MARIE LAKE OVERNIGHT TRIP - AUTUMN 2019, PART 2 OF 3

We reached the south end of High Falls Lake shortly before two in the afternoon, and made the half kilometer portage to St. Andrews Lake in one trip. The portage follows the Barron River as it drains St. Andrews Lake to High Falls Lake, but High Falls themselves are not on this course of the river, but on the course that drains Stratton Lake to High Falls Lake.

  

Nevertheless, this course of the river has a spectacular lower fall, numerous rapids, and a large bouldery fall near the top.  The portage rises about twenty meters, but is a nice easy walk.  We took a second break at the put in at St. Andrews Lake, then made our way down a short way to the portage to Marie Lake.

The Portage from St. Andrews Lake to Marie Lake was particularly brutal, as it was the longest at about 750 meters, and had a roughly eighty meter rise followed by a forty meter drop.  The first fifty meters was a very steep slope.  We did this in two trips, one with packs, and second with the canoe.

Marie Lake was small, and just a hundred yards or so from the put-in was one of only two campsites on the lake.  It looked good from a distance, and better from up close, so we started a fire, set up the tent, and relaxed before dinner.

Looking north over High Falls Lake, the Bob Special 15 is at the take out for the portage to St. Andrews Lake, directly behind me.

The put in at St. Andrews Lake, looking south.

Alexander showing off his scout knife, purchased in San Diego, at two points on the portage.

Alexander recharging himself before we set off for the Marie Lake portage.

The only seemingly flat section of the portage to Marie Lake, Alexander with his pack and the paddles.

Approaching the camp site we chose at Marie Lake. Tall white pines, a carpet of pine needles, and quite level - perfect.

The tent that got us into this adventure... it was simple to set up, roomy, light, and kept us dry.

We found enough dried or rotted dead wood for a fire for a few hours, and cooked dinner on an MSR whisperlite stove, in front of Alexander.

A CHANGE OF PLANS, IN A FASHION...

So we arrived at the cottage on Canada Day with two canoes (of the four I purchased from Jeff), the absolutely stunning boundary 17-6, and the well built ugly duckling Bob Special 15, one of the 'cosmetic defects' that were the three other boats.

Jeff had re-applied gel coat, and mostly sanded the one side, leaving me the other side to sand, with work progressing as depicted in the pictures above. I had just about got it good enough to go on our scheduled four day paddle into Algonquin Park, everything arranged and looking good, when our little world changed...

After two visits to the hospital in Barry's Bay about a week apart, Rudi was diagnosed with a collapsed lung, but more serious was the swollen lymph system evidently causing it. An ORNGE helicopter flight to Ottawa, and two days of tests while in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at CHEO, we learned the diagnosis... T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

A week in Ottawa starting in ICU, and then the Children's Oncology Unit, treatment having actually begun the morning after his arrival, a full day before his actual diagnosis, followed by a Medivac plane flight to London where he spent most of the summer. Katherine flew with and stayed with him, while I headed back to the cottage to complete the minor bathroom renovation, and store the Boundary in its cradly in the basement...

Until next year, when we should try once again for our first four or five day trip into the park...

A HAPPY RESULT OF WINTER CLEANING - A $700, 42lb CARBON FIBRE ALCHEMIST CANOE

There were a few abandoned canoe shells in some kind of potentially recoverable condition stored outside the 'factory' when I started helping out last year, so when Jeff did an 'inventory' of all the canoes that never made it out of the shop for some reason or other last fall - mostly 'cosmetic defects', a few 'demonstrator boats', and the odd prototype, we decided to salvage as much as we could to avoid taking anything to the dump.

Here is a perfect example. A three year old carbon kevlar shell that had blown away just after the top was cut off, and suffered from some minor structural and major cosmetic damage. I found a buyer, a friend who absolutely needed a half decent canoe that was as light as reasonably possible, yet didn't want to drop the two to three grand typically spent on a lightweight canoe. A fantastic structural repair and interior paint job by Jeff, a decent set of used gunwales, and all new interior fittings installed by me, resulted in a tough, durable carbon/kevlar boat with a final price tag of $700 and a weight of just 42.5lbs. Sweet!

FALL CLEANING

Well Autumn is almost upon us, and Jeff and I are taking stock of what is left over from the year. This year, H20 Composites Inc. produced a few hundred canoes and rowing shells (can't tell you exact numbers), and it goes without saying that a couple of duds got in the mix. These boats are considered 'defective' in some manner or another, mostly due to some kind of cosmetic defect, usually gelcoat shrinking back during infusion, or sometimes incomplete infusion, where small areas had to have the catalysed resin rolled on by hand, and the occasional structural defect which has been repaired with the appropriate cloth. What is certain about these boats is that, apart from some apparent defect in the finished appearance, they are as tough, as durable, as light, and as good quality as all of the boats that end up at retailers, but they can be had for anywhere from a 20% to as much as a 40% savings or more off of the retail price. There aren't many, so stay tuned as I will put a list of these boats up here next week, and links to any ads I might have posted on Kijiji.ca

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

I recently dropped off one of my new canoes at the Cottage, and took the old one away for repairs. The new canoe is an H20 Composites Canadian 16-6 Kevlar 'rental' (Notice the Aluminum thwart and carry handles) This was a 'factory defect' as it has a fairly large cosmetic defect, a slight rectangular crease so to speak, where the materials did not press properly into the mold, and left a 'relief imprint'. Otherwise a beautiful boat, and light at 44.5 lbs. I think it looks magnificent compared to the old Coleman beside her in the picture. The old canoe weighed in at about 75 lbs, and needs thwarts replaced, the float tanks fixed, and some fiberglass repairs here and there, which I will do in late July or early August, then return to the cottage as the complementary boat for our renters. I am already planning a couple of trips for Rudi and me in the new canoe, now that we have something we can actually carry. I am looking forward to a trip on the York River into the Conroy Marsh, and possibly a paddle up or down the Madawaska from lake Negeek.