CANOE ROUTE
Paddled on 6 lakes a total of 16 km each way:
Big Whiteshell Lake, Ritchey Lake,
One Lake, Two Lake, Three Lake, Mantario Lake.The five portages, totalling 4 km, were even morechallenging this year as the result of rainfall all weekend and adownpour all day Monday while we were paddling and portaging out!
CANOEISTS
Participants: Lorne, Ken, Marlene,
Cheri, Murray, Ed, Lorraine.
Volunteer leader and organizer: Don Kurt
SLIDESHOW
Participate in the trip by viewing this slideshow movie:
Mantario2007 Thanksgiving
Canoe Trip Movie
"Lorne" Photo © 2007 Don Kurt
Apple Quicktime MOV movie 30 Mbytes, plays for 6m55s
(downloadQuicktime, a free player for Mac/Win).
This was the first trip to Mantario for Lorraine, whilebeing a repeat Mantario Thanksgiving Canoe trip for Murray, Marlene,Lorne, Ken, Ed, Don and Cheri. Lorraine was in "good" hands, althoughher feet got stuck in mud holes a couple times, pulling her down to herknees. The heavy pack didn't help, I guess.
It was cool and the wind was in our face on Friday duringthe trip to the cabin, drizzling slightly as we arrived at the cabin.At the Two Lake portage, Ken asked what was making a strange noise; Icould hear a train far off in the distance (CP/CN lines run through thesouth central part of Whiteshell Park) and thought that was what he wasreferring to and told him so. However, at the start of the up and over,he pointed to his seal pack portage pack which was making a verynoticeable buzzing sound; we suggested that it was obviously somethingbattery driven and might wear out so he opened the pack and dug around(you know, diving headfirst into the pack); finally he pulled out hiselectric (!) toothbrush. The toothbrush had a remarkable shape and atthe cabin became the centre of puns towards Ken.
As usual, we ate a lot, enjoyed the sauna, ate a lot,enjoyed the sauna, ate a lot .... Lorne worked and worked on the woodpile for winter skiers and some of us helped him haul a few logs tocut; Cheri and Marlene hiked the granite ridges and got some very nicephotos of migrating birds, a pair of white swans. Marlene demonstratedher fantastic baking skills producing two dozen cinnamon buns and verygood bread; nice vegan buns, Marlene! Don paddled with Murray, Ed and Lorraine to hike the Spyder Lake portage and found lobster mushrooms, an annual highlight, as well as some other curious fungi species (check out the movie).
Monday was cool and wet, it was drizzling when we wokeand turned into a constant rain with a slight wind from the southeast;so when we left we had more clothes on us than was in our backpacks,with neoprene covering our hands and feet, and layers of fleece andnylon or goretex. The first portage was lovely, as it meant walkingthrough the flooded portage in midcalf water where it was too shallowto paddle, and to haul our canoes over the trees the beavers haddecided to harvest and which blocked easier passage. We managed topaddle out in about 4.5 hours, the fastest I have ever travelled to orfrom Mantario! Most of the group simply found that we cooled off toomuch if we went slowly. The group splintered, due to putting Lorne andKen together, two aerobic motors, who were followed closely by Cheriand Marlene. Ed, Lorraine, Murray and I paddled at a more leisurelypace, but caught up with the speedsters on the last portage fromRitchie Lake to Big Whiteshell Lake, which was the wettest I have everseen it; although it was not too bad, once you committed to walkingthrough mid-calf deep mud and water on the trail.
The bald eagle that always oversees our crossing of BigWhiteshell Lake watched our egress on Ritchie Lake instead of BigWhiteshell Lake this year.
Until next year, safe paddling!
GO to Nature Manitoba website
MANTARIO ARCHIVE TRIPSGO toWilds Of Manitoba
WILDERNESS TRIPS
to view other trip reports.GO toMantario 2007 Labour Day Weekend Canoe Trip Report
and view another canoeing photo movie.GO toMantario 2006 Thanksgiving Canoe Trip Report
and view yet another canoeing photo movie.GO toWilds Of Manitoba
Canoeing Courses
to find out more about the best canoe lessons in Winnipeg
