A month in Temagami (part 5)
May 25, 2016
Day 22
Had trouble sleeping so I was on the water around 5am, and hoped that would change my fishing fortunes. I did hook into six fish around the base of the dam, including a nice little whitefish, but still the giants eluded me.
Loaded the van, strapped on the canoe, and then a quick stop in New Liskard again for a few things. Then on to Anima Nipissing Lake, near Latchford. A 5km paddle gets me to my desired campsite in the middle of the lake at the narrows, where it is also shallow.
Set up camp at a very relaxed pace, and planned on going to bed early when arose such a clatter. Fish were breaching the surface all around my island, so off in the canoe I went to try my luck. Turns out they were small---probably just fingerlings---but nonetheless my hopes were restored for the following day on new water; such is the daily routine of the fisherman.
May 26, 2016
Day 23
I know it's distasteful to complain about being on vacation, but I'm doing it anyway---just to vent. I set out for a trout lake called Breeches Lake. There was a headwind, as forecasted, but I was okay with that since it would---hypothetically---take me home later, when I would be more tired. Actually, I was already tired, feeling quite drowsy during the paddle there, perhaps due to the antihistamines for the bug bites. Speaking of bites, I hadn't had one yet on this lake, and that didn't change with the 4km of trolling to the first portage. Then came the second portage. Then came Breeches Lake, at last, but the spitting that had been going on changed to a solid rain once I got on the water. I tucked in beneath some overhanging trees, thinking it would pass. It did lighten, but continued to rain for 2-3 hours. I'm soaked, but I suck it up since I came this far and I wanted a nice trout. Then the runs hit. I barely made it in to shore in time. I resumed paddling around the perimeter of the entire lake, but caught nothing. I was just cold, and wet, and frustrated.
Eventually I called it quits and paddled back to the portage, but being that it was quite inconspicuous from the lake, I went way past it, further prolonging my misery. Backtracked, completed both portages, wet and mucky, and finally was back on Anima Nipissing. There waiting for me was a huge swarm of black flies. Lovely. Halfway back to camp I realized that I had dropped my sunglasses somewhere on the portage. Perfect. Last week broken shades, this week none at all. At last, back at camp, and without a single fish to show for half a day of fishing. I make a big batch of couscous and smother it in a new butter chicken sauce I decided to try. It was awful. Just the cherry on top of my sundae.
Regardless, I start a big fire to warm up and dry myself out. That, for once, goes as planned, and with food in my belly, I begin to revive. I check on the tent to see how it fared in the rain, and pull out the drop sheet which had accumulated some water. All of the water pours under the tent, and I have to move the tent to ensure that the night won't be any damper than it already will be. Perhaps it was for the best, since I discovered some (likely human) poop near my tent that I hadn't noticed initially.
I enjoy some kettle cooked popcorn, brush up, tidy camp, and then mercifully, head to bed at last. Long entry for such a useless and joyless day, but worth documenting to illustrate the darker side of the backcountry.
May 27, 2016
Day 24
Well rested, I hit the water at 9:15am with the gloom of yesterday buried in the past. It's already very sunny and I admit to myself that I won't be able to last a few more days here without shades. I resign myself to paddling back to the portage to search. They are nowhere to be found. So, I motor back to the car, 5km north of the portage and retrieve another pair. Near the launch there's a trail to the local fire tower, which I hike briskly. I opt not to climb the 100-foot+ ladder to the top for a view, with my desire to live in mind, and scurry back to the canoe. A man in a boat comes trolling along slowly. "Hey," I say. "Peach of a day, it'nt it?" he replies. "Perfect," I agree. And it is, with puffy cumulus clouds dotting the blue sky and a comfortable warmth to the air.
Though I had paddled like a machine for the first 10km of the day, I took a page out of his book and paddled along much slower now. Sure enough, I round the point of the bay whence I came, and the rod bends over. I pick it up out of the rod holder and reel it in steadily, making sure I don't lose it. It comes in fairly easily but once it gets near the boat, it fights like a beast. It's either a big SM bass, or a laker. Finally I netted it and it was the latter; a nice 4-lb lake trout. After a quick photo I release the beautiful creature to hopefully swim for many years, and perhaps make another fisherman's day. With all of the paddling and the hike, I get a bit sweaty. The water is finally at a temperature that won't kill me, so I get to shore and take a quick dip. It's the first time my body has been fully wet in 3.5 weeks and it's refreshing to say the least. I continue back to camp and not a minute later comes another good battle with a second 4-lb trout. Amazing how the day prior I was full of negative energy, and today I was full of just the opposite, and how those feelings manifest themselves into real, tangible results.
Back to camp for a very late lunch, some reading, then dinner. Next I hit the water once again to Brigstocke Bay, just north of my site. The bugs are BAD and I made the mistake of wearing shorts. I carry on for 2km, hoping to leave them behind, but they only worsen. A swarm surrounds me, so I declare war! I lay down my paddle and kill perhaps 200 of them, hoping it will help, but their numbers are too great. I paddle fast back to camp and nab a nice little walleye for my trouble. And to think that yesterday I would have been happy to go home...
May 28, 2016
Day 25
Awoke to the pitter-patter of rain on the tent. It lasted for hours, on and off, and I didn't get on the water until 1pm. Trolled down to Dart's Bay with no bites, then scurried back to camp as some dark clouds rolled in. Sure enough, it continued to rain intermittently for the rest of the afternoon. Sometimes it was dry enough to venture outside, but the bugs were there, waiting, always, for a chance to taste my flesh. Killing them had become somewhat of an obsession at this point, with the army of mosquitoes now present to join their black fly allies in battle.
Peace and safety could always be found in my Eureka tent, however. So I passed the day by finishing Ender's Game (ironically about a war against invading aliens resembling insects---unbeknownst to me), doing a crossword, planning the next destination, and starting the Kingkiller Chronicles series, at Laura's recommendation.
