch, we paddled across Little Clear Lake and headed for the second portage of the day, which ended very near to our campsite on Little Salmon Lake. The portage, although it crossed quite a few paths, was also very well marked, and ended at a small pebbly beach. The wind began to pick up at this time, and everyone was happy to arrive at the campsite. Campsite 6 is another very nice campsite, located on a hillside that drops into the water. The water here is fairly shallow for the first few feet, and then drops quickly. In the afternoon, we learned every knot an aspiring canoe tripper might need to know, which came in handy as we needed to set up 2 tarps to block the raging wind that had picked up by this time. Dinner was provided by Bill and Cathy, and consisted of spicy chickpea stew and barley and mushrooms, followed by an unbelievable dessert of Pilsbury cinnamon rolls, cooked in Bill’s Outback Oven. Delicious! The evening was enjoyable (once one canoeist was able to start a fire!), with lots of fine stories and discussion about the history of canoeing in Canada. And the weather got cooler…

In the morning on Sunday May 31^st, we got up slowly to a breakfast of pancakes and maple syrup, served up by Geoff and Andy. The weather had taken a turn for the worse. The wind was blowing, and the temperature had dropped to the point where we saw hail!! We packed up slowly after breakfast, and discussed the finer points of dealing with bears when suddenly a “bear” showed up in our campsite (another simulation)! We tried to scare away the creature, but he was evidently unphased as he continued to root through our campsite, and wouldn’t stop. We had to retreat to a nearby hillside. Eventually the “bear’ went away and we discussed our choices and swapped bear stories. We decided to eat lunch at the campsite—a meal of pre-cooked oatmeal pancakes prepared by Cathy, and soon enough we were back on the water, paddling a short distance to the only portage of the day. En route we hiked inland a short distance to examine the remains of a mica mine – very little remains, other than a dugout scar on the earth, and some bits of mica. The portage was very muddy, and in need of maintenance, but we made it through to Big Salmon Lake without too much trouble. In Big Salmon, we learned some new whitewater strokes before we all packed it in and headed back to Ottawa. Also, the weather improved dramatically and it was sunny again.

All in all, the trip was a great success in spite of the spotty weather, and all the participants had fun and learned a lot. Frontenac is a beautiful park that we will definitely return to, and it was surprisingly quiet in spite of its proximity to Kingston and Ottawa. Thanks again to Lynette and Rob for such a great weekend!

If you would like to see a GPS track of this trip, click here.

Written by Derek H.

Here is a summary of some of the lessons learned (thanks to Bill for these) Learn to delegate and trust in the strength of others.Keep in mind the abilities of all paddlers when planning a routePerform preventative maintenance on stoves (other gear)Perform stove ignition test before taking on trip - check for fuel leaks.Double the rations from the cook book when using standard recipes.Serves 4 really means serves 2 in the woods.Throwing objects at bears is a viable option.Label all food bags. Throw out last years left overs (powdered milk etc).MUGA/GUMS -- Map unto Ground Add / Ground unto Map SubtractTake forward and reverse bearings, esp on unmarked portages.Take reference bearings to land marks (both forward and reverse)Develop/carry emergency kit on your life vest. Matches, garbage bag shelter. Small water proof emergency kit.Use of running clove hitch for stretching out tarps. Easier than using a prusikEven flat water canoeist should learn how to beach/launch in moving water just above a rapid.Also handy is knowing how to upstream ferry. Alot of timesthe take outs/put ins are at the very start of a section of rapids. Know when to expect your portage take out and on which side of the river it is on. Knots: Bowline (potentially comes undone when knot is unloaded - back it up with a keeper knot)Truckers hitch watch that you don't torque to hard on your canoes. the added mechanical advantage can crack kevlar canoesButterfly/Alpine ButterflyFishermans knot (joining ropes)Water knot (joining slings)Clove hitchLarkshead knot - prep for Prusik knotSquare knot (Reef knot) Refer to http://www.troop7.org/Knots/

Some of the Recipes:

Granola Bars

The Well Fed Backpacker

1/2 c of margarine

1 3/4 c brown sugar - packed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 c granola

1 1/2 c chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt margarine, remove from heat.

Stir in sugar, then egg & vanilla. Mix flour, baking powder,

and salt. Blend in (don't beat) sugar mixture, then granola, and nuts.

Spread in a greased 9x14" pan. Bake for 25 min. Makes 12 bars.

(I bake for longer)

Spicey Chickpea Stew

Serves 4-5

(yah right, you guys downed a double batch

I would suggest doubling for 4-5 when in the woods

)

1 small onion, diced

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed. Hah, use 4 or more

1 tsp ground cumin or more to taste

1/4 tsp cayenn or more to taste (I used lots more :)

1 tsp basil

1 cup mushrooms sliced through (I omit these)

2 cups cooked chickpeas or 19 oz can or 1 cup dry

1 28 oz can tomatoes (I used diced)

1/4 c olives (optional - I hate olives)

1 Tbsp parsley (I omitted this)

saute onion in oil until golden. Stir in garlic, cumin, cayenne, basil (and mushrooms).

Cook for a few minutes

Add drained chick peas, and tomatoes and simmer until mixer is thoroughly heated.

About 15 minutes. Garnish with parsely (and olives). Serve over rice, millet or pasta.

Pilsbury Cinnemon Rolls

Choose the smaller one - cooks in 8 minutes (really 15 min).

Barley and Mushrooms:

chosen from the prepared rice section.

Cathy's special Muffin-Pancakes:

Quaker Oats low fat Oatmeal muffin mix with added dried apple and chopped walnuts.