Burnt River Trip

It’s March 26th. I drove through a snow storm today! Two years ago to the day I was on a local golf course in shorts! Back then as it is now at this time of year,  I have no choice but to start thinking of my annual spring canoe trip. As if he was reading my thoughts or perhaps the ongoing punishment of this winter drew us both upon thoughts of our primal spring trips. My friend John shared a you-tube link to a small collage of pictures and music he created of our 2009 Burnt River trip.

These pictures sparked memories not only of what they show but also of all the things they do not show. This trip started in Algonquin and ended in the Haliburton Highlands. It was different from our other trips which have usually started and ended within the confines of a Provincial Park such as Algonquin or Killarney Parks. Don’t be confused with my choice of words “confines”. In no way do the back woods trails and canoe routes confine you, to the contrary the vastness and beauty seem to liberate your spirit. However  what I did mean by “confines” was that this particular trip would take us through parts of a Park, Crown land, cottage country and even portaging a dam in the center of a small town, Kinmount. These pictures show the beauty of the Three Brothers Falls but what they can`t convey is the thunderous roar of the three cascading water falls or the feel of the mist coming off of the falls as you portage your canoe around the danger.

We all learned early on in the trip that taking an unexpected dunk in the river was a possibility. That possibility  happened quickly to the crew in the aluminum canoe. Shortly after they dumped the contents of their boat into the river we collected a few of the packs that had escaped their grasp. Naturally I went for the pack that held their brown pops. I knew what the reward would be. Ten minutes later on the  shoreline we celebrated the successful rescue of the crew in the aluminum canoe. The only thing lost was a fold up clam shell type steel camp grill. Day one`s camp would need to happen soon so these fellows could dry their gear.

Again these pic`s do not show this camp, the big blue bubble incident or the fellows in the green canoe`s dump. This camp was in a large meadow somewhere in Crown land or so we suspected due to the lack of cottagers and or farms within eyesight.  The big blue bubble incident cannot be described at this time. I beg your forgiveness on leaving this incident up to the reader’s imagination but full recollection of those events could produce lawsuits and loss of friend ships. It is included only as a memory spark to those who made the journey. An inside joke if you will.

No one saw the green canoe dunk, but here they stood just after the portage of the Three Brothers Falls, soaking wet with nothing hurt but their collective pride. Two crews down one to go.

These pictures do show  the presence of unexpected company partway through the trip; but what they don`t show is the portage that came before this chance meeting. You see  we bush-wacked our way uphill using ropes to raise the boats uphill over the bush. At the top of this ridge was a flat plateau recently cleared of several pine trees. With lots of available wood we decide this would be a great place to set up camp for our second night.

The brown pops are flowing as quick as the river this evening and soon my co canoeist would innocently utter the words we were all thinking. I never wanted them to be said out loud until this trip had been concluded. The crews of the aluminum and green canoe`s would never utter these words. They would later confess to hoping for them to happen. Much as hockey players never mention the word shutout when trying to achieve one or how the rest of a baseball team will keep their distance from a pitcher  close to completing a no-hitter or perfect game, I was hoping my co canoeist would adhere to this unwritten superstition. After all it`s very simple, whether you are on the side that wants “it” to happen or on the side that does not want “it” to happen. The rule is the same: DON’T MENTION IT!

To my horror my co canoeist said “you know we’re the only ones not to tip” He did not realise what cosmic powers were at work here! Of course once the cat’s out of the bag team aluminum and team green have no problem explaining to my shock faced friend what karma had in store for us.

The next morning we all had a hearty breakfast. This would be our last meal on the river and everyone was eager to share the last of their food and lighten their packs for the last leg of the journey. We headed out into the river and things went well for the first hour. Soon we came upon our final set of rapids and it was decided we would shoot them. As we come to a close of this trip suffice it to say team aluminum and team green made it through the rapids without incident. True to the Karma of such things we were almost through the worst of it when somehow our boat twisted sideways and boom we were broadsided by a large wave from the rapids. I swear as the canoe was going over I could see a gleam of delight in the eyes of the other two canoe teams.

Thanks for the memories John 😉 here’s the link http://youtu.be/8M14vfdNdMM