Flindt River Canoe Trip June 28 to July 11, 2000 [Return to Photo Albums]    [Return to News]

Day 1        Pedro

We woke up at 5:30am and took our first step into starting our trip by cleaning the cabin. Leaving camp at around 6:00am, we only stopped to buy some food before we got to the border. We stayed there for about 45 minutes until we were allowed to be on our way by Canadian customs. After crossing from International Falls into Fort Frances, we continued driving north towards Sioux Lookout where we stopped for a quick gas break.

We drove until 5:00pm when we reached an unpaved road and we knew that we had arrived at our drop-off point. After putting our canoes in the water, we had to shoot a small culvert, then we paddled about 1/2 mile to our campsite. Our campsite turned out to be a good one, with plenty of tent sites and a decent fire-pit. We spent the rest of our day cooking burgers (which were great) and fishing. We headed to bed around 10pm so we could get an early start tomorrow.

Day 2        Pedro

Waking up late after a rainy morning, we began our paddling with high spirits, having had a good and filling breakfast of grapenuts and banana nut breakfast bars. We didn't paddle long before we arrived at our first portage. It wasn't too long, but it was muddy. After more paddling, we got to another portage. This one was longer and muddier, causing some of us to get stuck in knee-deep mud.

After our midday lunch with a little rain, we kept on paddling until we got to a strange obstacle in our way. It was a creek with many cedars fallen across its path. We had to drag under and over these trees and it took us quite a while to get through. We finally hit open water and were able to paddle again. Our happiness did not last long, though, because we found a similar creek. Again, we struggled through, and Sam often had to use the saw to cut a path through the branches. After a couple of hours working through several areas like this we finally hit open water.

As we began paddling, a thunderstorm forced us to shore. We sat next to a small cliff to wait out the storm, which turned out to be quite a sight. It started with thunder and lightning and a light rain. Then the rain increased and we saw hail move across the water towards us. The sight and the noise of the storm was incredible.

We arrived at our campsite around 6:00pm and got everything dried out. It was a nice little island, though the tent sights were a little crowded. We ended our day eating mac & cheese and talking around the campfire.

Day 3        Brian

We woke up early after staying up late, so surprise, we were all a little tired. After some delicious lemon-poppy seed muffins and grape-nuts, we started out with anticipation of nice weather. We paddled in beautiful sunlight for a couple of hours until we got to the end of Heathecote Lake. We had a short pullover there. Directly next to the path was a beautiful campsite. I thought we should stop for a half-layover day, but nobody was into that idea. We paddled a bit further before we arrived at our second portage, still early in the morning. The trail was nice and the scenery was beautiful with many rocks covered in moss and spruce and cedar lining the trail.

After the portage, we spotted a neat rock, and being a little ahead of schedule, decided to check its jumping potential. Several of us did jump, while the others fished. Eventually, we ate lunch there and got going a short time later. Weather turned for the worse as we began our third portage of the day. It was fairly long and it began to drizzle while we crossed the portage.

Following some fast water and navigating several rocks and trees, we came to a small rapid. As Sam and Curtis were checking an alternate stream, they found a huge moose rack. It was amazing, though it stunk badly. Sam grabbed it as a souvenir. As we continued on, it began to rain and we had to pull off to the side of the lake during a thunderstorm. It was really cool watching the lighting and hail all around us and across the lake. It remained dreary the rest of the day until we finally arrived at our campsite on Flindt Lake.

We enjoyed delicious Lipton noodles after the rain had stopped and later we all ate some walleye cooked by Sam. We relaxed around the campsite for a long time before retiring to the tents.

Day 4        Chris

We woke up around 7:30am and were on the water paddling the Flindt River by 8:00am. In the morning we went through some fast water and one set of rapids that we shot easily. We then got to some larger rapids that were too rocky to shoot. It took some time, but we found the portage near the top of the rapids on the right.

Five more sets of rapids followed this portage, one directly after the next. We were all quite tired from a pretty long day of paddling. We spent the last two hours of the day searching for a campsite since we had no sites marked on our map.

The site we found was average. The tent spots were cramped and it was difficult to reach the water. We spent a long time around the fire after our dinner of famous Mike's Surprise. It was very cold and clear tonight and Mike said that the cool weather meant we could expect a sunny day tomorrow. None of us wanted to leave the fire, but we finally went to bed around 11:00pm.

Day 5        Curtis

We woke up at 7:30am. The sun was shining with no clouds in the sky. The wind was blowing hard, but the weather looked promising. We set out at 8:00am and paddled for about an hour before we started hitting some portages; seven of them. The shortest was a pullover and the longest was about 300 meters. Most of them were extremely rocky so it was difficult to keep yourself from falling. Jumping from rock to rock is hard with a canoe or wannigan on your back. At one point, we spotted several moose in a grassy, swampy area. We watched them for a long time before one swam in front of our canoes.

We finished all of the portages before lunch and started off on Lake Wabikimi. Thankfully the wind had died down because the lake was huge. After one of our breaks, Matt Schwartz had left his PFD on the shore and was required to sleep in it that night after retrieving it from the beginning of the last portage.

The open part of the lake was to be the longest stretch of paddling we would have. We passed the time playing word games like "Ghost" (Sam was really good at this) and movie trivia (Steve knew his movies) with all of the canoes paddling close together.

After crossing most of the lake, we came to the first spot on our maps that we actually had marked campsites. Unfortunately, the first site was trashed by fisherman, but Michael and Chris found another site on a small island. We arrived there sore and tired, completely exhausted having paddled so far in the hot weather. The site was roomy with a large and smooth rocky point. We stayed up late sitting around the fire. The stars were great and the Northern Lights came out. They were amazing.

Day 6        Matt S.

Day 6 was our layover day. The weather was great and our campsite was even better. It was sunny, warm and windy. We all woke up by 9:30, escaping the heat of our tents. We collected firewood, boiled water and ate oatmeal and pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast, Sam, Nathan, Matt B. and Steve went out to catch a fish dinner at the point where the Allanwater River drained into Wabikimi Lake, about four miles from our campsite. While they were gone, Mike, Brian, Pedro and I played cards for about an hour. At that point, I took a nap for a few hours. Chris and Curtis went fishing at a nearby island but were unsuccessful. The rest of the day was spent resting and swimming around our island. All of us took a dip and got cleaned up.

As it began to get dark, Sam and his crew returned with about 20 walleye and northern (Sam actually caught all of the fish). Needless to say, we all ate very well that night. Sam and several others also hunted down some grouse that were nesting on the island and successfully caught one. Some of us tried to catch the other two birds, but they eluded us for several hours. We all had a taste of the grouse after Sam cleaned and cooked the bird on a stick over the fire. It tasted like chicken.

After dinner, as the sun set, some of us played hot potato with Mike. It was a fun way to end a restful layover day.

Day 7        Nathan

We woke up at 6:30am to a very slight head wind. We broke camp pretty quickly and were on the water within an hour. We paddled from our campsite across a small portion of Wabikimi Lake and onto the Ogoki River. We paddled north for an hour or two with the sun bearing down on us before we reached our first portage. The portage was around a set of wide and shallow rapids. The trail was pretty clear but very long. It took the better part of an hour to get through and loaded up again.

The next few miles were loaded with rapids that we shot loaded. They were all similar to the first one we had portaged; very shallow and wide with many rocks to dodge. Fortunately we all made it through with just some wet clothes. We must have shot five or six sets of rapids.

After the rapids we found a nice lunch spot on Kenoji Lake and we took a short break there. Soon we were back on the water and came to three more sets of rapids. Again, we shot them cleanly.

By early afternoon we came to Oliver Lake and paddled a couple miles across it to find a campsite. It was a very hot day and we all took time to go swimming at the nice campsite. We will be getting started on our pizzas soon and no doubt will play a little hot potato before we head to bed. Great day.

Day 8        Matt B.

At 5:40am we started what was to be a very big day. After we broke camp we returned to the Ogoki River under threatening skies. We hit some fast water and one small rapids. We then came to a long set of rapids, partially marked as fast water, with no marked portage. Mike decided to look for a portage. We found it on the right side of the river. Mike and Sam took off to scout the rapids and were gone for some time. While they were gone we lounged in our canoes. After long consideration, Mike and Sam decided we would shoot them loaded. They appeared to be on the high end of Class III rapids. Mike instructed us to stay on the left, going around a standing wave, then to shoot hard to the right in order to avoid the larger waves at the bottom of the rapids.

Mike's canoe was first and we noticed that he ended up not breaking to the right. He stayed left the entire way because, as we would find out, the current was too strong to head right. The rest of us followed and all made it through riding very large waves. Pedro and I hit a large standing wave head on and took quite a bit of water. Brian and Matt S. swamped on this wave and were able to maintain balance until they tried to eddy out. They capsized at the top of the last part of the rapids. Brian and Matt S. got safely to shore while their canoe and gear headed downstream and into Whitewater Lake below. The end of these rapids had a huge drop that could not be seen from shore, and the river emptied into Whitewater Lake. Mike and Chris quickly lined and pulled their canoe across the last half of the rapids to recover the gear that was floating into Whitewater Lake. We all followed, lining our canoe in water that was at times chest deep.

We all regrouped on a small piece of shield overlooking the enormous waves at the end of the rapids. We were all fairly wet, but Brian and Matt S. were soaked from their capsize. As we were drying out, Mike and Chris returned with one of the packs and headed back out to find the canoe and other pack. About a half hour later they returned with both. The only thing we had lost was one paddle. The gear inside of the packs was still dry because they had been packed properly...thankfully.

As we dried out, I noticed a fishing lodge and cabins on the other bank of the river where the portage was. The sky was overcast and it was cold.

After some time for drying and warming up we headed out onto Whitewater Lake, the largest lake we were to paddle on this trip. We had a head wind and stopped on the lee side of an island to have some lunch; pb&j, beef jerky, Pringles and gorp.

We headed north up the lake again before the lake bent and we turned south. The lake is shaped like an upside down horseshoe. We paddled for several hours, stopping occasionally for a water break. Despite the clouds, it still had not rained.

Near the end of the lake, we came to a large island and found our campsite on a nice sandy beach. The only problem with the campsite was the swamp directly behind the beach. This swamp was a breeding ground for tons of mosquitoes and black flies.

We made a quick dinner of warm ramen noodles and sat by the fire. After dinner, a young guy name Mike Moss came by. He worked at a nearby fishing resort and told us about moose in the area and about another campsite just about a mile from this one. After he left, we called it an early night because of the mosquitoes and because we were tired from the long, eventful day.

Day 9        Steve

Most of us woke up around 11:00am on our second layover day. Outside of our tents were hundreds of mosquitoes just waiting for us. Matt B. and Brian took off to look for the campsite Mike Moss had mentioned to us the night before. They came back with good remarks, so we packed up our gear quickly and left. It was a short paddle to the nicest campsite I had ever seen. It had a huge sandy point, a sand beach (at least a half of mile of beach), plenty of tent sites and it was a sunny day. As soon as we arrived we set up our tents and ate some oatmeal. Then we all went swimming off of the sandy point. Nathan stayed behind to make pancakes for everyone.

We played and swam on the beach all morning and afternoon. Mike Moss came back for a while and he and Matt B. talked. The rest of us buried people in the sand, played 500 and just swam. It was very fun. At one point when Chris was buried in the sand, a spider crawled over his face.

Mike Moss brought everyone a coke from the fishing lodge, which we all loved. We took turns making pizzas in groups of two while others either read, flew kites or played catch. By 10:00pm, all of the pizzas were finished and we made our breakfast bars for the morning. A few of us made a large fire out on the beach, but the bugs finally drove us to our tents. Great day.

Day 10        Nathan

Today we woke up pretty early and the wind was blowing pretty strong across Whitewater Lake. We endured many bugs as we ate our breakfast and went on our way up the little river that led to McKinley Lake. Today and for the rest of the trip we will be paddling upstream.

Between the two lakes was a string of small rapids going the opposite direction. The first set we lined up and almost everyone got wet. The next few we portaged and the portages were pretty tough. Most were short but they were not well cleared and were very muddy. On the last of these small portages Michael noticed a larger portage trail that lead all the way back to McKinley Lake. It is now marked on the maps so the next crew will be able to avoid all the little tough portages.

We ate lunch on a small island on Caribou River to avoid mosquitoes and following lunch we had a couple more portages. The river dumped us onto Lonebreast Bay of Smoothrock Lake.

We paddled the length of the Bay. It was very long (several miles) and not too exciting. When we turned out of the Bay onto the main part of the lake, we hit a fierce head wind. We battled this headwind, trying to stay close to shore and in the lee of a small island. It took us a well over an hour just to travel about 2 clicks on the map. We finally found a campsite at the entrance of Caribou Bay. We pitched our tents and had a nice meal with a lot of mosquitoes.

Day 11        Matt B.

We were up by 7:30am to try to beat the wind on Caribou Bay. We also would be heading into Caribou Lake today. After a quick crossing of the bay, we had some river travel and small rapids. We pulled over two of the rapids and portaged one of them. We were making good time and decided to have a long lunch at one of the portages around a nice rapid. PB&J and gorp and a good long nap made for a great lunch break.

After lunch, we stayed on the river. It was a wide channel with occasional rapids that we either paddled up---kind of tough--- or portaged. On the far side of one of the portages, Michael grabbed us to take some photos. We followed him off the trail towards the river and to a natural clearing on top of a rock. The spot overlooked the rapids and there was a small fire pit. On the rocks circling the fire pit were our tams, the Earl of St. Andrews. Michael and Sam handed them out and afterwards gave a little speech. We then took advantage of the natural beauty of the spot to take some group pictures.

Following the tam ceremony, we paddled proudly into the mouth of Caribou Lake. For about an hour or two we paddled without much conversation to a spot marked on the map as "good jumping rock." After checking the depth of the water and evaluating the campsite at the top of the jumping rock, we decided to make it our campsite. We enjoyed some good swimming and cliff jumping and ate fish for dinner. We finished the night like the other nights with a short meeting. Today was another great day.

Day 12        Chris

We left the campsite at 8:30am, a later than usual start. We knew it would be a very short paddle today, and by 10:15am we were at our next campsite. We wanted to go a little further down Caribou Lake to get a little closer to our pick-up spot on the far-end of Caribou. After getting our tents set up, we hung out around the campsite. Mike & Pedro left to call camp to make sure our driver would leave to make our pick-up in time tomorrow. It was very windy.

By mid afternoon, we noticed some storm clouds so we piled into our tents and waited for the rain to pass. We ate a late lunch after the storm passed and hung out around the fire until dinner. Mike and Pedro finally returned and had a funny story about the people they met. They met two nice couples and one couple that wasn't as nice as the others.

In the evening, it got really cold and we all stood around the fire telling stories and jokes. Sam tried to catch a sturgeon on the point of our campsite. The campsite area was very large and clean. We stayed up late, trying to stay warm around the fire and telling funny stories. We won't have to go far tomorrow.

Day 13        Matt S.

Day 13 was our last day on the water. When we woke up, we were all in a good mood because Day 13 was our last day of grapenuts! We broke camp and got onto the water by 7:30am. It was a short paddle (7 clicks) to the pickup spot on the south end of Caribou Lake. Just before we reached the take-out spot, Curtis spotted an otter and we all stayed around to watch it for a while.

When we reached the take-out, we found David Stern sleeping in the van. Soon we were loaded up and on our way. For the most part the van ride was pretty uneventful until we reached the Pizza Hut that was in Minnesota. We all ate our fill of pizza and salad. It tasted so good.

We drove down the north shore of Lake Superior and arrived at Split Rock Campground to camp for the evening. We took some time to explore the park, hiking a few miles and up a large cliff overlooking Lake Superior. The park was very scenic.

Some of us enjoyed a shower before heading to bed, while the others planned to shower tomorrow morning. The warm showers were much better than the frigid Canadian lakes. Tonight we went to bed clean and happy.

Day 14        Steve

We woke at 6:30am and quickly packed up our tents while others took showers. Fresh, cold milk and frosted flakes and cinnamon rolls were a great breakfast. We jumped in the van and were off. We made a short visit to Gooseberry Falls and walked around on the rocks and near the waterfall for awhile. Before long, we got back in the van and headed back to camp, listening to the Steve Miller Band. We were all excited to get back to camp and into a regular bed and to eat Mary's food. The drive wasn't too long and soon we were driving down Cap Endres Road. We were greeted by JP and everyone at camp. We spent some time cleaning our gear in the Trip House and the trip had ended. We'll be hanging to moose rack in Athabasca as a reminder of our trip. It was a great trip.

The End

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