ELK - THELON RIVER CANOE TRIP
August 2001
Alex Hall passed away in March 2019. This webpage is posted in his memory. The Elk-Thelon was the first of five trips I took with Alex.
When I returned from canoe trips I put my trip journal, notes and comments, pictures and other documents related to the trip in a scrapbook. The following is from the scrapbook for this trip. Unfortunately, the pictures are from scanned prints. The background/overview and the journal entries were written by me in 2001. I had experience canoeing Quetico Provincial Park/Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area but this was my first experience on a wilderness river trip. The rookie river paddler showed in some of the journal entries!
BACKGROUND/OVERVIEW
Expectations
We had five canoes on the trip. There was a 21-foot Old Town Tripper, three 17-foot Old Town Trippers and one 16-foot Mad River. The five extra paddles used by the canoers were tied into the canoes against the side. The yoke did not have shoulder pads. Instead, the paddles used by the canoers were held in place by cord with the paddle portion on the yoke and the handles tied to the front thwart. The paddle rested on your shoulder and you could hold the paddle handles while portaging instead of the gunwales. This was more comfortable portaging than with shoulder pads! The straight-shaft, beaver-tail paddles were long and heavy with the paddle portion being longer and narrower than the paddles I have used on other trips. In some ways, they resembled voyageur paddles.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner each had their standard menus.
Breakfast : Oatmeal packets or granola cereal, brown sugar and milk for the cereal, orange juice and hot water for coffee/tea/hot chocolate. When we were through, we rinsed our cups, bowls and spoons in the river.
Lunch : Wasa Lite Ry-Krisp with peanut butter and jelly, ‘natural’ (crystalized) honey (a good spread replacing butter for future personal trips), and about five cans of meat and/or fish. These might be chicken, turkey, sardines, salmon, tuna, crabmeat, Vienna sausages, corn beef, etc. These items were placed in one area. Fruit drink was mixed and placed in another area a short distance away. Dessert consisted of various kinds of nuts, dried fruit and chocolate bars. You made your lunch selection from the food available. Again, each person rinsed his cup in the river.
Supper : The first item was bannock that was dumped on a tuff of ‘grass’ or a rock. This was followed by soup (fish was added if some had been caught by 4:45) and the main course of dried pasta and canned meat. Dessert was pudding or reconstituted freeze-dried fruit such as apples, raspberries or blackberries. It was different every night. We rinsed the dishes in the river and placed them at a spot where Alex had set the dishwashing utensils; he washed the dishes in hot soapy water every night.
The tents provided were Sierra Design 4-person tents. We slept two per tent. Each tent had twenty-seven pegs and all were used for staking the tent, rain fly and ropes. Alex said that one time this year he had a tent on a ridge blown away when all twenty-seven stakes were used and about 100 pounds of gear was inside. When we could not use stakes, we placed rocks on about eighteen-inch-square pieces of mosquito netting that were attached to the loops on the tent. Using mosquito netting meant that the material would dry quickly.
Arriving at Ft. Smith August 2nd: Arrived at Ft. Smith by car and checked into Anna Hodgkin’s Bed and Breakfast. Met Alex at his home and later he picked me up and I got my personal gear pack and selected my paddle. We met Bill W on the way and Bill and I made arrangements to meet for supper. After supper, I started working on packing my gear. Alex and I talked some about his trips and changes he makes. Alex said that when you know the best places, there isn’t much need to change.
ON THE WATER
August 4th
Had breakfast and packed items I was not taking on the trip in my car that I left at Anna’s. Alex picked us up at 7:30 and we drove to the float plane base. We loaded the two planes which flew us to our starting point near the Elk River. I flew in the Beaver, the other plane was a Turbo Otter.
Stu
August 5th
The weather was overcast in the morning with a breeze out of the east. We portaged out of camp to a small lake; took three passes. After a short paddle, we made a short portage to the Elk River where we ate lunch.
August 6th
Started canoeing shortly after nine. We stopped a short distance from our camp to look at a site where old tent rings existed. There were even a few pieces of wood remaining form the camp. We paddled a few stretches of fast water. The canoes came together on the water and Alex told us how to proceed. Further down the river we came to a rapid that we scouted. I was a little reluctant to paddle stern without first seeing it run so Alex said he would take the canoe through. After he ran it, I felt I could do it. However, he wanted to lead the canoes through so Dave paddled bow for him and I walked to the end. We then came to another rapid that we scouted and we successfully navigated it to the point where we pulled out for about a quarter-mile portage. We ate lunch at the end of the portage.
August 7th
We were on the water at 8:55 and were paddling river without lakes most of the day. We encountered about five rapids today. Three we ran with instructions from Alex on the water and the other two we scouted. Dave and I made it through both. We got hung up on a rock in one, which we successfully got off without flipping. We just kissed a rock on the other. Nooooooo problem!
August 8th
The night was cool, but it had warmed up to fifty degrees when we got up at seven. We were on the water at nine and paddled most of the morning into a breeze. It was windy and there were whitecaps in places. We did not get our canoe properly balanced when we packed.
August 9th
We woke to wind and a temperature of 45. We packer our gear but did not take our tent down. After breakfast, the wind started to calm down so we broke camp and were on the water at 9:15. We paddled across the lake were we saw the whitecaps breaking yesterday. There were 1.5 to 2 foot swells and some whitecaps but no big ones.
August 10th
Up at seven with the temperature forty-six degrees; it was cloudy with intermittent rain all day. We started with a ¾-mile portage from camp. We did it in two stages. Easy except for a steep bank we had to go down at the end. Started paddling about ten thirty with Dave in stern.
August 11th
August 12th
There was light rain when we got up, but the skies cleared and the temperature was in the 60’s. The wind continued to blow. It was at our back on the lake we crossed, but in our face on the river. The wind was channeled by the river banks and the whitecaps and foam were coming up driver. I paddled bow again.
August 13th
It was raining and fifty-one degrees at 7:00. The rain stooped shortly after that. We allowed the tents to dry some and started canoeing at 9:55. We got to camp at mid-afternoon. Saw some caribou and bald eagles during the day along with the normal complement of geese and ducks.
August 14th
Alex asked that we get up about an hour early so we would be sure to be at the pick-up point on time. Got up at 5:55; temperature was 52. It started raining shortly after that and stopped about eight. Started paddling at 8:15 and arrived at the pick-up site at 9:45 just as the planes were arriving. They were not supposed to be there until 10:30. We saw two moose on an island in front of the pick-up site. They swam to the other shore while we were checking to be sure there were not any rocks just below the water’s surface that would cause problems for the planes.
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