-
Happy Old Rock Day! 🌍🪨💎
Reservoir Manicouagan QC Aug/Sep 2025
- Thread starter recped
- Start date
I've made my New Years Resolutions........
1 - Make it to 2027 (alive)
2 - Go on a long solo trip this summer (must include current and rapids I can run)
3 - Finish this #)*$&@*#^$ trip report!
One down, two to go!
September 5 - Day 17
Distance: 11.1km (Total 237.3)
Time: 4hr 34m
Caltopo Map: https://caltopo.com/m/B8MTMST
Not a very restful night, the wind had continued throughout fortunately with nothing more than the flapping of tent material. At 10:30 I got up for real and ventured outside, the wind was steady as were the incoming waves, at least there were no visible white caps. After a couple of minutes a light rain started, returning to the shelter I could sense that the winds were diminishing but this was only a cruel trick, the rain was brief and the winds once again picked up, quickly exceeding the previous level with waves of about 2ft.
I made a quick breakfast while pondering my options. Checking the map (again), I estimated it was 6.5km to the takeout, under perfect conditions that would be 90 minutes or less, surely I could do it in less than 3 hours give the current wind levels. With sunset at 7:10pm my cut off time for a departure would be 4:00pm at the latest.
It was clear from the weather forecast that conditions over the following two days would likely be worse than today. If I decided to not attempt the exit today I would need to find a more sheltered location if I was going to sit tight for several days.
On many of my solo trips, I find that when I am a few days from the finish I get a little depressed that it will be over soon. Once I reach the final night I start to get an urge to get it over with and get back to the comforts of the civilized world and that is where I find myself today, thinking about hot showers, fresh food, better conversation than what my friend Fuddle can provide,
I made a plan! Since I will be making it to the takeout or moving to a better camp location, I will need to pack up my gear and be ready to move when decision time comes for either option.
I sat around for a while then started to pack up; just before 3:00pm I decided to load the canoe. First step was to take down the POD, next was to drag the canoe partially out of the water because the waves were really causing it to rock and roll and take on water. At 3:20pm I pushed the canoe off the beach and into the water, I jumped into the boat and started paddling hard.
During the first minute or two, it did not seem so bad, my direct route was due east, and the waves were coming from the SSE with a height of 1.5 – 2ft. To avoid getting broadside to the waves I would need head southeast. My Mohawk XL14, which had been the “wrong” boat for the previous 16 days, was now the perfect boat, its wide snub nose bow rides up and down, not good for speed but great for a dry ride. Initially I gave a thought to crossing over to the protection of the south shore of the bay; it would provide shelter from the wind but add 2 – 3km to the total distance to the takeout. The North shore was much closer but offered no wind protection and likely the waves piling up on that shoreline would be worse than out in the middle.
I took a quick over my shoulder to see how far I had come, it was depressing, I had covered perhaps 100m. That brief look back was enough to go sideways to the waves, no harm, no foul but I knew that I needed to pay attention, keep a steady pace and maintain my direction.
The waves seemed to be getting bigger, there were now very strong gusts, In the distance I could see whitecaps moving in my direction, the gusts themselves would reach me followed by the breaking waves up to 3ft, it was a bouncy ride but I did not sense any impending danger.
In the first 30 minutes, my progress was only 675 meters, moving slowly eastward “crab style”. At 1 hour, I had covered only 1.5km, at 1hr 45m / 2.9km, I reached an tiny exposed rock island that provided some calm on the leeward side. I took a smoke break here for a few minutes; in the distance to the east, I could see smooth water. It would be there that I would find the mouth of the incoming stream leading to the takeout.
I set my target and resumed paddling; conditions improved slightly, smaller waves but the wind direction required more correction strokes. After 2+ hours of continuous paddling my stroke rate has slowed but I could feel (and see on my GPS) that my moving average was increasing somewhat.
It had been 3 hours since I left camp, I started into the area where the waves were gone and the wind greatly diminished, probably about 2km left to the takeout. When I had started the trip I had hurried to get to camp 1 well before sunset, I had not really looked back at all as I departed; I think I just assumed it would be obvious. It has been a very rare thing for me to begin and end a trip in the same location, this is probably just the 2nd time in 25 years and I recall being confused on that occasion as well.
Something just did not feel right as I entered the bay. Where was that incoming stream? Perhaps hidden in a corner? Deep into the bay the water was like glass, but there was no narrows to pass through. My earlier concern was justified; I was definitely not in the right place! I had missed the turn that led to the takeout!
Oh well crap happens, I made it through the wind and waves, this is just a minor annoyance. I referred to my map & GPS to find the actual takeout location. I had gone past the turn by about 2km so I faced a total of almost 4km to reach the takeout.
While I finished my smoke I looked back at the big island, the sky to the far west was cloudy; It was less than 10 minutes to official sunset, there would be no colours to enjoy and darkness would be not far off. I started to paddle as fast as possible, 25 minutes to get back to the turn (1.9km), by this time twilight was almost gone. Another 25 minutes in total darkness brought me to the finish.
I had already decided that I would land at the old fish camp on the opposite side of the creek from where I had put-in. There was no way I was going to risk taking my truck down that crazy track nor did I have any interest in carrying any of my stuff up that hill. The road in to the fish camp was very good but it did mean a 2 km hike out to the main road, across the creek bridge and up to the other access road where I had left my truck.
I set off on my hike, as I walked I started to think about my truck, was it still there? Has it been vandalized? Did I have four flat tires? Would it start? None of these things was likely, very few if anyone would have known it was there and I had disconnected the battery to ensure there was juice available. When I reached the truck all was well, the most likely thing to disappear, a jerry can of gas was still in the back, tires all fully inflated. I reconnected the battery and jumped in, instant startup!!!!
I drove back to the fish camp and started loading up; I tried to organize my gear so that I had easy access during the drive home and enough space to set up my sleeping pad, I would be camping out somewhere close by tonight. I was loaded and on my way just after 10:00pm, I only drove about 20km when I decided I had enough and parked at a truck pull-off beside the “highway” (back on the gravel section). Soon I was asleep in the back of the truck, tomorrow I will start my 1500km drive home……..
You may have noticed the lack of pictures for my last day. I’m not exactly sure how it happened but I took no pictures whatsoever, none at my last camp, none while paddling and none at the takeout. To make up for that I offer a selection of pictures of “pretty rocks”. The last pic is a melt rock most likely created at the time of the meteor impact.
1 - Make it to 2027 (alive)
2 - Go on a long solo trip this summer (must include current and rapids I can run)
3 - Finish this #)*$&@*#^$ trip report!
One down, two to go!
September 5 - Day 17
Distance: 11.1km (Total 237.3)
Time: 4hr 34m
Caltopo Map: https://caltopo.com/m/B8MTMST
Not a very restful night, the wind had continued throughout fortunately with nothing more than the flapping of tent material. At 10:30 I got up for real and ventured outside, the wind was steady as were the incoming waves, at least there were no visible white caps. After a couple of minutes a light rain started, returning to the shelter I could sense that the winds were diminishing but this was only a cruel trick, the rain was brief and the winds once again picked up, quickly exceeding the previous level with waves of about 2ft.
I made a quick breakfast while pondering my options. Checking the map (again), I estimated it was 6.5km to the takeout, under perfect conditions that would be 90 minutes or less, surely I could do it in less than 3 hours give the current wind levels. With sunset at 7:10pm my cut off time for a departure would be 4:00pm at the latest.
It was clear from the weather forecast that conditions over the following two days would likely be worse than today. If I decided to not attempt the exit today I would need to find a more sheltered location if I was going to sit tight for several days.
On many of my solo trips, I find that when I am a few days from the finish I get a little depressed that it will be over soon. Once I reach the final night I start to get an urge to get it over with and get back to the comforts of the civilized world and that is where I find myself today, thinking about hot showers, fresh food, better conversation than what my friend Fuddle can provide,
I made a plan! Since I will be making it to the takeout or moving to a better camp location, I will need to pack up my gear and be ready to move when decision time comes for either option.
I sat around for a while then started to pack up; just before 3:00pm I decided to load the canoe. First step was to take down the POD, next was to drag the canoe partially out of the water because the waves were really causing it to rock and roll and take on water. At 3:20pm I pushed the canoe off the beach and into the water, I jumped into the boat and started paddling hard.
During the first minute or two, it did not seem so bad, my direct route was due east, and the waves were coming from the SSE with a height of 1.5 – 2ft. To avoid getting broadside to the waves I would need head southeast. My Mohawk XL14, which had been the “wrong” boat for the previous 16 days, was now the perfect boat, its wide snub nose bow rides up and down, not good for speed but great for a dry ride. Initially I gave a thought to crossing over to the protection of the south shore of the bay; it would provide shelter from the wind but add 2 – 3km to the total distance to the takeout. The North shore was much closer but offered no wind protection and likely the waves piling up on that shoreline would be worse than out in the middle.
I took a quick over my shoulder to see how far I had come, it was depressing, I had covered perhaps 100m. That brief look back was enough to go sideways to the waves, no harm, no foul but I knew that I needed to pay attention, keep a steady pace and maintain my direction.
The waves seemed to be getting bigger, there were now very strong gusts, In the distance I could see whitecaps moving in my direction, the gusts themselves would reach me followed by the breaking waves up to 3ft, it was a bouncy ride but I did not sense any impending danger.
In the first 30 minutes, my progress was only 675 meters, moving slowly eastward “crab style”. At 1 hour, I had covered only 1.5km, at 1hr 45m / 2.9km, I reached an tiny exposed rock island that provided some calm on the leeward side. I took a smoke break here for a few minutes; in the distance to the east, I could see smooth water. It would be there that I would find the mouth of the incoming stream leading to the takeout.
I set my target and resumed paddling; conditions improved slightly, smaller waves but the wind direction required more correction strokes. After 2+ hours of continuous paddling my stroke rate has slowed but I could feel (and see on my GPS) that my moving average was increasing somewhat.
It had been 3 hours since I left camp, I started into the area where the waves were gone and the wind greatly diminished, probably about 2km left to the takeout. When I had started the trip I had hurried to get to camp 1 well before sunset, I had not really looked back at all as I departed; I think I just assumed it would be obvious. It has been a very rare thing for me to begin and end a trip in the same location, this is probably just the 2nd time in 25 years and I recall being confused on that occasion as well.
Something just did not feel right as I entered the bay. Where was that incoming stream? Perhaps hidden in a corner? Deep into the bay the water was like glass, but there was no narrows to pass through. My earlier concern was justified; I was definitely not in the right place! I had missed the turn that led to the takeout!
Oh well crap happens, I made it through the wind and waves, this is just a minor annoyance. I referred to my map & GPS to find the actual takeout location. I had gone past the turn by about 2km so I faced a total of almost 4km to reach the takeout.
While I finished my smoke I looked back at the big island, the sky to the far west was cloudy; It was less than 10 minutes to official sunset, there would be no colours to enjoy and darkness would be not far off. I started to paddle as fast as possible, 25 minutes to get back to the turn (1.9km), by this time twilight was almost gone. Another 25 minutes in total darkness brought me to the finish.
I had already decided that I would land at the old fish camp on the opposite side of the creek from where I had put-in. There was no way I was going to risk taking my truck down that crazy track nor did I have any interest in carrying any of my stuff up that hill. The road in to the fish camp was very good but it did mean a 2 km hike out to the main road, across the creek bridge and up to the other access road where I had left my truck.
I set off on my hike, as I walked I started to think about my truck, was it still there? Has it been vandalized? Did I have four flat tires? Would it start? None of these things was likely, very few if anyone would have known it was there and I had disconnected the battery to ensure there was juice available. When I reached the truck all was well, the most likely thing to disappear, a jerry can of gas was still in the back, tires all fully inflated. I reconnected the battery and jumped in, instant startup!!!!
I drove back to the fish camp and started loading up; I tried to organize my gear so that I had easy access during the drive home and enough space to set up my sleeping pad, I would be camping out somewhere close by tonight. I was loaded and on my way just after 10:00pm, I only drove about 20km when I decided I had enough and parked at a truck pull-off beside the “highway” (back on the gravel section). Soon I was asleep in the back of the truck, tomorrow I will start my 1500km drive home……..
You may have noticed the lack of pictures for my last day. I’m not exactly sure how it happened but I took no pictures whatsoever, none at my last camp, none while paddling and none at the takeout. To make up for that I offer a selection of pictures of “pretty rocks”. The last pic is a melt rock most likely created at the time of the meteor impact.
Successful journey & great TR. I’d like to challenge any future paddler who tries to recreate this trip to see if they can make a CostCo chicken last longer….
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I enjoyed the TR but there's no way any chicken would last that long around me. 1) I like roasted chicken and 2) I'm not nearly that brave. Happily, the 1st makes the 2nd irrelevant.
Thanks for finishing it up Recped. Curious though: do you collect the pretty rocks or catch & release?
Thanks for finishing it up Recped. Curious though: do you collect the pretty rocks or catch & release?
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