Day 0
Saturday 08/17
Sharon: We awake to the sound of the rain hitting the tent. For this day Rick takes out our rain gear for it’s not going to let up. One by one we meet our fellow canoeists in the campground, some already packing it up. To do health rules you descend down the wet slope to the dock on the lake. On the way, I notice an abundance of Wild Sarsaparilla growing under the trees. I check for berries underneath, but forget if they are edible or not, leaving them be. It’s not long before we are all packed up and drive north to Missinipe.
Rick and Mike in rain gear
Peter: We all arrived at Missinipe at about 10.00 o'clock in the morning, in steady rain. Because of the rain and a very low overcast the Osprey Wings planes were not flying.
Peter went down to the dock to look at the Beaver
We hung around in the rain, every so often checking with Osprey Wings and sat in the restaurant for long stretches.
Our early flight on Saturday was cancelled because of heavy rain and fog. Mike and Peter rent a canoe in town. At the local hotel we have breakfast and coffee staying until 1:00 to see if we could fly out. But the weather had not changed much, for the fog seemed to be getting worse on the lakefront.
At 4 pm Osprey Wings said we would not be flying out that
day, so we decided to camp for the night. We
drove the few kilometers to the Otter Rapids
campsite and set up the tents in the rain with a big blue tarp over the kitchen
area.
Sandy, Sharon and Brent in 'the kitchen'
We
then decided to set up camp at Otter Rapids a short drive North.
Four tents set in the trees and a tarp over the campfire, allow us to
move about keeping dry. It is Rick
and my turn to cook the first supper. We
brought Souvlaki, fresh peas, carrots, corn on the cob and baked potatoes. Rick and I were willing to carry this fresh food only for the
first day. As on other canoe trips,
Brent made our favorite fried bread to go along with the meal.
With the weather letting up, I walk along the power line close by,
picking wild blueberries to set aside for pancakes in the morning.
I walk the trail to the bottom of Otter Rapids for a cool swim. While swimming Rick decided to swim Otter Rapids
starting at the top. The water
level is high this year because of all the rain we’ve had.
The waves are huge and the water powerful; both gave Rick trouble as he
swam. He also worried of being
drawn into the white mass of water on the right side.
Rick fighting hard to swim onto the left, plus there was wave after wave.
Timing to take a breath of air had to be perfect or you took in water.
On the bridge over looking the rapids, our group watched him fight the
waves and it didn’t look like much fun. Other
years he swam Otter Rapids, there was quite the enjoyment of swimming them. The
current took Rick to the left and as he came closer towards the bottom, he swam
into the eddy. It wasn’t much fun
this time, but he made it. While
enjoying my swim I look out to see a man swimming into the eddy and think,
“Gee this guy looks familiar”, as Rick acknowledges his arrival.
I think quickly “Darn I missed the whole thing”.