Nakina 2010
Aug 21, 2010 10:12:01 GMT -5
Post by traplines on Aug 21, 2010 10:12:01 GMT -5
2010 trip to Nakina
I was looking forward to this year’s trip to Nakina for more than one reason. Three days/nights of paddling and camping on the Vanderbeck’s routes were planned; as well on this trip, I had plans of flying over the trap line and getting some video. Also, in the book, Jim owned a 12 gauge double barrel shot gun. For those of you who check out the TLN web site regularly, you might remember Harold Leece’s story about having worked with Lindsay Vanderbeck and of buying a shot gun and a 16’canoe off Lindsay. This started me thinking - what were the chances of Jim and Lindsay both owning a double barrel shot gun? Certainly possible, but I was betting that this was the same gun that was in the book. My guess is that when Jim and Lindsay returned from the war, Jim never returned to the way of life he once had, while Lindsay did, and so Lindsay ended up with the shot gun. I therefore called Harold Leece and asked him if the shot gun he owned happened to be a 12 gauge double barrel – he confirmed that it was and so I made the arrangements to buy it. Harold Leece stated that he bought the gun off Lindsay in 1964 or 1965. Online research shows that Stevens built the model 5100 shot gun between 1931 and 1941, although there are not any serial numbers on the gun so it cannot be tracked to see exactly what date it may have been built.
On Aug 9, 2010 my wife Christine, daughter Julie and I arrived in Nakina. We stayed two nights with Grant and Arlene Mackie at Northland Outfitters. Grant and Arlene are two amazing people. The lodge which is their home is full of artefacts and antiques - many pertinent to the Vanderbeck era. To remind, the Vanderbecks at one time owned Northland Outfitters (a photo of their sign is being posted on the website). The Mackies gave me a green painted box that the Vanderbecks and Emile Cote would have used (possibly as a grub box), that came with the business. They also gave me copies of nine letters from Stephen Meader to Jim Vanderbeck, dated from 1935 to 1936, which was very generous of them. Watch for these letters, as I will be posting them. Grant and Arlene have put the business up for sale if you’re interested in owning an outfitting business in the far north.
On Aug 12 we boarded a Cessna 185 float plane flown by Jamie of Leuenberger Air ways. We took off from Cordingley Lake, flying over Cranberry River, Poplar Lake, Grave Lake and Hoff Lake, down the Pennock River system past where Jim ended his line on the Pennock River. Next we flew back up Porcupine River, over Porcupine Lake and over to Waba Lake and over the cabin site. The flight wrapped up as we flew back to Nakina following the route the Vanderbecks used. We went over the High Hill Climb, over the L-shaped Lake which follows the long-carry route back to Poplar Lake. This was very exciting for me!! The surrounding lakes and rivers were visible, including Sucker, Loon, Whitefish and Beaver Lakes. It was clear, from the air, the wheres and whys the Vanderbecks had to make certain portages. Some of the portages had to be made because of a lack of water, rather than swift rapids. I was able to record all this via video camera and I will be talking with Matt to see how we could get some of the footage on to the web site. Also visible from the air was the logging that has taken place and all the logging roads which have been established in the area. The highlight of this year’s Traplines North trip, it was a one hour tour, with an approximate cost of $600 (be warned - this cost does not include the copious quantities of ginger ale Julie had to consume to banish the lingering airsickness for the rest of the day…..).
Julie and I drove out to Hoff Lake, after putting Christine on the train to visit friends (Julie still so airsick at that point she could not even look as the train was clacking along in the railyard), and carried the canoe and equipment down a narrow trail to the Lake. The canoe sat low in the water as we paddled past where Pennock River enters Hoff Lake, where the boys put in their fishnet, and down the lake. We were looking for a camping site and hoping for perfection, which is fairly easy to find in northern Ontario - it’s really just a matter of whether or not you can land a canoe without dumping it, at said site of perfection. But we found our spot, on a very small island which was just across from the point where the Indian boy is buried. The landscape of the Canadian Shield is a sight to behold. And treacherous to navigate, especially when water levels are low. Big slabs of rock are beautiful, but surprisingly unforgiving as you canoe into or over them (Julie agreed to consider a 12 step navigation program as she kept getting swept away in the majesty of the surroundings, although she states that she only ran us aground when the canoe was not fully loaded and so therefore not in any real danger of tipping and that everyone on the website can thank her navigation skills for the videos of the trip which have been posted.) As we landed the canoe and walked up to investigate our new camp you can imagine the surprise when we saw a picnic table sitting there! We had a view of the whole lake with only the loons and the gulls and a lone sparrow to keep us company. We set up camp with the intention to day trip to all the places we wanted to see.
The next day, the 13th, we canoed back to where Sucker Lake emptied in to Hoff Lake. We had hoped to canoe to Sucker Lake but it was not possible without portaging the canoe through some very thick bush. Sucker Lake (now Stairs Lake) is also accessible by road. We enjoyed our lunch sitting on the rocks by the base of rushing rapids. We could have pulled the canoe up the rapids and only have gotten wet up to our knees but perhaps another year. What a beautiful little spot it was though. I did a little fishing on the way back to camp and although the lake is full of small mouth bass we caught jack fish (or northern pike.) Dredged in flour and fried over the fire in butter, they sure tasted good. We sat by the fire enjoying the evening and listening to the call of the loons.
The following day, the 14th, we paddled down to the foot of Hoff Lake where the river leaves the lake. The water level this year was lower than two years ago. We saw no fur bearers, but we did see lots of otter sign. We put on a few miles that day and were happy to finally get back to camp. We spent another beautiful evening by the fire listening to the loons. The best part about this year’s trip was that there were NO bugs! There were a lot of little black wasps and the spruce trees had a constant hum of activity to them but we did not bother them and they did not bother us.
On the morning of the 15th , we broke camp and headed for the truck. Being fully loaded once more, the rock spotting was fantastically done. (Really, who puts a big rock in the middle of a lake, anyway?) We camped on Cordingley Lake that night and on the 16th headed out to pick Christine up for the drive home to Saskatchewan. Early one morning, a pair of wolf pups about the size of a grown dog were crossing the highway. We had to stop as one of the pups stopped in the middle of the highway. We had obviously just missed their mother.
And so ends another fantastic trip to Nakina and back to the past. I am already thinking about a kayak trip next year. With kayaks we would not have to portage as we could get out and pull them through shallow water and we could run rapids we might not be able to with a canoe. A trip all the way from Cordingley Lake all the way down Pennock River to the Little Current River is in the works and so until next year, hopefully.
Russ Kerr
I was looking forward to this year’s trip to Nakina for more than one reason. Three days/nights of paddling and camping on the Vanderbeck’s routes were planned; as well on this trip, I had plans of flying over the trap line and getting some video. Also, in the book, Jim owned a 12 gauge double barrel shot gun. For those of you who check out the TLN web site regularly, you might remember Harold Leece’s story about having worked with Lindsay Vanderbeck and of buying a shot gun and a 16’canoe off Lindsay. This started me thinking - what were the chances of Jim and Lindsay both owning a double barrel shot gun? Certainly possible, but I was betting that this was the same gun that was in the book. My guess is that when Jim and Lindsay returned from the war, Jim never returned to the way of life he once had, while Lindsay did, and so Lindsay ended up with the shot gun. I therefore called Harold Leece and asked him if the shot gun he owned happened to be a 12 gauge double barrel – he confirmed that it was and so I made the arrangements to buy it. Harold Leece stated that he bought the gun off Lindsay in 1964 or 1965. Online research shows that Stevens built the model 5100 shot gun between 1931 and 1941, although there are not any serial numbers on the gun so it cannot be tracked to see exactly what date it may have been built.
On Aug 9, 2010 my wife Christine, daughter Julie and I arrived in Nakina. We stayed two nights with Grant and Arlene Mackie at Northland Outfitters. Grant and Arlene are two amazing people. The lodge which is their home is full of artefacts and antiques - many pertinent to the Vanderbeck era. To remind, the Vanderbecks at one time owned Northland Outfitters (a photo of their sign is being posted on the website). The Mackies gave me a green painted box that the Vanderbecks and Emile Cote would have used (possibly as a grub box), that came with the business. They also gave me copies of nine letters from Stephen Meader to Jim Vanderbeck, dated from 1935 to 1936, which was very generous of them. Watch for these letters, as I will be posting them. Grant and Arlene have put the business up for sale if you’re interested in owning an outfitting business in the far north.
On Aug 12 we boarded a Cessna 185 float plane flown by Jamie of Leuenberger Air ways. We took off from Cordingley Lake, flying over Cranberry River, Poplar Lake, Grave Lake and Hoff Lake, down the Pennock River system past where Jim ended his line on the Pennock River. Next we flew back up Porcupine River, over Porcupine Lake and over to Waba Lake and over the cabin site. The flight wrapped up as we flew back to Nakina following the route the Vanderbecks used. We went over the High Hill Climb, over the L-shaped Lake which follows the long-carry route back to Poplar Lake. This was very exciting for me!! The surrounding lakes and rivers were visible, including Sucker, Loon, Whitefish and Beaver Lakes. It was clear, from the air, the wheres and whys the Vanderbecks had to make certain portages. Some of the portages had to be made because of a lack of water, rather than swift rapids. I was able to record all this via video camera and I will be talking with Matt to see how we could get some of the footage on to the web site. Also visible from the air was the logging that has taken place and all the logging roads which have been established in the area. The highlight of this year’s Traplines North trip, it was a one hour tour, with an approximate cost of $600 (be warned - this cost does not include the copious quantities of ginger ale Julie had to consume to banish the lingering airsickness for the rest of the day…..).
Julie and I drove out to Hoff Lake, after putting Christine on the train to visit friends (Julie still so airsick at that point she could not even look as the train was clacking along in the railyard), and carried the canoe and equipment down a narrow trail to the Lake. The canoe sat low in the water as we paddled past where Pennock River enters Hoff Lake, where the boys put in their fishnet, and down the lake. We were looking for a camping site and hoping for perfection, which is fairly easy to find in northern Ontario - it’s really just a matter of whether or not you can land a canoe without dumping it, at said site of perfection. But we found our spot, on a very small island which was just across from the point where the Indian boy is buried. The landscape of the Canadian Shield is a sight to behold. And treacherous to navigate, especially when water levels are low. Big slabs of rock are beautiful, but surprisingly unforgiving as you canoe into or over them (Julie agreed to consider a 12 step navigation program as she kept getting swept away in the majesty of the surroundings, although she states that she only ran us aground when the canoe was not fully loaded and so therefore not in any real danger of tipping and that everyone on the website can thank her navigation skills for the videos of the trip which have been posted.) As we landed the canoe and walked up to investigate our new camp you can imagine the surprise when we saw a picnic table sitting there! We had a view of the whole lake with only the loons and the gulls and a lone sparrow to keep us company. We set up camp with the intention to day trip to all the places we wanted to see.
The next day, the 13th, we canoed back to where Sucker Lake emptied in to Hoff Lake. We had hoped to canoe to Sucker Lake but it was not possible without portaging the canoe through some very thick bush. Sucker Lake (now Stairs Lake) is also accessible by road. We enjoyed our lunch sitting on the rocks by the base of rushing rapids. We could have pulled the canoe up the rapids and only have gotten wet up to our knees but perhaps another year. What a beautiful little spot it was though. I did a little fishing on the way back to camp and although the lake is full of small mouth bass we caught jack fish (or northern pike.) Dredged in flour and fried over the fire in butter, they sure tasted good. We sat by the fire enjoying the evening and listening to the call of the loons.
The following day, the 14th, we paddled down to the foot of Hoff Lake where the river leaves the lake. The water level this year was lower than two years ago. We saw no fur bearers, but we did see lots of otter sign. We put on a few miles that day and were happy to finally get back to camp. We spent another beautiful evening by the fire listening to the loons. The best part about this year’s trip was that there were NO bugs! There were a lot of little black wasps and the spruce trees had a constant hum of activity to them but we did not bother them and they did not bother us.
On the morning of the 15th , we broke camp and headed for the truck. Being fully loaded once more, the rock spotting was fantastically done. (Really, who puts a big rock in the middle of a lake, anyway?) We camped on Cordingley Lake that night and on the 16th headed out to pick Christine up for the drive home to Saskatchewan. Early one morning, a pair of wolf pups about the size of a grown dog were crossing the highway. We had to stop as one of the pups stopped in the middle of the highway. We had obviously just missed their mother.
And so ends another fantastic trip to Nakina and back to the past. I am already thinking about a kayak trip next year. With kayaks we would not have to portage as we could get out and pull them through shallow water and we could run rapids we might not be able to with a canoe. A trip all the way from Cordingley Lake all the way down Pennock River to the Little Current River is in the works and so until next year, hopefully.
Russ Kerr
