What I did last summer ...

Base camp


My strength is as of 10 for my heart is pure. :)

The highway took us close to the cabin that was going to be our base camp for the next four days (see "A" on the map). We had to drive into the bush along a two-rut road to a field above the cabin. I say "above" because we had to haul the canoes and camping gear down to the waterfront. It was about 200 vertical feet down but the zig-zag trail meant we had to actually walk about 1000 feet! It took us couple of trips.

On the way back we took another route--it was a gravel road (an old mining road) and we could paddle to within 20 feet of the roadside. I could get down this road this time but it regularly gets washed out in portions during heavy rain storms. Even this time, there were a few tricky spots that required some slalom driving.


Voyageur gothic. Left to right: Kathy, Dawn, Nadya, me, Graham, Sadie (behind the chair), and Billy.

The log cabin in the background is courtesy of my sister's friend. It's just one big room--bunk beds for six, a big queen-size bed, wood-burning firebox (for warmth and indoor cooking) and a big kitchen table. No power. The outhouse was about 40 feet way, in the woods. Not exactly "roughing it" but still...

Since it was summer, we did all our cooking outside. We brought along enough ice for a couple of days.


Lake Bouillon

The cabin is right on Lake Bouillon which is part of the Mattawa River. After taking the group shot above, I simply turned around and took this one. The view is north-east in the late evening.

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