The Happy Camper: Canoe Trip in Opasquia, Part Four
It was a little unnerving to see a bush plane wreckage on the shore of an island just south of where we would be picked up a week from now. Oral history has it that the crash happened back in the 1970’s. The plane had just got a new paint job and the mechanic had failed to tighten one of the bolts on the wing. The pilot, the sole passenger on board, didn’t survive the crash.
Albert and Kelly Rogalinski of Goldseekers Outfitters had organized Superior Airways from Red Lake to pick us up at Big Hook Camps on Central Lake on September 2, five days from now. We wished to be out longer but the Sandy Lake First Nations Council had asked us to limit our traveling on their sacred land to before their moose harvesting season which starts in September. Besides, the night air was getting colder and the birch and poplar leaves were beginning to turn a crisp yellow. Winter comes quick this far north.
We gave Ryan Carlson, the owner of Big Hook Wilderness Camps, a quick visit while paddling past the remote fishing lodge. He was out fishing with his partner and their two dogs and motored over to our canoe. Ryan was startled to see that we had come from the southeast and asked about our route. When we told him where we had originally landed and how long it took us, he scratched his head and let us know that he’d never heard of anyone travelling in that area of the park. We weren’t surprised.
Ryan suggested we use their shore lunch area on the north end of Central Lake to pitch our tent for the night. There was a fire pit and a picnic table for us to use. Andy and I took him up on the offer and paddled off to set up camp.
The wind had picked up by the time we’d reached the island site. It was a welcoming place, that’s for sure. We placed our firebox in the pit, cooked up a dehydrated chilli complete with fresh bannock and set up our dinner on the picnic table. The waves crashed against the shoreline and we watched the fishing boats from the lodge speed back to camp.
Our plan for our last few days in the park was to paddle and portage to the northwest in hopes of exploring some of the original route Andy had planned to take. The ginormous East Lake looked especially enticing. Less than an hour into the paddle across the northern tip of Central Lake, we had to turn tail due to an approaching storm. We beached our canoe on a rocky point and I went back into the woods to see if there was a flat spot for our tent. I found a mound of soft moss and made the call it would do in a pinch. Andy got his saw out and cleared downed trees that littered the site, and I pulled out some thorny rose hip bushes from the tent spot. Once again we made a make-shift cozy campsite amongst the wild landscape of Opasquia.
The extra work Andy and I put into clearing the campsite was worth the effort. We ended up being windbound there for three nights! We spent our time sipping tea under the tarp, watching rainbows form across the knobby spruce forest, casting for walleye and pike from the shoreline and gawking at some of the best sunsets we’ve ever witnessed.
In retrospect, it wasn’t a bad way to finish our time in the park. I rested my injured leg while we both relished in our remote surroundings. It was a far cry from spending our days scouting, marking and cutting lost portages.
On September 1, as we promised to the Sandy Lake First Nations Council, Andy and I packed up and paddled back to Big Hook Wilderness Camps on Central Lake for our last night. On day thirteen of our Opasquia adventure, we would be picked up by Superior Airways for our long flight back to Red Lake.
Ryan treated us well back at the camp. He had a new group of clients arrive that day, so there were no cabins available for us, but he did give Andy and me a flat patch of lawn to pitch our tent. We also had free use of the camp shower and were invited to join him and his staff, Adam Strong and Maria Guenter who were both bush pilots, for a delicious dinner of roast and veggies and a cold beer.
Ryan has owned Big Hook Camps for the last seven years. He’s the third owner since the lodge opened in 1974. It’s an angler’s paradise and the walls of the main lodge were covered with pictures of happy guests holding up trophy fish, as well as a quirky assortment of fishing lures, including a topless mermaid and a mini Donald Trump with a treble hook poking out of his head. The place was a mix of old and new. The cabins had the traditional tongue and groove pine interiors and numerous gas cans were stacked along the dock for all the outboard motors used by the clients, but solar and wind power were now keeping the place running. Lots have changed since Big Hook was grandfathered in when the provincial park was established in 1983. Their mission statement says it all:
“We are committed to the best customer experience possible, providing quality goods and amenities at a reasonable price. We strive to minimize our impact on the surrounding resources, allowing guests to witness a wilderness that has been virtually untouched by humankind.”
Amir Sharif was our pilot for the return trip. He was another amazing person who has embraced life in the north. Originally from B.C., he moved to Red Lake for the small-town atmosphere and the surrounding wilderness.
All three of us had to pee very badly when we landed. It was a two-hour and forty-minute flight back, Amir’s longest yet with the Beaver. The fuel tanks were nearly empty when we landed.
So, would we do the trip again? Absolutely…I would maybe take an easier route through the park though. A bonus is that Albert from Goldseekers Outfitters had dropped off two lightweight Kevlar 17 ft. Souris River canoes this season. Renting a canoe from him and flying in through Ryan’s Big Hook Wilderness Camp would significantly reduce the cost of the bush plane flight in, by almost twenty five per cent. If you’re a paddler looking for a “true” wilderness experience, you’ll definitely have your prayers answered in Opasquia Provincial Park.
Check out the remaining videos of the Opasquia canoe trip on my YouTube channel.
