Where In Algonquin? » Where is this #109 » 3/10/2017 2:04 pm |
looks a bit like Crow Bay but I don't think the hill is that large.
Campsite Cooking » what kind/brand of freeze dried to you like and why? » 3/09/2017 7:44 am |
BasilTG,
None of this is rocket science; you'll find it all quite simple...
Recipes will indicate amounts needed and then you adjust (add more water) based upon how well it re-hydrated. You also get a feel for it over a few times...generally add enough water as you would milk in your breakfast cereal so the dehydrated food is not swimming in water, but resting on it and soaking it up.
You can put it in a pouch (i.e. ziploc baggie) or in a cup, pot or container based upon your need and intended use. For instance, if I am re-hydrating stuffed peppers for dinner, I'll do that in a pot so I can heat it over the fire to enjoy it.
I don't divide into portions prior to dehydrating because I don't prepare bulk amounts. For instance, if I am going to make olive tampenade, I will make a full recipe (more than enough for a couple people) and dehydrate it. When we're at camp I will remove some of the dehydrated product and place it in a cup or bowl to hydrate. If we're still hungry or want more after eating that, it's a simple matter of hydrating a little more.
The more challenging aspects are that some foods (meats) require longer to hydrate and other foods require more water (hummus, for instance, tends to be quite porous and soaks up water like a sponge). It's a matter of trial and error...and if you have added too much water, pour some out.
Fishing » What's Your Personal Best? » 2/17/2017 12:57 am |
Swede,
I love your passion for preservation! Your delivery is a little rough around the edges, but the message gets through loud and clear. I share your love for the outdoors and protecting/preserving the resources we are fortunate enough to enjoy.
Both of my largest came within a 48 hour span one spring about five years ago and both were returned to the water unharmed using barbless hooks. This beauty of a speckled trout caught along the Petawawa River system on a black and gold rapala X-rap was the largest of four I caught within about 45 minutes (15", 17", 19" and 23" in length):
And a day or two later I was surprised when I landed this 23" smallie out of Happy Isle Lake. It was rather lean after a long winter under the ice and didn't provide the classic battle that smallmouth typically do (due to the cooler spring water, I expect). But I was giddy with excitement!
And I still have that hat...it's not as white as she used to be, but it fits like no other!
History » 3 New Ruins Added! + Other Updates » 2/12/2017 12:43 pm |
No problem at all. I love those sorts of things when you see them, try to figure them out and then come to learn that it was something close to what you expected or completely out in left field.
It's hard to imagine the amount and speed of icy, rocky water that must have be blasting through there to cause it. The area in the Susquehanna river that is like that is suspected to be from a glacial lake release as well. There are thousands of depressions, cavities and potholes in one small stretch where the river narrows and the bedrock is resistant. It's also very good smallmouth fishing there!
History » 3 New Ruins Added! + Other Updates » 2/12/2017 10:18 am |
Peek,
The photo you have in the "Blast Channel" section with the caption of "I don't know what this is, email me if you know" appears to be what is referred to as a "Pothole".
It's a geologic landform or remnant of erosion from very fast flowing water. Essentially it starts as a small depression in bedrock with a few pebbles or rocks laying on it. As water flows over it, the current creates a circular motion that carries the rocks around and acts as an abrasive - sort of a blend between sand paper (for small pebbles) and a jackhammer (for larger rocks). As they spin, they have the effect of acting like a massive drill. Googling "pothole landform" or "pothole erosion" will show many images of these features.
I believe they are most commonly associated with massive glacial outflows - areas where a glacial dam holds back a lake and then releases its contents in a short period of time. There are many along the length of the Susquehanna river in my back yard at a place called "Falmouth" and I have seen these in other areas such as Algonquin (formation of Eustache lake, the Barron Canyon are suspected to be the result of these glacial dam releases), I've seen them on the tops of the mountains of Acadia Park on the coast of Maine - with holes drilled into the very hard granite, which is quite impressive. They also appear in non-glacial areas where reliably fast water flows over bedrock.
Most are small - perhaps the diameter of 10 to 30 centimeters - but some can be massive at a meter or many meters across. For those you need some really catastrophic, biblical-type flooding to scour that hard and with that much power, energy and time.
Very cool features and your photo clearly shows the bunch of rocks in the bottom that were circulating in there for eons (or at least for the time that the heavy flow was over-running that area).
Where In Algonquin? » Where in Algonquin? No. 90 » 2/03/2017 12:30 pm |
No bubbles, so it's likely not below a waterfall or substantial rapids but it is a substantial flow. Looks like low water conditions with the color pattern on exposed rocks.
The only reasonable explanation for the water surface disturbance of this nature that I've seen before is a massive school of ginormous Speckled Trout. Oddly enough, when I've witnessed this phenomenon in the past, the trout were never biting.
Where In Algonquin? » Where in Algonquin? No. 90 » 2/03/2017 7:08 am |
I'm thinking it's got to be somewhere upstream of the Shall Lake access area but I've never been there to fashion a legitimate guess. That "East of Annie Bay" clue really narrows it down quite a bit (pun intended). There should be pretty good flow through there with the Opeongo River. Also wondering if the water's surface disturbance might be related to a dam just upstream of the photo? Not asking for clues, just thinking out loud.
I think I will have to visit that access point this summer and catch a couple Northern Pike as well.
Campsite Cooking » Stove vs Campfire Cooking » 2/03/2017 6:56 am |
I'm a 66.667% fire and 33.333% stove guy - breakfast is usually boiled water on the stove for oatmeal, coffee, tea and hot chocolate (me, wife, kids, respectively). Sometimes we'll have our home-made granola with milk in the morning but we still boil a bit of water for the drinks.
Almost every other cooked meal is done over the fire. I don't even notice the soot since I use a small nylon zippered sleeve that came with my camp cook set to hold my pot. I might have banged the pot off a a rock once in the past five years to knock off the soot. I love cooking over wood - and do it at home quite a bit as well during spring, summer and autumn to further hone my skills. When I grill, it's wood, charcoal or a combination of both.
As far as harvesting deadwood, I find ample wood is about 80 meters from the tent site back in the woods. Usually 30 or 40 meters past the thunderbox begins to reveal a nice bounty depending upon how far from an access point you are. I never bring an ax...just a little folding saw that we will cut some larger boughs of downed trees and then carry to the camp. Once in camp I merely saw halfway through a branch and then break the other half - sawing wood takes a lot of time/energy so this cuts it in half (pun intended). Smaller stuff that is wrist-thick or less is broken on a rock or with a quick boot.
We have fires that we cook dinner over and then put larger logs on for the evening so that it requires less maintenance and tending. I also pride myself in being able to start a fire in virtually any conditions including wind-driven rain. I love that challenge! And I am a generous individual who always leaves more wood for the next fellow...you never know when that group might come to shore after a long, cold, wet day and need that fire as a matter of safety. That happened to us once and the reverence I felt for that anonymous good Samaritan changed my behavior forever. We leave a full "kit" that includes large logs and
Where In Algonquin? » Where in Algonquin? No. 90 » 2/02/2017 12:06 pm |
Heading from Grand into Stratton? If it's further east of this guess, we are REALLY narrowing it down!
And, for the record, I don't think this is actually correct due to the shoreline in the channel between Grand and Stratton being less steep and less rocky...it's more gently sloped and weedy with shallows if memory serves me correctly. However, there appears to be a substantial flow through there in your photo based upon the appearance of the water's surface so I figured it was worth a "go"!
I also love that you don't give too many and easy hints...it builds the anticipation further with each wrong guess!
Trip Planning » Spring trip » 2/02/2017 10:29 am |
Hi Cat,
I like Dan's suggestion - partly because it reflects my tripping preferences of getting to a camp, get set-up and then explore with a lightweight load for a couple days.
You will have far greater luck fishing the rivers/streams compared to the lakes - more fish (although generally smaller ones) and easier to locate. Try any deep holes or riffles/rapids and places where streams enter into the river or where the river enters into a lake/pond.
Small spinners, rubber stuff (little tube jigs, twisters) and small rapalas or stickbaits that imitate minnows tend to produce the best results. Take your time, enjoy your journey!
Trip Planning » White Partridge Loop » 12/06/2016 12:30 pm |
Hi Lenny,
We haven't run into any substantial bug problems through nearly all of the May trips we have done. That being said, we usually go the second or third week of May and we occasionally have run into some pesky black flies but not hoards of them that I've heard of later in May or early June. Obviously you can get a warm snap and have a good hatch but we always bring along DEET and have only had isolated times where it was truly needed - and those were generally short-lived.
We were more bothered by mosquitoes at dusk in August than anything we've hit in May. I like the fact that many folks are deeply concerned with bugs in May...it keeps some folks away and leaves more fish for us!
Also, while it is not my position to impart my beliefs on others (but that never stopped me before!!) I will politely ask that you practice catch-and-release with the speckled trout you come across. The occasional shore lunch is fine (and most long-distance trippers such as yourself don't take any more than that) but it just helps to maintain a healthy fishery to limit the harvest. We also pinch the barbs on all of our hooks to reduce trauma and speed the release process. Thanks for considering!
Trip Planning » White Partridge Loop » 12/06/2016 6:50 am |
Hi Lenny,
No, I never did the bushwhack to the forks...just hypothesized. I know the challenges of bushwhacking and compare the relatively short distance (2 km) of that bushwhack to a full day of paddle/portage and figured that they would roughly be equal in time. Not to insinuate that it would be easy...although it would be more manageable with two folks and potentially leap-frogging with the canoe and packs throughout the day.
I have focused on a route that would head southwest from the western end of Eustache and then a turn to the south towards Peek's Lake to circumvent the large hill. Then turning WSW to finish out the shortcut and hope to hit White Partridge Creek just upstream of the forks north of the swampy lowlands that border its eastern shoreline.
We've done base camps on Lavieille and on Red Pine Bay - both of them give good options for accessing various bodies of water. I don't know that you would have the same number of options along the Crow (either go upstream or downstream!) but it does free up a lot more fishing time and also satisfies the wanderlust since you are traveling every day!
Trip Planning » White Partridge Loop » 12/05/2016 4:49 pm |
I've looked at similar loops and usually landed on two distinct different options:
1. Start at Opeongo, water taxi to Wright Lake and spend the day traveling to Little Dickson. Day 2 on White Partridge. Day 3 on Forks, Lavaque or Mallic. Day 4 and 5 on Lavieille. Day 6 on Dickson or Wright.
2. Start at A52 and go to Eustache - fish the lake and scout for an overland bushwhack route to the forks. Day 2 bushwhack to the forks and stay at Lavaque or Mallic. The remainder of your trip as you describe looping through Lavieille, Dickson and White Partridge.
I like the first one because when fishing is the objective I don't like doing long travel days. In spite of fishing on virtually every step of the route, we never seem to find enough time to hit areas good and hard since we are breaking/making camp every darned day which just eats time. The shorter distances traveled each day allow for a lot of fishing time and experience without the pressure to go-go-go.
We actually do more base camping because of that - kill ourselves to get somewhere like Lavieille in one day and then do long day trips where we cook our big meal around noon on some distant campsite that took 5 or 6 hours to get to (fishing all the way there) and then fish our way back to our base site. This way you lose no time to making/breaking camp but get to do an exceptional amount of exploring and fishing - especially at the best time of day for trout - in very early morning and late evening.
We also try to incorporate river/stream fishing in each trip - it helps make you feel better because you almost always catch trout (although smaller ones) compared to some challenging lake fishing. Depth maps help tremendously to find the right underwater topography and drop-offs to troll over or fish on top of.
Where In Algonquin? » Where in Algonquin? No. 71 » 11/02/2016 5:56 am |
With that hint I would say it looks a little like Perley Lake. But I don't recall the shallow, weedy area...but that appears closer to shore and we were out in the middle so it would not have been as evident.
Where In Algonquin? » Where in Algonquin No. 70 » 10/27/2016 1:04 pm |
Sitting in front of your computer?
I think we have a winner.
Campsite Cooking » Wintergreen Tea » 10/20/2016 1:02 pm |
I doubt you had fermentation...but most certainly evaporation and condensation on the bottle. You would need sugar and yeast for fermentation...I expect there is quite possibly sugar in the leaves but not so likely that there was adequate or appropriate yeast present. So you likely had a pleasant Wintergreen (or teaberry) tea! It would make for an interesting addition to some IPA though!
Also, the active ingredient is similar to, but not identical to aspirin and can be fatal (although you would need to ingest a TON of the leaves or 5ml of the pure oil to kill you, so the risk is exceptionally small). It is Methyl salicylate in wintergreen oil and acetylsalicylic acid in aspirin but each of them produces salicylic acid as a metabolite...so when either drug gets into your liver, your liver breaks them down and one of the resulting products is the same. It is a mild analgesic - thus the reason for use by native communities. A couple references below for your edification...
I love using the sources of nature like this so kudos to you for giving it a shot! It is so interesting how much native peoples understood about their environment that we no longer have that information passed and shared as commonly today in spite of living in the information age!
Wintergreen or Teaberry -
Aspirin -
Where In Algonquin? » Where in Algonquin #68 » 10/17/2016 8:26 am |
Jaromir Jagr lake?