Quetico Provincial Park: Day 2

Small no-name lake between Badwater and Fair Lakes

Here is the second installment of my posts on our trip to Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada.

Day 2

On our second day, we arose around 6:30 and ate dehydrated granola with milk and blueberries. We packed up camp, loaded the canoes, and paddled east on Badwater Lake (also known as Long Darn Lake--it's probably six or seven miles long). There is a portage from Badwater to the little no-name lake in the above photo. The trail crosses a stream and a beaver dam. In the photo below, Bart carries his canoe walking across the top of the dam.

Bart and his canoe crossing a beaver dam.

We crossed the little lake in a matter of minutes and came to another portage into Fair Lake. One more and we were in Your Lake, then over a large beaver dam and through a long and winding marshy stream through, paddling where we could, and carrying the canoes over low areas and beaver dams.

A beaver house in one of the lakes.

Along the way I saw some wildlife, including a beaver in the water near the beaver house in the photo above. I also saw some loons and many of one of my favorite birds--the red winged blackbird. We also saw evidence of moose in the stream--the roots of water lilies they had pulled up to eat. We did not see any actual moose on this trip, sadly.

The second to last lake was Wildgoose Lake, which is the lake that we camped on when I came as a kid. More on that in another post!

To get from Wildgoose to our destination was another, shorter stream. Finally, we were in Eyelet Lake. We set up camp on the north side, I believe. We ate another peanut-based lunch: peanut butter and pita bread, peanuts, salted nut rolls, raisins, summer sausage, hard boiled eggs, and saltwater taffy. The rock we were camping on had no shade and we were dying in the sun (there was a thermometer keychain on one of the rai gear suits in my back--I checked it and it said it was 90 degrees F), so Bart rigged up a tarp for some shade.

We used our packs or stuff sacks of clothes as pillows and rested under the shade of the tarp for quite a long time. In the photo below (which I actually took the next day), you can see on the left the dark green tarp in the trees, Dad and Bart's tent in the middle, and Jonathan's and my little tent on the right. To the right of the tent were some angled grooves in the rock, which is where we parked the canoes when we were at the campsite.

After getting some rest, it was time to start getting ready for fishing. Dad prepared this rod and reel, below, for Jonathan (we travel with them taken apart--the reels in boxes and the rods in tubes) and showed him how to fish with a jig. You can see the jig hanging from the pike's mouth. It consists of a jig head (a little round weighted head with a hook) and a tail (the squishy part with the spiral tail), which you pierce the hook through to make one piece. I am not an experienced fisherperson at all--I think the last time I fished was the last time I was in Quetico, 16 years ago, so I had to be shown, too. Basically, cast, let the jig sink, reel in your slack, let it sink, tug it up a little, reel in your slack, etc., etc., until something bites or you've reeled it back in (or you snagged it on a rock). So this was the method that Jonathan and I used to fish. Dad and Bart used some fancy lures with spinners and whatnot, but I was perfectly happy to stick with a simple jig.

Jonathan caught this, the first fish of the trip, from shore.

Jonathan and the first fish of the trip, a northern pike.

Dad and Jonathan

And finally, we were on the water to fish the rest of the afternoon on Eyelet Lake. Dad and Jonathan, and Bart and I went our separate ways fishing in different parts of the lake. Bart and I found a good spot and caught quite a few walleye--probably at least ten each--and a few small pikes. Suddenly, I caught something big--a fighter. I didn't even see it, but Bart either saw or just knew that it was a big pike. He said we better meet up with my dad and let him land it. (At that point, I hadn't even got the guts to get my own fish off my line, and for this particular situation, it would be easier for Dad to do it, plus then everyone would be able to see it in all its glory:

Dad and the first big catch of the trip

We estimate that this was about a 16 pound pike! It was pretty exciting, and gratifying because I've always remembered a big fish I almost caught last time that got away.

After that, Bart and I stopped on an island and casted from there to get out of the canoe for awhile. We caught several more walleye--ten or so, and Bart got this nice sized one:

Bart and a walleye caught in Eyelet

I think that walleye was probably around three pounds.

We didn't eat any fish that day. We released them all right after they were caught. Back at camp, we enjoyed dehydrated meals (beef lasagna and pasta primavera) with a side of pita bread and pistachio pudding for dessert.

Again, we retired to our tents around 8:00 and relaxed listening to the sounds of the lake splashing up against the shore and a chorus of extremely loud frogs and birds.



More to come!