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July 2, 2010 - Kabibonoka Lake to North Depot Lake - 7 portages totalling 5150 m
It was really cold last night. Woke up shivering and had to put on some more clothes at some point. No snow, but since
this is my first canoe trip of the year, I am expecting some (even if it is July). After packing camp we paddled out
onto the lake into a warming sunshine. We had a little trouble locating the first portage as the sign was hidden in the
brush. A short carry brought us to an unamed lake that was big enough to be named, so we coined it Mika lake, as it
sounded Native and combined our names. The next portage was very difficult to locate. I have two maps and both show it
in a different location. The portage was at neither of these places. We grounded the canoe on the shore and
bushwhacked on a compass bearing to hit an old road, where we split up each way to find the trail. Katharina found it,
and when we regrouped, she followed the trail back to the lake and I bushwhacked back to the canoe. I paddled over to
where she was standing on the shore and unloaded the boat for the carry. The landing was not marked and very over grown
(not to mention in the wrong place), but at least we found it in the end. The portage was easy to follow the rest of
the way, and in half an hour we got ourselves across to Merganser Lake. About a kilometer paddle brought us to the next
portage which was again tricky to find, but with some careful looking we spied the telltale yellow sign hidden in the
bushes. This one was less than a hundred meters which put us on North River Lake for the first long stretch of paddling
for the day. A gentle breeze pushed us along, and the sun was now quite hot as it beat down on our faces. The end of
the lake brought us to a mini portage around a cluster of logs and then on to the North River itself, which travels
about six kilometers, but with the meanders, it takes about double that distance. A couple of spots we encountered
beaver dams, but did not have too much trouble getting over them as we were going down stream. A couple more portages
and several hours of travel brough us back to lake paddling. South on Allen Lake brought us to our final portage to
North Depot Lake. We thought it would be nice to take the island campsite, but someone else had beaten us to it. We
paddled on a little further and found a site with a nice sandy beach, so decided to call it home for the evening.
Setting out on a calm and beautiful morning.
The other side of the portage... I guess the thrill is finding the other end.
Over the beaver dams on the North River.
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