I slowly opened my eyes and glanced at my phone which read 6:15am. I sat up and wiped the foggy windows to our van and was surprised to witness flakes of snow falling from the sky. Later we would find out that temperatures in that area had dropped to minus 3 degrees Celsius that night. Caught of guard, this would be the real beginning of our adventure into the Temagami Wilderness
Thirteen hours before, Hiker and I had just left the house to begin our drive 5 plus hours North but had to turn around 20 minutes into that drive to return home an pick up some forgotten items. It was the Thursday before the long weekend and we were trying to get the jump on traffic and hit the roads a day earlier than most. We left after I got off work but because of my absent mindedness for a lack of a better descriptive word, we delayed the trip by around and hour. This royally sucked because we were already scheduled to get to the put-in by approx. 10:30pm to begin with. No worries though, no sense crying over spilled milk. Once we grabbed what we needed we were back on route enjoying music and conversation during our long drive. Just a father and son laughing and sharing in the excitement of our upcoming trip. With little stops along the way we arrived at put-in 26 located on Jeff's maps at the bottom of Matagamasi Lake. Extremely dark at this time and hardly any vehicles around the boat launch, Hiker and I picked a spot to park the van, inflated our air mattress and were asleep in the van in less then 30 minutes.
The slight flakes of snow that were falling dissipated rather quickly and it was the gusting wind that worried me. Early in the day, temperatures were still a little chilly for the month of May. Maybe not in this area but back home for sure. Despite the overcast skies and gusty winds Hiker and I loaded up the canoe and were ready to push off. Wait a minute... no mitts. I forgot to pack mitts???!!! My next question was to Hiker. "Son, what do you think about wearing a pair of socks over your hands until things warmed up". No argument from him, so socks on hands, away we went. It was very quickly realized, that we were dealing with a headwind and fairly choppy water. Not ideal but manageable. As we made our way up the Matagamasi the skies started opening up and before we knew it the sun was blazing down warming us up. We stopped on shore for homemade breakfast wraps and then pushed off again. Just after passing the little green shack on the Western shore, I pulled out my phone to take a picture. At the very same moment a cross wind picked up suddenly and began to blow us sideways and in the wrong direction. Oh and did I mention Hiker had to go pee really, really badly at this very moment as well? I jammed my phone back into my pocket, forgetting to zip up the pocket and paddled us to shore so Hiker could go pee. Once he finished I noticed a great picture opportunity of him standing on the shoreline with a rocky outcrop in the back ground. I grab for my phone. No phone? Wrong pocket? My heart sank. I bolt back to the canoe to notice my phone a foot under water sitting on a rock. I quickly yank it out and take it apart to see if any water breached the case and backing of the phone. Sure did! Water was dripping out. I did my best to dry it out and put it back together. I debated whether to turn it back on or not, but curiosity go the best of me. Powering on! It turned on like normal, then bam! it began glitching like crazy and shut off. Now a year or so back it wouldn't have bothered me that I pooched my phone. Now however, I rely on it for work quite a bit. Devastated, I sat down with my head on my knees. Hiker puts a hand on my shoulder and says " I know why you are upset dad. It's because your phone is broke". Truthfully just before this moment I wanted to call of the entire trip and go back home but this was not about the phone. It was about time with my son. I gave him a big hug and thanked him for being with me on this trip. Moments later we were back on the water paddling once again. With my phone not working, there was no way of telling time, so the rest of this story was gaged by moments, and there were plenty, both good and bad.
We arrived at our first portage, from Matagamasi to Paradise Lagoon. Hiker took the opportunity to do some fishing while I loaded the boat after us portaging everything. we also took some pictures. A quick paddle up the Lagoon and we were at the second portage, a rocky uphill trail that presented both jagged and slick rock. The positive about this portage is that it was a short 330m with beautiful views of falls, log jams and fast moving water. At this point I stopped referring to the map and had assumed we were in Silvester Lake at the end of the portage. We wanted the first campsite going into Wolf from Silvester so based on my assumption of already being in Silvester we grabbed the next campsite. Something didn't feel right but I set up camp anyway as I was actually to exhausted to give it a second thought. Hiker and I both loved the sight and after referring to the map later found out that it was in fact the first site on Silvester, not Wolf. We had selected the campsite to the left of the little channel going into Silvester. Oh well, beautiful site and we would just paddle the following day to see Wolf Lake and explore.
With camp setup we had lunch, collected fire wood and skipped rocks for a little while. Evening came quick and after having a fire we retired to the tent before dark and I read a book to Hiker. Our eyes grew heavy rather quickly and we were out like a light. Even the dog was exhausted. I forgot to mention our 5 year old "Blue Heeler" tagged along for the trip. Any mention of the words "car", "camp", "canoe" and she goes squirrely. So along she came like most other times. The three of us dreaming away the night in absolute silence.
After approximately 11hrs sleep we were up, sun shinning down on our site giving light to a new day. We made breakfast (bacon and eggs) yum! Oh and dinner the night before in case you were wondering... steak, corn and chic peas with Frank's of course :) We cleaned dishes after breakfast and loaded the boat to set out on a day trip up to Wolf lake which was a short paddle away. We checked out the majority of the campsites on Wolf scouting out possible locations for future trips. Hiker wanted to check out the ruins and ranger cabins that were marked on Jeff's maps but there wasn't anything significant to be found. We later found out that there is a fully intact ranger cabin on Dewdney Lake. Next on the agenda was the lookout trial but we had now idea where to find the trail head. We could ask these paddlers that were coming our way down Wolf from the portage out of Dewdney. Other paddlers? The first we have seen since mid day the day before. We kept exploring the area we were in until the two canoes were close by. I called out and ask if they knew where the trailhead was to the lookout over Wolf Lake. They said they had no idea and then out of the blue, one of the 4 paddlers asked if my name was Johnny? Yes I said, and asked who was asking? MANCAMPING!!! is what was shouted back. I began to laugh, no way! They turned around and joined us at the site we were meandering around. Scot had said he recognized the bright yellow OR hat I was wearing from the picture I posted to Facebook before leaving on our trip. Apparently the only reason they were down this way was because one of the boats were leaking. I am sure you will hear more of that story from Mancamping as their intentions were to go a different route. Circumstances put us in line with our first, formal in person meeting, and on Wolf Lake of all places. We all chatted and took a couple pictures before parting ways knowing that there was a chance we would be crossing paths again this trip.
Hiker and I set out to find the trail to the lookout. Thinking we had spotted where it might start we headed into shore. Just before getting to shore at about 10 feet out, our dog decides it wants to jump the gunnels but gets caught up and is putting us in danger of tipping. I grab her collar and pull up to toss her out of the boat so she could do what she intended to do and swim to shore. Didn't go as planned. Her collar buckle came lose and the collar went flying into the air landing in the lake and sinking quite rapidly. Nothing I could do but watch it sink until it hit bottom in the clear waters of Wolf lake. With a cell phone broke I was not about to lose a collar too. It wasn't an ordinary collar. It was one that shocks, vibrates or makes a sound whenever Chaya does not obey a command. the sound is all that is ever needed in her case. Just a signaling device, but an expensive one. The plan was clear, I was going swimming. I stripped down to my boxers and with my son laughing and taking pictures with out Olympus Tough, I plunged into the frigid waters and dove down to retrieve the collar. Success!!! I came up with it in my hand like I hade received some sort of trophy and was raising it high for the world to see. Hiker and I were both elated that I was able to get the collar back. After drying off and putting my dry, warm clothes back on we made our way down Wolf, back towards Silvester lake.
We ran into the Mancamping crew back at the first site on Wolf that we intended to camp at. We were invited in and conversations ensued. Scot's Wife was impressed with the intelligence of our dog. I had mentioned that she will bury her dog kibble and beg for human food when camping. To show I wasn't lying I put out some kibble for Chaya and she instantly buries it with her nose hiding all the food and then walks around begging for people food. Sometimes annoying but very funny. The crew got to know Hiker very well , very quickly as he is very social when meeting new people. Stories were told and Hiker even helped collect wood. When dinner time came we said our goodbyes and it was back to our camp. We were told by Scot that the next day held rain and by the sounds of it, lots!
After debating Hiker and I decided we would make our way back to the van first thing in the morning if it was raining. My Wife was leaving for Niagara Falls early on Monday and we wanted to catch her for some snuggles and breakfast out before she left. After a great last night at our camp we hit the sleeping bags again just before dark with most of our gear packed for a quick departure the next morning. Just before going to bed I gave my phone another try to see if it would work and to my surprise, it did! This was a huge relief and as much as I was already loving the trip up to this point, the fact that my phone was working again made things just that much more better. No worrying about cell phones when I returned home. Mine was working fine once again. Sweet!!!
The next morning didn't disappoint. We woke up to a sprinkling rain. Hiker and I had a quick snack, loaded the boat and set off back to the van. We stopped to take pictures at the falls and spirits were high despite the now heavier rain. It wasn't until the second portae that things went downhill. If you ask Hiker, this is up for debate. If you see him next time ask him if he became miserable after having to carry the bag on the portage, or falling in the creek. He will say bag, I will say creek. This is an ongoing humorous debate we have even now back at home :) Regardless, Hiker became miserable after that portage from a combination of things, fatigue, rain, wetness and the thought paddling in this situation for another couple hours. This is where he told me he was mad at me for putting him in this situation. I used this dialogue to explain that these are the situations that we overcome and grow from. This was not a quick dialogue as it lasted the entire paddle back to the van and a hard one at that. Just as we got out on the Matagamasi from the portage we were hit with driving rain and strong headwinds and cross winds. During moments we were forced to take refuge behind some islands for me to regain energy to push on. Nearing the end of the paddle I almost lost direction of where I needed to go as I was battling wind, waves and water all over my glasses but through all that, we found the boat launch where our van was. Hiker was cold and wet so I put him in the van stripped him down putting dry clothes on and started up the van to warm things up with the heat as I loaded the gear and canoe. A quick change myself and we were on our way South towards home. Despite the environmental factors, challenging situations and the overall experience, Hiker will tell you he loved the trip and wants to go back again this Summer. Not sure about that,
but I love his enthusiasm despite the things that did challenge us. That's what makes these experiences so special. We are growing from them TOGETHER.
Until next time, adventure awaits!
Johnny- Two4adventure
