Grey Owl's Cabin - Day 11 - August 25, 2010

So today was the day we have been waiting for all holiday, our trip to Grey Owl's Cabin. We got up bright and early to be at the marina before 10 a.m. We paid for our trip and got our instructions on how and where to meet the boat. That was an adventure in and of itself. From the parking lot, it is a 1.5 km hike to the South End of Kingsmere Lake. Lots of tree roots to trip over and the rail cart system makes up part of the trail if you were to take a boat from the Waskesiu Lake Narrows over to Kingsmere Lake (a bit long for a portage!) Everything is still pretty saturated but there were some great sites to see en route.

This is the rail cart which is used to move watercraft between Kingsmere and Waskesiu Lakes. There is a river that joins them but it is very narrow and has rapids, so this is the easier solution to portage.

Check out my purposeful stride at the beginning of the hike. Hoofin' it!!!

So we arrived at Kingsmere Lake and promptly got in to our boat. Kingsmere Lake is interesting because it  is shallow for quite a distance than really deep all of a sudden, there is a shelf where the lake suddenly drops off.  Sheltered in the bay, and at a low speed, everything was hunky dory but once in deeper water, our pilot opened 'er up and we were flying across the waves and got soaked!!!

You certainly can not tell how rough it was. It jarred our teeth sometimes!

Our pilot and the "beach" where we disembarked on the North Side of Kingsmere Lake

Once we got to the other side, we immediately hit the trail as it is 3.2 km to Grey Owl's cabin from the shore. It was a beautiful hike sometimes in the woods, sometimes along Ajawaan Lake. Finally we came to Grey Owl's cabin "Beaver Lodge". It is so named because it has a beaver lodge inside of it!! Grey Owl was reintroducing beavers to the area and wanted the lodge very near his home. It is quite the site to behold.

The beaver lodge was in the corner next to the bed... you could hear the waves lapping just under the logs.

The outside of Beaver Lodge, Grey Owl's cabin.

We also went up the hill to the guest cabin which was also Anahareo's cabin as she could not tolerate the nocturnal habits of the beavers.

Anahareo's cabin, which also housed guests when they had them.

We then visited the grave site of Grey Owl, Anahareo and their daughter, Shirley Ann.

We returned to the Beaver Lodge, had a snack, drink of water and after brief rest which I allowed my socks and shoes to dry and was visited by the local butterflies, we then hit the happy trail again back to the north end of Kingsmere Lake.

My new friend. It kept tasting me with it's little butterfly tongue. So cute!! You can't tell in the picture but it's body was a lovely shade of fuzzy green and when it's wings were in the closed position, it appeared like pine bark. Clever disguise!

Connor and I enjoying the deck and the scenery of Ajawaan Lake.

From the south end of Ajawaan Lake, you can make out the grey form of Beaver Lodge through the trees.

Coming back in the boat, I thought I was smart sitting in the back with the pilot but a wave came back off the shore and soaked my back side from the waist down. I also had to do some bailing as lots of water had come into the boat. Tim was sitting up front but after a few of the larger wind whipped waves, the bouncing that Connor enjoyed so much was hurting his back so I had to change positions with him. The pilot took it a bit easier after that, not quite so fast or hitting the waves quite so hard. It was fun and we did get wet.

Finally we got to the South End and disembarked, walked back to the parking lot and returned to our trailer to change. We had cookies and milk, then Connor put on his trunks and we headed out to the beach!!

It was a beautiful warm day so Connor hit the waves while Tim and I caught a few rays.

After an hour or two, we'd had enough, put our stuff back in the van and went to the "Angry Taco" restaurant for really excellent Mexican. Who knew in the middle of northern Saskatchewan they would have excellent Mexican food. Super cute place too, and reasonable considering.

It's hard to believe that we are packing up and leaving tomorrow. We are a bit sad now that the warm weather is finally showing up but, that is life and we must get back to reality!