Revisiting the Queen - Part 2

The other option - heading up Coburn Creek

The decision may have seemed nuts, but it's not like I was heading up Coburn Creek blindly. Based on the topo map, (despite the fact they are dated) it clearly showed water flowing down from the lake to where we were. There was a big marsh midway, of which I couldn't be certain whether it had closed in after all these years, but I figured it couldn't be as bad as the ATV trails. I hoped. If it was, I knew it would definitely be more exciting than trudging down a dusty trail. More importantly, the water levels were up from last year, so I figured the chances would be better than ever to make this attempt to Coburn Lake.

Coburn Marsh was actually easy to get through

I couldn't ignore the questions or feelings of doubt as we set out. Especially since Anita was making sarcastic remarks of how I always get us into interesting dilemmas. I figured as a back up, if worse comes to worse, we could just head back the way we came. When the waterway quickly narrowed and resulted in us man-handling the canoe, my doubt started to grow in earnest, but we eventually got to a beaver dam that thankfully gave us a platform to paddle again. I was then relieved when we surprisingly got through the marsh  fairly easy. Well, that is until we accidentally took a wrong turn. 

Which way? Her guess was as good as mine, but in the

end, it was wrong either way.

What we thought was a deeper wider channel, slowly narrowed and saw us squished tight between alders. We obviously couldn't paddle any more, and had to resort to balancing on tenuous mats of bog as we dragged the canoe through. It was soon obvious that things were going from challenging to out right ridiculous. We couldn't even see where we were heading due to the dense vegetation, or where we may end up. Out came the GPS, and not surprising, it told us we were definitely going the wrong way. So back we went, hauling the canoe backwards, occasionally dropping deep into the abysmal black swamp waters. We then headed up the correct channel, despite being shallow and having logs strewn across it, and ended up at the base of a small set of rapids. From here, we bushwhacked approx 150m and were ecstatic to emerge from the forest to witness the gorgeous blue waters of Coburn Lake. We made it! The plan paid off and we were thrilled to have finally arrived at this elusive lake. Not everyone would agree to my route choice, but despite the few struggles, I enjoyed this route much better than slogging down an ATV trail.

As you can clearly see, THIS was the right way!

This roundabout way to get to Clear Lake was totally worth it. Coburn and Little Coburn Lake is gorgeous, and I'm so glad I passed through this way to see them. I can't wait to come back to this area and spend more time here, but for now, we continued on to Clear Lake. Locating this portage also took a bit of time, as we assumed the trail was further in the marsh, but had to back track and found it was another ATV trail at the north end of the lake. Once on Clear Lake, the skies overhead started to darken as big clouds moved in. As it was also late in the day, and the route to Scrabble Lake from the marsh north of us was not a recommended route, (Guess which way we are going?) I thought it was wise to call it quits for the day, especially since I put Anita through enough for one day. We made camp on the big island in the middle of Clear Lake.

We finally made it to Coburn Lake. What a relief!

The next morning, we headed straight for the marsh - yet again. Since we already had information on the difficulty of getting through this way, I was hoping the elevated water levels would somewhat make it easier. Of course we could have gone the more typical way of portaging out of Clear Lake on the west side, but what fun is that? Besides, the route through the marsh seemed the most logical way to get to Scrabble Lake (assuming it was passable) and I was determined to find it. We were soon privy to the difficulties that lay ahead. First off, there were the generous placement of slippery logs beneath the shallow dark waters that made for some tough liftovers. The beaver dam that appeared gave us some hope, but that quickly faded as the alders choked us out. Despite pushing down several leads, they all closed in tightly, and with it, signs of water. I was literally at the brink of defeat. 

Storm clouds and rain moving our way on Clear Lake. And
yes, there was a rainbow before the rain hit us!

I could see the ridge in the not-too-far distance and knew getting there was the key to Scrabble Lake. I even considered portaging, but I knew trying to navigate through the alder filled marsh with floating bog mats would be both challenging and a scary proposition, especially as my wife has a fear of falling into a bottomless bog. (Don't we all?!) One look at her face was all it took to know that that proposition was off the table. Out of options and frustrated, I decided to make one last push, barring this, we would turn back. I decided to head closer to the east shoreline (despite the lack of water) and figured if we couldn't make progress through the marsh, we could always portage along it. Anita was on board, and away we went.

Heading into the marsh to search for the elusive

 passage to Scrabble Lake

Hauling and dragging the canoe back and forth was a lot of work. However, I think Teddy, our poodle, was working just as hard trying to keep on all four legs. The harsh rocking motion, including pitching from front to back or side to side, ultimately challenged his sense of balance. Also, Anita's fear of the bog extended to Teddy, which meant he was totally forbidden from jumping out of canoe, despite wanting to escape the portable earthquake machine. It was then no surprise, when he ventured too close to the gunwale one time, he found himself unceremoniously dumped in the murky waters. A mother's instinct is a powerful thing. I never saw Anita move so fast, as she pulled him out before I could say anything. I sometimes wonder what would happen if I fell in? Hmmmmm?

Out of the shadows and into the light  - of Scrabble Lake

Mission accomplished

We pushed on slowly, making progress canoe length by canoe length. Unexpectedly, it actually got better as the vegetation parted and more water appeared. In fact, we even got to paddle briefly, until we came to a high beaver dam. That would explain the low water levels on our side, but it seemed promising up top. The big liftover brought us up to another marsh. From here, we thought we would have to paddle through it, as it exits out as the east end of Scrabble Lake, but we didn't. Looking north, we could clearly see a narrow channel of water extending out to what looked to be open water. We couldn't believe our luck and checked the map to confirm what we were seeing. A short paddle through the shallow waterway had us basking in the sun and blue waters of Scrabble Lake. Success!

The views along the way to Scrabble Mountain were better

than the one at the summit. Go figure!

That day was a short one, to reward us for our hard work getting to Scrabble Lake. We found a prime campsite on a island on the NE side of the lake and quickly set up camp. The only other calorie burning activity we took part in, was hiking up to the peak of Scrabble Mountain, also the highest point on the Ganaraska Trail. The walk up had some scenic lookouts along the way, but surprisingly, the summit was a bit of a let down. Other than a cairn/memorial to mark the highest point, the view was all but blocked by the surrounding trees. Instead of being wowed by a panoramic vista of the area, we instead took shelter in the shade to get away from the intense heat and rehydrate ourselves. After our break and a few cursory snapshots to say we were there, we headed back down to our cozy island campsite.

Our nice island campsite where I hatched the

plans for the next day.

This island site was a great way to end the day, where I went for a nice swim to cool down and Anita got to relax and read her Kobo. As the sun began to set and I pulled out the map to look over our route for the next day, I had a eureka moment. I put on my best smile and called Anita over. She already knew something was up, as she could read my face. She saw through me and sarcastically said, "Now what?" I told her I had a brilliant idea and found another possible route back down to Fishog Lake through Digby Creek. She soon realized on the map that more than half of my intended route had not been travelled by anyone before. Yup, she gave me the look alright!

Yes, I do believe there is a Part 3!

tPP

Revisiting the Queen - Part 1

After my first canoe trip through Queen Elizabeth Wildlands 2 Provincial Park last year, I came back with mixed feelings. There was enough wilderness in the park that intrigued me, but all the float planes and cabins put a damper on the enthusiasm. Even the name of the park was bizarre, as I couldn't understand the correlation. Yet despite this, the lure to go back was nagging at me. I decided another trip was in order to satisfy my curiosity, especially since I didn't get to see the east side of the park.

Setting off on Head Lake to 

revisit QEW2 PP

Since my trip (and the subsequent blog post), Brad Jennings of explorethebackcountry.com sent me a nice email and we have since corresponded several times. Brad and his father Wayne have continued to map potential routes in the park and have generously shared that information with the paddling community. This is great for adventurous paddlers like myself, looking for new routes to explore - with the other bonus being that the park is close by. I know there are other paddlers, especially Jeff McColl that has helped Brad with this work. So with the same mindset, I hope to assist him where I can with any pertinent information that could be added to their already informative map.

Getting the flavour of the park last time around, I was well prepared to expect the same conditions, if not worse, since I also wanted to venture a bit off the known routes this time. Brad informed me before I left, that some of the route I was taking was better signed and cleared this time. After starting from a different access point this year, H1 (on Brad's map) we paddled east across Head Lake and made our way into to Fishog Lake for the first night. It was a short day as we left after work and we wanted to rest up for the route that lay ahead. Little did we know, the adventures that laid before us.

Enjoying the light show with the setting

sun on Fishog Lake

The next morning, we headed out of Fishog Lake in a northeasterly direction. We were to follow a chain of portages that would get us into Red Boat, then Coburn, and eventually into Scrabble Lake. Needless to say, it didn't really pan out that way. (Does it ever?) True to Brad's words, the signs were there, but being late spring and what seemed to be the lack of paddlers through this area, there was still a lot of growth. This often times hid the pink flagging tape that was to be our guide, so we took out our pruner (Yes, they work amazing for clearing trail!) and saw, and cleared/reflagged the trail along the way.

Evidence of Brad & Wayne Jennings work

in the park with the portage signs

One notable portage that took us out of a pond and into a narrow creek had Anita questioning the logic of its take out. Only being 290m, it was wasn't very long, but the start was straight up a boulder strewn incline. Brad mentions it in his map, but despite the forewarning, it requires stamina going up and deft footwork balancing over and around boulders. I took it as status quo, being familiar with this kind of portage, but Anita wasn't impressed. I guess it didn't help that she was hauling more than half her body weight on her back. In any case, as this area is rimmed in by high granite, there really wasn't any alternatives - yet.

Scrambling up the steep pitch of boulders

Travel-wise, on the water and off, it went fairly smoothly. Actual trail time took longer than usual, only because I was doing moderate trail maintenance and re-flagging as we went along. We had lunch on Red Boat Lake, before setting off on a 650m portage on ATV trails to Coburn Lake. It was supposed to be a straight forward carry; supposed to be. ATV trails are pretty evident, like how can you miss the furrows created from their big wheels? Also, we had to turn right at the Y-split, otherwise, we would end up on the 950m portage to Clear Lake. We started with hardly a second thought, as we knew exactly which way to go and and figured we would soon be on Coburn Lake.

Anita catching her breath at the top of the climb.

Can you tell she was thinking

happy thoughts?

I have to say, I hate following ATV trails. They don't go from point A to B in the most efficient way, much like an actual portage trail would. I don't want to go snaking from one side to the other, nor go up and down inclines, because I have a gas-powered engines to effortlessly get me there. I know at times, they do have to go around obstacles, but just like paddling through oxbows, you realize you just travelled double the distance. Not to begrudge the trail fun factor for ATV's, but do that with a pack and canoe on your back, it isn't fun. Give me the fastest point from one body of water to the next, without scaling Everest, much like how the First Nations people did it. Am I asking too much?

The Coburn Creek crossing - Teddy 

prefers shuttle service

Signage in terms of the faded pink survey tape was sparse at best. I think I saw maybe two strips? I'm sure Brad, nor anyone else bothered much with signage, as the ATV trails should have been somewhat self-explanatory. The little I did see gave me confidence we were going the right way, despite thinking we should have arrived at the lake by now. As Anita and I were doing one and a half carries, I sent her on ahead as I went back for the canoe. When I finally caught up with her, she was crossing a wide creek. At this point I knew for a fact, we were way beyond the 650m distance, if not double, but a wide creek crossing too? It was definitely still an ATV trail, with the purposeful rock placement in the creek. We put our stuff down after crossing and I pulled out the GPS that I was using for the first time. According to the map I printed, we actually do cross Coburn Creek. It seemed we were lower down based on the GPS, but because I had scribbled the approximate line of the portage on the topo map, I really couldn't be sure. It certainly seemed we were in the right place, but the distance travelled seemed awfully wrong.

Anita and Teddy recovering at the Coburn Creek crossing - 

this after our long fruitless march

 along ATV trails

You know when you get the feeling something is wrong, but some of the interpreted information is correct, you force the unknown to make sense? This not only makes you feel better, but makes the illogical, logical again. I now assumed the 650m distance was actually from the Y split, so the actual length of the portage was much longer. Ta-daaa! All fixed! So off we went, continuing along the ATV trail, thinking the lake would appear soon. I sensed we were heading in the wrong direction again, but the trail twisted and turned and soon had me flummoxed as to which direction we were actually headed. When again I was certain we were well passed the required distance, I pulled out my GPS and was shocked to find we were heading southeast, not north! Seeing my wife labour under the large pack as she came up yet another incline towards me, I thought I was going to be in BIG trouble.

Looking up Coburn Creek and optimistically

thinking THIS was the  key to getting

to Coburn Lake

Surprisingly, she was totally okay. After I took her pack off, and gave her water to drink, I explained the good news. I said with 110% confidence, that we were going the wrong way! She said she wasn't surprised. She sarcastically remarked that it was normal that I would take the longer and harder way around and laughed. (Phew! I thought I was going to become bear bait!) After a little break, we turned around and headed back to the Coburn Creek crossing. On the way back, with more than enough time to ruminate, I had devised the next plan of action. We would abandon the ATV trail and forge our own way to Coburn Lake - up Coburn Creek. Anita just shook her head.

Stay tuned for Part 2!