Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
Click on Mark Twain to jump to Troutbirders book review blog

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Adventure into the Canadian Wilderness Part III


Steel Lake


The next day we awoke eager to move on. We  followed a narrow winding little creek thru a series of beaver ponds, short portages, lifts over beaver dams and muddy shallow wades, finally into Steel Lake itself. Steel is a very long lake, maybe 12 miles,  oriented on a north south axis. There was a slight breeze and drizzle  out of the West as we followed the eastern shoreline at a leisurely pace.Wildlife abounded here. We saw two black bear, several moose, in shallow bays, munching in the water, beaver and even some playful otter along the way. They basically paid us a little attention perhaps never having seen humans before.

 We had not, however, seen another soul since leaving Santoy Lake. The view ahead consisted of the lake and low hills on both shorelines with many small coves and rocky outcrops.


We didn’t fish much that day as it seemed a good opportunity to cover the miles. According to Ontario Fisheries, Steel Lake is excellent for Walleye, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Lake Trout and Yellow Perch. Some days though you just have to keep moving on.
We had seen a few fishing boats "cached" along the shoreline previously that day and assumed some “locals” knew a less strenuous route into Steel Lake than we had pursued. A few isolated logging tracks were known to exist.  They certainly hadn't carried their boats and outboards up Diablo portage. The soreness of the previous day lessened as our muscles slowly became acclimated to the strain.


At about mid afternoon we pulled over about two thirds of the way up Steel and called it a day.  Some skinny dipping was in order to wash off the mud, sweat and assorted grime. That's my brother Greg straight out in the lake from the canoe. Obviously he had not been working on his suntan.It all felt wonderful! Then after setting up camp we dug into our dehydrated food that night for some variety. The  stroganoff was surprisingly good along with some hot cocoa and gorp. We had boiled water to fill our bottles.

Chef Troutbirder touting the stroganoff

My brother Greg stoking the campfire

As the sun set over the western horizon we sat by our small campfire and listened to the sounds of the wilderness.

Some loons were calling long distance. Then a howling. Wolves? The lake was lapping along the shoreline. Quiet now. Time for bed...

To be continued…..

21 comments:

  1. I think any food would taste good on this pretty trip.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am enjoying your trip. Take your time telling it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am enjoying this tale. While growing up, my family camped quite a bit in North Dakota. Lots of nights by the campfire :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. These are trips you'll never forget.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a wonderful day! I could feel how much it was everything a soul might need. Thank you for sharing it with me. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nothing better than skinny dipping after a long hot day! Gorp...I am not familiar with that term? What fun it must have been to see the wildlife:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like a great day --and what a fantastic trip you all had. I was SO hoping to see a moose when we were in Yellowstone--but that didn't happen.. Maybe someday...

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a trip I have dreamed about but somehow at my age, it is much more fun reading your great account of such a delightful trip. While I am not enjoying it first hand, my muscles aren't sore and I have nary a bug bite. Not bad.
    Can't wait to read more.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You either have a prodigious memory or took great notes.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You are doing a great job of telling us about your trip. And I love your photos!
    Skinny dipping :-) Oh Boy!

    Wolves!! Another, Oh Boy from me.
    :-)
    Carla

    ReplyDelete
  11. A perfect day for the two of you -- barbara

    ReplyDelete
  12. You're certainly giving us a lot of pleasure with the telling of this adventure. At one point whilst reading I felt I was there... jumped when you mentioned wolves... smiles.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sounds wonderful! How big were the skeeters?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful! Imagine that peaceful site right about now....mmmmm.....

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love that you have photos to share.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Up to this point, it sounds like you were having a marvelous adventure. Then wolves?

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a marvelous adventure! I'm struck by how similar the Canadian landscape is to Maine. How exciting to hear wolves!

    ReplyDelete