Day 1
Access #3
Magenetawen
Hambone
Ralph Bice
Little Trout
Queer
To the 1st camp site on the Tim River
approx. 7-miles paddling
2370 meters portaging


We woke up on our 1st day to some rain showers. The weather forecast showed rain all day then nice weather for the next 7-days. We wanted a good breakfast before we ventured out. so we headed downtown Huntsville for some pea meal bacon, eggs, pancakes and hash browns. Then off we went to the town of kearney.

In Kearney we picked up our camping permits at the park office and stop by to finalize our canoe rental. Our canoe would be waiting for us at access #3 chained to a tree. So off we went again

The farther away from Kearney we went the more out in the wilderness it felt. The park officer had warned us to watch out for turtles nesting and laying eggs on the way to the access point.It was drizzling but the temperature was very comfortable.

Well we hit the end of the pavement and now began the long drive down the gravel road. We where driving my sons car which is low to the ground and had no mud flaps on it so our speed was pretty slow. Some spots in the road where
nice and smooth then all of a sudden you hit the shutter bumps which about shake your teeth out.

Wasn't long before we started spotting the turtles. In some spots they where everywhere. Farther down the road we spotted a giant bull moose with an impressive rack running through the woods. Wow we thought that thing was big. Then just a little farther as we are approaching some water next to the road a moose jumps out of the water just in front of the car. If not for hitting the brakes I think we would have hit it. I'm not sure who was more surprised us or the moose.

In just a few more minutes we arrived to the access point. There was only two other vehicles at the access point. It's still drizzling which it ended up doing all day. We where instantly attacked by mosquito's as we got out of the car. Deet and head nets ended up being our friend on this day and many others.

Now the true test began. After all the months of planning and packing will all this stuff fit into the canoe. I was surprised when it actually worked. The pack with the 2-barrels and dry bag attached to the backpack frame fit across the canoe. The other pack fit just in font of the Yoke. We finished up packing and preparing the canoe. We donned our rain gear and off we went.

Honestly we have not canoed in some time so I felt a little unstable at first till we both adjusted ourselves to the canoe and rowing.

Just a short paddle and we found our 1st of many portages today. This was a short 160 meter portage so this will be our trial portage to see if we can do it. The goal from the beginning was to single portage to save time. My son carried the barrels and dry bag at around 70lbs and I carried the canoe 1-pack and the misc gear we attached to the canoe. So mine weighed in around 80lbs. I have never carried a canoe on my shoulders let alone carry it with a backpack.


My sons pack was heavy so I would have to lift the pack up so he could get strapped in before I could put my pack on and throw the canoe on my shoulders. I'm sure we looked clumsy at 1st but by the end of our trip we had turned into a well oiled machine during our portages.

We made it to Ralph Bice Lake with 2-portages under our belt and it felt good. The load was heavy but it seemed manageable to us now. We had taken off from the access point about the same time as 2 other people in kayaks. We passed them up on our second portage. Once onto Hambone they headed for a different portage. So when we reached Ralph Bice we where completely by ourselves. This is what we had hoped for. To be the only ones on a lake. Oh how quiet it was just nature. Even though it was raining it did not spoil it for us. It was so peaceful.

Ralph Bice was the largest lake we would travel today. We decided to do a little trolling while we paddled. I have never fished for trout so this would be all new to us. I had stocked up on lures before the trip but most of them where smaller. My son choose a larger spoon at Canadian tire the night before and decide to use it. I used one of our smaller spoons. We let out quite a bit of line on both poles.



We started paddling enjoying the beauty of the area. Before long I watched Matt's pole start bending. He grabbed the pole and started to fight the fish. I reeled mine in and tried to keep the canoe steady. The fish seemed to be straight down below the canoe. Then all of a sudden his line went limp. I thought he lost the fish but it turned out the line snapped and we lost the fish and his only big spoon. We where both bummed, that could have been a nice snack. We tried fishing some after that but did not get any other bites.

We reached the end of Ralph Bice to a longer 440 meter portage to Little trout lake. We could feel the weight more on this portage. Little trout is a smaller lake which we paddled pretty quickly. Very quiet and relaxing except for the seagulls dive bombing us. We got to the next portage to Queer lake then a short paddle to the long portage of the day.

A couple days before our trip began we changed our trip plans for the 1st day. We wanted to get the long portage to the Tim river behind us instead of waiting till the next morning Our camp site for tonight would be the 1st campsite on the Tim river. We reached the long portage to the Tim. We loaded up and off we went. This portage started out going up hill. We are still waring rain gear and our bug nets over our heads. So I'm starting to sweat and huff and puff. The portage was muddy so I slipped and fell with the canoe. This didn't help. My shoulders where getting sore from the canoe digging in. I ended up going about 500 meters before I had to stop. My son was feeling it also. As we rested we decided that maybe it was best if we doubled portaged this long one. We lighted up my sons load and I just carried my backpack. So we started off again. This portage seemed so long. We had both removed our rain pants by now since we both sweating. The trail was still muddy and the bushes where wet. We reached the end and started back to pick up the rest of the gear. We loaded my sons remainder of his load and I carried the canoe. I had to stop on the way again. The canoe was digging into my shoulders. I'm now wishing I had bought the canoe yoke pad in Hunstville. I'm wondering what have we got ourselves into. After a short breather the canoe seemed fine for about 400 meters till it started digging in again. We reached the end and where both whipped. The bugs where still out in force so we loaded up quickly and got on the Tim river.

It was now about 7:30 and we still had to find our campsite and eat dinner. I was warned about the twisting and turning of the tim river plus all the beaver damns. wasn't long before we hit a beaver damn then another and another. I was starting to get worried about finding our camp site. The beaver damns and log jams where slowing us down. It was now after 8:30 before we finally spotted the campsite.




The park officer had suggested getting your fire started 1st to keep the bugs down. I put Matt in charge of starting a fire. Everything was wet but he found some dry tinder and got the fire started pretty quickly. I got the tent set up as he got some coals going for dinner. It was starting to get dark. The bugs seemed to have let up some So I started a dinner of steaks and garlic mashed potatoes. We finally sat back enjoyed dinner and reflected on our 1st day. The whole time knowing we where out in the middle of nowhere all by our selves except for the frogs.