Day 16. Tuesday August 16 Kawnipi to Shelly to Keats

It was a misty wet morning in camp with mosquitoes hovering around the tent looking for breakfast. Everything was very wet with dew. We had hot drinks and breakfast and waited around for an hour for things to dry a little. Yesterday’s solo paddler trolled by quietly with a wave. We launched at 1000am and fished our way through the first riffle catching bass pretty consistently. We looked back and saw we were being shadowed by three guys in a boat fishing along behind us. We tried to allow them to pass but they weren’t interested. We crossed back through yesterday’s short portage but no walleye today, though we did catch and release many nice bass.

The three-guy team came through while we were fishing the base of the falls so we moved on to the next spot and they moved down river toward Shelley Lake. We caught a few more bass and moved down to the next portage near a small scenic rapid. We agreed that if we had a rolex boat we would run it but well, we don’t. We met another three-person crew headed toward Kawnipi and met up with our “shadow” boat of guys eating lunch at the end of the portage. (A dad and two sons from Toronto.) We put in around them and paddled down Shelley to lunch on some lakeside boulders. Entering into Shelley ends new waters for us and now we are back in more familiar territory. After lunch, we headed to the Have a Smoke Portage and moved through quickly. The Toronto crew was on our heels as we grabbed our second load so we decided to head out onto Keats and look for a camp allowing them time to enjoy the falls in private. We paddled across to the island closest to the falls and agreed to camp there for the night. It’s a nice camp for 2-4 for people with an incredible view of the falls but would be challenging for a larger group due to hygiene considerations. The Toronto family paddled by while we were setting up camp. We watered up and rested for a while enjoying the clear, warm day complete with a wonderful breeze from the west. It felt kinda strange to see three boats in one day after all our days of solitude. I guess we are back on the edge of civilization. Next, we went for a swim to cool off and rinse off the sweat, then headed out fishing. We fished the base of the falls for two to three hours catching bass, pike, and one walleye, some with size to them. We headed back to camp for dinner of baked mac and cheese (Tony’s least favorite food in the world except for peas) followed up with freshly baked brownies which saved the mood. Tony dropped the pot in the lake while collecting water and found a new use for the fish grips, though he still had to get his head wet to reach it. (hee hee) We ate brownies around 830pm watching a beautiful sunset as the mosquitoes came out in full force driving us into our tent. We drifted off to sleep with the sound of the falls and the wind in the trees. It was so warm we slept on top of our bags. What difference a couple of days can make. . . Lightning flashed in the distance and a small storm rolled in around midnight. Tony jumped up and braved the mosquitoes to pull the fly over the tent (gotta love quick clips) and drop the tarp lower over the gear. Then after a brief mosquito killing session we were back to sleep.

Day 17. Wednesday August 17 Keats- Room with a View Camp

We woke to the sound of the insidious flickers on a snag near camp. Mosquitos roosted quietly between the tent and the fly. I peeked out to see another brilliant sunny day on Keats. We lounged over hot drinks in the morning sunshine planning the day.

We fished through the morning down toward the portage to Chatterton. We both caught several bass, Tony boating two that were quite large. We passed a couple of turtles lounging on rocks as the clouds and wind started to build from the NE. Around noon we headed back to a camp in the narrows for a quick lunch. We made our way back toward our camp with a little detour into the inlet across from our camp in search of a fish to supplement our dinner. A medium sized bass obliged. We hit camp around 230pm as the wind was making fishing too difficult and someone was getting grumpy. Tony grabbed a quick nap around 300pm just as a tandem boat came over the portage and slipped quietly by. The clouds looked like they could be building into a storm, but no, by late afternoon the sky had cleared and the temperature dropped noticeably and along with it the mosquitos. I fished from shore for a while and caught a couple of bass and a pike. Tony got up and we played cards and then made dinner of pan-fried bass and couscous followed by our leftover brownies. We sat and watched the sunset and enjoyed a small fire before under a clear and still sky. Tony admitted he had been grumpy ? “It’s that stinkin’ wind when you’re trying to fish. It’s so annoying.” Yup.

Day 18. Thursday August 19 Keats to Chatterton to Russell to Sturgeon to Olifaunt 13.56 miles and 3 portages (83R-81R-88R)

Woke to a heavy fog and low cloud cover. Everything is dripping with water. Fired up the stove and had some hot drinks and breakfast under the tarp. No mosquitos this morning as it is too cold. I discovered, as much as Tony loves oatmeal, he is a maple and brown sugar man and despises the other flavors, even apple cinnamon. Isn’t it great when you can learn new things about your spouse even after 15 years? We launched and headed to the portage fishing yesterday’s hot spots but only small fish today. Made the walk to Chatterton and fished the Chatterton side but no takers. By noon the day had turned hot and clear with a slight tailwind. We decided to take advantage of it and moved swiftly across the lake to the portage to Russell. We had lunch and then headed to the narrows section to fish. I caught a nice bass entering the narrows right before the rapid.

And Tony a nice one shortly thereafter. We negotiated the swift easily and as luck would have it just as we started fishing in earnest two boats (3 guys each) paddled up behind us and through, hitting all the spots ahead of us. (They were camped just north of Blueberry Island and out for a day trip.) Some days are like that? So we hit Sturgeon and took a straight line across the lake to the portage to Olifaunt. We spied two boats out fishing leisurely in the bay. We crossed the portage, a bit muddy, but otherwise easy except for the swarming mosquitos on the Olifaunt side and headed off quickly to find a camp near the portage to Fern. We spotted a couple of campers on a small island near the first camp, (Not sure what they are going to do about hygiene but otherwise it’s a lovely spot with little cover.) so we moved on to the next and I believe the last possibility before the portage, a little rocky knoll with limited tent spots. We set up camp and grabbed a swim before having a lasagna dinner with key lime pie (Backpacker’s pantry) for dessert. After dinner, we played cards in a slight breeze while I baked a banana nut bread to be saved for breakfast.