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Day 10 Time: 7 hrs 55 min Distance: 22.9 km (126) Up at 9:30, grey skies but the rain seems to have stopped for now. Tea, oatmeal and bugs for breakfast, we suit up in our partially wet river gear and set off at Noon. It's a relatively fast paddle to Fox Lake with one brutal crossing into the wind to set up for the left turn at the start of the lake. Most of this section has fast current especially at the narrow points. We mostly hug the right shore for the shelter it provides, even out in the middle of the river we could paddle along at 7kmph or drift at 2kmph in spite of the headwinds. After a brief struggle to make the left turn at Fox Lake we were now in a wide section with somewhat of a tailwind, we made one stop for lunch and then floated along while finally doing some fishing. The clouds were breaking up, the sun starting to shine, it's turning into a very fine day.
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I actually managed to snag a small whitefish, resuming paddling with my line trailing behind, Steve yells to me that I've snagged a log, as I reel it in I realize that while I do in fact have a small branch hooked I also have a small pike tangled up as well. Hadn't planned to keep the pike but I did a butcher job getting the lure out and decided it would be best to keep it. We finished the last section before Davenport Rapids, we approached with caution but there was little to be concerned about. This is a volume CII at this level; there are rocks somewhere below the surface that might provide a challenge at lower levels. With no suitable camping we continued on to the marked esker at the head of Lake Thuychokaneleeni, on the right it rises steeply from the water, on the far left the esker continues at a slightly lower height and with an easier albeit still steep climb to the top. To get over to the left we have to paddle through very large waves caused by the strong flow meeting the wind on the lake.
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There is a rocky shoreline at the base of the esker, we land at the tip and lug our gear to a great spot on top. Fantastic view of the lake, sunset, esker, it's open and breezy. We set up the hut next to a large tree that is home to a huge eagle nest, strung a line and hung up our accumulation of wet gear before relaxing with hot drinks and discussing dinner plans while watching the setting sun. Eventually we made our way down to the water, as predicted, sort of, a thief is among us! The pike is partially eaten and floating just offshore, the smaller whitefish is GONE. Nothing for it really other than to live and learn and cast again. After a few tries I snagged a much bigger pike so we will have fish as planned. After a lengthy battle separating flesh from bones we eventually ate fried pike with Knorr Singapore noodles and Alpine Aire garden veg side. Quite stuffed so we need a bit of exercise, a fire to burn the leftovers plus 10 days of accumulated trash. What a great night! It's cool & clear, pretty much bug free. The sun's glow on the horizon slowly moves from West to North, thin bands of high cloud reflect the light as the ¼ moon rises. A planet pops up in the NE sky directly above where the esker continues on the opposite shore. After being outside for several hours we finally go off to bed at 3:30am. We are hoping for more fine weather tomorrow, it's about 30km to Tadoule Lake; it would be good to get there. It's unlikely we will actually get out onto the lake given our no doubt late start.
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