Day 2: Paul Lake to Perkins Lake

During the night we were treated to a brilliant thunderstorm that carried on through into the early hours of the morning, it was great to spectate from the comfort and security of my hammock. We awoke the next morning to absolute stillness. No wind, no noise, just a perfect silence. After a breakfast of porridge, honey and raisins we took to the water and quickly ate up the miles that we had missed out on on Day 1. 

The calm after the storm.

Paul lake; starting day 2.

 We soon arrived at Kettle Falls, the first major obstacle on the Sturgeon River and our planned camp for Day 1. Again the portage was full of blow down trees making the route a challenge. It was at this point that we realised that a pattern was forming and that the portages where going to be long and hard. However this one did reward us with a brilliant view of the falls half way through.

Classic 'easy' portage terrain.

Beaver activity.

A long carry.

A must make portage.

Back into the trees.

 Jumping back onto the river after the portage we were pleased to find a good flowing river interspersed with plenty of swifts and class 1 rapids. This was cut up by a few smaller lakes along the way. Lunch time on Day 2 is still actually one of my best memories from the expedition. To avoid the plagues of mosquitoes that patrol the shoreline we decided to have lunch a float. I spun around in my seat and took up the roll of stern paddler. this allowed ray to sit up, open up the barrel and whip us up something for lunch. A decent tail wind meant that whilst we sat back and relaxed and floated down the lake we had covered a little under a kilometer whilst we ate. Being lazy at its finest.
 The afternoon brought some more challenging rapids that required a little more planning. A perfect 100m stretch of class 2 was ruined by one rock that was exactly where we did not want it to be. This allowed Ray and I to employ some tradition skills. We quickly lined the boat down the first half of the rapid before the decision was made to strip the boat down and carry the kit round whilst I paddled the boat down the remainder of the rapid. There are a few video clips that I shall try to get uploaded soon.

The bottom of a nice technical rapid. 

Not long after we arrived at Camp 2 at 3:00pm. I think it was safe to say that this camp was nothing short of perfect. Mosquito free, plenty of driftwood and a perfect little spot to set up a tent and a hammock. By 4:15pm we had camp made and were ready to unwind for the evening. Ray decided to test his luck with some fly fishing and was very swiftly successful, catching a pike and a bass. We where certainly going to eat well tonight. Being careful about not encouraging bears into camp, we ensured that the fish was dealt with in the proper manner. Once prepared these were placed on the grill alongside our pasta.

Camp number 2.

Camp number 2.

Ray tries his luck

Something on the line.

Tonight's supper.

A perfect stove.

Enjoying a mosquito free night.

Checking on the catch.

Cooked to perfection.

 The fish tasted amazing, there was so much that we couldn't even finish it between the two of us! Well done Ray. Having satisfied our appetite it was then off to bed by 8:00pm, both of us with smiles on our faces. It was turning into a brilliant expedition.

The view from the hammock.