Rainy Lake, Pony Lake, Oak Lake
9 Feb 2006
While Dad, Mom, Katarina, and Bjorn went to Vancouver to sell properties at the mining show, Ruth and I worked at the claims that needed to be staked. Monday, we used Rainy Lake (near Fort Frances) to access the claim we had to stake. It ended up being a beautiful day and nothing out of the ordinary happened. I did get a little worried about Ruth when she didn't answer her radio. I snowshoed 3kms that I didn't need to because I was worried. Just as I reached the snowmachine, she was looking for the key to start it. I was glad she was o.k.
The grain of wood (on an ash tree post)
While Dad, Mom, Katarina, and Bjorn went to Vancouver to sell properties at the mining show, Ruth and I worked at the claims that needed to be staked. Monday, we used Rainy Lake (near Fort Frances) to access the claim we had to stake. It ended up being a beautiful day and nothing out of the ordinary happened. I did get a little worried about Ruth when she didn't answer her radio. I snowshoed 3kms that I didn't need to because I was worried. Just as I reached the snowmachine, she was looking for the key to start it. I was glad she was o.k.
The grain of wood (on an ash tree post)
Onto the next job, Pony Lake. Pony Lake is a small little lake north of Emo. The first day we prepped the claim and the next day we staked it. This is what we do when a claim is coming open and it's really important to whoever wants the claim. Our good friend Steve came along for the fun of it. Last time he went snowshoeing with us, his snowshoes were ready to fall apart. This time he was able to try newer snowshoes that actually stayed on his feet. He seemed pretty happy just to be able to snowshoe without fuss.
Getting ready in the morning
Getting ready in the morning
Steve and Ruth checking the thickness of the ice in the middle of the river (for the fun of it)
The day the claim came open, no one was there and in an hour and a half we were done. We drove on to Nestor Falls for lunch. It was a gorgeous day on Lake of the Woods and I must say I was envious of all those ice fishers on snowmobiles. Lunch was at The Lawg Caybun and highly recommended: good home-cooked food, good service, great atmosphere. After lunch, we parted ways; Steve headed south and we headed north to Ear Falls.
Our last job, Oak Lake, proved to be a big pain. There were several ways into the huge lake (Oak Lake), but which one to take? We talked to our trapper friend, Jerry, in Ear Falls. He was kind enough to lend us a map and even called his trapper neighbour over to discuss access. There was so much snow on the trails and the slush on the lakes is really bad. After driving about five hours extra, we finally found the best way in, which was right back where we started at Ear Falls. The best way in was driving 50kms by snowmobile on an old logging road. Luckily, half of the way was packed. On the second half of unpacked powder, there were several washouts from beaver dams. Luckily, we were able to bypass them easily.
During our scouting process we crossed the English River on this Bailey Bridge.
One of the possible ways in to Oak Lake had a big surprise for us: a power dam. Both the bridge and the dam are on the English River. How eerie to see that bubbling water in the middle of winter.
The Manitou Falls Dam
Our last job, Oak Lake, proved to be a big pain. There were several ways into the huge lake (Oak Lake), but which one to take? We talked to our trapper friend, Jerry, in Ear Falls. He was kind enough to lend us a map and even called his trapper neighbour over to discuss access. There was so much snow on the trails and the slush on the lakes is really bad. After driving about five hours extra, we finally found the best way in, which was right back where we started at Ear Falls. The best way in was driving 50kms by snowmobile on an old logging road. Luckily, half of the way was packed. On the second half of unpacked powder, there were several washouts from beaver dams. Luckily, we were able to bypass them easily.
During our scouting process we crossed the English River on this Bailey Bridge.
One of the possible ways in to Oak Lake had a big surprise for us: a power dam. Both the bridge and the dam are on the English River. How eerie to see that bubbling water in the middle of winter.
The Manitou Falls Dam
That night we ate supper at the Trillium Motel in Ear Falls. We met some blasters Steve, Craig, Rollie, and a bunch of others whose names I can‘t remember. They are all working on the new dam at Ear Falls.
The next morning we ate breakfast as soon as the restaurant opened at 5:00a.m. We began the 1 ½ hour drive out in the dark and watched the sunrise on the way. Two cow moose dashed in front of the machine. I stopped and called to them. They called back a few times and stood for about 10 minutes before taking off.
The next morning we ate breakfast as soon as the restaurant opened at 5:00a.m. We began the 1 ½ hour drive out in the dark and watched the sunrise on the way. Two cow moose dashed in front of the machine. I stopped and called to them. They called back a few times and stood for about 10 minutes before taking off.
The actual claim staking went smoothly. We finished and met at 4:00pm. It was a long walk out and the snowmobile ride out was mostly in the dark. At the truck, we had to fix the pull cord before we could load the one Bearcat. Somehow a small pin had misplaced itself. Luckily, we were able to figure it out but it still took awhile. It was a moonless starry night and we heard a few wolf howls-how chilling! By the time we ate supper it was 9:30pm and there was no way either of us felt like driving home and arriving at 3:00am. So we stayed over and the next morning, Rollie, from the blasting crew, gave us a tour of their work in progress. After that it was a 5 hour drive home.
Blasters Steve and Craig at the construction site (sorry Rollie we didn't catch you on film)
Blasters Steve and Craig at the construction site (sorry Rollie we didn't catch you on film)
