Triplogs / Triplog#57 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Days 4&5
May 11 - Day 4 - Day-trip to Raven Creek
It was shortly after 7:00 am when Mike hauled out a bench from the cabin, and set it up in front of the fire-pit. Mike was going to make bacon and eggs over the fire for breakfast. Awesome!
The weather was a cool spring morning, with lots of sunshine. By 8:30 am we were cleaning up after our delicious breakfast(Thanks Mike!), and decided that we would paddle up Raven creek to the remains of a lumber camp there. Paddling to Raven Creek was easy, but once we got onto Raven creek it became tricky. It was like the early part of Birchcliffe Creek all over again, only the switchbacks were tighter and the alders thicker along Raven Creek. Eventually we came upon a widening of the creek, so wide in fact it might as well have been a lake. It was through this section that we scraped bottom in a few spots, it was early spring and we had an empty canoe, I wonder how low the water would be in high summer!
Mike prepares a tasty breakfast over the fire-pit
The bacon was particularly good!
Eventually we came to a dam made of consequence via a long ago fallen tree. It was after we crossed this dam that the water became deeper and the water easier to navigate. We saw at least three large snapping turtles resting on the bottom of the creek. Shortly after the dam and the turtles, the creek widened again, this time to pond status and this is where we came upon the logging camp remains. We spent about an hour exploring the logging camp, the ruins are extensive but not as impressive as others I have seen. I guess when you visit Burntroot Lake, one becomes spoiled, and all other ruins pale in comparison. Still though, the ruins on Raven Creek had the look of not being rifled through as much as other popular more heavily travelled areas of The Park. We also traversed on foot the nearby 200m portage along Raven Creek. In case you are wondering, you have to paddle to the portage landing, you cannot walk on foot to it from the logging camp ruins. Well, if you could, I'm sure it would be a long tough walk through the bush. In any case it is a short paddle to the portage from the camp.
Mike finds an old two-man cross cut saw
Lots of relics: Bunk beds, buckets and a stove
We walked the short trail which was surrounded by a multitude of downed trees. I figure the storms of 2006 really did some damage in the area. The trail itself though was in great shape with only a few small dead trees that had fallen onto the trail, all of them easily moved by Mike & myself. We came to the end and saw a promising sight; a creek that looked to be alder free as far as the eye could see. Mike wanted to paddle further, but I didn't want to. We hadn't prepared for such a journey, we had our day pack but no food, just some gorp and water and the water filter. We had planned for just the short trip to the camp and back. It was decided to head back to the cabin and maybe come back another day, fully prepared for a longer day-trip. As we approached Birchcliffe Lake, we saw Iridescent clouds over the lake. It was a pretty phenomena, one neither of us had ever seen to such extent, especially in The Park, where one has more time to observe the skies, both out of necessity and beauty.
Remnants of an ice-sled: used to make ice-roads
Remains of a cabin at the Raven Creek Logging camp
We arrived back at the cabin around 12:30 pm and wasted no time, loading up the day pack and headed out behind the cabin. We decided to hit the trails in and around the area of the cabin. The trail doesn't go very far before it hits a very old logging road. We tried to head east, looking for the supposed trail to a now long forgotten and pushed over fire tower. We found pieces of old telephone wire and resistors used on telephone poles. It was very muddy, and eventually the road ended quite literally at a wall of new growth pines. We tried to push our way through, and ended up in a field of raspberry bushes, it was getting painful, and the more we pushed on, the more overgrown it became, so we turned around. We headed back towards the cabin, passing it and heading westward down the road. It was a muddy affair walking down the overgrown road, but soon we came upon a trail that led to the South shore campsite on the lake and an old portage. Following this, we came upon more old logging roads. They were all over the place.
Mike arrives at the East end of the 200m portage,
east of the logging camp
We walked up past Calm Lake, finally reaching Burt Lake. Here the road was flooded and we had to cross a beaver dam downstream from the road to get around it. We continued on till we found yet another fork in the old road. By this time it was 5:30 pm and the air had become damp, it was decided to turn around and head back to the cabin. Not once did we see or hear any wildlife along the way. We did manage to come upon a couple of blue tarps left behind next to a more active logging road. There were in near mint condition and suspect some of the locals or natives had left it behind, while traversing the logging roads. Overall, the area had an under-used look about it, and the lack of beer cans and trash that you might find in other areas of The Park were happily absent there. Thank you!
Looking East up Raven Creek from the 200m portage
Traversing an old logging road by foot near Birchcliffe Cabin
It became very cool that night and we decided to stay inside the cabin and light the stove. In a short time we had the cabin well heated, and it was possible to sit around in a t-shirt. The cabin itself was in pretty good shape with a few exceptions. The structure itself was sound, with three rooms: two bedrooms with 2 bunks each(No mattresses), the upper bunk suitable for one person, the lower large enough for two people(only in one of the bedrooms though) . The third room was the common room, housing the kitchen/stove, a counter, and a dinner table with four chairs. The cabin is around 15x20 feet. The stove(besides the damaged asbestos seal mentioned earlier) was in great shape, with excellent shielding along the floor, wall and nearby counter. There was some damage to the screen door and the window looking North. Both were duct-taped, and Mike further enhanced the repair with more duct-tape of his own. Mike also took notes with respects to the damaged window, providing detailed measurements which he then passed along to Al at the permit office. Al mentioned that they would be passed along to those in charge of planning repairs to cabins. Mike also told me that at one point he was awoken by the movements of a mouse across his chest as he slept on his bunk. No such mouse disturbed me, either that or by the loud snores Mike heard coming from me, I was sleeping like a log.
Iridescent clouds over Birchcliffe Lake
May 12 - Day 5 - A lazy day
A Bull moose feeds on Birchcliffe Lake
After breakfast, Both Mike and I heard some sloshing outside in the lake. It was 8:40 am, and we stepped outside to see a bull moose cross the mouth of Birchcliffe Creek at the North end of the lake as it made it's way to what we by now realized was a daily feeding spot. I'm almost sure it was the same older bull moose we had seen twice before. I asked Mike if he would come with me as I wanted to film the moose, perhaps on shore, with a tripod. Mike agreed and we decided to have breakfast first as we knew the moose would be there most of the morning. We took our time and even lazed around a bit, before we finally loaded up the canoe and headed over to observe the moose. It was almost lunchtime, around 11:40 am when we caught up with the moose. I filmed the moose for about 30 minutes, as well I took a bunch of still photos. The moose was content to feed while we quietly observed him. We then headed back to the cabin. Both of us not really in a mood to travel anymore that day. So we both hung around the cabin, chopping wood, eating, fishing(No luck), just generally relaxing the afternoon away.
The shallow waters of Birchcliffe Lake
provide excellent moose habitat
The nearby South-shore campsite on Birchcliffe Lake
It was yet another fine evening on Birchcliffe Lake, the loons were singing, the winds very light, the air slightly warm, and not a soul in sight. The lake was begging for a paddle, so Mike & I hopped in the canoe and paddled West into the sunset. When we reached the Northwest end of the lake, we heard a noise near us and looked over, there in the shadows of the blinding setting sun, we spied a cow moose feeding in the shoreline shallows. There was moose all over the lake! We saw more moose than people in the last four days; Moose 4, People 0. We hadn't seen anyone since our first night on Biggar Lake. We hadn't seen anyone in four days. It was sweet, there was nothing but good fresh air and the silence all around. I slept sound soundly once again as I drifted off to sleep early that night.
