Black River April 2009 - Hastings County Ontario

David and Rob run this class three rapid in a narrow technical canyon on the upper Black River. The week before it was a portage but a little less water made it a great run. The Black is an advanced level whitewater river. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Right - A turkey vulture swoops over the Black River. Hopefully it wasn't waiting to feed on us, thinking we wouldn't make it down the next rapid alive. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Right-Ted and I scout the first canyon on the upper Black. Ted Arie Heather and I ran the river that day and the water was high! in this picture Ted and I are arguing over what line to take. Photo by Heather McGeorge
Ted and I getting lined up to run the first canyon while a white blanket of snow lies on the forest floor. Photo Arie Vander Reyden

Arie and I spinning around in an eddy. This river requires a lot of technical maneuvers.
Photo (c) Ted Baird 2009

Ted and Heather get sucked into a huge hole that almost dumped Arie and I.
Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

No way they can save this one now. Heather is still trying to low brace but Ted has just dropped his paddle. Heather bashed her elbow on a rock which gave her a bad cut while both of their paddles snapped in half, all on this dump. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

A small brook pours into a raging rapid on the Black. We portaged this one but the next week it was a great run. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

The upper Black flows through many small rugged canyons where the Canadian Shield dips South into Hastings County. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Arie is bundled up on a chilly April morning. Because of our late put in we camped along the upper river. There are a couple good sites in this stretch but almost all of it is on private property, which we didn't know at the time. The upper and lower can be run in a day, it's about a nine hour paddle in canoes. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Ted and Heather front ferry into an eddy.
Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Ted and I run a challenging, technical, and big rapid on the lower Black. This one was a lot of fun! Photo by Arie Vander Reyden

This is the last big rapid before hwy #7 crosses the river just east of Madoc Ontario. Photo by Arie Vander Reyden

The Black River in Hastings County is a heart pounding challenge for canoeists. The river is mostly run by kayakers. This is a good place to start the season because it is ice free sooner than rivers further north.

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The Pukaskwa - May 2009

Above -Ted and Arie run this class three drop, typical of the Pukaskwa River. Photo (c) Jim
Baird 2009

Left - Ted stands in the boat house at Naturally Superior Adventures which sits right at the mouth of the Michipiciton River. The old boat house is now useless due to the drastic drop in Lake Superiors water level and damming up river. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Below- Our truck in Lake Superior Provincial Park. We stoped to stretch our legs at Old Woman Bay on our way to Wawa Ontario from Sault Ste Marie. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Laflures Dam at night. This is an old logging dam built around 1920. The slow shutter speed shot was illuminated by the large bonfire we made to dry out some cloths. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Arie looking out over Lake Superior. We Paddled seventy kilometers along the coast after we finished the river.

On this posting I have left out all the good images and stories from this trip in an effort not to spoil the May 2010 issue of Ontario Out of Doors Magazine who is covering our trip story. A full feature article is currently available in issue #4 of Kype Magazine.

Learn more about the outdoors at http://www.canoebeyond.com/

Bushwhacking With Deer Flies, Jim Baird's Wanderings - July 2009

My aunt, uncle, brother and I wanted to do a little exploring in an area we had not spent much time in before. After paddling and portaging we aimed our compass for a small lake off in the bush. The first kilometer was up a steep hill but we were rewarded with a beautiful view which included the lake we left our canoe at. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Left- Looking out across the lush forests of this crown land area, southeast of Bancroft Ontario. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009

Above -left to right, uncle Steve, aunt Peggy and myself enjoy the breeze this hill top provided on a hot and buggy July day. Photo by Ted Baird

Right- Steve having fun while on the trek. Photo by Jim Baird

The deer flies were so bad this day that at times it seemed like they would block out the sun. Here's Steve, Peggy, Bonnie (dog) and I heading down hill. We made it to the lake for a little fishing swimming and lunch, then turned around and headed home. Photo (c) Ted Baird 2009

Bass Fishing, Summer 2009 - Jim Baird wets a line

Left - Ted with a couple of beauties, small mouth bass are great fighters pound for pound

I caught this monster small mouth using a slip bob and a large minnow at about fifteen feet deep. The fish weighed in at three pounds.

To catch this fish I sat on a dock repeatedly throwing my Rapala minnow lure out again and again with my bait caster. I didn't get as much as a nibble for forty-five minutes, when wham!! I felt a strike so hard it almost ripped the rod out of my hand. The beautiful small mouth made two breathtaking leaps before my brother Ted showed up with the net to land this monster. The fish weighed in at five pounds, that's huge for small mouth bass. I let the beautiful fish go after the weigh in and a couple pics. watching it swim away, propelling its chunky body with powerful strokes gave me even more respect for this fish. The big ones breed at a higher rate and they also pass on their gens which in turn produce more large fish. Keep the big ones and you'll stunt the size of the fish in the lake.

This day saw us portage a fair distance to a little known bass lake. We were at the tail end of a cold front and the fish weren't biting much. Never the less we caught a couple. Ted hoists this pound-and-a- halfer while Heather grins with approval.

What is it about the site and sound of running water that draws us in?

As we left, our surroundings were painted with that beautiful golden evening glow.

This nice small mouth put up such a good fight that it snapped my rod. I caught it on Cross Lake in the Temagami District using a spinner. I figure the fish was a few ounces under two and a half pounds.

As another successful day of fishing came to an end the drizzling rains of a sun shower dwindled and this rainbow appeared, arching from one side of the lake to the other.

Left -Dramatic clouds paint the sky on this late July evening

After travelling up a tributary, though some arrowheads, and over a beaver dam, I nabbed this nice large mouth with a Rapala minnow lure. Too bad I lost the monster I had hooked ten minutes earlier while fishing with a floating jig head and a large minnow.

I had more luck with Rapala lures this year than ever before.

"Rainbow Bass" I hoist a couple nice large mouth

Ted and I catch our limit, five bass each, we often practice catch and release but this day we had our family to feed and we were under strict orders to deliver a fish fry.

To learn more about canoeing camping and fishing see http://www.canoebeyond.com/ and make the best of your time in the outdoors.

Swarming with Wolves - Jim Baird's Wanderings, August 2009

After paddling and portaging into a large crown land area south east of Bancroft Ontario I left my canoe behind, grabbed my backpack, and compass and headed into the bush. About four kilometers later I came upon a crystal clear lake. I found a nice campsite on the lake and began settling in for the night. After dark while eating dinner I heard a noise in the bush and both of my dogs started barking frantically. At first I thought nothing of it but when they made another charge into the dark woods I became nervous. Thinking a black bear may be responsible for the disturbance I banged my mess kit together and yelled to make some noise. Figuring my barking dogs and the noise I made had scared the animal away. I got ready for a much deserved sleep, when again my dogs rushed into the woods behind my camp. Feeling a surge of adrenalin I headed into the woods brandishing my axe. As I stood beside my dogs I heard another noise and I let out a blood curdling battle cry. I held my axe in position ready to deliver my strongest blow, I meant business. The woods settled again and amazingly I had a decent sleep despite the disturbances along with the bugs. I woke in the morning to one of my dogs barking again. I lifted my head and rubbed my eyes to see this eastern wolf standing a short distance away on the opposite shore of the lake. It was just staring at my barking dog. I was stunned for a few seconds before I left my pine bow mattress and crawled over to my camera to take a couple shots, which I did before the animal figured out what I was and trotted away. An hour later I saw a moose.

Having left my canoe behind I packed in this inflatable dingy along with a foot pump and folding paddle. There was no way I could have brought my canoe with me on the long bushwhack into the lake by map and compass. I used this dingy to find my campsite and circumnavigate the lake.

Right - dusk at my campsite

Below -my tarp rig accompanied by a pine bow mattress. You have to go to greater lengths to cut down weight and bulk when your packing a dingy. I also slept with a thin blanket instead of bringing a sleeping bag.

The loons on the lake were very distressed. I am not sure if it was due to my presence (the loons aren't used to seeing people here) or the wolves, or both.

High cliffs line the shores of this lake in several places. Some look like they would be good jumping cliffs, others death traps. All of them look spectacular. I took this shot from a tree growing on top of a cliff, I was way up there.

Left -another beautiful view

Looking away from the lake to the distant horizon from another treetop. I get a feeling of freedom when I look out over large spans of land, seemingly untouched by the activities of modern man.

The area is one of the largest crown land areas in Ontario south of the French River. Because of this it's one of the last places larger scale logging can take place on southern Ontario's crown land. Luckily I didn't run into any cuts while on my bearing, they are a real pain to walk through and are not pleasant to look at either. I did see trail tape on trees, indicating where a cut will be made within the next couple years.

My dingy proved to be my most valuable piece of equipment; it fit me and my pack quite nicely. I found it was easier to get around when I broke my paddle down and used two single blades as oars. I trolled the lake but didn't get a bite. While I made my way around the lake my dogs followed by running on shore or swimming beside me. A couple times I was able to hold their tails while they swam and got a tow. The lake was much easier to explore with my infallible inflatable.

When I finished circumnavigating the lake (which is about three and a half kilometers in length) I came upon this great northern water snake, sunning its self on a fallen tree. The snake was about three feet long. After having a good look at the snake I got off the water, deflated my dingy and headed back through the bush to my canoe. The bushwhack was hard work but I enjoyed it.

Find out more about planning your own adventures at http://www.canoebeyond.com/