Headwinds and Distant Horizons on Lake Athabasca

 

Dave and I were thrilled to have a chance to spend some time talking with Phillip and Mary Stenne. We learned about life in Camsell Portage back in the old days. It used to be much bigger when the El Dorado mine near Uranium City was functioning. That is actually what brought Phillip to the area 60 years ago, but he left the mine rather quickly in favor of living in Camsell Portage, fishing, trapping, and cutting survey lines for mineral exploration. Now Mary and Phillip are 2 of the 8 people living in this tiny town.

We left Camsell Portage in a light headwind. Little did we know that headwind, from the east would be with us basically the entire way. The north shore of Lake Athabasca reminded us very much of home – that is, the north shore of Lake Superior. The coast is almost entirely granite. Wave action keeps even lichen from growing on several meters of the pink rock along shore. We have enjoyed the varied scenery of many points, bays, and islands.

 

Being out on this big body of water, it has been a great spot to view the surrounding landscape, enjoying seeing the green healthy spruce and jack pine in patches. However, we have also seen several large sections that have burned not too long ago. Just a little dusting of green shrubs are visible among the blackened rock and standing dead timber, as the forest slowly returns.

We chose to take a short cut near Uranium City, following the river and a series of lakes through the peninsula instead of paddling all the way around. This way was significantly shorter, but the water in the river was really low and we portaged a bit more than we would have liked. It was a relief to cut from Beaver Lodge Lake, following the winter road, back out to Lake Athabasca.

 

Since the shortcut, we have been on an evening paddling schedule in order to avoid the stronger wind that seems to pick up during the day. This works well, as it never gets completely dark. The sun dips below the horizon around 10:30 PM but there is still a faint glow in the northern sky until the sun rises around 3:30 AM. Fennel has been well fed on fish. The other day, Dave caught a really big lake trout – the biggest one he’s ever caught.

We passed by Fon du Lac, stopping briefly to pick up a couple treats at the grocery store. Last night we paddled through Pine Channel and now we are within a day’s paddle of Stony Rapids. From there we will leave the big water behind for a while.