29 July 2020
I ate breakfast on the beach this morning to avoid the mosquitoes. I never ended up meeting the people camped in the other site – they returned to the campground after I went to bed, and were still in their tent when I left. The walking between Chipewan Portage and Sandy Beach was entirely through forest, and the mosquitoes were atrocious. I wore my mosquito suit, but had to resign myself to being bitten.
I took a long break on the lovely beach at Sandy Beach Campground in an attempt to postpone re-entering the forest until the mosquitoes went into hiding for the day (it didn’t work). I got distracted by them from a random memory from a physics class in high school: we had to protect an egg from breaking after being dropped from the second floor of a building. My group placed it in a foam container that we coloured like Kenny from South Park, then when it hit the ground I called up at the teacher ‘Oh my god, you killed Kenny! You bastard!’. It was prime performance art and I still don’t understand why we didn’t receive a 100%.
Early in the afternoon I arrived at North End Campground, which is much larger than Chipewan Portage or Sandy Beach. Along with individual sites, it has a group camping area open to individuals when not reserved. I pitched my tent, collected water and set off on a day hike to Grey Owl’s cabin with my scented items. I’m only climbing that food storage ladder once, and yeah, I know that I’m a wimp.
Grey Owl (or more appropriately, Archibald Belaney) is a polarizing figure in Saskatchewan’s history. He was an esteemed conservationist, but pretending to have an Indigenous background. This was discovered during his lifetime by certain individuals, but people in the 1930s weren’t as keen on cancelling people as contemporary society, and the truth was published only after his death. The cabin in Prince Albert National Park is where he lived with one of his wives and pet beavers, wrote multiple bestselling books, and was buried.
The hike to the cabin begins with a trek up the beach from North End Campground. Near an inlet stream, I followed a path into the forest. Up until then, the Grey Owl’s Cabin trail had been perfectly maintained, so I was surprised by how rough it was… until it crossed the inlet stream on a log and headed back towards the lake. Taking the trail consumes more time than just removing your boots and wading through the stream at the beach! Don’t do it!
The actual trail into the forest begins at a picnic area and outhouse at the end of the beach. The (well-maintained) trail soon splits in two, with one path providing access to Ajawaan Lake for boaters and the other providing foot access to the cabin. I slogged through the mosquito-ridden forest to the cabin, which was beautifully located on the shore of the lake. I sat on the picnic bench for a snack and enjoyed the absence of mosquitoes, which a wind from the lake was blowing away.
When I returned to the picnic area, I met a family who had come there by motorboat to have a barbeque. Motorboats are allowed in Kingsmere Lake, but they must be portaged in using a rail cart, which is impressive dedication. Back at my campsite, I had a less appealing hiker supper of peanut butter and pasta.
