We woke up early to the sound of rain hitting the cabin and it was nice to be inside a building instead of our tent. We both slept in and laid in our sleeping bags listening to the rain. We finally got up and made breakfast of pancakes and bacon. We spent a relaxing morning inside the cabin as it rained, slowly packing up our gear. Our float plane was scheduled to arrive between 1 pm and 2 pm but this was a little uncertain due to the weather. The rain stopped by midmorning and we were packed up ready to go by 12:45 pm.
Around 1:20 pm we heard a plane and we paddled out to meet it. However, the plane had two gentlemen from the Redman Lake outpost about 4 miles away. They stopped here at Burntrock to get some parts needed to get the Redman Lake outpost ready for a moose hunting party.
As 2 pm passed we had heard nothing from the outfitter. We sent a satellite text message to them via the Garmin InReach around 3 pm but heard nothing until 4:15 pm. While the weather had improved for us at Burntrock, the surrounding areas were still socked in with low level clouds making flying unsafe. We were told that the float plane might still get to us that day, but it was uncertain. We had plenty of food and no hurry so we suggested that they could pick us up the next day if necessary.
By 5:30pm we were certain we would spend another night at the outpost and that was just fine. However, as we were paddling the shoreline collecting firewood, we heard the distinctive sound of a radial piston engine. Yup, our float plane, a 70 year old DeHavilland Beaver was on approach! We quickly paddled back to the camp, dumped the firewood, loaded up the canoe with our gear and paddled out to the plane. Sarah, the pilot, helped with load our gear inside the plane and then asked us to grab a seat and buckle up. It was her responsibility to tie down the canoe. She took her time and made sure the canoe was really secure on top of one of the floats. Before we knew it, we were off!
Our smooth flight was about 35 minutes and it was really cool to see an aerial view of the areas we had paddled earlier. So many lakes and rivers! As we got closer to Armstrong, Sarah reduced our altitude to stay below the cloud ceiling. It was a wonderful experience in an historic aircraft.
Once at the dock by Wabakimi Outfitter Lodge, we had planned to load up the car and drive 3 hours to a hotel in Thunder Bay. However, it was already 6:30 pm and we did not want to drive that long lonely road in the dark and dodging moose. Bruce encouraged us to stay the night and leave in the morning. A homecooked meal was already being served, so we sat down and enjoyed the food and a relaxing evening. There was good conversation with other paddlers and some visiting members of the Friends of Wabakimi organization.
Journeys with Jeff and Ellen 