Slept in! Woke up at 6:30, rolled over and went back to sleep. After awhile, I woke up and caught up with the journal - then back to napping. DC alternated, napped then finished the book ‘Time on Ice’.

Windy and sunny today, wind more southerly, whitecaps in Grand Slam Bay.

We finally decided to emerge from the tent around 9:30. Our timing was perfect because just as we finished dressing a truck pulled up and we heard a shout "Hello." I ducked out of the tent still barefoot and asked, "Hi, are you Otto?" It was and he had come over to tell us about our food cache. "Should I bring it over here?" I responded, "Yeh, that would be really helpful." He drove away. In conversation, we had asked about the fire ban and been told it was no longer in effect! Yippee - we can have fires now if we want. Unfortunately we don’t have our firebox.

A little while later, while I was strip washing, Otto returned. Quick movement on my part! He delivered our food and DC told them of our potential change in plan. Otto told us of the Swan River ‘short cut’. We had tried that from the Wollaston Lake end 5 years ago and decided not to go through - bugs, bog, timing. He said that the trails were clear around the rapids and from Cairns Lake to Wollaston. We are rethinking doing that. It’s just a question of whether I can put up with bugs for 6 days or not. 6 days of Devil Rapid portage conditions - I don’t know. DC says - "If we can’t make it, we just call a plane." $$$ can solve everything!

While on the way down to get some water for washing our clothes, DC crossed paths with some Japanese people. They were working at Lynn Lake for the summer doing research with the weather balloons. They were on a day trip to Kinoosao. 80 km Lynn Lake - Kinoosao took them 2 hours! On the way they had had a flat tire. We sure hope they don’t have one on the way back. They are over here for about two months and expect to be back in Japan by the beginning of September.

After laundry and a breakfast of oysters, bannock and fruit cocktail, we spent a couple of hours sorting out our food for the next leg of our trip. Only have 1 plastic tub to send home this time.

We got a new supply of wine with our food - have been sitting here guzzling wine on the beach in the sun to finish the last batch!

After a swim to cool off, we walked over to Grand Slam and talked to Floyd about getting a boat ride to Brochet and to the mouth of the Swan River. He is going to get back to us about timing etc. These are at least 2 options 1) up to Brochet and then a separate trip across to Swan Bay or 2) all in one loop, Brochet, Swan Bay and then guide comes back to Kinoosao.

Floyd Olson’s father and grandmother are mentioned in the book by P.G. Downes ‘The Sleeping Island’.

Supper of ham and eggs - yum. Canned ham and a dehy quiche. They went together very well.

7 pm - the wind has dropped. Would have been difficult to paddle today in that wind. Still haven’t heard from Floyd about plans for Brochet and Swan Bay tomorrow. Hope he doesn’t leave it too late so we have time to pack up and get ready - especially if we are going to have an early morning.

I am thinking about the Swan River route into Wollaston Lake - I want to do it but my bug alert is very high. It is saying no, no, no. I am trying to ignore the voice and steel myself for the Compulsion Bay bug epidemic.

We walked over to Grand Slam again this evening to drop off our garbage. Floyd will not be able to take us to Brochet tomorrow - we are both glad we aren’t leaving tomorrow because we have things we want to do yet - phone calls, mail package.

Floyd told us of finding a cave in the cliffs in Jackpine Channel. He found a basket and broken arrow in the cave. Later he saw a rock painting in the channel and talked to an old man who knew the meaning of the rock painting. The meaning had been handed down from the painter, who had a vision of the future of the Indian people, to 5 great grandfathers’ generations. The arrow was the brush used to paint the rock painting. The old man died the day after passing the meaning on to Floyd.

Floyd showed us a picture of the painting and interpreted it as noted. He also said that the cave was a traditional boundary marker between the Cree and Dene. More recently, the Cree have moved further north to Brochet and all the Dene moved up to Lac Brochet, which is now much larger than Brochet.

I (JM) woke this morning with a knot in my stomach and uneasy. I don’t really know why. The weather is perfect for canoeing right now – calm wind and lake. Perhaps I just want to get going somewhere. Or it could be that I am extremely concerned about paddling the Swan River. We don’t really know what we are getting into. Otto said all the (portage) trails were cut – but that would be for winter use. How would we fare in summer? And I can probably take bugs if it is sunny – but what about the added stress of cloud and rain? I want to do the route to close the loop of 1997 but … I am concerned.

Another, less consequential item is how long we will have to wait for Floyd to have a free boat. I know his guests come first but I don’t want to fritter all the time we have gained ourselves by changing plans sitting here in Kinoosao waiting for a boat ride. I would rather paddle back to Southend.

I think my disquiet is caused by missing Bailey and by being uneasy about the boat ride to Brochet and Swan Bay. As the day has worn on y unease has lessened.

I got out of the tent first today! I made hot chocolate and tea and even had the idea of what to have for breakfast. David lollygagged in the tent until the hot chocolate was ready. I think I got out first because of my nervous energy!

Once we had finished breakfast, done some laundry and dishes we packaged up our parcel to send home. Because it would be awkward to carry to town, we decided to paddle into Kinoosao. I decided that I should try sterning for the short trip into town. I was a bit wobbly to start with but by the time we rounded the point I had figured it out. Kept sliding off the seat because DC had a green chair on the seat. Rectified that on the way back – took it off.

Took the parcel up to the Co-op to mail. Unfortunately, the postmistress was not in and her daughter (Maureen Olsen) didn’t know how to charge for it. She called Lynn Lake and they told her to look in the postage rate book. She finally came up with a price of $6.95 – which DC and I thought was on the low side. We bought a few groceries and an envelope and got $100 extra in cash so we can pay for the boat whenever that occurs. As we were leaving I asked Maureen to put COD for the postage on the parcel if we didn’t pay enough. We will phone Murray and let him know the parcel is on its way and that he may have to pay some extra postage.

While we were sitting there Floyd stopped in to buy gas and some other stuff. As he left, he told us that a cousin of his could give us a ride to Brochet and over to Swan Bay tomorrow. We would go 30 mile to his cousin’s fish camp where we would drop off our stuff for the day, go to Brochet then return and pick it up for the trip to Swan Bay ($270 plus gas). We are going to be ready to go by 7:30 am and leave by 8:00.

Paddled back to camp, took off spray cover and then left again to go fishing around the point. I steered again. DC fished for a while with no luck so we headed for the shore – in the process I scared the bejeesus out of him when I jerked the canoe. We landed and my true objective became obvious – I wanted to have a bath. We bathed, DC did a bit more fishing and we headed back.

Old fishing boats

On the way we paddled over to the two stranded fishing boats up on the beach near where we are camped. They would have been impressive in there day. Each boat was about 50 feet long. The hulls were very deep. After returning we walked back into town, primarily to get another $100 so we have enough for the boat ride. We also bought supper – canned stew and deep brown beans – yum!

Maureen told us that she didn’t think that she had charged correctly for the parcel. We can visit their house tonight, when her mother is back, and find the correct amount.

Heat quite impressive today so after all our exposure we are both quite tired. Snooze on floor of tent for the coolness and to escape flies and mosquitoes. The heat reminds DC of the July 4 carry on the Mudjatik. Strong, intense and persistent – even at 7:00 PM you want to be careful to stay out of the sun.

Supper quite an elaborate affair: 3-course meal – canned deep brown beans, canned beef stew and canned pears. I told DC "this is so high class I’m not sure I can stand it." All the courses were wonderful and we didn’t have to eat dehy – save it all for when we go canoeing again.

Went into town in the evening to try and straighten out the postage on the package – Shirley Olsen still not home and not expected until later or maybe tomorrow. We said we would phone about the parcel and try and straighten it out once we were done canoeing. While looking for Shirley we knocked on the door of the wrong house and put my head in the door. The room was FULL of people watching TV – 10-15 people. They were very helpful in letting us know where Shirley’s house was – down the street two houses.

Kinoosao has been a fascinating place. All these deeply Norwegian names (both Christian and family names) attached to Cree features. I have a real sense of comfort and fit in this community – almost like going to Minnesota.

Fred, Alfred, Otto, Oscar, Maureen, Olson, Martinson, Peterson, Johnson – these are all names that you would find in a Norwegian community. The first thing you see paddling up to the town site is a green and white Co-op store – a sure sign of a Scandinavian community. The contrast of the names and features make a natural fit and the small community leaves the impression of robust health. A good place to be.

One thing JM noticed compared to Southend. The people keep to themselves and don’t swarm around full of questions. We were camped near quite a busy spot and the people visiting the beach did not once invade our privacy. However, whenever we were nearby the people were always friendly and interested in what we were doing. Perhaps it’s like small towns anywhere, if you are an outsider you are not included in the community but people are friendly when interacting.

Got up at 6:00 this morning to get packed and ready for a boat ride from Floyd’s cousin up to Brochet and across to Swan Bay. He was supposed to arrive at 7:30 and we were ready. We walked over to Grand Slam around 8:00 to see what the scoop was on the boat ride. Nobody was stirring yet so we went and sat on the beach rocks until we saw some signs of life.

At around 9:00, somebody emerged from the cabin so we walked over to see what was happening. Apparently the cousin (Dickie Olson) who was going to give us the ride had been unable to get the boat from his father. Alfred’s comment on Dickie last night was that he probably didn’t know the way. Perhaps it is just as well that he couldn’t get the boat. Next Alfred told us that Otto had offered to take us. Otto had just got back from Southend last night. Alfred phoned Otto but he had to go back to Southend to help with firefighting (Otto works for SERM.) All this information was dribbled out over the space of ½ - 1 hour. However, everybody in town knows what we want to do so there is no shortage of advice or information.

Once realized we weren’t getting a boat ride from Floyd and company we decided to pack up and make our way back to Southend or across to Swan Bay via a safe island route. We had to paddle to the Co-op to get the postage straightened out – the cost was $13.05 not $7.00 as Maureen had charged.  Once all that was completed we were just leaving and Richard (Dickie) Olson told us about Alfred Johnson who had a large boat going up to Brochet and perhaps we could get a ride with him. The never ending round of advice … amazing.

We paddled over to the boat (and barge) to see about a ride but there was nobody around. After a quick look at the boat we paddled over to town and ran into Alfred Johnson. As we paddled up, he said, "Want to race to Brochet?" David stopped to talk to him about a ride to Brochet while JM went up to the store to haul out the shotgun shells and bear scare (dangerous goods – do not mail!). JM felt better after taking them out.

The Beluga waiting for its load

JM came back to learn that Alfred was waiting for a caterpillar (D-5) to arrive this evening, then he is loading it up and taking it on the barge to Brochet. We can get a ride, as there is lots of room. Cost as yet unknown.

Alfred expects the trip to take about 8 hours, arriving in Brochet about 2:00 am (assuming a 6:00 PM start). He expects the Cat to arrive around 2:00 PM and then will load it on the barge.

His boat, the Beluga, had been brought into Reindeer Lake from Churchill MB by DIAND and was used by DIAND to haul lumber. The Beluga had been constructed as a whaler with a slipway and winch to haul Beluga whales up the back.

When Alfred purchased the boat it had been left abandoned in a long shallow channel. He went out in the winter, pulled the motor out, sledded it back to Brochet and then shipped it to Winnipeg by winter road for repair. Originally the Beluga’s upper works were all of steel and had limited cargo space. Alfred had used an arc welder (he didn’t have a cutting torch) to cut it away. He then shifted the steering cabin back and built a large cargo compartment in the front part of the boat. All this construction was of dimension lumber and plywood. While Alfred claimed to be not much of a carpenter, this work had been done 15 years ago and was still strong and solid.

The Beluga’s original propeller was too slow when he was handling the barge. He bought a barge propeller and when it arrived it was too big for the boat. He then cut it down to fit – again with his arc welder and a file. This required precision workmanship on his part to ensure that the cut-down propeller maintained its proper balance; otherwise it would tear the drive shaft out of the boat. With the new propeller in place he was able to cut a nine-hour trip down to five and one-half hours.

One time Alfred was coming down to Kinoosao and a heavy fog dropped on the lake. There was a light breeze and every few minutes he would step out of the cabin and check his direction against the breeze. When the fog finally lifted he was miles off course – the wind had been shifting. Another time in the same foggy trip he was trying to steer clear of an island that housed a dog team. He knew that if he could hear the dogs he could avoid the island. But the dogs wouldn’t bark for the longest time. Finally, just as he was about to give up and drop anchor, the dogs heard the motor on his boat and started barking furiously – doubtless in anticipation of being fed.

All we have done today is sit in the shade by the shore and eat triscuits and sardines and ores while we wait for the barge trip. DC asked Alfred how much he wanted to take us to Brochet. He said the Alfred looked embarrassed and just asked if we had a phone card that he could use – he had forgotten his at home. We lent him our card to make the call. It is now 4:00 PM and the caterpillar still hasn’t arrived – JM is beginning to doubt whether this barge trip is coming off or not. JM is quite looking forward to the barge trip. Perspective on the lake will be quite different, as we go right down the middle – don’t hug the shore like we have to in the canoe. JM hopes this works and we get in the water before dark or we won’t be able to see anything. C’est la vie.

Watching all the comings and goings on the waterfront has been quite fascinating. People come down to the dock with a truck full of groceries, pack them into a boat and motor away. Do they live on the lake? Have they just been to town (Lynn Lake) for groceries? Do they live here and are they going out for a few days – lots of groceries so perhaps a few weeks. One group was off to Reindeer Lake Lodge – probably to work. They had all kinds of gear, food etc.

Another couple and their daughter (and puppy) loaded an ATV out of the back of a truck into a boat. We were speculating how they were going to get it out again. Reverse the process – unloading it at some camp? Perhaps they have just bought it and are taking it home to Brochet and will unload it into the back of a truck up there.

DC met Ron Olson, who is building a dock nearby. Ron had made a solo canoe trip from Key Lake mine, via the Wheeler River, down to Wollaston Lake. When he hit the long rapid on the Wheeler, about 2 miles long, he made it almost all the way down and a big wave swamped him. He then grabbed a rope, jumped out of the canoe and using the rope swam and pulled the canoe to safety.

The trip took him four days – like us on the Geikie – he also thought the trip was too fast. During the trip he came across one of the biggest bears that he had ever seen (700 – 800 lbs.). When he first spotted it he thought it was a moose. He headed for shore and grabbed his 30-30, he wanted the hide. When he climbed over a little intervening hill the bear was nowhere to be seen. If it had run, Ron would have seen it so the bear had likely headed into the water and hunkered down low – hiding. Ron didn’t want to close in on the bear because with the 30-30 he had to keep some distance to ensure the bear couldn’t charge him after his first shot. After searching from a distance he gave the bear the credit it was due for its smarts and continued on down the river.

Ron had guided on Wollaston Lake for several years and had been to Bigstone Rapids a number of times. When DC asked how the Dene got around the rapid he said they went straight up it. They use two motors and it is all they can do to push an18 footer up the rapid.

Ron invited us to camp on his beach if the semi doesn’t make it here in time to load tonight. Apparently the road from Lynn Lake to here is little more than a track in places and the driver of the fuel truck that had come in today was very worried about the possibility of meeting a semi between here and Lynn Lake.

During the evening DC decided that we should find, and walk out on, the road to Lynn Lake. The road wasn’t hard to find and like Alfred Olson told us it was just a bladed trail. The highway sign leaving Kinoosao was an old imperial sign and DC thought it was worth a picture for Saskatchewan Highways. JM’s comment was – if they wanted to do any work all access would have to be through Manitoba.

After we returned from our walk the cat driver passed us on the road. DC went to investigate if there was any news but he couldn’t track the guy down – must have a friend in Kinoosao. On his way back DC ran into an old man, Sid Wilson, one of the first settlers of Kinoosao. They had quite a chat before JM arrived and Sid offered us the use of one of his vacant houses for the night. We thanked him and went down to the canoe to get the gear we would need for the night. Sid told us about something he was taking for his arthritis – website _______beyoung.com.

Sun sets as the Beluga waits for its load

We were sorting our gear and putting the cover on Jaz for the night when Alfred started over to the town site with the Beluga. He and his crew were getting everything set up for when the cat arrived. We loaded our stuff in the side and by that time they had loaded two septic tanks into the barge. The rest had to wait until the cat arrived. We went up to Sid’s house, made ourselves supper and then snoozed until 4:00 am when the cat finally arrived.

Sid was born in P.A. As a child his family moved to and farmed at Birch River, south of The Pas. As a young man he took a job as a diamond driller (underground) with HBM&S. After working there for several years, he and a number of other Norwegians founded Kinoosao in 1952 in order to establish a commercial fishery on Reindeer Lake. He noted that cats carved the road out two years later. And as far as he was concerned was still in pretty much the same shape now. His view was that if the $$ spent on patching had been put into improvements they would have a 4-lane highway between Kinoosao and Lynn Lake.

Sid owns six houses in Kinoosao and he thinks they would make a nice fish camp. He has title to all the property and it would not fall under the control of the reserve (est. in 1997). He might be right – could also lend itself to other outdoor recreation opportunities.

Sid is 87 and looks like he is about 70!

Sid hired Alfred Johnson as a boy, taught him English and how to handle heavy equipment.

Sid told me that he had freighted in 19’ and 23’ canoes up from Beaver (Amisk) Lake. It took him two days to get from Beaver to Pelican (Mirond). He remembered Snake Portage as being particularly long (DC commented that he had only gone down that part of the Sturgeon-Weir and hadn’t seen the portage.) Sid remembered one other significant portage but couldn’t remember where it was – possibly between Corneille and Mirond Lakes.

When DC asked if they were able to line around Devil Rapids or if they had to use the portage (ugly) Sid responded that they went straight up the rapids. If the water was high they would put two motors on a canoe and then carry the motors back to bring up the next canoe.

The area we had to stow our gear in was quite large. Jaz just fit in – corner to corner. There was a hanging bunk and a table in the space. The position of Jaz cut off any access to the table but the bunk was accessible.

Fitting our gear into the Beluga

We collected our stuff together and made our way down to the boat when we saw the cat arrive. When we got down to the shore, the cat was nowhere to be seen. However, it turned up a while later. Quite a process unloading and loading the cat into the barge.

The low-boy semi-trailer was a front loader, so it was quite fun to watch how they chopped the flatbed off while the truck pulled ahead with the gooseneck part of the trailer hanging on its 5^th-wheel. After they got the Cat off, the Brochet folks used a small forklift to pick the dozer blade off the back of the flatbed. DC was amazed. He didn’t think that little gas powered forklift had the jam to pick up the blade and maneuver with it.

After the truck and flatbed were out of the way, Victor drove his Cat onto the barge. What a fit. He had about ½" of room on each side between the bottom edges of the barge and the outside edges of the Cat’s tracks. Once the Cat was in position Victor used its winch to drag the blade onto the barge. Throw in a couple more septic tanks, a washer and dryer and it was time to go.

Loading the cat on the barge

All the edges of the front gate were lined with rubber gaskets before the gate was winched up. There was a slight warp in the gate and a heavy-duty come-along was used to pull the right corner tight.

After backing away from the beach, sandy shallows on each side limited Alfred’s room for turning. After getting the barge stuck, he dropped it from its side attachment to the boat. He shifted one rope to trail the barge into deeper water before re-establishing the side mount. Then we were on our way.

View to the north while on Beluga

View to the west

View to the east

and the view to the south --- lots of water!!

A fascinating ride down the lake – not anywhere to be with a canoe – big water – water crams between the boat and barge as we move along at 8 mph. The motorboat that Alfred was towing came loose at one point and he dropped the barge to go back and pick it up. The barge was floating – dead in the water. Barge then reattached after the motorboat was retrieved. About halfway to Brochet, Alfred and one of his helpers (Percy) left by motorboat. We just had Curtis and the ‘dog’s body’ to get us safely to Brochet.

Picking up the lost 'speed boat'

Day started off with some cloud but now (noon) the weather is again hot and sunny.

A long ride – so far we have been on the water for 8 hours. DC just did a GPS fix and it looks like we still have another 20 km to go – maybe 1½ hours. We have recently been passing islands with huge sandy beaches. Both islands that we were close to looked like they were occupied – possibly with fishing camps.

One notable thing about this boat trip – it is so noisy that we cannot hear any other noises – approaching boats, the wind, breaking waves or birds overhead. Islands in the north part of Reindeer Lake are quite different from the south – cobble and lots of sand compared to the shield rock of the south.

Brochet and unloading

Just outside Brochet Percy returned to the boat to ‘take her in.’ Brochet is a very sandy community and the land is quite low and level – no hills. We docked right outside the Northern Store so DC went in right away to get his paddle. Unloading was not as straightforward since the wind was blowing a gale into the side of the boat. We unloaded toward the center (between the boat and Barge), everything up onto the walkway around the barge and then offloaded at the end. Jaz had to go out the windward side but with all hands to help it worked just fine.

Due to low water we had to portage in the channel in front of the town site (like Southend). Even though we were in the lee we did not get much protection because the land is so low. Camped about 3 km from Brochet in an old burn.