What possesses a couple of writers to venture into wave-swept waters in a tiny canoe in November?
Well, why don't you ask me? That's what I did yesterday, with my companion Clarence.
Yesterday might have been the last day of summer. The first snowfall had melted. The temperature had risen above zero. No ice on the lake yet. And the wind gusts reached velocities of less than a hundred klicks an hour.
You see, I am preparing Muskeg Tours 2012 for publication. In 1987, I published the original text about the historic sites of the LIttle Long Lac Gold Camp. In that year I visited all the sites, took pictures, described the scenes. Soon I will publish a completely updated version. For the past year I've had only one more site to visit – well, re-visit. The Elmos mine.
Tom Johnson, prospector, was the father of this mining camp. It was Johnson who, in 1932, discovered the Little Long Lac mine on the south shore of Barton Bay, the west arm of Kenogamisis Lake. A railway ran about a mile-and-a-half north of the bay, and that was the only link to civilized Canada. There wasn't a single road in the region closer than a hundred miles. While he was waiting for a big-shot investor to arrive by plane, he explored a little further west down the bay. That's when he made the strike that would become the Elmos mine.
Okay, you have a question. Why has it taken me a year to get to the site? Well, it is out of the way. It never had a road to it. It was served by a wooden trestle that bridged a smaller bay back in the '30s. That trestle rotted away long ago. It is accessible now only by water. And I did try once last year – lined up a boat, and just as we were about to launch, my partner and I chickened out. The waves were formidable.
And then, you know how it is. One thing after another that claimed my attention, including writing my debut novel and getting it launched. So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
A few days ago I put my canoe in the water and made another attempt by myself. Again, driven back by the west wind and waves.
So yesterday, I enlisted another partner, and though it was still windy, we bucked the waves successfully. Only swamped once . . .
ORIGINAL POST 6 NOVEMBER 2011
Read the full post with photos on E.J. Lavoie's Blog > http://bit.ly/2dlCqvn
Well, why don't you ask me? That's what I did yesterday, with my companion Clarence.
Yesterday might have been the last day of summer. The first snowfall had melted. The temperature had risen above zero. No ice on the lake yet. And the wind gusts reached velocities of less than a hundred klicks an hour.
You see, I am preparing Muskeg Tours 2012 for publication. In 1987, I published the original text about the historic sites of the LIttle Long Lac Gold Camp. In that year I visited all the sites, took pictures, described the scenes. Soon I will publish a completely updated version. For the past year I've had only one more site to visit – well, re-visit. The Elmos mine.
Tom Johnson, prospector, was the father of this mining camp. It was Johnson who, in 1932, discovered the Little Long Lac mine on the south shore of Barton Bay, the west arm of Kenogamisis Lake. A railway ran about a mile-and-a-half north of the bay, and that was the only link to civilized Canada. There wasn't a single road in the region closer than a hundred miles. While he was waiting for a big-shot investor to arrive by plane, he explored a little further west down the bay. That's when he made the strike that would become the Elmos mine.
Okay, you have a question. Why has it taken me a year to get to the site? Well, it is out of the way. It never had a road to it. It was served by a wooden trestle that bridged a smaller bay back in the '30s. That trestle rotted away long ago. It is accessible now only by water. And I did try once last year – lined up a boat, and just as we were about to launch, my partner and I chickened out. The waves were formidable.
And then, you know how it is. One thing after another that claimed my attention, including writing my debut novel and getting it launched. So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
A few days ago I put my canoe in the water and made another attempt by myself. Again, driven back by the west wind and waves.
So yesterday, I enlisted another partner, and though it was still windy, we bucked the waves successfully. Only swamped once . . .
ORIGINAL POST 6 NOVEMBER 2011
Read the full post with photos on E.J. Lavoie's Blog > http://bit.ly/2dlCqvn
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