Breakfast in Oshawa at the
5th Wheel. We were our usual selves (the poor waitress).Log of Dumoine River Trip August 1998.
Saturday|Sunday|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday| Friday |Saturday
A word from our fearless leader, Michel Lessard
Loaded Geoff's trailer.
Got the morning
schedule - Neil to hook up at 4:15am
- Pick up Alistair @ 4:25
- Pick up Kate at 4:30
- Pick up Lawrie @4:45
Sunday
4:25am - Where is
everybody?
4:30am - Neil arrives - no
trailer.
- Information that Geoff slept in - Best laid plans of
mice and men don't allow for kids!
4:45am -
Lawrie tries to get picked up by a couple of guys in a van.
4:55am
- Lawrie looks relieved when we show up.
5:20am
- We're on the road.
- The discussion in Neil's car (Geoff, Alistair,
Nancy) is revenge on children
i.e. visiting those who have moved out and leaving all their homes full of dirty
dishes.
Breakfast in Oshawa at the
5th Wheel. We were our usual selves (the poor waitress).
We had a lively lunch in Eganville and a gas stop at the drug store in Eganville and then on to Bradley Air Services, arriving somewhat later than planned.
A smooth flight in a Beaver pontoon plane dropped us off at Lac Benoit.
The scenery was magnificent
- even some trees with red leaves already, and our first sight of Riviere
Dumoine! There was some concern that all might not make it to Lac Benoit
today but our pilot pushed very hard and dropped the last canoe off just as
night fell.
Dinner was lasagna, sausages,
and a vegetarian rice dish.
Monday, August 17, 1998 by Neil
Woke to misty lake and clear sky. Had leisurely breakfast (eggs/sausage/oatmeal). Packed camp. Michel spoke about daily procedure and today's plans - practice strokes, a couple of rapids, and portage with campsite close after.
Started down river, portaged falls after doing rapid 8 & 9. I believe some people had problems on #9. My canoe did.
Proceeded down. Portaged "Canoe Eater" - very rough portage. Began to rain making rocks at exit of portage extremely slippery. I fell.
Could not find the camp we were planning to use. Forced to continue down going through various white water not expected due to the low water. Some people ran clean through. I think everyone at one time or other had problems. My canoe had major problems. Forced to line at least one rapid.
Finally got a campsite. On an island, I think. Where, I don't have a clue. Sharing site with two canoeists from Quebec. Refugee camp tent city. Set up just as dusk was falling. Everyone was scrambling.
We ate ham, beans, scalloped
potatoes, chicken soup, puddings.
Bed.
P.S. Everything is
wet.
Top of Page
Morning started @ approx. 6:45am with fire. Breakfast was a welcome stage of the cold breezy morning (pancakes, coffee bacon, oatmeal, orange juice, strawberry jam, & syrup). Campsite broken down approx. 10:30am, ready for the new day on the river.
French accent required for this next passage
Momma Mia! What a portage. Very difficult for beginners, halfway through a lovely challenging portage hazard for the more accomplished "Portagist" - 8 foot long sloped exposed rock face inviting you to fall directly into the raging river unless of course you are a sure footed mountain sheep. (Which of course, we are!...)
Several access points.
A - abominable. Be - "bore de
brave" C - catastrophic D - de end point. So we had lunch and
played. Several canoeists attempted various levels of difficulty.
One team decided to be at one with the canoe, however, canoes don't like to
swim.
Lunch . Chez Michel
Menu
Smoked Mussels/Salami/Bagels/Assorted
Vegetables/Fresh Fruit/Cheese - and more!
Cultural Interlude
Today's lesson courtesy of Michael
Roystonberg.
Bay-gul - (not bah
gel)
Shalom
Mazeltof
La'Hiem
Goya
Schmuck,
(only to be spoken in extreme frustration)
Flat water in afternoon featured a stunning rock face - ascended vertically and majestically from the water's edge to a height of more than 100 feet.
A couple of swifts, some flat water, some trolling led us to our very exclusive Island Haven Resort. Approximate time of arrival 16:00 Hr.. 4 pee em.
OK. So. Yadda yadda yadda. Great afternoon for swimming, some took advantage, some don't. Fish were caught, but the big one got away.
Steak dinner was great! Complete with Louie Armstrong. (a nice touch).
Many took advantage of the clear starry night before turning in for a POTENTIAL early rise time of 6 am.
* Note to newbies, "Do not park ye tent on sloped groundeth"
by
Michael & Brian
Top of Page
Sometime around 6:00 - 6:30
After going to bed with a clear
starry sky, we woke up to heavy mist & 
what looks like overcast
skies. Heavy condensation on the tents.
Surprisingly, everyone is up in about 20 minutes of each other and things swing into motion.
Breakfast of oatmeal, reheated flapjacks & french toast. Because of the overuse of the island, twos and threes trek across the narrows to find relief.
Greg showed us what the "wintergreen" plant looks like. Three shiny green leaves, about 3" - 4" above the ground with one or two leaves lower down the stem & sometimes a white "bell shaped" flower lower down as well. Crush the leaves & chew or make tea - the plant is prosperous through Ontario & Quebec's canoe country.
9:30
Though moving steadily, we don't get away
until 9:30am. The mist has given way to a clear blue sky -
cloudless. As the canoes depart the island, all that is left of the
morning's grayness is a low mist, clinging to the shorelines in the bays along
the side of the lake.
The lake is smooth as glass & the ripples of the lead canoes carve sparkling "V's" along the lakes.
We use the swift at the end of the lake to practice eddy turns. Paddling consisted of traversing lakes & running rapids between them.
Big Steel was the first (and only)
real challenge. We spent a good deal of time scouting & discussing
possible courses through the upper half of the rapid - the lower portion
offering a clear course around a dog leg left then a c1 swift to rock gardens
shallows either side of an island at the bottom. 
Each of us tried
the course we chose through the upper portion with varying degrees of
success.
Neil & Kate chose to line the upper portion out of concern for their canoe, then running the lower portion, took on some water leaning the wrong way, then broadside to a rock & then lost it. All of us were already through & waiting... waiting... at the bottom, wondering what was the holdup except for Brian & Mike who stayed to help them bail out the water and repack their canoes.
So we decided to set up lunch while waiting. Brian & Lawrie swam. We had stewed tomatoes, summer sausage, pita bread & the regular assortment of sliced fruit & vegetables.
What a beautiful stretch of river
this is. After lunch we continued gradually downhill with swifts & an
occasional short rapid - like "Z" now not much more than a Class I -
though most of it is
flat water. But the height of the pines along the shore, the steep
contours in places & the frequent downhill run made this a beautiful and
pleasant run.
After our second "break", rafted together, our civility dissolved into a wild water fight, no one escaping without a good soaking.
About 3:30 we pulled into another beautiful campsite - deciding Neil & Kate needed time to "dry out - on condition of an 8:00 departure tomorrow morning.
3:30 - 5:30
A relaxed time had by all in the afternoon
sun. Most went for a swim and in a few cases a much-needed
bath.
Neil and Kate concentrate on drying their gear.
I reflect today on age and time and things like that - you sometimes do that on your birthday - 47 years today! What a great birthday! Supper was fantastic once again, there was chicken over the grill, rice, salad and for dessert the requisite Vachcon cake (a fine substitute for a b'day cake).
Geoff, Alistair & Barry went on a short hike to contemplate the excellent fishing hole and the "Glens of Scotland" before returning to the campfire.
Michel initiated a game of "Guess what time the sun will clear the horizon"; the sunset was @ 7:23pm.
The evening concluded with bawdy
jokes and a few songs around the fire. No one played the harmonica very
well!!!
'My Paddle's
clear and bright ".."
Barry
Top of Page
Early: Time unknown due to no watch. After pulling off relatively early yesterday we've got to uphold our pledges to get on the river at a reasonable hour. Awoke to find the kitchen in high gear with bacon, oatmeal, and scrambled eggs underway. Something's definitely amiss here but I can't put my finger on it. Everything's being broken down and packed as breakfast is prepped. Most tents & sleeping gear is in the packs before we figure it out. NO COFFEE!! We're found out. Our weakness is coffee, our strength is our ability to mill about endlessly. The coffee goes on as breakfast comes off the grill and our now usual quota of 4 pots is cut back to 2. 8:02 and we're off the site in the now diminishing mist.
The first 4 km are paddled under overcast skies and bring us to Turner Rapids. The rapids are pretty straight forward but we take a few minutes to walk part of the shore and take a look at them before we descend them. There's also a beautiful privy behind the Zec cabin which is a welcome stop for some of us. After 45 minutes at Turner Rapid, we're all down dry, and continuing downstream on flat water with the occasional swift. After about 10 km. since breakfast we take out right amid the remnants of what was once an active logging chute. The rumbling beyond leaves no doubt that we've made Grand Chute.
Straight to business (not our usual
style), we quickly have all the gear and boats out of the water and begin the
portage to the base of the rapids. The portage is alleged to be a
kilometer but feels less when taking the main trail. The trail is well
used and with the exception of a couple of logs is obstacle free, dry and
smooth. The weather has changed to a light rain for the portage and last
30 minutes of this mornings paddling. 
After dropping the canoes at the
base of the rapids, we take the scenic route to retrieve our remaining
gear. To say anything of the beauty and power of Grand Chute would do
nothing to describe it. The rapid is about 1 km. long with walls as high
as 100'. The river spills through the canyon over numerous ledges and
chutes in excess of 10 meters. We walk through dried up souse holes and
look down onto pools which form 100 meter whirlpools each spring.
By the time we have all our gear to the end of the portage, we're into the early afternoon. A quick lunch at the portage of tortillas & refried beans, with cheese, and fresh fruit and we begin to paddle downstream once again. Within a kilometer we find a large campsite on the back side of a large island at the head of Lac Robinson. There are at least 2 other parties traveling the same route as us and campsites are few, so we keep most tents off to one side of the site anticipating that we may need to share the site should additional paddlers come by.
The first order of business is to
string a couple of tarps in the cooking area, as the rain is now falling
heavily, as it did as we departed Grand Chute. Just prior to the first
heavy rain, the high altitude clouds all overlapped one another in wavy bands
that gave the appearance of foothills with mountains beyond.
After setting up the site we had dinner of pan-fried salmon steaks with pasta (either fettacine or primavera, I'm not sure which, if either) and coleslaw made from fresh red cabbage. Tasty stuff! Brian treated us to his famous fish oil soup. Unfortunately it was all gone before I was able to get a cup.
Despite the rain it's been a good day on the river. We've managed to make up a bit of the distance that we've lost over the last few days. Looks like we'll be holding back the coffee again tomorrow, until breakfast is well underway and the tents start breaking down. A few more km's need to be made up.
Paul
Today's words of wisdom: it's all good down in the hood!
Nanc
6:00 We woke up to a warm overcast morning. By the time I dragged myself out of our tent the fire was made, water and more importantly for the majority, coffee was on. The breakfast was bacon, toast and cold cereal. Geoff, Barry and me (Gregg) had fried toast in bacon fat. "Just like in the old country." The extra kick would be needed later in the day.
Lac Robinson was like glass and the
surrounding hills were very photogenic. While I was taking pictures from
the beach I saw something strange in a pine tree. It looked like a dead
turtle from a distance but when I got close I saw a matched pair of large
teeth. It was a beaver - young from the size of the skull. Michele
was interested in taking it home to put with the rest of her skull
collection. I decapitated the hard leather with the ax, threw out my back
again - early today, and we will drag the skull back - a prized find for
Michele.
We set off about 45 minutes later - after Michel gave me a murderous back massage. I do not know what hurt worse, the pain from the sore back or the cure.
The paddle across the lake was
beautiful. Calm with very high clouds. Everyone was in good
spirits. The first rapids in the Red Pine series came up fast. 
We exited the
canoes and scouted the rapids. The flow was thrown against a rock island
and went far river right. A fast catch of the eddy was needed. The
water was flowing fast and we set and aimed high. We were too high, put
the bow into the rock and bounced into the eddy.
Michel worked all of us hard, peeling out in very fast water. If you do not lean you dump. Everyone had to do it until they were perfect. Down to the bottom of the set and play in the fast water. Front ferries, s. turns until we were tired and frustrated.
Rapid 3 "The Ledge" CIII 75 yards. We caught up to another group checking out the rapids. The first guy who went down had an inflatable canoe. When he hit the waves the "boat" folded. What was rock, what was waves? The next boat from this group raced down the Ledge and parked their canoe on two rocks - one under the bow and one under the stern. What a sight. I wish I had my camera out. The nerves in everyone just became higher strung. More discussions, more plans, and Michel lead the way like normal. A perfect run. Looked simple.
Alistair and Neil took off first. Ran the ledge and parked on one of the "ROCKS". Out Alistair hopped and put the canoe in an eddy and finished the run. The rest of the canoes put in. Brian came back for his lifejacket, and there were no other major problems. We hit bottom going through the Ledge and bailed out the water from all the waves like everyone else. We drifted down to a "Par three" CII Tech 100 yards. It was a pinball. Rocks everywhere. Lunch time.
Another good lunch, bagels, pita,
summer sausage, peanut butter & jam, fruit, cheese. 
It is amazing how fresh
vegetables last so long, - cherry tomatoes were wonderful. Michele and I
did not feel comfortable running the next few rapids and decided to
portage. We lifted (Michele, that is, my back was still sore) the bags and
started portaging. Part way down the trail we heard people yelling 'catch
the canoe'. I looked up and my heart sank. Our slightly battered
cedar strip was doing the rapids by itself. It went behind a large rock
and did not come out. While this was going on Michel ran up and hopped
into his canoe and ran the rapids and I stripped down ready to go swimming to
catch it before the next rapids. Since the canoe did not come through I
stayed dry. It became wedged and it was kindly rescued and pulled out in
one piece. What a relief. The portage was completed, the bottom
examined, and two cracks in the fiberglass were taped. What a sad
sight. Black tape on cedar. If we had 10 - 15 minutes we would have
used 5 minute epoxy.
Everyone navigated the rock garden
and we left Red Pine Rapids behind. 
We ran the river through a
small rock garden and eddied into shore. There was a ledge. Michel
scraped down over the rocks and we lined down. The bottom eddy was small
and more canoes were being lined down. We decided to do a front ferry to
the river left and go into the big eddy. As we were getting ready to go
Nancy and Paul swamped their canoe when lining and their gear came floating down
the river. We rushed out to do our first rescue of the trip. Met
Michel mid river and we collected the packs, paddle, bottles, etc. It was
hard to pull fully loaded packs into the canoe. A few items missed our
rescue. A paddle was later found two rapids down as well as a
sponge,
The real men, Mike and Brian, found
a V and flew over the ledge and into waves, a rock and they were through.
What a great run. 
We ran many rocky swifts and a turn in the river showed us Bald Eagle Cliff. What a great sight. Michele saw a large bird we believe was a bald eagle, soaring over the trees. We lost sight of it and saw its shadow on the cliff.
We continued to paddle, the first campsite was taken as well as the second. The last portage felt like a mile instead of 75 m. We paddled down to km 5 and found a nice spot to camp.
Nancy and Paul dried out; we took a quick dip . The water was colder than upriver. A late supper of spaghetti - no parmesan cheese, and french vanilla mousse with raspberries and cookies for desert.
A beaver swam in front of the campsite and chewed on a tree.
Mike did his laundry, dried his socks in the fire, burnt a hole in them and put it out by beating it with a stick. Great entertainment.
Dishes are being done by candlelight with a clear blue sky that has been with us since lunch.
Great camaraderie, good friends, laughter, a great holiday. We will be sorry to see it end tomorrow.
Gregg
A Word From Our Fearless Leader, Michel Lessard
To all of you Scout Leaders of Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, Ayr.
You were great all week. Your
skills have improved greatly. Your joy was welcome every day.
Remember - Mother Nature is waiting for you to put your guard down.
So play it safe.
When in doubt
S - Sit
T - Think
O - Observe
P - Plan
Thank you to all
Michel
The rapids are finished. We arose 6-ish and had a simple breakfast of toast, jam, peanut butter and oatmeal, and camp coffee or tea. We set out at about 9:15 to paddle to the end of the river.
The morning was not as misty as most had
been. Mosquitoes were plentiful and scenery was still spectacular, but the
character has changed - more trees, fewer rugged rocks. After about
forty-five minutes paddling to the entrance of the Ottawa River we stopped while
Michel, our fearless leader, took group photos. We are now anxious to make
the Ottawa River crossing. Mike and Brian took the lead. We crossed
in record time - 30 minutes by Michel or 20 minutes by Michele. The Ottawa
was calm with minimal current.
We pulled out at a park and cleaned up a bit - no showers. After a rousing chorus of "Here we sit like birds in the wilderness" we loaded up the vehicles. We had a shortage of seating until we reached Bradley Air Service, but no problem. The girl in Bradleys was quite used to taking wet money and cheerfully welcomed us back. So far civilization has not intruded too much with our inner tranquility. Mike and Brian returned their rented canoe. Lawrie and Barry left the group to return their canoe and take a possible excursion into Algonquin Park.
Neil reported a frog attack overnight. A poll of campers brought us to 230+ years of camping without a frog in a tent. Geoff had a different view (not recorded).
In Deep River, inexplicably, Michel ran straight through. Mike's canoe missed the eddy and had to back ferry, but for once Neil's canoe did a perfect eddy in and around Tim Hortons. Satisfied with high octane caffeine, Neil and Mike headed down river.
At lunch in Eganville we were somewhat quiet. We headed on to Foymount to Black Water factory outlet - Sierra Designs and Columbia - where we spent some time browsing and buying. Their washroom facilities made some of us long for the wilderness again.
After a scenic drive down Hwy. 28 to the 401 we stopped at the first Service Center. Here we were finally and absolutely returned to civilization. The noise and confusion emphasized the peace and solitude we had enjoyed on our trip.
We traveled across the 401 to Cambridge and arrived back at Michel's at about 10:30 where we unloaded and settled up gas.
Thank You Michel for a wonderful experience!!
Neil & Kate
Visitor Number 