Jul 042015
 

No wifi and no data…………..now this is living.  For the last couple days we have been incognito up here in north country.  It is so prestine and unspoiled that it is disappointing when we go to a spot and another boater is there.  Didn’t they know we were coming???

We left Covered Portage Cove by 7:30 only to stop about 5 minutes out of the cove  because we didn’t want to wake the other boaters with our gen running for breakfast.  Scott was surprised that after 11 hours sitting the batteries were capable of turning over both engines.  Just outside the cove we turned on the gen for the toaster and coffee and enjoyed the fresh air.   Then we  made our way west to a fjord, sort of.  It looks like a fjord and is the closest thing we will come to seeing one in Ontario.  The Baie Fine, pronounced Bay Fin, is a 20 km or so trek up a pine tree lined, rock bluff valley into what is known as “The Pool”.  The Pool is merely a widening of the fjord where the water “pools” which is the end for most boaters even though the water continues up much farther through bog.  “The Pool” is considered one of the best places to be up here in North Channel.  It had at least a half dozen boats there and we figured more were coming.  We had some leftovers for lunch, and then started to head back down the waterway.  We wanted to be alone with no boats around so we found a small carved out area and anchored there for the night.

In The Pool there is a dock that leads to a path to climb up the bluff.   We took Low Voltage out of her sling and headed over to the dock. Its a great hike through tall pines, rock and foliage.  At the top of the bluff you are awarded a beautiful view of a land locked lake.  Lake Topaz has no fish, no algae and no vegetation.  It is as virgin as a lake can be in these times.  Aiden and Scott took the first dip into the fresh water.  A bit nippy to swim in these parts this year but we won’t be back for several years so we must partake.  If you are coming north for vacation this year pack your warm clothes, wetsuits and lots of bug spray.  The nasty bugger black flies are still out and they have made a meal out of us.  Anyway Lake Topaz is higher in altitude than the Baie Fine so logically it should drain but it doesn’t.  It must have a very thick rock bottom where the water stays put.  It is quite large and many a boater makes the climb up the bluff on a well marked path.  However, marked very well it is not a climb that you will want to take if you are not fit enough to do so.  Scott showed Aiden how to jump from the cliffs at Lake Topaz.  So he started with a low 1 metre one and by the time we left was jumping off a 5 metre cliff, several times.  He is growing up so fast now that he is 12.  I reminded Scott that everything is 2 hours away and it may be a good idea to scale it back.  Did they?  Not those two!

After a few hours at Lake Topaz we headed back to our resting spot for the night.  We “showered” at the back of the boat which was needed after a bug spray and sunscreen mix.  Aiden has decided he is “sleeping out” tonight so he has secured a spot in the back of the boat and is ready for the night howls and sounds.  It has become the norm for the boys to head out fishing after dinner.  I get to do the dishes and write.  Not so bad when  my office overlooks the beauty and calm of these waters………………and we have run out of water in our holding tank.  So that means boiling water for dishes and adding lake water to the toilets for flushing.  Now we are really roughing it.

 Posted by at 11:21 PM