TOURduPARK
Today's plan: Continue down the Tim River
tr 104: TIM RIVER - SHIPPAGEW - DEVINE - ROSEBARY
A bright, full moon illuminated my campsite - even through the thick forest
I had camp fully established by 5pm and spent the next hour gathering firewood. By 6:30 I was hungry and tonight’s dinner would be souvlaki with rice & beans. Worked out nice, I’ll be doing this for dinner again for sure. Dinner done, dishes cleaned up, food hung – I was ready to relax by the fire with some whiskey. My timing was great – at 10:30pm I was treated to a full moon rising behind me and it completely illuminated the campsite – zero need for a headlamp tonight. Another whiskey by the fire then time for bed. After last night’s moose fiasco, I was really looking forward to getting a solid sleep tonight.
Finally able to dry out a bit after a very wet day
It's hard to believe logs were ever sent down this 'river' - the majority of it is no wider than a creek
Packed up & ready to move on
Pines to the right, Alders to the left
Luckily the rain was very short-lived
Nothing better than taking off wet boots and socks
Cabin ruins along P275 on the Tim River
The Tim is very narrow with never ending twists and turns – perfect for a soloist in a 16.5ft canoe (not!). I took my time as I continued down the river and by 11:45am I was passing the portage to Shah Lake. Not long after, the rain came back – hard. I geared up and managed to stay dry despite the downpour. When I arrived at P275 it was still raining and I had a choice to make. Camp here at the site along the portage, or push on to the campsite a few more kilometers down river. The site on P275 was very ‘meh’ and I typically don’t camp on portage sites – not a fan of people walking through my site so I avoid this as often as I can. I hung out at this campsite while snacking and resting, then backtracked a bit because I saw some cabin ruins along the trail. It was still raining and my camera lens was fogged, so the cabin photos aren’t anything special.
Dinner time! Pork souvlaki with Rice & beans.
I'm pretty sure I'll be getting wet today
I knew it! So glad I hung up the tarp
Camera lens was a little foggy - I blame the rain
Again - logs were sent down here?
Route Plan: Paddle the Tim River to Shippagew Lake, then Backtrack through Devine and Rosebary Lakes.
Day 2: Tim River @ Little Trout Creek Junction to Tim River @ 'Lower Pine River'
Remember when I said there wasn’t a threat of rain? I lied. It pissed rain ALL night – fine by me, I was warm, cozy and dry in my sleeping bag, but with that moose hanging around I got very little sleep. It was still raining when I woke up, so I was a little annoyed at myself for not putting up the tarp – now I have to make coffee in the rain, or wait it out.
At 1pm I decided to push forward to the next campsite. It was still raining, but not as hard. After just a few minutes of paddling, I arrived at P460. A quick double carry and I re-launched on the Tim river for the final stretch of the day. Finally, at 4pm I arrived at my home for the night – and like yesterday, the campsite didn’t look too appealing from the water, but it turned out just fine. It was still overcast so the first thing to happen was hanging the tarp. You want to know how to bring the sun out? Hang a tarp. Works every time. The sun made an appearance and stayed out for the rest of the day.
Just in case you ever wondered what the firepit sees while you're cooking - now you know!
P1125 to Shah Lake
Enjoying a cup of coffee on my very soggy campsite.
Not long after I woke up, the rain stopped – but I knew it wouldn’t stay away for long and I wasn’t ready to pack up just yet, so I quicky strung up the tarp. This turned out to be a great call, because while I enjoyed my coffee under the tarp, the rain returned. Since my travel today was relatively light (down river and only two short portages) I was in no rush to leave until the rain stopped. Breakfast was supposed to be a BLT but everything was soaked and I wasn’t interested in struggling to get a fire going. Instead, I had oatmeal and would save the BLT for another day. By 9:45am the rain stopped and it looked like I might get a decent day. At 10:30am I was packed up and ready to continue my journey down the Tim River.