Press

Mark and Norah Garrison
Trans-Canada Canoe Expedition
236 Courtland Street
Excelsior, MN 55331
(952) 380-9727
garrison@paddlenorth.org
www.paddlenorth.org

Teacher Couple to Paddle Entire Length of Canada

Excelsior, MN – March 10, 2002 – Mark and Norah Garrison will fulfill a long held dream this summer when they paddle from Minnesota to the Arctic Ocean. The couple's incredibly ambitious route will cover nearly 3,500 miles (5,600 km) in just under four months. Mark, a 5th grade teacher in the Minnetonka School District, and Norah, a Junior High Social Studies Teacher in Hopkins, will bring their passions for exploration, northern culture and teaching together through this expedition. "Wilderness tripping has had such a positive impact on our lives. We want our students to be able to experience it." Mark explains. "Since we can't physically bring them along, we are going to bring the expedition to them."

The couple will communicate with students through their web site at paddlenorth.org. By utilizing research, interviews and photographs, the two will also develop a curriculum that will make the history and geography of Canada come alive for school children here in America. "This is more than a really long canoe trip," Norah says, "it is chance for us to share the rich history of this route with our students, and to show them that dreams can be achieved."

Embarking from the Minnesota -Ontario border on June 14th the two will paddle 20-100 miles per day heading north to Lake Winnipeg on their way to the Churchill River. There, they will paddle upstream from mid July until the end of August. After crossing the continental divide, at the 14 mile Methye Portage, the couple will paddle down the Athabaska, Slave and Mackenzie Rivers to the Arctic Ocean, where they will arrive in mid-October.

Mark and Norah's strong wilderness backgrounds have prepared them well for this expedition.

Norah has been canoeing and backpacking since 1986. She has led numerous canoe trips, and has also led and participated in many lengthy backpack trips in Western Rocky Mountains, Northern Canada and Alaska. She attained her Wilderness First Responder Certification while working for YMCA Camp Widjiwagan before leading a 35-day trip in the Gates of the Arctic Wilderness Area in 1997.

Mark has been canoeing every summer since he was a young boy, and has been on several extended canoe trips, including a 45-day trip on the Hanbury and Thelon Rivers in Northern Canada. He also led a small group from YMCA Camp Widjiwagan on an ambitious 50 day, 1200 mile journey, which went from the Mackenzie River delta, over the Continental Divide via the Rat River, and down the Yukon River. "That trip got me thinking of taking an even longer trip." Mark recalls. "When Norah and I started talking about it again this fall we got very excited about the impact that such a trip can have."

Mark and Norah have traveled extensively together and have co-led many canoe trips. Their interest in northern culture, lifestyles and landscape was peaked during the years they spent living in remote Eskimo villages in Alaska. They look forward to supplementing their knowledge of the north with this expedition through the Canadian wilderness and to including their students in their bold expedition's dream.

For more information, including their itinerary, curriculum plans, sponsors and photographs, call (952) 380-9727 or e-mail: garrison@paddlenorth.org.




Posted on Sun, Jun. 02, 2002 story:PUB_DESC
Sam Cook
On the Outside

I have a little problem. I don't want to be here.

This is a recurring dilemma that peaks each year about the time the aspens leaf out and the blackflies materialize.

It is not the bugs that make me want to leave. It's simply that every year when the water liquefies and the days grow long, I want to "light out for the Territory,'' as Huck Finn once said.

Doesn't really matter what the territory is. The canoe country. Lake Superior. Manitoba. The Northwest Territories.

There is no shortage of territory. There is only a shortage of time.

I suspect I am not alone in this urge to be somewhere else. Inside the cab of every pickup packing a slide-in camper and every Suburban hauling an Airstream down the road is someone who wants to be on the move. Minnesota's Ann Bancroft is paddling the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River. Duluth-born Mark Garrison, now of the Twin Cities, is paddling from Lake of the Woods to the Arctic Ocean. A friend of mine is taking a three-month sabbatical, headed for the Northwest.

John Steinbeck tried to explain this urge to roam in the first chapter of his novel "Travels With Charley.''

"When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me,'' Steinbeck wrote, "I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked.''

I do not suppose that everyone possesses this yearning to be on the road, on the water, on the move. I know many who are content to spend weekend after weekend at the cabin, looking out over the same lake, listening to the same loons. There is much to be said for the cabin life. But I'm afraid I'm addicted to distant horizons.

Give me the bugs, the cold, the rain. Give me moving water, wind in the face, cracked and calloused hands. I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but I may never outgrow the need to sleep on the ground.

I'm not sure where this came from. My parents were not particularly given to travel, although we spent a week every summer in the Rockies. Maybe that's where this urge was born.

Or it might have been when I was an adolescent, and I came across a battered paperback copy of "Kon-Tiki,'' Thor Heyerdahl's account of a 4,300-mile journey by balsa raft from Peru to near Tahiti. I devoured that book. It unlocked something in my psyche and opened my eyes to possibilities far beyond the hay fields of my native Kansas.

I remain hopelessly lured by the trail. With others similarly afflicted, including my wife, I've paddled to Hudson's Bay, rafted a remote river in Alaska, canoed the quiet and imposing Canadian shore of Lake Superior. Wonderful journeys, all of them. But I want more. I want a whole summer. I want a year. I want forever.

A couple of friends of mine from Ely spent four months -- all summer and more -- paddling the canoe country two summers ago. Did that satiate their desire for wilderness travel?

"Rather than cure it, it intensified it,'' one of them said the other day.

They're planning another summer-long trip for 2004.

Steinbeck understood this a long time ago.

"I fear the disease is incurable,'' he wrote.

SAM COOK is a News Tribune outdoors writer. Reach him at (218) 723-5332, (800) 456-8282 or scook@duluthnews.com.

Paddling North

John Gregg Watsonville, Ca.- It is an age-old question, what did you do during your summer vacation? In the instance of two Minnesota schoolteachers, well, the answer is rather daunting. Mark and Norah Garrison are set to paddle a canoe almost 3400 miles from the Minnesota/Ontario Border starting June 14 to the Artic Ocean and arrive sometime in mid-October. Paddling anywhere from 20 to 100 miles a day, the Garrisons will make a trans-Canada trip that will take them from places such as Lake Winnipeg through to the Churchill and MacKenzie Rivers. Lewis and Clark have nothing on these two intrepid souls, as they will continue paddling upstream from mid July until the end of August. After crossing the Continental Divide, the Garrisons will stroke their way down the Atabaska, Slave, and Mackenzie Rivers until they finally make their way to the Artic Ocean. Mark teaches the 5th grade at Excelsior Elementary School, which is in the Minnetonka School District. Norah teaches 8th and 9th grade geography and civics at Hopkins West Jr. High, located in the Hopkins School District. Mark grew up in Duluth, Minnesota and went to school at the University of Wisconsin Madison and then at the College of St. Scholastica. He is currently taking evening classes at the University of Minnesota where he is seeking his Masters degree. Norah grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She went to Grinnell College where she studied history and played soccer. She is also attending evening classes at the University of Minnesota and is within an eyelash of getting her Masters. This was a wilderness love story from the very start. The paddling duo met in Ely, Minnesota while working at YMCA Camp Widjiwagan - a wilderness tripping camp. They both led canoe and backpack trips. The couple has been married three-and-a-half years. You may wonder if they are setting forth in two singles or just one canoe? Well, where's the romance in that? The answer is one large, rather sturdy canoe. They are paddling a 20-foot Minnesota III built by We no nah Canoes. The canoe is reinforced with extra Kevlar and a layer of gel coat to make it more durable. It is also fitted with a Northwater spraydeck that will add to its seaworthiness and warmth. We recently caught up with the paddling schoolteachers and got a chance to talk about the big adventure. JG: To say this is a daunting adventure would be an obvious understatement but how did you come up with this idea? NG: In 1993 Mark led a 1200-mile canoe trip in the Yukon and Alaska. He started thinking then about doing something even longer. Inspired by the likes of paddling legend, Verlen Kruger, and even more by the early voyagers and explorers, he bought maps in 1995. After we met, it became a dream trip for both of us. We have come close to doing the trip several times since we have been together, but this was the first time that all of the forces have come together to allow enough time for it to happen. JG: You are scheduled to leave in June, what are you doing now to prepare for the adventure? MG: We have spent a lot of time securing sponsors and spreading the word about our trip. We are also writing curriculum, making plans to leave our current lives for 4 months preparing and organizing our food and equipment and working out when we can. JG: Physically what are you doing to get ready for this trip? Have you been in training, working out, lifting weight, special diet? MG: Our jobs are winding down and spring for a teacher is a very busy time. We are, however, fitting things in. We both skied the American Birkebeiner - a 52 K ski race as well as several other shorter races. We are running, paddling and working out. As for a special diet, we are mainly focusing on staying healthy and eating the things that will be in short supply this summer like fruits and vegetables. JG: During the course of this trip I know you have plans to connect with your students, I am assuming you'll work with laptops. What do you hope to accomplish with the kids? MG: We are not bringing laptops because of the weight and because of the battery issue. Rather, we are hoping to secure a satellite phone, but have not yet been successful - perhaps one of your readers can help us out there. If the phone falls through we will contact my sister, who is keeping up our website, when we pass through towns and she will add updates to our website. Additionally we will have addresses along the way where our students can contact us. JG: I know you both have a background in canoeing, can you tell us about some of your experience on the water to prepare for this trip? MG: Norah led canoe and backpack trips in northern Minnesota, the Rockies, the Yukon and Alaska for 6 years, so she has a lot of experience and comfort with extended expeditions. A highlight for her was a 35-day trip through the Gates of the Arctic Wilderness in Alaska. This trip, completely north of the Arctic Circle, inspired her to want to explore the Arctic regions. She also taught environmental education in Ely, which peaked her interest in northern ecology. NG: We both co-lead canoe trips for Elderhostel in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. We both love to share their passion for canoeing and wilderness tripping with people, both young and old. That's what makes the connection to our students so exciting. NG: Mark has led many lengthy canoe trips in Minnesota, Canada and Alaska. One particular 1200-mile trip brought him from the Yukon, over the Continental Divide, and down the Yukon River. This 50-day trip is the one that inspired him to dream up this trip. He has also led several groups on trips through classic Voyageur trade routes-including the 9-mile Grand Portage. Other notable trips include a 600-mile trip in the barren lands along the Hanbury-Thelon River system in 1988 and a trip down the Albany River in 1992. JG: What do you believe will be the toughest challenge of this trip? MG: The toughest challenge throughout the entire trip will be keeping up with our demanding schedule. Our route is ambitious and we only have 3 rest days planned on the entire 119-day itinerary. Of course we will rest on other days when the wind and weather keep up shore bound, but that will mean that those miles will have to be made up on another day. NG: We anticipate that the most demanding portion of our trip will the 950 miles we spend paddling up the Churchill, Sturgeon Weir and Saskatchewan Rivers. In that section the miles will be tough and the portages often. We end that section with the daunting 12 mile Methye Portage. MG: Finally, the weather at the end of our trip will be a challenge. We anticipate breaking shore ice during the last few weeks on the Mackenzie River and Arctic Ocean. JG: Some of these places almost sound magical, the Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Churchill, and the Mackenzie Rivers in particular. What do you believe will be the highlights of the trip and are there places you are really looking forward to? MG: We're really excited to see the vastness of this land and to experience the change in climate and seasons as we venture north. As we've poured over our maps, we've tried to conjure up what these places will look like. It is difficult to imagine the sheer size of Lake Winnipeg and the width and speed of the Mackenzie River. We will also see beautiful rapids and falls. Finally, we're excited about the wildlife we will see along the way, and about retracing the trade routes of the Voyageurs and early explorers about whom we have read so much. There are many such aspects of the trip that we are looking forward to, but the thing about which we are most excited is the trip in its entirety. To travel the length of Canada for four straight months is the best part and something only a handful of people have ever experienced. JG: Is there any part of the trip that you are especially concerned about and why? MG: As we mentioned above the Churchill sounds tough and the weather during the last month or so could be very bad. We expect snow and cold. Another challenge will be Lake Winnipeg. It sits on the edge of the Great Plains and is both windswept and shallow. Great waves 10 feet or more are not uncommon. We also have our largest crossings there as we work our way up 300-plus miles of the 60-mile wide lake. We plan to wait out the wind as much as possible and paddle at night when we can to avoid the wind and waves. JG: How will it work when you need to rest and sleep? MG: Our days will be long, but we know the importance of rest on a trip of this length. Our bodies will certainly need time to recover after hard days. At the start of the expedition we plan to rest on a rather scheduled basis. As days roll on, and we develop more of a wilderness mindset, we will sleep and paddle more with whims of the wind and weather. We will often paddle for 10, 15 or even 20 hours at a time when we have to, and then rest when we need to get off of the water due to weather. JG: How about food and provisions? MG: We have received generous donations that will cover some of our staples. Vigo/Alessi has given us pasta, beans, rice and other mainstays of our diet. Annie's pasta has also donated dinners. Whole Foods Co-op will be supplying us with staples for breakfast and lunch. In general, our diet will be very high in calories, with a balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. We will not carry all of our food from the beginning. We will carry the first 30-days worth to The Pas, the second from there to Fort McMurray, and the last from there to the end. In terms of equipment, we will carry most of it for the whole trip. This will include 2 stoves, a tent, rope, first aid, and of course a fishing rod. We will pick up warmer clothes as we go at our re-supply points. JG: I know you've spent time in Eskimo villages in Alaska, what interests you about northern culture? MG: Our interest in northern culture began with the time we spent in the northern wilderness with campers at YMCA Camp Widjiwagan. Something about the beauty, solitude and vastness of the landscape struck a chord for both of us. Because of that, we chose to live in northern places, such as Alaska and northern Minnesota. We also have a keen interest in northern ecology - the geology, animals and plants of the area. I guess you could say that it is the place where we feel the most at home, and also the most challenged. In terms of northern culture, we admire the tradition and steadfastness of the people who maintain their lives in such an extreme climate. Moreover, they seem to feel the same way about the land that we do. We learned a lot living in rural Alaska, and someday we hope to return. JG: When and where will you expect to reach your final destination for this trip? NG: We will end our expedition on October 12 in Inuvik after paddling out into the Arctic Ocean. There is a map on our website at www.paddlenorth.org that you can check out. Mark's mother and stepfather are driving up to pick us up there. We will drive back quickly, as we need to resume our teaching positions on October 21. As a side note, our families have been very helpful. Norah's parents are driving us to our starting point and also resupplying us in The Pas. Mark's father is resupplying us in Ft. McMurray. JG: What do you hope to accomplish in taking this trip? MG: For ourselves, this trip is a dream, and we can't wait to accomplish our challenging goal. We are thrilled at the prospect of seeing Canada day by day, from the south to the north end. We also look forward to getting into the wilderness mindset of being part of the natural world. NG: More than that though, we hope to fulfill that dream and share it with others. Not only do we want to share the knowledge we gain about the land and our trip, but we also hope to inspire others to dream big, and to make dreams come true for themselves. When we return we will speak to our students at school and will also show our slides and stories at speaking engagements around Minnesota. We wish Mark and Nora Garrison the very best as they make their epic journey this summer. As often as possible we hope that the wind is at their back, their hearts are light, and their spirits remain high. Looking to embarking on a multi-river expedition or just cruising a tributary? Take a peek at West Marine's selection of Canoes and Kayaks. West Marine has everything you need for kayaking - life jacket, accessories, paddles - to make your paddle an enjoyable one. Try out our new selection of Backpacker's Pantry freeze dried meals - perfect for camping and voyaging.

June 15 - June 20, 2002 / Start - Winnipeg River

June 15 email excerpt, John Scanlan to Jennifer Garrison Brownell
We just arrived home after seeing Mark and Norah off yesterday. Friday we had a nice dinner with your mom on our first leg "up North".
After a late start from Mpls, we stayed in Virginia - couldn't go further because the flood victims had filled the motels. Saturday we were early off to Young's Bay resort in the NW Angle (that little bit on MN surrounded by Canada above Warroad).
Mark and Norah are truly impressive with their organizing, planning and humor. The people at Young's Bay were kind and helpful...



June 20, 2002

Update: email excerpt Jennifer Garrison Brownell to Mark and Norah's parents
... I got a call from Mark tonight and wanted to let you know that he sounds in exuberant spirits. Briefly, what he said was that they've had great weather (partly cloudy, and in the 60's and 70's), except for a 1/2 hour downpour yesterday that was "the hardest rain we've ever seen" and not too many flies.

The river is running 1- 2 feet higher than normal, so they've encountered some fast water - but not, he hastened to add, anything dangerous. :) Yesterday, they stopped earlier in the day than expected and found a great camping spot.

One tricky thing is that Mark lost the "zapper" for Scout's electronic collar, so that's a little worry, but they think they can pick another one up along the way, and so far "she's handling it really well."

As they started out, they were pretty tired (and Mark, as you know was sick too) and they had a hard first day as they were figuring out how to best balance the load but now they want us all to know that they're in great spirits, half a day ahead of schedule (passed White Dog yesterday), and feeling really strong and good...

June 23 - July 20, 2002 / Pinawa - Saskatchewan River

June 23 Pinawa Manitoba

NORAH WRITES:
Our trip so far has been amazing, fun, challenging, beautiful and even sometimes frustrating. All in all, though, we feel lucky every day to be able to do this, and we are so happy to be here.

The expedition has been pretty smooth so far. We are ahead of schedule, thanks to strong tail winds and a much stronger current than usual. This are was poured on by the same rains that flooded Rosseau (Minnesota), so the water water levels on Lake of the Woods and the Winnipeg River are high. The dams on the Winnipeg River are letting lots of water through, giving us a boost to our paddling speed, but also making it more difficult to get around the dams. We spent over 2 hours trying to figure our way around the dam at Slave Falls, and we got through only after talking to the dam operator by satellite phone!

We've encountered quite a bit of white water, and have been able to shoot almost all of it, thanks again to the high water. That has been a really fun part...for me, since I had hardly paddled white water at all before this trip. Although things like a set of white water make each day different than the last, I will try, if I can, to describe an average day for us.

We try to be on the water by 7:30 am, partly to avoid midday wind and partly because we like to camp by 7:30 PM. That means we have to get out of our sleeping bags by 6:30 and start to pack up. Morning also involves finding lots of ticks, which have migrated from Scout to us in the night. It is not unusual to find 25 ticks crawling on us each day. I guess we are lucky we're not scared of ticks. In the morning, we have to pack up our tent and personal belongings, pack the canoe and get our spray skirt tight over our gear. That all takes about an hour. We also have to put on boots wet from the day before, but our wool socks warm our feet right up.

We paddle for 1-2 hours before we eat breakfast - oatmeal, cereal and coffee cakes Mark makes the night before have been standard so far. Sometimes we pull over on a rock let Scout run around, but if we have a tail wind or a good current we'll have a floating breakfast. Morning is a strong time for us, and we will paddle 3 or 4 more hours before eating a lunch of cheese, crackers, peanut butter, raisins, GORP and dried fruit.

The long haul is from lunch until dinner, which we don't eat until we camp. As we paddle, we look around at the scenery, talk and spot wildlife. We've seen so far many bald eagles and deer, lots of pelicans during our first 4 days, a beaver out of water about 15 feet from us and many loons. I've also seen hundreds of dragonflies in a single area, feasting on mosquitos (I think!) out of the wind. Speaking of bugs, the mosquitos have not been bad yet, but the black flies have dotted our legs and necks with bites. The time for bugs is definitely the worst in the evenings, before we go to bed, and all day when its cloudy and still.

Scout is also bothered by the bugs, and she hangs out in the tent while we make dinner. We think she is having fun, though. Lately she has switched from riding in the canoe under the spray skirt to on top of the canoe. Both she and Mark have a lot more leg room that way. She loves the windy days, and running around in our campsites, but she gets very nervous around dams - even more than a mile before them. We haven't figured that out yet.

Our campsites and camp times have varied. We've found great spots at 6 PM and stayed or have had to paddle until 9:30 PM. Luckily we have long days right now. We try to paddle 20-30 miles per day and sometimes we have to keep paddling even when we would have liked to camp.

Our dinners have been delicious - lots of pasta, pesto, Vigo beans and rice and even a cheeseburger from a town we passed. We make brownies for dessert occasionally, but we've been too full to want them most nights. We write in our journals before we sleep, and then settle in for good, tired slumbers.

We'll be on Lake Winnipeg in a couple of days, and our typical day and scenery will change. Here it has been much like Northern Minnesota...We'll miss this familiar feeling terrain....

June 24

MARK WRITES:
This section of our expedition has been characterized by kindly people, portages around dams and the emergence of mosquitos and black flies.

After paddling a beautiful and very narrow section of river, we came to the town of Pinawa. It is an idyllic little spot with a Huge public part that follows the entire shoreline of the river. The town was built as a planned town to serve as a head of nuclear research. Now it is finding new life as a retirement community. There we met a couple of skullers and Stephen, who immigrated from England. He is a very likable fellow and we chatted with him and his wife and daughter more the next day as we paddled past their home in Lac du Bonnet.

The town of Lac du Bonnet itself proved to be filled with generous and welcoming folk. A group of 3 couples out for an evening helped us carry our bags and got the mayor Lac du Bonnet to clear out a bit of space in his garage for our canoe, so that it would have a safe space to spend the night. They gave us a real treat by saving us one west portage and we are grateful for the genuine interest in our expedition and the time they took to make certain that our brief stay in Lac du Bonnet would be a pleasant one. (It certainly was!)

On the last stretch of the Winnipeg River we've met a handful of other generous people. Paul, who works for Manitoba Hydro gave us help around a tricky section of River. George (another mayor) and his wife Sue let us portage through their front yard, found us a spot to put our canoe back into the river after a big falls, helped us with our packs and, most memorably, fed us coffee and biscuits...

The weather has been very cooperative. We've had favorable wind and our last few days have been overcast but dry. Right now it is about 10:00 PM and still very light out. It is also pounding rain, but we are inside the dry comfort of our MSR tent. Tomorrow is slated to be sunny and 90° F or more. We'll get up before 5:00 AM so that we can get to know Lake Winnipeg before the afternoon wind kicks in.

We are getting stronger and are now able to paddle for much longer periods of time without rest. Ten days into the expedition we are full of energy and we feel like we are getting into the rhythm of the trail life. Little things like making a meal or packing up the canoe, which used to be laborsome and tricky, are now second nature.

We are happy to be falling to sleep tonight to the pitter-patter of falling rain, and we are eager to begin the next phase of our expedition which involves ten or fifteen days of portages paddling up the Winnipeg.


June 28
Mark writes:
...We were windbound just south of the narrows last night. This morning we got up at 4:00 to make the crossing before the waves kicked up. We've met very few people on L, Winnipeg, but everyone we talk to has a warning to pass on about the Lake. "Anything can happen on this lake in 20 minutes..." "Its supposed to blow 60 kms this afternoon..." "Be careful of the shallow spots..."
With the exception of the time we spent windbound yesterday, the paddle up the Lake has been calm and hot. We are a bit in awe of how physically challenging this trip has been. We have vowed to take a more relaxed approach to our days. We want to make certain that we take time to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. This lake is very unpopulated and amazingly picturesque!




June 30
Norah writes:
...We were pretty excited to get to the big lake, back on day 10. we've read about it in almost everyone's travels as a volatile, unpredictable beast that will get you if you aren't careful. Lake Winnipeg is large - you can't see the other side - and extremely shallow. Together, those two factors make for big waves in a short amount of time. So, you want to be close to shore in case the waves kick up. But if it's at all wavy, we can't be close to shore because of the breaking of the waves...

When we got on the lake, the wind had already started. We bounced through the waves for a couple of hours before realizing that we'd better head for shore since the waves were bouncing over the bow (front) of the canoe. Now we had stopped on one of the many sand beaches that line the shore earlier, and we aimed our canoe for another to escape the wind. Mark told me to "jump out of the canoe" and "pull the canoe up on shore" before another wave broke over the stern. I attempted to do this as gracefully as possible while trying to get out of my spray skirt but the alleged sand beach that we had run up on was, in fact, mud.

I stuck where I jumped out and could hardly get a boot out. This was not exactly what we had envisioned when we thought about being windbound. Our beach was a mixture of sucking mud, trees torn out by their roots by the waves and walls of driftwood. Even Scout could hardly walk because of all the mud stuck to her paws. When the wind died, we launched our canoe again and headed to a better spot.

Today we are wind bound, too, but it is sunny, the wind is keeping all bugs at bay, Scout is curled under a shrub and we are drying all of our gear on this rock island, our temporary shelter. There are whitecaps all over the lake. Its the first wind that has kicked up since the muddy landing, and we will wait until it passes to paddle. The last two days have been very unusual for the lake - still, hot and windless. We tried to paddle as long as we could on those days - until 10 pm one night - and it paid off. We averaged 32 miles a day for our 3 days on the lake and we're still ahead of schedule.

The lake is indescribably beautiful. Sand beaches are every where, no sign of people on them and so many birds to watch! The sunsets here have been tremendous and tomorrow we hope to see the sun rise as we cross the the narrows of the lake.

On day 12, a thick haze of smoke drifted over the lake, making for an eerie landscape and very limited visibility. The water was still and the sun shone red through the clouds.

We continue to watch the pelicans, cormorants and gulls here. We've also seen geese and goslings and more bald eagles.

The challenges of the lake are different than the challenges of the dams, portages and sometimes lack of campsites on the eh river. Here, we never portage but must paddle for 12-15 hours per day on a big lake, sometimes paddling toward one point for an hour. To fight monotony, we talk, sing and if it's still we listen to a $5 radio we bought in Lac La bonnet. With all the noise the paddling makes, though, only one person can really listen at a time. Of course, the AM oldies channel comes in best.

The only other challenges are sore arms from these long days and the bugs. The conditions must be perfect for mosquitos right now because they are thick! They don't seem to bother the do but they do bother us! We eat dinner in our bug tent and have even resorted to bug stuff - the Lemon Eucalyptus from Repel works great! ...




July 2
Mark writes:
We are still windbound today. It is a mixed blessing - a pleasant respite from the 10-14 hour days that marked the first two weeks of our trip but it is frustrating to watch the chasm between where we are and where we should be get even wider.

Norah and I are in good spirits as it is warm and the wind is keeping the bugs as bay. It is Scout, our trusty dog, however, who is most happy with this break. She spends her day sprawled out in the sun. "She looks like someone just poured her out on the ground," Norah noted yesterday. Scout loves to groom herself and these days have offered ample opportunity for such activity. She seems fully adjusted to expedition life. That said, her days have not been solely hours of sloth. Scout stepped up to the plate in two big ways in the last few days.

One of the challenges of this expedition is that Norah and I are just two people...we are quieter than larger groups and also a bit more vulnerable to wild animals. Scout is always on alert, even as she sleeps. She is our warning system. We watch her posture - her eyes - the hair on her back and the tension in her face to know what kind of danger is around...The most dangerous thing to do with a wild animal is just stumble upon it and catch it by surprise. Scout has proven very effective in eliminating this danger. On day 15, Norah and I had just left eh small community of Matheson Island. While there, we'd taken a brief respite and had happened on a tiny restaurant/grocery store (where I had a delicious hot beef sandwich which I've thought of often in the days since). The heat of the day, the fullness of our bellies and the fact that we had the benefit of being ahead of schedule led us to pull over early to camp on a friendly looking sand beach. We pulled over and then walked west along the beach to seek out the best tent spot. The beach was littered with small shrubs and big rocks. The sun was warm and Norah and I walked slowly with Scout at our side. Suddenly, the dog took off - barking and raising the hair on her back. Not 50 feet away from us what we had taken for a black rock was actually a black bear! Scout charged at the bear barking loudly and looking decidedly ferocious! Norah and I were scared into stillness wondering if the bear would turn on Scout. But it was Scout who had the upper hand on the mid-sized black. She chased the bear off the beach and into the woods. Then we had another fright. Would Scout continue to chase the bear into the forest? Would she come back to us? We yelled her name, and to our delight, as soon as Scout had cleared the beach of any threat, she returned faithfully to us. This is the 2nd bear Norah and I have seen on this trip, but the first that Scout has seen. She reacted exactly as we'd have wanted her to. We left that beach and headed to another 20 or 30 minutes away, grateful for Scout's warning.

Today, we are camped on Moose Island and it has lived up to its name. We saw two on our way here back on a beach cooling themselves in the water. Her at our home for the night, we saw moose footprints as big as Norah's size 8.5 foot were imprinted along the shore. We were hanging out - awaiting the calming of the wind - when Scout set into action again. A massive moose had sauntered down the beach on what must be a regular pathway, towards our tent, canoe, packs, fire, selves. A moose is much larger than a bear. Larger than a horse. With legs and hooves that deal terrible blows. Scout took off before we ever saw or heard the moose and followed a similar routine that she had taken with the bear. The moose took to the woods and Scout came calmly back to us.

We are grateful to her along for many reasons. She is a faithful companion. A warming presence in the tent and friend. We are also happy to have her warning ears and eyes.....




July 3
Norah writes:
WINDBOUND! I've always heard of canoeists getting stuck for days on end on big lakes, but it never seemed really possible. Somewhere inside I thought they COULD have paddled if they really wanted to. Now, however, I know that I was wrong and it is indeed possible to move only 10 miles in 4 days because of strong winds. 4 days! That is how long we've been basically stuck.

Don't get me wrong - we have tried to paddle and made minor progress on 2 occasions. But wind can be totally different on one side of an island than another, and right now we are on the wrong side of Moose Island. This morning at 4:30 am, we set out into the lake and were greeted by 4 ft, choppy waves that tipped our canoe crazily and helped us realize that we should be on shore. So we ferried about 1/2 mile across the bay to a new beach for the day. Even Scout wore her life jacket.

Now it's 7:30 pm and we're waiting for the waves to mellow enough for us to move on. It will be a late, buggy night. We must paddle, though, because we are falling behind.

Although frustrating in principle, being windbound is fun and relaxing in reality. Because the first 2 weeks of our trip were so busy, we had very little time for the in-camp activities that make camping so fun. We've been able to catch up in our journals. We finished reading Tolkein's The Two Towers out loud and have moved on to The Return of the King, both great reads. I read a whole book on my own. We take lots of cozy naps while the waves crash on the beach outside the tent. We swim, and yesterday we rigged up a real shower - what a treat!

Most of all, though, we seem to eat constantly. On day 4, I remember I could not finish my portion of dinner. Never again! We never seem to feel full, and on these idle days we are continuously concocting something yummy. Today we ate coffecake and coffee for breakfast, pancakes for brunch, peanut butter and crackers for a snack, soup with cheese and crackers and brownies for dessert and we'll probably eat dinner still. And I have not felt full all day.

Other than that, we play games, talk, take walks, nap more, make driftwood fires, dry out our gear, repack the packs and play with Scout. Because of the wind, we've been able to spend most of our time outside, bug free. It's been sunny and warm until today and quite pleasant.

We're ready to go. Most of our gear is packed and we're listening to "As it happens" on Canadian radio, waiting to leave. It looks like we'll be able to go in the next hour or so. At least we hope! I hope next time I write, we're more on track than we are now!





July 5
Email from John Scanlan

"Norah and Mark called last evening with their update. They were at Jackhead, on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, beyond the narrows. They were wind bound for four days, with six to seven foot waves on this very shallow lake. So, now the days begin with paddling at 3:30 until about 8:30 when the wind comes up, and then back on the lake when the wind starts to die at night and paddle til midnight. They are behind schedule. However, the schedule actually anticipated a possible seven days of problems with wind on the lake and they are confident that they will be off Lake Winnipeg on schedule.

They describe the lake as desolate and beautiful, with many sandy beaches. The Mayfly hatching was spectacular, and the Pelicans beautiful. Faithful dog Scout (a 40 pound sled dog) has so far chased away one black bear and one very large Moose, so she is earning her keep. And she faithfully wears her life jacket...."



July 10, 2002
After two weeks of enjoying the warm weather and beautiful beaches on Lake Winnipeg, of being occasionally windbound , and paddling hard when they could, Mark and Norah are moving north, a day ahead of schedule.

Email from John Scanlan
"We heard from Mark and Norah tonight. THEY ARE OFF THE LAKE!! They are safe and sound in Grand Rapids - one day behind their schedule in that they were to arrive yesterday, rest today, and leave tomorow. They are leaving tomorow, so are back on schedule. The lake was beautiful. The past few days were 30 mile, and 12-14 hours a day. They are happy to be where they are. We are scheduled to meet them in La Pas on the evening of the 16th..."


July 16

Email from Mark and Norah:
Hello It is our 31st day and all is well. We arrived in The Pas one day early - yesterday, July 14 - after putting in a few epic days including a 26 mile day upstream and into a 20 mile per hour headwind. We are definitely getting tougher as the days wear on and are able to paddle for much longer stretches of time without a break.

We have 3 "speeds" that we paddle at. Our "Easy Speed" is how we start out in the morning and how we relax during the day. It is something like 55-65 strokes per minute. Our "Cruising Speed" is our normal daytime traveling pace and it is 65-75 strokes per minute. The we have what we call "Race Pace" it used to be called the Joke Pace - We are using it more and more as our bodies get tougher. It is 75 to 85 strokes per minute and we've occasionally hit 90. As the trip wears on I am sure we will paddle faster and longer. At the start we could paddle for about an hour at a time before resting. Yesterday we were in the canoe for 10 hours straight.

We got off of the big lakes - Winnipeg and Cedar and are now in the much different and more marshy landscape of the Saskatchewan River. Lake Winnipeg was amazingly beautiful and very unpopulated. We say only a few fishermen during our two weeks on the lake and rarely saw cabins. However, we did see much wildlife, including hundreds of birds - including hosts of bald eagles, terns and northern white pelicans ( my favorite.) We also saw, and camped on, remarkable sand and pebble beaches that often stretched on for miles. And of course we also saw waves. Big waves. We paddled for time to time in waves as big as 6 feet, and were forced to shore often by sudden gales.

The wind was a major problem for us, but we we able to stick to our schedule thanks to the assistance of a couple of kind fishermen who we met in Gull Bay. They gave us some help to get up to Grand Rapids and back on schedule. Cedar lake is also massive, and was a bit strange to be on. The lake was created in the late 1960's when the dam was put up at Grand Rapids. There are still trees under water there from when the delta was flooded out to make a reservoir to power the dam. We heard many stories from the people in this area of how their lives were changed by this dam. An entire town had to be relocated and many people lost their livelihoods.

From there we headed into the reed and marsh start of the Saskatchewan. We were grateful to for the GPS that Pete West loaned us. It totally helped up the find the needle in the haystack. After perfect campsites on the big lakes, we have had to settle for more swamp-like spots on the lower Saskatchewan. We crashed campsites on our first two nights in the tall marsh grass on the side of the river, in nothing that looked like a campsite. We spent 10 minutes or so just tromping down the marsh grass into an area that our tent would fit onto. We also found out that tall grass--6 foot tall grass--is a great home for mosquitoes. It also did not help that we camped at sunset both nights, the bugs' favorite hour of the day. We definitely wore our bug jackets there.

On the plus side we have seen a multitude of wildlife here as well. Muskrats, beavers, river otters, ducks of all kinds, more pelicans, loons, moose and even - as we approached The Pas - cows. Our days have been long here as we are paddling upstream. We also absorbed the 20 miles that we were slated to paddle today into the mileage to our last 3 days so that we could maximize our time in The Pas. Norah's parents have met us here to resupply us for our next 40 days and to visit. It is just great to see them and to swap stories. We will spend the next day and a half organizing and drying out our gear, packaging our food and visiting. We are staying in a hotel and were very happy for showers last night that helped to clean off the mud of the Saskatchewan River.

We have a new system for sending updates, so now they should come more often. Thanks to all who are following along. It is fun and inspiring to know that others are looking in on us from time to time. Have a great week.


July 20
Email from John Scanlan

The Pas July 15 - 18
As Norah noted, they arrived safely in The Pas on July 15. It was a very friendly and hospitable community. The Wescana Inn was especially helpful in allowing us to store the 20 foot canoe in a meeting room, arranging connecting rooms for us, and providing an excellent resturant.

The community library provided free internet access. And the Campground permited us to spread out packs, sleeping bags, tents,etc. to dry.

The Pas is at 53 degrees, 55 minutes North Latitude, so the days are long - the sun rises much earlier than we did, and set at about 9:45. The day time temperatures were in the 80's. The river is about 50 yards wide with a noticeable current. They paddled off in a light rain at their 75 strokes per minute cruising speed.



Fax from Mark and Norah:
Day 36 - July 20, 2002 - 22 miles today - 704 so far.
Temperature - Roughly 20 degrees C Skies - Overcast
Outside - Amazingly Buggy - the air is literally thick with mosquitoes
Inside Our Tent - Almost Bug-Free - a little damp, mostly cozy

We are camped about 4 miles ahead of schedule near Barrier Lake on the Saskatchewan River. The last three days on the Saskatchewan River have been characterized by clouds, light rain, thunder, mud swamp banks, wildlife and a steady uphill climb against the current.

We had a sad good-bye at the government dock in The Pas. It was so great to see Norah's parents there. They were incredibly helpful and patient and supportive and caring. We ate good food together, traded stories, spent hours and hours preparing for the next 40 days of our journey and just enjoyed time spent in each otherÍs company. The Scanlan love and support cannot be overstated and so we paddled slowly away from their care and company.

Minutes after slipping around a bend in the river and out of their sight, the rain hit. We sought shelter under an overhanging bank and then spent the rest of the day getting in and out of the canoe as thunder and lightening forced us to shore. The river is amazingly muddy. The banks rise up as the mud cliffs topped by either shrubs, reeds or deciduous trees. Totally absent are rocks of any size or shape. We've seen only a handful on this entire river and each has been worthy of note.

Despite these missing elements we have seen a multitude of wildlife. Yesterday we watched a bear swim across the river - a big black bear that we followed across for a minute or two before it raced to the far bank. Today we watched a deer on a similar trek. In the bird world we've seen: pelicans, kingfishers, terns (white and black), evening grosbeaks, bald eagles, finches, swallows, red-tailed hawks, and many more. We followed a few sets of geese with the goslings today and got very close to one gosling who was hiding (apparently not too well) in the brush along the banks, and countless ducks and ducklings.

We've seen no people in the last two days, but we have seen 3 or 4 cabins. Tonight we are camped on the shore of the river in a field of water plants and wildflowers. It is very pretty, fairly wet and indescribably buggy. The mosquitoes are a thick as I've ever seen, even on my trips to the Arctic. Overall, we've enjoyed certain aspects if this river, but we're looking forward to getting to Cumberland House tomorrow where we will have a bit of lake paddling to refresh us for our push up the Sturgeon.




Mark and Norah Garrison
Trans-Canada Canoe Expedition
236 Courtland Street
Excelsior, MN 55331
(952) 380-9727
garrison@paddlenorth.org
www.paddlenorth.org

July 23 - Aug. 8, 2002 / Lake Namew - Rock Trout Portage, Churchill River

Norah Writes:

July 23 Day 39,
Lake Namew, Saskatchewan

I think this is our first entry from Saskatchewan. Things are going really well. We were excited to get off the rainy Saskatchewan River at Cumberland House. On Day 38, we pulled up to Pemmican Portage, on the way to Cumberland House, missing big canoe races by one day. There were 800 people in town for the races, including the Cumberland House Canoe Team, which was competing in the Indigineous Games in Winnipeg. Pemmican Portage is part of an Indian Reserve.

There we met Warren, an Auxiliary RCMP, who helped us over the portage and dropped us at the RCMP Office, where we could leave our canoe while we did errands, and Mark could borrow a cordless drill (the rivets on Mark's seat were rattling, probably due to aggressive sterning on Lake Winnipeg). About Pemmican: the Voyageurs ate pemmican as a staple. It was compact AND packed a punch (a precursor to Gorp?), made from dried chipped buffalo meat, boiled buffalo fat and saskatoon berries. The mixtured was then poured into buffalohide bags and sewn shut to be eaten later. Since the Voyageurs could not carry all their food, they cached their pemmican supply along the way, at places like Cumberland House.

Hauling the pemmican from the Saskachewan River to Cumberland House probably gave the town of Pemmican Portage its name. (Although Mark and I are being resupplied en route, I can tell you that we are definitely not eating any pemmican.) We were planning a brief stay in Cumberland House, errands, canoe seat repair, a meal, and I wanted to see the museum.

Cumberland House is a very historic site - the first European settlement in Saskatchewan, and a key stop for the Voyageurs on their fur trade route. The Hudson Bay Company used it as a trading post as well as a pemmican resupply stop. At the RCMP office, where Warren dropped us, we met Wally Urff, the Sergeant at Cumberland House, who lent Mark a drill, and while Mark worked, Wally told me so many interesting things about the area.

The Cumberland Delta of the Saskatchewan River is the largest freshwater delta in the world. Not only is it large, but the Saskatchewan River has changed channels many times in history, flowing through different parts of the region. Again, as at Grand Rapids, we heard of the impact of hydroelectric dams. The dam 80 km. upstream of Cumberland House has lowered water levels dramatically, changing the livelihoods of the native populations, who depended on the environment for hunting, fishing and trapping. Lower water levels mean warmer water, which limits which kinds of fish can survive. Further, the unnatural rise and fall of the water levels also affect the animals in the area.

Wally was very helpful, and we went into town to meet more friendly people: the folks who run the hotel restaurant, who provided lively conversation (AND free lunch!), and Julie, the High School Guidance Counselor, who let us into the high school to use the Internet. She also offered her yard to us for the night. At that time though, we still had notions of leaving that night. At 7 P.M., with a few more errands still to be done, Wally and his wife Margot, who live next door to the RCMP Office, offered us their yard to sleep in, NO PORTAGE REQUIRED. We took them up on it. They were incredibly kind and generous - not only did they mow the lawn for us, but they gave us showers, breakfast, a ride to our drop-off spot, AND the use of a signed copy of "Canoeing the Churchill", a perfect guide for our trip through this area. We had such a good time with them, and they gave us such good insights into this area, along with great conversation. We talked of travelling and of living in a small, Northern town. Wally has been in the RCMP for 35 years, in a variety of interesting places, since postings in remote areas are for 2 or 3 years only. Margot is a teacher, and in moving around so much, has taught everything, from pre-school to high school. It was fun to swap teaching stories and to compare their stories to our experiences in remote Alaska. The Urffs really took us in, and we appreciated it. We would've liked to camp there for another week!

So our 2-hour errands turned into more like 20 hours spent with wonderful people. We have really enjoyed talking and listening to the extraordinary people along the way on this trip. They have helped us to appreciate where we are even more.

This week, I also celebrated my "this is the longest I've ever been on Trail" - 37 Days (my long Widji trips were 36 days) so I'm setting new records for myself. We both are surpised at how normal it all is, how this has become our life, and we are loving it. We feel so lucky and grateful to be doing this, and we're already sad that it is almost one-third over. Everyday we challenge ourselves, see yet more beautiful things, feel thankful, laugh, and have time to do things like watch butterflies on flowers.

Hearing a beaver slap its tail on the water as we are falling asleep has become a sound we are used to. (Hearing Mark throw a rock into the water next to our tent to make me think the beaver is REALLY close is something I'll never get used to, and is always good for a laugh.) Like I said, we laugh. Tonight we're grateful for the kindness of strangers, and for the dragonflies eating the mosquitoes at our campsite.

Mark Writes:
July 24 Day 40
Sturgeon Weir River - 8 miles from Sturgeon Landing
820 miles so far
Overcast skies - clearing in the evening
Temp - approximately 20 degrees C

We're camped at a beautiful spot beside a small set of rapids. Our site is a massive slab of flat limestone rock some 50 meters long and 20 meters deep. The skies have cleared. The sun is setting. The gargle of the river is about to lull us to sleep - it is just about 10:00 p.m.

Normally we'd have just finished eating - having pulled over around 9:00. Such was the case last night when we took advantage of being back on flat water and off the Saskatchewan River's upstream slug by covering just better than 30 miles. We'd said goodbye to Margo and Wally on Cumberland Lake and headed northeast until we arrived at the pristine, clear waters of Namew Lake. The lake itself is amazingly beautiful and it held a treat that Norah and I have been waiting for since we left Lake Winnipeg - rocks! The Canadian Shield, which folks up here discuss with a mix of pride and reverence, comes up for air here and, from what we've been told, there is more big rock in store for us as we travel north. The change is quite dramatic. As we entered the lake we saw huge plates of rock poking up first at angles - as they escaped from the weight of the continent - and then more flat. These are slabs so large one could play soccer on them and our "campsite eyes" were wide with excitement that had been all but dimmed by the mud of the Saskatchewan River.

After an 8 mile crossing over the Namew's north shore, we settled on a site with 3 shelves of rock - the lower level just perfect for unloading, the second tier exactly sized for cooking dinner and the "top shelf" - as good ole keen dog likes to say - just fit for our MSK tent and out trusty We-No-Nah canoe. The moon rose blush orange and slow over the eastern shore. We toasted it with some delicious Tang beverage and called it a night. This morning was uncharacteristically slow as we prepared our packs and canoe for the upstream and, we thought, more portage-intensive day.

We arrived at Sturgeon Landing - a community of less than 100 people - in late morning. This settlement, located on the beautiful mouth of the Sturgeon Weir River, has a handful of homes, the remains of a burned down residential school (which housed hundreds of Cree and Dene children until it was burned down in an accidental fire in the mid-1950's), a unique bridge which spans the river, a K-6 school that is the educational center for a little less than 12 kids, and a resort called Sturgeon Landing Outfitters. For $12 Canadian per person, you can rent one of the small white cabins here and, for a bit more, Jim Metz, the owner/caretaker, will throw in a motor boat. You could spend carefree days fishing, paddling down (or up) the Sturgeon Weir, or just exploring the majesty of Namew Lake.

Although we'd just planned a brief visit to pick up a cup of coffee and make a phone call, we ended up sticking around for 2-3 hours visiting with Jim. He's a common-sense man who has made a real nice place for himself. In the off-season, when the lodge is closed, he drives school bus and taxis folks to and from The Pas. He also traps and hunts a bit as time allows. Jim told us several stories about himself and the history of Sturgeon Landing. He also gave us valuable river advice and a copy of the "Opasquia Times" article that Lisa Moule had written about us in The Pas. It was not until almost 1:00 p.m. that we walked our canoe up the first rapids of the Sturgeon Weir and set on our way.

The Voyageurs used to call this the "Maligne" or "Bad" River because of the many shallow rapids and subsequent slow going. Its' current name comes from the weir - or trap - that local Indians once constructed out of rock to catch the sturgeon swimming in its' waters. We're calling it "fun" and "beautiful", at least so far. Our first day on the Sturgeon Weir was spent as much out of the canoe as in. We'd paddle up a flat stretch - sometimes 50 or 100 meters - sometimes a kilometer or two - and then get out and walk up the rapids. They are quite picturesque, many of them are floored with chunks of flat limestone, not unlike the one we're camped on tonight, although finding a safe and passable path up them, through the rocks and waves, is something akin to going through a maze. We enjoyed both the challenge and the change of pace. The clear water is a joy to walk up and easy to find footing in. The rapids have rarely been more than thigh-deep. This said, the use of new muscles wore us down and the beauty of this particular campsite lured us enough to cause us to pull over early.

The very rare extra time in camp allowed us the chance to make a delicious dinner of Vigo tortellini with red sauce and parmesan cheese, followed by syrup-covered cornbread - yum! With a blueberry coffeecake for tomorrow's breakfast, we're ready for a good night's sleep and another great day on the river.


July 25 Day 41
Amisk Lake
20 miles today 840 miles so far
Sunny and warm all day long with a light wind

The Sturgeon Weir showed a bit of it's old "Maligne River" face today. We walked, pulled, waded and paddled 20 miles in just under 14 hours, making this our most epic day thus far. The rapids, which yesterday were mostly riffles and well spaced out, became endless rock gardens full of shallow stones and deep eddy holes and strong current. In the morning the rapids flowed over porous limestone shelves. Voyageurs and early explorers complained that the sharp rock tore up the soles of their moccasins, but our tough Vasque boots were more than up to the challenge and we enjoyed sure-footedness that the many cracks and pours provided. We had a few sections of relative calm where we could paddle a kilometer or two before hitting a shallow, rapids where one or both of us would have to get out and pull the canoe up. The banks were far too overgrown to allow for lining, so we were forced to walk up the bed of the river itself.

We were on schedule to get to the Amisk around 8:00 p.m. until we hit the final 4 KM. One very large set and two seemingly endless rocky areas of very strong current seriously slowed our progress. Our muscles were sore and tired because we'd used so many new ones walking and pulling. It was not until 10:00 p.m. that we finally reached the top of the river, grateful but exhausted. Pulling the canoe upstream is exceedingly challenging. First of all, with all our gear it weighs close to 400 pounds. However, the tougher part is finding safe footing and a clear route for our 20 foot craft. This task often involves weaving back and forth across the rover, making a 100 yard stretch take up to 30 minutes or more. Additionally the current itself is quite strong and the work of moving one foot in front of the other is grueling on the hip flexors and legs.

All that said, this is an amazingly beautiful river. Norah has said is looks and smells like a mountain stream. The water is clear and full of fish and ducks. The shoe is lined with pine trees and marsh plains. At times the river is nearly 100 yards across and it pools into almost calm ponds, but most of the time it is narrower - perhaps 50 or 100 feet - making for very fast moving sections of current. These rapids are walkable and shallow for the most part. There were only a few times today that we found ourselves in water over our waists.

The South Shore of Amisk Lake is home to T & D Cabins. I ran down here to see if we could get a treat for dinner. The people here are amazingly kind and, because we had no good place to pitch our tent and the cabins here are only $55 Canadian per night, we decided to treat ourselves to a night under a roof! The owner towed our gear the mile down the road; we got settled, ate dinner around 11:30 and were ready for bed by 12:30. Tomorrow we will cross 12 miles of Amisk Lake and continue up the Sturgeon Weir.





Norah writes:
July 26, Day 42
Spruce Rapids, Sturgeon Weir River
It is beginning to storm outside, but we are snug and warm in our tent--me in my campchair writing, Mark reading "Canoeing the Churchill" by Greg Marchildon and Sid Robinson. Scout is lying under Mark's Thermarest, serving as Mark's bookstand. The book, lent to us by the RCMP, is unbelievably detailed, with maps and descriptions of our whole route from now until Day 70. We have taken to cross-referencing and marking our maps with the book info, except we forgot to bring in our maps tonight. Between the rain and the bugs (and, yes, mosquitoes have no problem flying and biting in the rain), it's hard to venture out until you really have to.
So we bring in a lot: clothes, sleeping bags, Thermarests, chairs, bag of books and journals, raincoats and rainpants (if we don't bring them in, it definitely rains), water bottles and assorted things. Scout fits in wherever she can. Often I find myself all squished up in a corner of the tent whihle Scout is fully spread out, snoring away.
We are trying to go to bed early tonight, which is not as easy as it sounds, since it doesn't get dark until 11 p.m. We would like to switch our whole schedule to an earlier hour. Now we routinely camp at 8 or 9 p.m. and sleep at 11:30 p.m. or so. Soon, though, it will get dark earlier and we'll have to camp then. We also just like the feeling of an early start.
We thought we would be camping late tonight, but a late start at T & D's Cabins on Amisk Lake (due to some fresh eggs we bought from them - yum!) put us a bit behind. We paddled the 12 miles across beautiful Amisk Lake in good time. We looked for ancient rock paintings, but found only local carvings--"J & R Forever" and such. Even the minor graffiti didn't detract from the dramatic rocky cliffs and clear water, though. It's a huge lake, with two resorts, a town and some homes. In Minnesota, that lake would be packed with cabins! Canada's northern areas are so sparsely populted--it makes for nice canoe travel.
We found a campsite at the beginning of a portage, the first, on the Sturgeon Weir River. This is the northern portion, very different from the Southern portion we paddled yesterday. So far, this is a relatively calm river punctuated by rapids. It's pretty, with tall spruce and birch on the shores, and a few cabins on the Indian Reserve side. We think our progress tomorrow will be faster than yesterday, in spite of portages.
We couldn't decide whether to camp early or not, and after debating, decided to stay put. With thunderstorms in the forecast and our next campsite probably 6 miles away, it turned out to be a good decision. A lightning bolt struck something very nearby, causing both Scout and me to run for the tent. Mark, who is not scared of lightning, finished closing up of the canoe and only then came in. After the initial burst of rain and thunder, we came out and made dinner. Actually the rain was quite welcome, because of the heat - we were sweltering today and the rain really washed away some of the humidity. Even the most soothing rain, however, brings bugs.
Right now, it's mosquitoes, which are fierce. I have bites all over my face tonight, and we had to go mosquito-hunting in the tent. The horseflies (Bullflies, if you're Canadian)are also bad, seeming to know every time you let your guard down, and then they sneak into the canoe and bite our ankles. Today we heard that the Deerfly season is almost over. Hooray! Mark and I call them "soft-landers" because we never feel them until they're biting. Scout just likes to eat them.
So tonight, since the bugs were bad, we ate in the tent, but it was one of our favorite meals: pasta (kindly donated by Vigo), olive oil and good parmesan cheese, sprinkled with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar: simple and good.
So life is good. We're in great health, strangely enough. We notice little things: not congested or coldy, good skin, consistently happy moods. I don't know whether it's due to being away from pollution and junk food, or due to the amount of exercise we get now, but we're already talking about how to maintain it when we get back.
The same goes for Scout, who is so happy! She's strong, hardly sheds and wags her tail constantly in the canoe, and even likes to swim.. She likes walking up the rapids with us, and is fun to watch as she fights the current. Yesterday she started to drift away as she swam upstream, so we put her back in the canoe. Close to shore, she would rather run around.
Oh, one last thing: we saw the third canoe of our trip today: a man from Flin Flon on a solo trip down the Sturgeon Weir. Also a teacher, we chatted with him as we floated downstream, past a picturesque cemetery, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, on the Indian Reserve. He has paddled a lot in this area and gave us some tips.
The strange thing about this area is that we feel pretty isolated for awhile, only running into someone here and there. Even this pretty portage, running beside rapids, seemed pristine--until we came to the other end, and saw 20 aluminum motor boats stashed on the shore, awaiting motors to be portaged so that they can be used on the next portion of river. So it's sometimes hard to escape evidence of people, harder that we expected, I think, but not altogether bad. Just different.
It's still incredible to be seeing Canada South to North, a total learning experience. It's hard to imagine that soon we won't be able to remember what it felt like to be too hot! Right now, though, I am loving it.


Mark Writes:
July 27, Day 43
Scoop Rapids, Sturgeon Weir River
...a very impressive storm last night, and some sort of creature near our campsite kept Scout up off and on throughout the night. Of course, we're grateful for her watchfulness, but the whole of her alertness led us to sleep in a bit this morning to compensate.
Portaging by 9 a.m., we set off upriver at a slow but steady pace. At Snake Rapids, sometime after noon, we beat the odds and the current while cashing in on our strong paddling muscles: we actually paddled our canoe UP the first of the 3 sets of white water.
When shallowness and speed of the current had just driven us into the river to walk, we saw 2 canoes coming downriver. Andy Breckenridge and his wife, who hail out of Duluth, were coming down from the Churchill with their fathers! Seeing them makes only the 4th canoe group we've seen in 43 days. They are very kind people and we found we have some mutual friends. We enjoyed our visit. They are also retracking old trade and explorer routes, but in month-long segments, spread out over several summers, rather than our 4-month dash. They are enjoying themselves as much as we are.
An unusually large T. L. (Trail Lunch) left us tired and when we pulled our canoe over to the side of the river to stretch and drink water, we laid back on the deck and actually slept, our bow wedged into some reeds. We napped for a half-hour or so, which must've served us well, as we came as far after 4:30 as we had all day up to that point. By 6:30, we were flying, and we paddled the last 4 upstream miles in just over one hour.
We ate camped tonight, directly overlooking Scoop Rapids. This is arguably the most beautiful site we've had yet.


Mark Writes
July 30 – Day 46 –
Pelican Lake
4 miles today, 920 so far

Mark writes, “Today was spent in and around the town of Pelican Narrows. Here we ate a big breakfast, faxed updates, got our next 16 days worth of food from the post office, spent a ton of time with a small group of fourth grade girls who were very interested in our expedition and in us, and went to the nicest – most well-stocked – grocery store we’ve seen in a long time, and, of course, met and conversed with several very kind and welcoming locals.

Packing up all of our food took quite a while, especially since we spent much of our time talking with the girls and other town folk. But we hung around town until nearly 6:00 p.m. because of the wind. It was blowing up huge, choppy waves right into our faces and with gusts exceeding 30 clicks, we opted to wait it out.

Even when we started, the going was slow and we paddled just a few miles before pulling over to camp for the night. We’re both tired and worn out from our day in town and not up to the challenge of a long, hard, late-day paddle.

This stands in stark contrast to the last 2 days which have relied heavily on evening paddles. Two days ago the beauty of our camp spot caused us to linger until later than usual, then some mid-day laziness left us with miles still to paddle upstream and into a slight headwind at 6:00 p.m. We made the miles and were in the tent before a massive thunderstorm hit around 9:30.

Yesterday, thunderstorms, and then wind, forced us over during the day. At 7:00, the weather was finally clear to go. Again, we had 10 miles still to go and we very much wanted to be at our destination by 9:00 p.m. It was with great pride that we polished off the day in just under 2 hours, having stopped 4 times (each for less that 5 minutes), twice to drink water and twice to look at the map. We also had to get out and unload our canoe to bridge it over a shallow, rocky area. Such a feat could not have been possible a month ago and it leads us to believe that, after 45 days on trail, we are becoming more and more adapted to the paddling lifestyle. Of course, 10 miles in two hours is not much by city standards, but in a loaded canoe, we feel like we’re flying!

Excelsior folks might think of arriving at the town dock three hours before sunset, loading a canoe with 300 pounds of gear (bricks or 2, 150 pound friends would work), adding a dog to the mix and then paddling 5 miles to Culver’s in Orono, running in, grabbing some water – or a butterburger – and then paddling back to Excelsior with an hour or more to spare before sunset. We sue that our to unload our canoe, set up our tent, unpack our packs, set up our sleeping gear, assemble out stove, cook dinner, secure our belongings for the night, pump water and go to bed. You at home might use it to unload those bricks and go to “Licks Unlimited”.

At any rate, it is good to know that we’ve got such a sprint in us. It makes days like today, when we went so few miles, seem less defeating and more enjoyable.”


Mark writes:
August 1 - email from Mark to Jennifer Garrison Brownell
Woke at 4:00 ready to paddle. Wind was gusting to 60 clicks - waves big, choppy and in our faces. Back to bed. Reawoke around 9:00 - happy o have gotten more rest - picked Saskatoon, blue and raspberries. They were delicious with the coffee we prepared. Today is cold. We are sitting out here with wool hats and warm jackets in a little protected hollow that keeps us out of the wind. It is a bummer to be behind schedule again, but we are both more relaxed and more confident than we were during our windbound days on Winnipeg.

Now, as we have said before, we are very much in the trail mode. Almost 50 days out we are much more able to roll with the whims of nature. Our campsite is a bramble of shrubs, rocks & trees, but we are able to make most anyplace home. This north wind has brought a crispness to the weather. Most trees are still green of leaf, but here and there fallen leaves can be found. The berries are ripe, some birds are starting to group up. On a crisp wind-ful day such as this it is easy to imagine ourselves in the midst of the season change. We are healthy and happy and strong.

August 1 - Fax from Mark
August 1 – Day 48 – 0 miles today, 940 so far

Weather – cool and very windy. Overcast

Mark writes,

“As day 50 approaches, we find ourselves thinking rather instinctively in “Widji time”. Norah and I led trips for Camp Widjiwagan for years and it is fully because of our experiences there that we are here today.

Forty-nine days on trail was my longest trip with them and my longest time ever on trail. So I find myself on the brink of some kind of landmark. On that trip, we went 1200 miles with the last 800 coming in a 12-day dash down the Porcupine and Yukon Rivers. On this trip, our miles have been more steady. We continue to average just about 20 miles per day and it seems to make little difference whether we’re on rivers or lakes, going up or downstream.

At any rate, 45 days is the standard length of a Widji “Voyageur” trip and as we surpassed that we reminisced often of our time there. We got some food from Widji – cakes, hashbrowns, eggs – in many of the bags we’ve found messages containing well wishes, words of encouragement, old jokes revisited. We’re grateful for that community of friends.

Other than Widji (their site is linked to our “Contribute” page), we find a host of things to talk about or amuse ourselves with while paddling. Of course, there are some stretches of silence when we’re both lost in our own world, or when the sound of wind and waves makes talking and hearing a challenge, but when it is calm and when the wind is ripe for conversation, we discuss any number of things. We also sing and play games – “Let’s start with 1492 and sing a song to go along with every historical event we can think of from then until now” – that got us all the way across the expanse of Amisk Lake and even a bit up the West Weir.

We talk about Canada, what we’ll do when we get back, friends, family, trip memories, people we’ve met, towns we’ve visited, wildlife, the weather, voyageurs and explorers, Scout, food (a lengthy discussion of Thanksgiving dinner on Day 30 was the apex of this topic. Now we tend to marvel at fresh produce, food at some favorite restaurant and things we ate last summer while traveling in Europe), where to camp, the general soreness of our muscles, our jobs, when to eat trail lunch and what of it to have, plant, funny things that have happened… We tell each other stories, jokes, songs…”


Norah Writes
August 1 Day 48
Wood Lake, Saskatchewan

I'm sitting cozy in my sleeping bag and chair in the tent, enjoying the restfulness of a windbound day. We are on the Southern end of Wood Lake, about 20 miles from Frog Portage, where we will cross over to the Churchill River. We are behind schedule, but we are not letting that get us down. There are some things out of our control, and 30 mph winds with gust up to 60 mph are some of them.

While the last week or so feels like a whirlwind, in reality it has been composed of very restful paddles and then sprints across lakes and portages. I awoke on Day 44 at 9:15, to sun shining in the tent and Mark up making coffee and pancakes for breakfast. We were taking advantage of a spectacular campsite, directly above a small drop in the river where pelicans have fished for the last 200 years. They were there that day too - 40 or more - scooping fish out of "Scoop Rapids". We didn't leave that day until after 11 a.m., and still made 20+ miles just in the nick of time to avoid a large and scary thunderstorm. We pulled into our campsite, counting the seconds between lightning and thunder (5 seconds = about 1 mile). We chose the safest tentspot in the islands, climbed in and ate lunch for dinner: cheese and crackers, nuts, candy dipped into peanut butter.

The next days were much the same: late starts, afternoon storms, and evening sprints. We used our GPS to set our pace, and as it turns out, we can maintain 4-5 mph for 2-3 hours. We are definitely getting stronger, and we'll need that kind of endurance to catch up from these missed days.

It seems that we've had about a "60% chance of showers or thunderstorms" (according to the radio) for the last 2 weeks. It is very different from the endless clear, hot days of the first month of our trip. The storms can really slow us down, too, especially on big lakes. Going upstream on rivers, we're usually on or close to shore, and can pull over early if the weather goes sour. On lakes, however, where frequently we must time crossing bays with the weather, distant rain and thunder can be more problematic. Since the middle of the lake is where you DON'T want to be when the lightning comes, we've done lots of rainy paddling --we even pulled out our warmer Kokotat Gore-tex paddling jackets for this colder weather.

Yesterday we beat out another storm to this campsite, and it poured! Mark put up the tarp outside the tent to give us lots of dry space, and cooked Black Bean Vigo, which we ate topped with mozzarella cheese on tortilla shells, bought in Pelican Narrows 2 days ago. That was the last town we were in. We stayed outside of it, at a Cree Band-run outfitters the previous night. The cabin was pretty simple, but suited our needs perfectly. The trick of going to towns is keeping our gear and canoe safe, and staying at an establishment instead of just camping in town is often our best choice. The people were super nice, and we each ate "The Hungry Man" breakfast, which included bacon, ham, sausage, eggs, hash browns and toast. It is incredible how much food we can put away these days. When we finished, Mark told me he could easily eat 2 more! (He didn't.)

We have stayed and eaten at places like this more than either of us thought we would. We're also going through more towns than I expected. And the restaurant food is always the best treat, but the Northern Grocery Store chain has lots of good stuff too, fresh fruit and veggies, donuts, bread, Oreos. It's hard not to buy a ton of things. The Pelican Narrows Northern had a great selection, and we even bought lettuce to eat with our beans and rice! These stores that serve a whole town are much smaller than what we're used to, and besides food, carry sheets, shoes, bikes and raincoats.

In Pelican Narrows, the Northern Store was right on the lakeshore, near the public dock. We had fought our way against the waves for 3 km from the Outfitters, and the weather was looking rainy again. I stayed with the canoe, while Mark went to the Post Office to pick up our food resupply. As usual, kind strangers offered him rides there and back. While he was gone, I talked to some local 4th-grade girls. They were interested in our trip, and funny and giggly. They liked our stickers, and soon there were more children gathered around. When Mark came back, he hung out with the kids while I went to the Northern for necessities (peanut butter) and treats )yogurt). The girls then took me to the Band Office (for this band of the Peter Ballentine Cree Nation), where the clerk was kind enough to send our FAX free. On the way there and back, we saw lots of loose dogs, at least 10, the RCMP Station, a Health Center, horses, AND a brand new truck that was going to be the Grand Prize at the Pickerel )that's walleye to us) Contest the next weekend. The town is in a very picturesque spot, and the girls told me that in the summer they like to swim, bike and pick berries.

It's fun to be a traveler in these small towns. Strangers stop and ask about the trip, and kids come out of the woodwork and hang around as long as you let them. So our town experiences have been very good.

Scout has even been good around all the loose town dogs, but that night, wet her, AND our bed! So we got a late start after cleaning that up, making for another sprint to get in our 20 miles. She's been eating berries at this campsite, likes the Saskatoons, which are kind of like blueberries, only seedier and on taller bushes. It's fun to watch her picking berries. When we lived in Ely, she would go into our raspberry patch and feast, and we'd look outside and see only the bush moving.

Well, the wind is still blowing hard - big whitecaps everywhere. We hope to paddle tonight, but last night it blew all night, so who knows. Scout's next to me on Mark's sleeping bag, running in her sleep. Thanks for checking in with us! We'll write again, hopefully from the Churchill!

Mark Writes
Day 50!
August 3
Very strong NW wind – in our faces all day

“After being windbound for two days on Wood Lake, we broke free by battling for 20 miles into an unfailingly fierce and unceasing headwind.

Day 49 was a frustration of failed attempts to move. We paddled into the main body of Wood Lake only to find it a sea of sharp breaking waves with no place hospitable to land. We finally did what we never do, backtracked and ended up a scant one mile from where we started. We’d avoided a dangerous situation, but put ourselves 2+ days behind.

Today – the landmark 50th day – found more reason to celebrate. We crossed the famous Frog Portage a bit before sunset and thus found ourselves on a new river and new river system. Hello Churchill! We are very excited to be here and camped on a beautiful slab of bedrock at the sunset tip of an island – even if our joy is a bit tempered by exhaustion.

The wind blew strong this morning, as it did all day. We gritted our teeth and dug in. There was not much talking today as paddling into the crazy waves took all of our strength and the wind blew all our words away. We just paddled. The gusts often held us to an excruciatingly slow 2 miles per hour pace. In fact, with only one break to speak of it took us a full 10 hours to reach the Churchill.

The wind-in-your-face paddle was made more intense by the fact that nearly the entire day was spent paddling along the bare rock and black tree remains of a massive spring forest fire. The final paddle up to the Frog Portage found the Sturgeon Weir dwindling, sometimes no more than a canoe width or two wide between walls of windblown reeds.

The Frog Portage itself was a major trading and travel spot for the Voyageurs. Amazingly, the 2 systems are connected by a spit of land less than π mile wide. Folks think the portage has been used for thousands of years, but now it is outfitted with a very broken down rail car. We’d been advised by Andy and Rachel Breckenridge to give it amiss and just portage our things as they suffered a few derailments, but we took it slow and made it through without incident.

We’re happy to have been on such an historic spot – even happier to be on the Churchill River! Overall, however, this day ranks in the top 3 of the toughest ever on this expedition. The wind wore us down until our muscles in our hands, arms, shoulders, back, face, were tired and sore and in need of rest.

A spot of sunshine around 9:30 p.m. warmed us up – but other than that it was cold all day. We were heavily bundled and chilled if we ever took a break. A lovely sunset tonight and some Vigo pasta have put a brighter face on the day. We’re ready for sleep.


Mark writes:
August 5
We happened upon a great little fishing resort here on the Churchill. The
very kind proprieters gave us use of their laundry, some delicious lunch
and the use of their e-mail. We are, as ever, grateful for their kindness
and surprised by their generosity.

We've been blessed with a tail wind today and hope to put ourselves within
shooting distance of Stanley Rapids this evening - so that we are a mere
two days behind schedule. Overall we are doing great. It is tough to be behind schedule, as it makes us feel like we need to rush a bit to get through these spots, but the Churchill River is lovely and we are pleased as punch to be sleeping on
bedrock and paddling on pristine sweet water.
We are going up stream, but the water is low, so with strong arms we are able to paddle up some of the sets, and then we portage around the falls and big rapids. We've seen very few people, but lots of birds, a bear and a smattering of other wildlife.
Blueberries are ripe. Yippie.


Norah Writes
August 4 Day 51
Keg Lake, Saskatchewan

We awoke today to our first blue sky in a long time! We miss those 30 degree C. days on Lake Winnipeg. The last week has been a real touch of autumn. I went from wearing a tank top and shorts to what my attire has been all this week: long underwear bottoms and rainpants, 2 long underwear tops and a raincoat. I've also been wearing a winter hat for most of the day. At night it's been even colder, and we've had to open our "clothes bags" - our stuff bags full of warmer clothes.

We've also been trying to keeps our boots dry. Normally we just plan on having wet feet, because our boots are constantly wet (some might also say stinky). I'm generally pretty wet during the day - splashing from the paddles, water getting in under the sprayskirt during big waves, rain, having to carry wet packs, etc. I also get wet from what we call the "self-soak", which is paddling negligently, and accidentally splashing yourself. Of course, overall, canoeing is a very wet sport. And then we are also very protective of our canoe, which is Kevlar, so we try to not let it scrape rocks.. But since most portages and campsite are rocky, that means we have to wade in to unload.And then there are wet days like today, when we are wading thigh-high up rapids to avoid portaging.

In any case, we are always wet, which is fine and refreshing when it's warm, but in this cold, it's quite miserable. Our Kokotat cold-weather raincoats are an incredible help; the rubber on the cuffs really keeps the water out. We also pull our sprayskirts up around us on cold days. Every little bit helps! And we did manage to have dry feet for about 2 days, but now we're portaging a lot and dry feet are an impossibility. Hopefully the blue sky is a good omen. Farmers in Saskatchewan had frost damage this week.

We really tried to push the miles today, but did not get as far as we meant to, blue sky or no. We had a steady day, except for a too-big lunch that slowed us down. We ate on a sand beach that had an eagle's nest on it, in a poplar tree. Scout loved the site, and ran around like crazy, eating whatever bones she could find. We continued on more slowly, still in a headwind, unh! We reached our first set of rapids and portage. Many of the portages here have rollers made our of logs, for motor-boats, and are very well used. We found today that the canoe portages are not at all well-trodden. Ours had lots of deadfall that were difficult to negotiate with a pack or canoe on your shoulders. We did find lots of blueberries, which made the portage more enjoyable.

The rest of the day was spent portaging and wading up slippery-rocked rapids, which are really pretty, but time-consuming. So we made 20 instead of 24 miles. And we're behind schedule. We're going to try to go the 24 miles to Stanley Mission tomorrow, where we'll fax these updates (and buy some sausage-yum!).

There have been some other notable things in recent days. First, we have seen and heard so many loons! We've seen as many as 6 together, which is quite unusual. Apparently they group up when they migrate, but I didn't think it was time for that quite yet. Also it seems to be mandatory that all loons call ALL OF THE TIME right now. They're definitely more active than we've seen before on this trip, flapping their wings, scooting around on the water. They are such beautiful birds, and bring back many happy memories of summers spent in Ely, Minnesota.

Second, spiders are everywhere! We have started categorizing all campsites into "spider-sites" or "non-spider-sites". At spider sites, we must see 25 different kinds. One time, we had 30 Daddy-Long-Legs on our tent at one time! They make webs on our tent, packs, and in the canoe overnight, and when we pull over, in the morning we are usually taking half a dozen on as passengers.

More animal updates to come in future, In the meantime, I need to sleep. I am responsible for getting us up tomorrow. We've decided to take turns, since we keep oversleeping. You'd think Scout would get us up, but she's the sleepiest of all. We've tried using our short-wave radio as an alarm clock. It works pretty well, except that we never know what will be on. The other morning I awoke to a German language lesson that gave me very strange dreams. So I turned it off eventually, and we slept too long. There are only so many hours of daylight, and we need all of them that we can get right now.

Thanks for reading these! We'll be excited to share more stories when we return! We hope you enjoy these last weeks of summer!


August 8
Email from John Scanlan

Norah called from near the Rock Trout Portage on the
Churchill River. They were windbound a second day on
Woody Lake, so remain 2 days behind their schedule. She
says they are not worried about it, but find it
bothersome. They remain healthy and enthused, and
continue to enjoy the country and the people.


Mark and Norah Garrison
Trans-Canada Canoe Expedition
236 Courtland Street
Excelsior, MN 55331
(952) 380-9727
garrison@paddlenorth.org
www.paddlenorth.org

Aug. 7 - Aug. 18, 2002 / Nipew Lake - Methe Portage

A CONTEST for the Armchair Expeditionaire
Mark and Norah are announcing a contest to determine the
best mnemonic aid for remembering the names of the 8
rivers they are traversing. They will announce the
winner(s) sometime after they return. They haven't yet
determined a prize. An example: "When Scout Saw-Windy
Clouds Climb A Snowy Mountain".
Send your entries to garrison@paddlenorth.org


Norah Writes
Day 54 August 7
Nipew Lake

The return of nice weather! Today was beautiful! Although we awoke to mist, it changed to sun and we were able to dry out somewhat.

The last two days have been challenging, but beautiful. The area we are in now is in the heart of the Canadian Shield, so there are rock outcroppings everywhere. These make for great campsites and spectacular scenery.

We awoke yesterday to a thunderstorm. In my opinion, there is nothing cozier than lying in your tent during morning rain and NOT having to get up because of thunder. Because of the storm, we didn't get out until around 9:30. We left the Stanley Rapids campsite (more like a campground) and paddled away into the misty drizzle toward Stanley Mission.

Stanley Mission started off as a Mission only, and the town grew up around it. In 1860, an Anglican clergyman completed Holy Trinity Church there, which stands today as Saskatchewan's oldest building. It is beautiful --white, tall and in stark contrast to the dark hues of the trees and water around it. It is still in use, and on the old organ, there are copies of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer in the Cree language.

We spent a little time in town -- a really friendly place. We left our canoe at the landing and visited the co-op store, where we bought some fresh fruit and treats, then went to the Post Office and the restaurant (we couldn't resist!) Eggs and bacon are a real treat these days. Scout's life jacket has been the source of good jokes with the locals. I guess most dogs up here don't wear them!

We set off again, in the rain, to continue up the Churchill. In most places, the Churchill does not seem so much like a river, but more like a series of lakes connected by rapids and waterfalls. We are slowed by the current, but looking out onto the water, you wouldn't necessarily know you were on a river.

We paddled up Mountain Lake (part of the river) and realized we saw paddlers coming our way. (The only way to see canoes from far away is by the flash of paddles.)
This was a welcome sight for us, because we haven't seen very many paddlers relative to the miles we've come.

Suddenly we realized we were seeing multiple boats, and looking hard, we counted 17! Wow. They looked like a small fleet in the mist. We talked to one of the two guides, who informed us that they were from a Scout base. Kids and some parents were on the trip. Since Mark and I have travelled only in small groups, it was hard to imagine leading such a number, but the group seemed to be having fun, in spite of the weather.

The rain continued as we paddled past many small islands,where local people had their fish camps -- beautiful rocky spots with frames set up for wall tents and tarps. Some also had small cabins. They wre all empty at this time of year, but during the fishing season, it must be lot of fun! Local people also have cabins on the lake, and we jealously paddled past, hoping someday to also have a cozy place in such a beautfiul location!

We saw more paddlers as we went on, since it's a popular route. We also did a portage with the steepest hill I'd ever climbed while canoeing. When we got to Otter Lake, we were eager to make miles and camp.

Unfortunately, since it is a popular route, all the spots we found were occupied. Nearing 9 o'clock, a solo paddler already at a site pointed us to some potential places to stop, but not before Scout jumped out of our canoe to fight with his dog. To add to the gloom of the rain and late hour, we could hear gunshots here and there through the quiet. We finally pulled up at a slopy rock around 10 p.m., made a rushed dinner and went to sleep.

Today we paddled the rest of Otter Lake in the rain, skipped going to Missinipe (a jumping-off point for canoers) and portaged around Otter Rapids. These are deep, and a local told us he and friends would put on lifejackets and float down, or even jump off the bridge into them! That set was definitely a boundary of some kind, because after it, we saw hardly any people. Paddling up the river toward Little Devil Falls, the usage dropped dramatically -- no trash on the portages, hardly any campsites obvious to us, and no people in sight! The previous area had been so heavily travelled that it was a shock to be in such pristine wilderness again.

The portaging today was hard, and we are tired. We camped on a sand beach tonight and made a big fire to burn some unneeded supplies and food: anything to lighten the load.

We made our portages in 2 trips: once over with each of us carrying a big food or equipment pack with lots of small things strapped to it, and a second time with Mark carrying the 100-pound canoe and me with the two personal packs. On both trips, our hands are full of paddles, camera cases, water bottles, etc.

At Widji, when we led trips, we packed in large Duluth packs with very little extra stuff, to make portaging easy. We started this trip that way, but since we had few portages, we started packing in more small things to make reaching items and packing under the spraydeck more convenient. Now, however, it takes a long time just to pack for the portage each time. Since we learn as we go, we are working on a better system.

Two more things: first, I scared a big black bear at the end of the portage around Big Devil Falls! We worrieda bit leaving half of our things there, when we had to go back for the second load, but one of us going back, and one staying behind, would have taken too much time. We crossed our fingers that the bear wouldn't come back (and it didn't).

Second, we figured out what the gunshots were: we met a man walking over a portage. He had a small backpack and his gun. He keeps a boat on either side, he said, so he does not have to carry one (boat) back and forth. I asked him what hunting season it was, and he told he this is the best time for moose, because they are fat. People are also hunting ducks. And the Native Canadians can hunt whenever they want to, so we may see and hear more gunshots before the official seasons begin.

Well, I hope for a sunny day again tomorrow. Saskatchewan is an amazing place, and we are incredibly lucky to be here!

Thanks to eveyone who has sent us nice notes! Internet use here is very limited, and we have not yet had the opportunity to respond to most, but when we can, we will!



Norah Writes
August 8, 2002
DAY 55 TROUT LAKE

Great weather today! A classic canoeing day overall - a little of everything.

We ate raisin bran for breakfast today in the middle of Nipew Lake - no people in sight, just low clouds, trees, rocks and birds. Pelicans are still plentiful; I wonder when they migrate? Ducks, grebes, loons, sandpipers, bald eagles, terns, gulls and herons...we never tire of watching the birds.

We lined our canoe up some rapids, using ropes to pull it up --and waded up some others, avoiding a couple of portages. Since loading and unloading at portages takes so much time and effort, we will walk in water up to our waists to avoid portaging, if we have to.

If I come back to the Churchill, I would want to paddle this section again, except downstream, and with more time. The rapids are gorgeous and wild, the water is clear and the rock ledges are everywhere! Best of all, there are so few people! We saw one couple today, and a group from Saskatoon, almost everyone over 60. They were so nice, and reminded us of the fun we had leading Elderhostel canoe trips.

Coming from the U.S., it is sometimes hard to comprehend how much less crowded it is here. When we mention that to Canadians, they hold their fingers to their lips and say, "Shhh! Don't tell!" This portion of the Churchill is devoid of people and also signs of people. The portages are narrow, the campsites unused and clean --it's incredible. It is like being in the Boundary Waters in October. We love it! We do see the occasional motor boat from a lodge, but very few. The fishing must be good here.

"You're not fishing??" I can hear people gasp. We hope to, but now we have no time. Our windbound days at Wood Lake have put us behind and we have not been able to catch up. We spend as much time as we can in the canoe, but the portaging and wading slows us down. Unfortunately, we have only a certain number of days to complete this trip. We can keep on our schedule, but it's difficult to catch up when we're behind.

We spent some of our paddling hours today making up haikus about our trip, a good game when you have lots of time. My favorite of the day (Mark wrote/told it):
Brown Saskatchewan
carrying secret sewage
Why did I drink you?
Needless to say, the water on the Churchill is much cleaner! We drink it happily.

We do need to figure out how to make up the miles we lost on Wood Lake. Those decisions will come in the next few days. Meanwhile, we're working hard, enjoying the wonders, and thinking of those who walked the portages before us. We're also thinking of all the good things we'll eat when we get back.

Neatest things of the last few days: *GREAT Northern Lights! The days are getting shorter, and we're up to see the Northern Lights more often.
*A spider being pulled across the lake by its web. Since we were 100 yards from shore, I don't know what it was connected to, but it looked like it was waterskiing!

I hope you have time to notice the littler things around you too!

Thanks for reading, Norah



Mark writes
August 5, 2002 – Day 52
Keg Lake to Stanley Rapids – 20 miles today, 982 so far
A mix of sun and clouds – some light rain – headwind
Today will be remembered forever in our minds as “people day”.
We met: Several residents of Stanley Mission out on a moose hunt
2 plumbers
2 farmers
a truck driver
a priest
his nephew and a friend
4 ranchers and fellow paddlers (one who’s met Sig Olsen)
a few fishing guides
2 resort owners

We’d heard of 2 resorts at Potter Rapids but we did not plan on stopping there. It was Scout who sought out the folks at Angler Rapids Lodge (www.anglerrapids.com ), looking for attention, or perhaps a treat. Norah and I were carrying our packs across the portage and, when I set mine down to fetch Scout, I struck up a conversation with Melissa, who was shutting things down after a brief but promising first season running the lodge. Evidently this Ohio resident and her husband, Cary, were well-versed in Canadian hospitality since they took us in, offered us cold beverages, use of their laundry and the last 2 showers of the season (since the water was being turned off as we left). They also lent us their computer so that we could check our e-mail. They fed us a feast of a lunch, complete with burgers, chips and coffee and corn on the cob before sending us off with well wishes to accompany our full bellies, clean clothes and hair, and our refreshed state of mind.

They also found Scout a happy recipient of treats and fed her hot dogs, cheese and cat food left over from the season. They sent us away with treats for both her and ourselves. The lodge itself is in a beautiful location and is well kept and run. All in all, it was tough to leave their kind resort

Our evening’s paddle took us into a headwind and through light rain to a well-established camp spot at Stanley Rapids. Because this brief section of the Churchill offers a common out ‘n’ back trip spot for paddlers, the site is large and able to accommodate several groups.

Two other parties were there when we arrived about 9:00 p.m. (It is common for us to milk the last lick from the day and camp around one hour before sunset, thus allowing time to cook and set up camp before the bugs come out). On this night, however, we stayed up until 1:00 a.m,. talking and laughing and swapping stories with the others in our camp spot. This is the first time we’ve ever camped near another group and we welcomed the conversation.

One group included 3 generations of teachers – one of the foursome had done extensive traveling on the Churchill and had been across the Methye Portage a time or two. He’d also met with Sig Olsen and we spoke of that man’s wisdom and awe-inspiring writing style. After dinner, we visited with the priest, Jim, and his traveling companion, Art, a Saskatchewan farmer. Farmers up here have had a terrible year. You will hear things like, ‘My father is 81 and he’s been farming his whole life and he says this is the worst it’s ever been – worse than the dust of the 20’s, even.’ Or, ‘I’m not even talking the combine out this year There is just no crop.’

Hurt by drought and heat and then frost as well as farm subsidies in the USA, which drive the price down, these folks have had a heck of a go this summer. Despite it all, Art was in good spirits and we sat around the campfire until the early hours.

Jim has done countless trips on the Churchill and he told us of places we’d see and of life on the prairie. We went to bed only when yawns replaced words.


Mark Writes
Day 56 – August 9 –
Sunny and warm with a light headwind and a few strong gusts

31 miles today – 1082 so far

We woke up early and had oatmeal and coffee with Carnation Evaporated Milk – delicious! Out of camp around 9:00 a.m., we traveled south to Birch Rapids. Here we met with the first of several surprises the day had to offer. We were able to eddy-hop up the lower half of the rapids and then track (pull our canoes and steer then with 50 foot long ropes) up the strong current further up.

We were pleased to be able to skip the portage and we were making excellent time. Birch Falls was the next obstacle in the river. We portaged on an easy path around that.

With only paddling after that – or so we thought – we set a goal of reaching Needle Falls. As the wind picked up, we revised that and decided on heading for a campsite we’d read about at Silent Rapids. The rest of our day was spent paddling through the maze of islands, flat water and current that make up Black Bear Island Lake.

We paddled in 4-mile sections, first just stopping then and later stopping more often to hydrate and rest muscles and escape wind. We saw stunning exposed rock. The Shield is in full force here and it made a prefect backdrop for the wildlife we saw.

Countless bald eagles, both mature and immature, swooped down around us. A loon did an extended “tail dance” that involved much calling and wave-making and prancing – presumable with the intention of impressing another. However, since no other loon was in sight, we assumed the show was for us and we totally enjoyed it.

We eat several small snacks throughout the day rather than one big trail lunch (TL). We find that a big lunch makes us tired and sluggish while a snack of gorp or cheese and crackers gives us good paddling energy. Most of these snacks are taken in the canoe, either in the lee if an island or with me paddling in the stern while Norah prepares the food.

To escape the afternoon sun and to stretch our legs, we took one such break at a narrowing in the lake where the current formed a huge, nutrient rich eddy. It was literally full of minnows, thousands of them, who swam in great schools past crawfish and snails and above the ominous eye of some large fish waiting in the deep holes.

Spots as beautiful as this one remind us of why we are out here. My father sent me a quote stating something like, ‘life is measured by the moments that take out breath away.’ This little minnow narrows with scattered boulders and trees and shade on the south shore and a steep, sharp cliff on the north and so much aquatic life swimming around and the two of us with our dog and canoe alone and taking it all is – provided such a moment.

The rest of the day was a mix of lake paddle, spotting a few ancient rock paintings, paddling up strong current, tracking up a couple of especially forceful sections and finally, as the sun was flirting with the treetops on the western horizon, making our goal of Silent Rapids.

We were proud of our accomplishment as we paddled up the rapids and around one last point to the rock site. We’d seen no one all day and were therefore shocked and surprised to see people walking around. Our shoulders sank. Should we push on? Should we go back to that spot down river? Will we end up camping in the bugs and the dark?

The, the most unexpected surprise of all, ‘Mark! Norah! Are you going to join us here tonight?’ With something like 3 million people in this entire province, it seemed unbelievable that we’d see someone we knew, but this is an area with very low population density so that odds get better.

The man in the green shirt calling our names turned out to be our old friend, Jim, from Stanley Rapids. He’d flown in to Needle Falls for his summer holiday second canoe trip – this time with his sister and two parishioners, Val and John.

John and Val had never been out canoeing before and John later confessed that, as he saw us paddle up, he thought, ‘Good! More people!’

The silence and slowness of life in the bush is a stark contrast to city – or even small-town – living and it can take some time to get used to. Norah and I recalled a time a year or so ago when we’d decided to escape the city for a night. We spent it in a cabin in the woods – the only one on a remote lake, Rather than being restful we found it a bit unnerving – too dramatic a slow down too quickly.

John must be feeling a similar sensation. While we can certainly empathize, with more than a thousand miles and nearly two months and countless Vigo meals behind us, we are well accustomed to the ways of life here. We know how to read the wind and predict the weather and when a bird’s call signals danger and when we can make our way up a rapids and when our bodies need water or food or rest and when Scout will benefit from stretching her legs on shore and where on the lines and dots of a map a good campsite might be found and how to set up camp quickly and paddle in silence or make up poems or tell stories and the difference between the deep sound of a far-off plane and thunder and talking with others make us aware of all of this and proud.

It is useful knowledge in its’ own way. Just how it will enhance our life as teachers in the Twin Cities remains to be seen, but we are glad to have it.


Mark writes
Day 57 – august 10
19 miles today – 1101 miles so far
Sunny and warm with a constant nagging headwind

Today we woke up to the rare – almost unheard of on this trip – treat of breakfast being made for us. Jim and his crew picked blueberries and were fixing up pancakes. Yum. It was a wonderful meal made even better by another rare treat, fresh fruit!

As always we were grateful for the hospitality of those we’ve meet along the way. It is really fun for us to swap stories with fellow travelers.

Today we traveled through some of the most beautiful territory we’ve seen. The Needle Falls section of the Churchill is dramatic and on this bright sunny day when the sky was a deep blue, the falls and rapids were so starkly white they were quite breathtaking.

We portaged the first falls, after a long 8-mile paddle into a growing headwind. The portage was flat, short and well-traveled and it provided raspberries for our mid-day snack – we also ate TL there.

At the second set of rapids, we looked for a portage but found only an unused trail. After some time spent seeking a better trail, we opted to wade and track our canoe up the set. It was a challenge because the river is very strong here. This is, in fact, one of the narrowest sections of the entire Churchill. Portions of the rapids were also deep making for dangerous walking – and full of sharp rocks that were tricky to negotiate.

After ascending that set we arrived at the last drop but not before some serious into-the-current paddling. We portaged this drop and spent some time mulling over our predicament. \
Yesterday we paddled upstream into a headwind some 30+ miles. Today the stringer wind was forcing us down to a very slow pace. We knew that 20 miles would be tough to attain. While 50 miles in 2 days is good work by any canoeing standards, it is not enough to make up the 70 or so that we are behind. We need to find a way to make up this time before the Methye Portage. We discussed several options but came up with no positive solutions.

We are using every available moment of traveling time in the day. We wake up early and go to bed late. It is now after midnight, the only time left for journal writing and reading. However, even with very long days of serious pushing we still find ourselves 2-1/2 days behind.

None the less we care camped on a high rock overlooking the Churchill River. It has narrowed down again after widening out to fill out Sand Fly Lake.

Of course, we are full of thoughts of Voyageurs and explorers of old. There is something about the untraveled nature of this section that makes us think it is still very much the same as it has been for hundreds of years. When Alexander Mackenzie came through this area on his way to search for the fabled Northwest Passage, he noted a large boulder on a rock shield island that looked alarmingly like a bear’s head. By chance, we veered off course to avoid a west wind and we came across the same rock. Indeed it does look bear-like. There is even a dark spot for the eye and a long streak for the mouth. Was Mackenzie facing a similar headwind when he passed through? Perhaps.

The rock we are camped on – with a low flat point and a high, east-facing tent spit, would be coveted in the BWCA, but here we find no sign that it has ever been used as a campsite before.”



August 16

Norah reports that they are at Buffalo Narrows, and back on schedule. They continue to be in good health and very much enjoying the people that they meet. Scout has taken to diving off the canoe, swimming to shore and running along the bank. It is hard to get much information about them as they are most interested in hearing news from home. They welcome letters (addresses on the "Contact us" link) and emails. And they look forward to spending some time with Mark's father, Phil, when he does the second, and last, food drop at Fort McMurray on the 26th.




“August 15, 2002 – A Reply to Mr. Kleemeier’s Class:

Mr. Kleemeier’s class has been following our expedition. We’ve gotten several letters from students there at the Tri-District School in Maplewood, Minnesota. It is fun for us to hear of their interest and to field their questions. We’ve done our best to answer then here.

To Haley, Stephanie, George and Corey:

We’re glad that you’ve enjoyed following our trip all summer. We’ve thought about you being in school while the two of us are on a very extended summer vacation.

We did not bring any soft food for people with teeth problems.

We got our sponsors by writing to something like 100 companies who produced goods that would benefit us and who we wanted to promote. Our sponsors have been very generous

You mentioned the pictures on our site. We’ll do our best to get more up there soon.

To Marina, Jessa and friend:

The trip is going very well. Thank you for asking!

Yes, we do get tired. Our days are long. We often spend 10-14 hours in our canoe each day. We set up our tent, make dinner and eat just as it gets dark, go into the tent, write in our journals and get up 6-8 hours later to do it all over again.

Today it is quite cold – 45 degrees – and raining with 3-50 km winds. However, our trip has been warm up to this point. I’ve yet to zip up my sleeping bag at night.

When we finish our expedition, we’ll return to our jobs as teachers. We’ll also give a few presentations to tell our story and thank our sponsors. Perhaps we could even come to your school.

To Elizabeth, Helina and Lewis:

I teach 5th grade at Excelsior Elementary and Norah teaches 7th and 9th grade at West Junior High in Hopkins.

Scout is 7 years old, but she still acts like a pup.

To Bretta, Codi, Alan and Andrew:

We’re having LOTS of fun on our trip. Thank you for your note and your canoeing story!

To Katie, Raquel, Dara, Christopher and Dang:

Scout is very good in the canoe. She walks around on the Northwater Spandeck or she lies down. She swims to shore when she has to go to the bathroom.

It is only hard to steer the canoe in strong wind or strong current. Otherwise our MN III is a fantastic and stable craft. We are totally pleased with it!

We’ve never gotten lost. We have great maps which we follow closely and a GPS which we can use if we get confused.

To Chelsea, Kayla, Nora and Christain:

We’re not too grossed out by the ticks – they are just a part of the experience. The bugs have not been bad at all and when they are, we’ve got out “Ultimate Bug Shirts” to ward them off.

Scout only jumps off the canoe when we are close to shore or when we give her permission to jump and swim. Once, however, we were talking to some fishermen in a boat and she jumped into their boat! She likes to meet new people as much as we do, I guess. She just has slightly different methods.

Thank you for your words of encouragement.

To Mr. K:

Thanks for your letter, kind words and treats! We’ve not forgotten about Dooger Day! When the time is right, it will happen.

Have a blast at the State Fair. It is the one thing that will be very hard for Norah and me to miss this year. Take pictures if you can! – Mark

Greetings and thanks to all students, young and old, who are following our expedition.




Mark Writes
Day 59 – Ile-a-la-crosse
1241 miles so far
August 12, 2002

Norah and I have been blessed with a great opportunity. Four months to travel across Canada with only our dog and our canoe. Our school districts – Minnetonka and Hopkins – were accommodating enough to give us nearly two months in the fall – allowing us to complete this epic adventure in a single season. In many ways it has been exactly what we expected - rugged wilderness, big rivers, lakes, rock – and there have been surprises – amazingly kind people, a month of hot sunny days off the start, the number and variety of birds and the wind.

Our very tight itinerary allows for the occasional delay. We’ve taken into account towns we might stop in – the early Arctic ice pack freeze up time, the date (October 21st) that we need to return to work, the dates of our resupply our level of fitness at t various points in the trip and even being wind bound from time to time. Paddling hard, we once logged a frustrating 6-1/2 miles in 3 hours. In good conditions, we might go 12 or more in that amount of time and our schedule demands it.

We woke as early as we could and paddled until just before dark, often not having time to write in our journals until midnight. In the process the trip became all work. The Churchill is beautiful and we had a tough time taking it all in.

The peak of it all came when we ran into a few fishermen. We talked to them for 10 or 15 minutes and, as we paddled away, we realized we’d been complaining – the current…the wind…It was a beautiful day with a steady wind and unbelievable scenery. We are on the trip of our dreams. There was no reason to complain. We wanted to be having more fun in the moment to moment, bur we could put up with hard work like this for another few weeks. The problem was that, although we were pushing our bodies to the limit, we were not making the miles. We deliberated out options. For days we did this. None were good.

We’d decide to get a ride and then second guess ourselves. We’d decide to push on and we’d have a good day and then be held to a standstill by wind the next. Back to the ride, but no, perhaps not.

Finally, taking in all the factors – time, miles, number of hours in a day, number of days we had to work with, strong upstream current – we opted to ride – not far at all, just enough to put us back on schedule so that our daily hard work can pay off, so that on the water we can feel proud rather than frustrated that we couldn’t make our bodies go one or two more.

Our trip is not yet over and there is still much hard work ahead. On the big map of our trip, this ride would be covered up by a finger. We still have thousands of miles left to paddle. We still win. But we’re sad, too. Perhaps if we had unlimited time it could all go as planned, but there is still wind. There is always wind.

Someday we’ll return to paddle this little skipped section. We’ll paddle though mile upon miles of the Hauldrin marshes with their miles up on miles of basketball sized rocks, making camping – or even stopping – all but impossible. Today, however, we’ll sleep well. Back on schedule. Ready to work hard tomorrow. Still living out a dream. Still working towards a goal. Still enjoying life in Canada’s wilderness. Still doing all these things. Grateful for the opportunity.



Norah writes,
August 13
Day 61 – Macbeth Channel, Churchill River

Rain! The pitter patter continues tonight on our tent. It’s cozy in here, but outside everything is wet – boots, socks, raingear, packs, silverware, gorp, the bugstuff – everything! Rain is not my strong suit. Mark functions normally in the rain, but I lose patience with being wet.

Our rain-proof stuff is working, though. Raincoats, drybags, and tent have kept everything in them dry. But at some point you have to open the dry bags in the rain, and things get wet.

I sound like I am complaining and I don’t mean to. Camping is just easier when it’s not cold and rainy. I have a feeling, however, that I had better get used to this weather!

The rain today was misty most of the time, but we got some serious downpours. It was quite beautiful, actually, and the multitudes of birds made it magical. Long lines of cormorants flew toward us all day, along with pelicans. Terns were diving from high above for food. Ducks and ducklings were abundant and loons called all day long. We traveled 24 miles or so in the wet bird world and then camped on a sandy beach and made a big fire to warm up. And we ate a whole pound of pasta tonight, which actually filled us up! We are gong to buy more in town so that we can increase our portions to pound each.

We had our first hail of the trip on our way out of Ile a la Crosse yesterday evening. We pulled over in time to whip up our tent and avoid being out in the thunderstorm. In the night, we were visited by 3 or 4 dogs. Scout woke up and we caught her before she burst through the tent. Not in time to avoid having my face stepped on though.

The dogs were probably from Ile a la Crosse – it’s not unusual to see packs of 2-6 dogs roaming around. We haven’t yet seen a dogfight and they seem to get along with each other. They are very anxious about Scout - sometimes 3 or 4 will some over and sniff her at the same time. Poor Scout! She holds her own though, and doesn’t get pushed around.

We haven’t had her wear her life jacket as often lately and she’s become a good swimmer without it. She has taken to jumping off of the canoe 25 feet out and swimming to shore, running for a bit and then swimming back. Mark’s trying to get her to sit behind him in the canoe but she fell off today in the choppy waves. She doesn’t seem to like it so much anymore, even though we scooped her up right away. We love having her along. She keeps us warm at night and is such a great source of entertainment in the day!

We’ve been in two towns since I last wrote, Pinehouse and Ile a la Crosse. Pinehouse was small and nice, with colorful houses, mostly on Pinehouse Lake. Everyone there was really helpful. The RCMP helped us find a taxi service and our driver, Henry Smith, was kind enough to wait while we grabbed some lunch-to-go at the café. He told us lots of interesting things on the drive, about himself and the town. He actually grew up outside of the town and would take his dog team into town for school. He works for the health services, driving folks back and forth from Pinehouse to the clinics in Ile a la Cross, and even the 5 hour drive to Saskatoon. He told us about the history of the area and the lake, which used to be called Snake Lake. He was very helpful and fun to talk with.

In Ile a la Crosse, we had a hard time finding a cash machine but were finally able to pay Henry for the ride. We picked up more food there, including a box of Zup’s beef jerky from my mom. Yum! We also got more crackers and tried to re-register our shotgun – rather a confusing process. We ended up camping on the lawn of a B & B outside of town. We met a nice woman named Mona, who was caretaking. She told us her tales from living in the Canadian bush for 20-odd years, suggested that we stop at the fall fishing camps and that we sleep with our gun in our tent. She was very hospitable.

On the Canadian hot roast beef sandwich with fries and gravy tour, Ile a la Crosse ranked pretty high. The Lakeshore Café (the only restaurant in town) was delicious and complete with pie, ice cream and coffee. We rolled out of there, packed up and paddled in the first sun of the day (it had drizzled all day!) until we were met by a hailstorm that brought is to a stop.

We will be happy to see the sun again. On my trip in the Brooks Range of Alaska in 1997, my fellow campers and I did not see the sun for 10 days. Not a glimpse. I hop ewe don’t; have the same experience now! Good humor is about the only way to endure such conditions, and so far we have it!

We also have drive – the Clearwater River, and all the downstream travel that follows it, are a good reason to get up on misty mornings. And, spending a couple of days in Fort McMurray with Mark’s dad and Patricia sounds great! We’re looking forward to it.

Last, I should mention that the Rainbow Ridge B & B in Ile a la Crosse looks like a cozy place to spend some time if you pass through.

We’ll update again when we can. Until then, take care!



Email from John Scanlan
August 22

Norah called last night from Methye Portage, the 12 mile monster portage. (It is pronounced 'pour-taahge' in Canada.) They were part way across the portage and will finish it today. She reports that they were both very tired. It is grueling work. Apparently there is evidence that 4 wheelers use the track. Before starting, they agreed that they wouldn't accept help if it came along. By the end of the day they were hoping someone would come along, but no one did. 4 more days and they will reach Height of Land, and start down river


Mark and Norah Garrison
Trans-Canada Canoe Expedition
236 Courtland Street
Excelsior, MN 55331
(952) 380-9727
garrison@paddlenorth.org
www.paddlenorth.org