Today was a big day of traveling along the Berg River. This was a river we had been looking forward to with the hope of catching some big fish. The Berg had many rapids that we were both excited and anxious about. We awoke to a misty morning and noticed that no matter what time we get up, it will take an hour and a half from wakeup to getting into the canoe. First was the long portage around the falls we explored yesterday. The portage was not bad and it did not take us long to get to the other side. We tried our luck fishing at the base of the falls, but no luck.
A little bit later we approached Moose Look Chute, two sets of small swifts that can be run with the canoe. However, since we are total rookies at running white water, it took us 20 minutes of debate if we should run it or not. We decided to go for it and it was pretty simple. We gained a little confidence. The second set did not look hard so we also ran it. Woohoo! After these small swifts we put in our fishing lines by the eddies. Unfortunately, no luck. The fish must be somewhere else.
A few minutes later we came upon Double Falls which was too “boney” (rocky) to be canoed and so we took the mandatory portage trail around. Along the portage we spotted an empty eagles nest. As we were finishing up the portage, four Swiss gentlemen in their 60s arrived. They were on an eleven day trip and had been to Wabakimi several times. They stated that they had seen very little wild life and the fishing had been terrible. They went ahead of us as we tried our luck fishing at the base of Double Falls.
About 15 minutes later we came upon another set of rapids which were very shallow and required us to “line” the canoe. This is where we each had a rope, one at the bow and one at the stern, to guide the canoe down river. A new skill we were learning.
After a long paddle, we came upon Oatmeal Cookie Rapids. The water level was very low and the rapids again very bony. Earlier in the season, this rapid could be run in higher water levels, but the portage trail was necessary today. We again dropped a line in the water, but to no avail.
The area we were now paddling through was burned in 1997 but showed tremendous regrowth. The map also stated that we were in prime mouse country. However, it was the middle of the day and hot and no moose were seen.
By late afternoon we were nearing the end of the Berg River. A very long long portage trail would take us around a series of dangerous rapids as the river entered the big water of Whitewater Lake. The portage trail was a challenge to locate, but we found it well worn and offering great views of the falls and rapids we were bypassing.
It had been a long day and we were looking forward to camp. The map showed two campsites, one at either side of the mouth of the Berg River. Unfortunately the Swiss gentlemen had occupied one of the sites and another party had the other. This might seem busy but those were only the second and third canoes seen in fives days of travel. We paddled back towards the river and found a sandy/rocky spot and created our own campsite and set up camp. It turned out to be a great site.
It was a great day on the Berg river but also a little disappointing as we didn’t catch any fish. We had read about the awesome fishing on the Berg and we were bummed that we got skunked. However, it was a beautiful river and we had gained some confidence running small rapids and lining a canoe.
Dinner was an instant “thanksgiving meal”. Ellen mixed up Stovetop stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, and rehydrated turkey jerky along with some turkey gravy. It was delicious but next time we’re bringing some dried cranberries as well. Bedtime came early for Ellen at 8:15 pm while Jeff stayed up until around 9 pm. It was another night with the full moon and the rising of planets Jupiter and Saturn.
Journeys with Jeff and Ellen 