Pukaskwa - Day 3

Fishermans Cove to Fish Harbour

August 8, 2017

A storm rolled through last night around midnight, keeping us awake for an hour and giving the camp a good soaking along with the light and boom show. My new tent held tight and I remained dry so am quite pleased with this new purchase. Fortunately the rain stopped well before morning so Deb and I could have our early morning coffee and chin wag down by the beach. As every other day on this trip so far, everyone was packed and ready to go at 08:30. Ivan led the way and we hiked on into what was now a light drizzle. Our first few kilometers were spent scrambling over coastal rocks and slabs which were definitely upped a grade by the wet conditions. The slipperieness of the rocks made for very slow travel and it took a few hours to get through this stretch. At one point we had a river to ford, but fortunately it was slow moving water, and coupled with the sandy bottom made for a pleasant crossing in the thigh deep water with bare feet. At Nicol's cove we met the first humans of the trip, a couple and a timid dog who as it turns out were from Ottawa, and we share some common friends in the Alpine Club. We stopped here and are our first lunch as the drizzle began to turn into more rain like before we continued. It was very warm though, so we hiked along in t-shirts allowing the light rain soak in, instead of sweating in our waterproofs. At Oiseau Bay we saw Keith's boat beached on the shore, with a small crowd of people mingling around on the beach. As we approached they welcomed us with freshly baked muffins and sliced watermellon. What a surprise! We stood around chatting for a good half hour making friends with this group of First Nations people who were out for a boat ride and picnic on the beach. Finally we were beginning to get cold, dressed lightly as we were, so we said goodby and hike onwards along the beach until we picked up the trail back into the woods. We stopped for lunch at a sheltered area and as we were eating, the sun broke through for which the warmth was much appreciated on our damp bodies. When we started up again, Pat and I decided to speed ahead wanting to get some time in at a faster pace. We stopped at a pretty lake and waited for the others, after which we sped ahead again, intending to push all the way to the campsite. At one point the trail led right down to the water and then disappeared. We searched around, Pat heading inland and myself searching through the dense brush by the shore. Finally I found the trail again, coming straight out of the lake, about 50 m along the shore from where it went in. We decided to wait here for the others, had a snack and then I took my boots off and waded along the sandy bottom in order to cool off my feet. The others arrived and I told them to ditch their boots as well and join me in the water as the easiest way to hike this section. We figured the trail normally went along the sand at the edge of the lake, but due to higher water this year was now a pleasant wade. We stuck together for the last few kilometers which finally brought us to Fish Harbour which is our home for tonight. One other fellow in a kayak shares this long stretch of shoreline with us, but it is otherwise deserted.

River to ford first thing in the morning.

Lush forests of moss.

Open rocky coastline.

Hey... is that not Keith's boat?

Hanging out with new friends.

A composite (manmade and naturally occuring) bridge across another river.

More sandy beaches.

Fording high waters of Lake Superior.

Our tent city campsite.

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