Mother Nature has the Final Word - ROUGHROCK LAKE - Day Sixty Four

ROUGHROCK LAKE - Day Sixty Four

Of course on the days you plan to go the farthest, it storms the hardest. By ten o'clock we were on shore watching super bright, fast bolts zip between the clouds above. While Erik didn't rate the thunder very high on his scale of epic-ness, the cracks were enough to make me jump. Soaking wet once the clouds moved past, we continued onwards with a new East wind, a fantastic addition to the current.

We planned to make up some ground with a shortcut we were shown on the maps before leaving Kenora. It was a 3km channel on the east side of an island instead of going 7-8km along the south and west sides. It appeared on the map that the island was connected to the mainland at the top of the channel, but apparently it was only a beaver dam, which we could pull our canoe over. So we made our way up the channel with the wind at our backs, and eventually arrived at the dam. We easily pulled our boat over, and continued onto Gun Lake. Except something wasn't right. The bays and points ahead of us didn't match what was on the map, and where there should have been islands ahead of us there was a large, grassy bog. As it turned out, the beaver dam was not what lay at the end of channel - it was actually a swamp. We were faced with the decision to turn around and backtrack 10km the other way around the island, or somehow get through the swamp, where we could see the expanse of Gun Lake just on the other side. We decided to tackle the marsh. We paddled in as far as we could, looking for a little stream that might wind its way through. No luck. So we got out onto the floating mats of grass and bog, and with synchronized heaves, slid our boat over the slick grass. Even though we sank up to our mid-shins with every step, we actually made better time than we expected, and before we knew it we were carrying our gear over a dried creek bed and onto the shore of the lake.

Nearing the end of a long day, there is always one thing we fear: our site being taken. Today, however, the company we found was a highlight of the summer. In the bay by the campsite we were welcomed by a whole family of beavers. While we only spotted three at first, they soon warmed to us and as many as eight were visible at one time swimming by our boat. We pulled up to shore in silence and delighted to see them go about their lives, completely ignoring our presence. A few of them dramatically slapped their tails on the lake - an awesome sight from such close proximity. Others popped their heads out from the lake to peek at us, and then swam a little closer with their eyes just above try surface staring our way.

The largest beaver spent the entire time eating. It was balanced on a branch in the water devouring the wood. Then it carried the branch back as it swam over to the rocky cliff they lived under, and continued to eat. The sound of four beavers having dinner at the same time could be heard well beyond the bay. It was incredible to just sit there and observe: their slick fur, their tails under the water, their teeth biting the trees, their eyes taking in our presence. What a way to end the day!!

After such excitement and 50km behind us since the sunrise, not even the lightning storm that appeared to be a strobe light above our tent could keep our eyes open another minute.