Return to Trail Pond

I just posted about an experience I had on Trail Pond in 2007. I decided to return to the lake on July 21st 2013 having found last year that the lake was sequestered behind a logging company gate. I bought a new canoe cart to assist in the effort, since the lake is about a kilometer inside the gate -- too far for me to comfortably carry my canoe.

New Canoe Cart

The walk in was uneventful, despite the huge number of bear turds freshly studded with road gravel, and the  eerie quiet that accompanies the heat of mid day.

The trail to the water's edge was completely grown over. Small firs had grown larger and one small tree had fallen across the trail. But once I negotiated my way through the bracken fern, raspberry, and salal, and climbed over the fallen tree, I found the shoreline and the old log where I used to put in when I first started visiting this lake in 2007.

These two shots are from slightly different angles, but you can see common markers in the snags and log. The water is higher by more than a foot and the young fir on the left was not even visible in 2007.

It took me a few minutes to collapse my cart and stow it in my canoe, and I confess I paused a moment to take in the pond in all it's summer glory. I don't think I have been on the pond at this time of year before and the verdant lushness was impressive.

 After the dusty walk and effort to make my way through the underbrush, I was happy to get out on the pond where a nice breeze cooled me down, especially when I was across the lake and into the shade on the far side. I made the following video after exploring the shoreline for about an hour.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from this trip. For more, see my Trail Pond set on Flickr.

I was delighted to find I could paddle into areas of the wetland that had previously been blocked by sticks. Here is an image from 2007:

In 2013 I was able to paddle past this point right down to where the beavers had been busy.

Looking towards the beaver dam from the place I used to have to turn around.

The dam itself was impressive. I estimated a 4 or 5 foot drop on the downstream side.

A Healthy Beaver Dam

Looking downstream from the dam revealed a lush outflow, demonstrating the value of beavers in maintaining and improving wetlands.

Looking Downstream from the Beaver Dam

With my water bottle empty I decided to pack up and head home, stopping to enjoy one last look back before heading to Tim Hortons for an Ice Cappachino with an espresso shot!

A Note about logging and pretension. 

Readers of this blog have sometimes criticized me for being pretentious when I express my sadness over the ugliness logging creates beside treasures like Trail Pond. While I do mourn the loss of beauty often in my writing, I am careful to balance it with an appreciation of logging as a mainstay of the BC economy and I do value being able to use logging company and forestry roads to access these locations.

I have commented lately to family and friends that cuts are much less ugly than in years past. This is due in part to the practice of creating smaller cuts, spread out over the whole island, rather than large clear cuts as was the practice before. For example, only one hillside was logged here at Trail Pond and it is actually not ugly at all. The presence of a gate, which appears to be locked indefinitely, seems also to have kept the yahoos out. I didn't see any beer cans or other litter. No torn up ground, burned logs, discarded sleeping bags, or other evidence of human impact. It was, I have to say, a welcomed surprise. While visiting this place in the last few years I have met bicyclists, hikers, and one man riding an impressive and beautiful horse. It seems to me that all such uses place a very light load on the road and land; and the gate's strategic location has also kept ATVs out, which adds to the quiet and tranquility of the location. Now before all the ATVers start up, I'm not opposed to the responsible use of quads but have seen some ugly scars created by quads on hillsides and in forests. Worse that any skidder now in use!

I know I am uncomfortably sentimental for many when I write and talk about these beautiful places, but I am unapologetic. Beautiful natural settings and tranquility seem to be diminishing in our world. I see houses being built and "no trespassing" signs going up, where previously the wider public enjoyed the views and scenery. I love these places and want to see them respected and preserved so that future generations can have the same experiences we who now visit them have. I hope trail pond continues to be a haven for turtles, beavers, and the odd ducks like me.

Goose Lake

Vancouver Island Backroad Mapbook 4th edition - Map 40 B5
Atlas of Canada Link:Mohun Lake (North)
Latitude and Longitude: 50° 8' 24" N 125° 29' 48" W
Decimal Degrees: 50.14° N 125.497° W
UTM Coordinates: 10U 321589 5557209
Topographic Map Sheet Number: 092K03

Trip Date: July 27 to 30th, 2010

Goose Lake Map

There is a lot of traffic on Goose Lake these days. As the first leg of the Sayward Forest Canoe Route there is a steady stream of canoes and kayaks heading north towards the portage to Twin Lake. The Northern bay has some decent trout in it too, so that brings anglers in skiffs, powerboats, and Zodiacs. The rotting pilings from the old bridges at the narrows keep the water skiers out, but not the jet skis. And it is only going to see more traffic as the population of Vancouver Island increases.

So why am I broadcasting the location to the world wide web? Because I would like to see this fragile and beautiful environment protected so people can keep on enjoying it for a long time to come. As Michel Gauthier points out in his excellent guide to the Canoe Circuit, "By using the resource, we plant a stake in the ground, a flag that represents our will, our wants, and our desire. The more of us who paddle the circuit, the bigger the flag, the more visible it is to them [the policy makers]. We become a constituency. Our use of the resource forces government officials to take us into consideration when they make decisions affecting the area we have claimed."

The beauty of this place may not be grandiose, but it is impressive in it's subtlety.

The first subtle beauty of the place is it's shallowness.

Notice the paddle swirls in the bottom mud behind Paul in this shot? there is something magical about zipping along over the honey colored silt only a few feet below. Schools of stickleback dart away and even the dusky speckled leaches are beautiful to watch as they nose alone sunken logs in search of hiding places.

The golden color comes from the lake bottom which is a soft blanket of decaying algae, pine pollen, and organic matter. In places you can thrust a paddle 4 feet into it without striking anything solid. All the water from Goose and Mohun lakes (and their tributaries) appears to drain out the small creek that leads to Morton Lake. For most of the year the flow is gentle, so the silt has a chance to settle out.

What this means is that it is a great place for aquatic plants to grow, particularly Yellow Pond Lilly, Watershield, Floating Leaved Pondweed, and Water Lobelia.

Floating-Leaved Pondweed

 Here Paul examines a bed of Verticillate Watermilfoil mixed with Widgeon grass:

The Milfoil, a native species, forms slightly disturbing underwater brain structures:

This is sedgebending territory, with a fair number of reeds and rushes for good measure.

The second subtle beauty of this place is the rock. There are a number of rocky islands and points, as well as rocky escarpments and rock gardens.

Rock Garden with Water Lobilia

I think the main rock here is a basalt. According to this map the Goose Lake area sits squarely atop Karmutsen Volcanic Rocks and Quatsino Limestone. One prospector states that "As we head north from Campbell River towards Sayward, the area is almost entirely underlain by Karmutsen basalts near the top of the section." On Goose Lake these volcanic bones emerge in places to add a solid contrast to the softer textures of water and woods.

All of the good campsites have this stone underfoot, but it is particularily obvious at G5, 6, and 7 and the un-numbered site in the Western Bay:

We appreciated the Shade to Eat Our Lunch In

There is a swirl of stone on this point that looks like it may have been a popped bubble of lava:

One of my favorite places on Goose Lake is Lone Tree Island, which I will devote another post to entirely. This island is a large stone projecting from the water with a beautiful pine with undulating roots that stretch out across the rock:

Lone Tree Island contains the third subtle beauty: Pines. Shore Pines to be exact. Also called Bonsai Pines and Bog Pines. The scientific name is Pinus contorta and it is well adapted to growing on rocks and beside the water.

Sunrise over Pine at Campsite G6

Campsite G6 is on the south side of a picturesque island on which are growing numerous beautiful specimens, not least of which are the ones growing in the campsite itself.

The dense "cloud-like" bunches of branches on these specimens make great shade and the trees are strategically located to provide shelter from the sun most of the day.

That tree on the right has a good example of how the pine trunch and branches twist and turn as they grow. Here is a close up:

The contorted pines continue to grace the landscape when they fall down and loose their bark, revealing their beautiful twisted interiors.

 This combination of shallow water, volcanic rock, and trees with deep character make this a place to experience wabi sabi in abundance. It is an experience worth savoring.

I hope that you will visit Goose Lake and tread lightly when you do. But please do visit, and tell your friends, and tell your political representatives that this unique and beautiful treasure needs to be protected, enhanced, and saved for your children and their children.

The campsites need better toilets and some signs to let people know how fragile the environment is. Tables would prevent the cutting of trees and small wooden docks in places would prevent the deterioration of the shoreline habitat.

A big thanks must be given to the Comox Valley Paddlers who have installed the cedar toilet boxes in some campsites.

Lets hope that Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts which now managers the area will receive funding to maintain and protect this valuable natural resource. This is a premier recreational location in western Canada and deserves careful management.

The Aleut Paddle for Canoes

Canoe purists are attached to their single blade paddles.

I've come to understand that it is, at least partly, about identity. Kayakers swarm over every inch of  fresh and salt water these days, and canoeing seems have lost devotees to this new fangled craze.

Canoe lovers respond to this distressing situation in at least four ways that I have observed. We 1. ignore it and go on paddling the way we like, 2. defend canoeing by pointing out the advantages and pleasures, 3. examine the kayaking trend to see what all the fuss is about, and 4. strengthen our attachments to the beloved open boat, spurning the skirt and double blade and paddling proudly to our own drummer. I have done all of these at various times and today I want to rock the boat a little by suggesting something that may make the canoe purist's blood either freeze or boil.

First let me say that I agree that there are a lot of good reasons to use a single blade paddle with a canoe, especially when kneeling or sitting on a high seat, and especially when in a tandem canoe. The tandem canoe and single blade paddle evolved together and they should stay together.

 Except. It's not that simple. Pack canoes have been paddled with double bladed paddles since Nessmuk set out in his first pack canoe, the Wood Drake, in 1880. John Macgregor popularized the "kayak blended with canoe" Rob Roy 15 years earlier. Macgregor and Sears (Nessmuk) together galvanized interest in solo paddling in open and semi-open boats. That was 140 years ago.

 Image of a Rushton Pack Canoe  - Courtesy of St. Lawrence University

The Pack canoe has had a variety of revivals since 1880, but the first fellow in recent years to generate some interest in open solo canoes was Bart Hauthaway, a former Olympian and Olympic coach in slalom kayak. According to industry guru Charlie Wilson, Hauthaway penned and molded upwards of 30 variants of pack canoes and sold Old Town Canoes a mold and model of the Pack canoe concept in the late 1950's or early 60's which Old Town produced for several years.

Peter Hornbeck, Charlie Wilson and Joe Moore, Dave Curtis, and a variety of other enthusiasts started building high end pack canoes using Kevlar and carbon starting in the 1990's. By 2008 most major manufactures of performance canoes produced a pack canoe or high performance small canoe.  Today you can pick up the 33 pound Roylex Pack canoe from Old Town for around a $1000, spring for a custom built composite in the $3,000 range, or  purchase or make your own wooden hull with one of the many patterns that are now readily available.

As Charlie Wilson says, "The reason all these builders make pack canoes is simple. They are very light, easy to get into and out of and easier to load gear in than a kayak while retaining the left right left cadence of the kayak paddle. Anyone will reach a destination with an absolutely minimal learning curve."

Many canoeists do not consider a pack canoe to be a "real" canoe. They prefer to call them "deckless kayaks" but a review of the literature reveals that kayaks were originally considered to be in the class of boats called canoes, and became separated in people's minds partly as a result of the camp movement of the early 20th century which focused almost exclusively on tandem open canoes designed for stability and carrying capacity. Everyone who experienced camp and those rugged tandems, associated them with the term "canoe."You paddle a tandem canoe, of course, with a single blade paddle.

The meteoric rise of kayaks in the latter half of the 20th century eclipsed the market. Open tandem canoes sales stalled and the venerable crafts took a romantic association with bygone days, a slower pace, and a certain tradition and aesthetics. The camping culture started in the 1920's has almost been forgotten in recent years, but those of us who remember it try to keep the spark alive.

The divide between canoe devotees and Kayak enthusiasts can be wide in places, but there are also a good number of us who have a foot in both boats, so to speak.

Because of this divide, when I recently suggested to some canoe lovers that a "canoe" be paddled with a double blade, and, horror of  horrors, a Greenland Kayak paddle at that; feathers were ruffled, postures were taken, and the temperature dropped a few degrees.

But, suggest it I did and still do. First, let me show you the paddle that I think may span the divide, then make the case for when and with what canoe's I think it should be used, and you can respond to my ideas in the comments section. Here is the paddle in use in my Spitfire:

Looks kind of fun doesn't it? And here it is up close:

A thing of beauty, wouldn't you say?

This paddle was carved by Nanaimo paddler Charles Alton, based on a design unearthed in the Finland National Museum in Helsinki (FNM #228), with significant adaptations for use in a canoe.

Yes that's right, Charles designed this paddle for use in a canoe. He retained the grooved power face and asymmetrical Aleut profile and the Aleut length (some Greenland paddles are considerably shorter). He told me that the Aleut themselves have been known to use 96 and 100 inch paddles, but for starters he designed this paddle at 95 inches. 95 inches is longer than the 92 inches often produced in the Aleut style by contemporary Greenland Paddle makers.  Charles gave it a squared end, a longer than average loom, and included custom designed drip rings made from medical tubing. As Charles explained, "I made the drip rings out of 1/4 inch surgical tubing. I happened to have some on hand, in black. There is a cable tie inside the tube that holds the whole assembly together. After I pulled the cable tie tight and trimmed off the excess I was able to work the ends of the rubber tube over the lumpy end of the tie and hide it." They work great. The paddle itself is made from Red Cedar. It is light and a little springy and feels warm and comfortable in the hand.

In ongoing trials comparing the Aleut and traditional "Euro" blade double blade, I find the Aleut to perform better than a Euroblade in small pack canoes and slightly rockered solo canoes (I paddled with a similarly sized Greenland paddle in the Wenonah Rendezvous).

It performs adequately but un-remarkably in larger tripping boats such as the Wenonah Voyageur. In response to this observation Charles suggested a slightly larger blade and longer length for tripping canoes, and I believe this change would increase the effectiveness of the paddle with heavier boats.

The blade edge is thicker than some Greenland Paddles on the market, but slims towards the tip. I initially found the paddle fluttered but realized it was largely due to my familiarity with standard double blades. Once I reduced the pull strength and increased the cadence of my paddling, the merits of the paddle suddenly became apparent.

Firstly, when using this paddle the arms can be held lower than with other paddles, the narrow blade does not have to be lifted out of the water as far or as forcefully and the length means that a high angle stroke is not required. The narrowness of the blade naturally mitigates wind resistance and the shape of the blade means that at whatever angle the blade is used, a significant amount of blade connects with the water. In short it is comfortable,  forgiving and versatile.

Secondly, the entire length of the paddle can be comfortably and pleasingly utilized to make wide sweeps. One commentator on the Canadian Canoe Routes forum said, "What Greenland paddles have over the long Euro blade is that they are relatively easy to use in a vertical position to hang turns. That may be because of their relative shortness." This is an advantage over a Euro blade, not over a single stick. The awkwardness and length of even a short Greenland paddle loses out to the nimble precision of a well wielded single blade. Also, and not unremarked by a few canoeists, Greenland style paddles get your hands wet doing this kind of thing -- i.e. if you dip the end you plan to hold in the water first, your hands will get wet.

Thirdly, it just looks so nice and a person can learn to make his own thereby allowing creativity both in design, length, and material.

So what about that Aleut grove? Well, frankly, neither Charles nor I have noticed any advantage over the single ridge or rounded surface, but it is a nice aesthetic reminder of where the power face is, and perhaps there is an advantage I have not noticed yet.

When I was first playing around with this paddle, Paul agreed to take video's of me using both the Aleut style blade and my Gray Owl Zephyr.  It is a little hard to notice the difference from the video, but when I put more force behind the strokes my arm height increases with the Euro blade.  Have a look:

Now, when Paul shifted to a higher vantage point, you can see a little better how the paddle looks in use. At the time of filming I had not read anything about Greenland paddles or Aleut paddles, but note how I intuitively grasped the paddle as is generally recommended. The paddle "whispers to you" you how it wants to be used.

Pros and Cons List

Pros

1. This paddle is well suited to a pack canoe or lightweight solo canoe because it requires less effort to produce the same results.
2. It is light.
3. It naturally encourages a gentler force with a higher cadence. Paddling seems effortless.
4. The drip rings work.
5. It can be used easily for wide sweeps with pleasure -- no sharp blade to deal with.
6. It is aesthetically appealing.
7. It can be used for fending off attacking seagulls or that suddenly spotted deadhead or rock much easier than with a Euro style blade because of the balance and shape.
8. It is awkward but not impossible to scull and do the j-stroke and other canoe strokes with this paddle. All are very difficult with a Euro blade.
9. A more quiet paddle than a Euro blade, it allows you to see more wildlife.
10. Low angle straight blades like this allow you to proceed in very shallow water without hitting bottom.

Cons

1. Despite point 8 above it is awkward to do any kind of stroke other than the straight forward left-right pull.Sculling is not as effective as I would like but draws and sweeps work fairly well.
2. Without a ferrule it is awkward to carry in the vehicle and on portages. Ferruled paddles are available from several paddle makers, but some people have noted that this both reduced the smooth use of the paddle for sweeps and other strokes, and reduced the aesthetic appeal.
3. Like all double blades, your lap and hands get wet. The good news is, that with Charles' drip rings and the inherent lower angle of use, this is significantly decreased.
4. This paddle is not well suited to large heavy solo canoes. The Euro blade allows for more powerful strokes to get the craft up to speed. Charles suggestion of a larger blade, may help with this.
5. One of the big advantages of this paddle to kayakers, that of increasing the ease of rolling, in not utilized in a canoe.

Summary
Given a choice of this paddle or my Euro blade, I would choose this paddle every time for use with my Spitfire or any similarly sized boat.

The main advantage is the flexibility of use (being able to easily use it for more than one kind of stroke) and the increased cadence with reduced strain and effort.

While I have not used it with all of these boats I would imagine it would work well with any of the Hornbeck and Hemlock boats, as well as the Rob Roy, Wee Lassie, Rapidfire, Merlin II, Magic, Heron 17R, Advantage, Bucktail, Yellowstone,  Argosy, Vagabond, Prism, Seal Solo, Packer, Solitude, Tranquility, Swift Adirondack Pack, Shearwater and Osprey, Old Town Pack, Vermont Tupper, and  the Bluewater Mist, Adirondack, and Splitrock. To name but a few. 

Final Thoughts
Of course I have only been using this paddle for a few weeks, but I wanted to get this post up to let people know about this as an option. Using this paddle reinforces for me the growing conviction I have that paddle shape matters a lot, and that long thin blades are often better than short fat ones for recreational flat water paddling.

I still always carry a single blade and when I am out solo I use the single blade a lot to idle along enjoying the scenery. When I am with other paddlers who like to go places, however, this particular paddle really allows me to keep up without feeling exhausted at the end of the day.

It also has something most double blades do not -- a feeling of grace and tradition. This style of paddle, made from wood, is beautiful, functional, and minimal. In short, it satisfies the aesthetic sensibility as well as the practical one. I think it is the perfect match for a light, elegant solo canoe.

Aesthetic Value is as Important as Economic Value

On my travels around Vancouver Island I see first hand the ugly impact of logging on our own rainforests. I'm not against responsible logging, but we have to leave larger areas of old growth to preserve the genetic diversity and aesthetic value that used to dominate this island.

I wonder if people realize how much beauty has already been lost. It is staggering. Almost all the lakes I visit have ugly logged sections around them. It takes 300 years to grow a mature forest. We are not going to see them again in our lifetime, so we should think seriously about how much we cut down. Aesthetic value needs to be recognized along with economic value.

If you walk in an old growth forest, or paddle beside one, it changes you, and if you plant and protect more forests, they can save the world. Where are BC's environmental laws? Almost non-existant. If our government won't respond to this urgent need, we need to look elsewhere. Here is a way you can help: