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[OM] (OT) Back from the wilds...

Subject: [OM] (OT) Back from the wilds...
From: "Bruce Hamm" <bhamm@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 14:16:07 -0400
Hi all,

Managed to get back from my trip to Algonquin Park It turned out to be an
extreme mental, emotional and physical test. It didn't take us long to
figure out that we bit off a bit more than we could chew. Our route ended up
being a little over 120 km travelled over three and a half days. We were on
the move for most of the day and, unfortuantely, there was little time (or
energy) for photography. We seemed to hit every type of water, in all
conditions. We had the misforture of reaching a portion of our route, over
larger lakes, while the conditions were not at all favorable. Strong winds
in our faces and whitecaps flowing over the bows of our canoes. We spent
almost as much time bailing as we did paddling. Given our tight time
constraints, we were not able to take refuge and wait for the conditions to
turn more favorable (not a wise decision). After that, we faced a series of
portages totalling 5 km.. My pack tipped the scales at 142 lbs. That night,
we slept on the ground, in the rain for half the evening even though our
tents were set up only a short distance away. We were that exhausted. On our
last day, we reached a marsh that, unfortunately, had all but dried up. If
we turned around to take an alternate route, we would not reach our access
point (where we parked our cars) by the end of the day. Our only choice was
to push on. The marsh was very muddy, and my first step found me up to my
waist in boggy peat. I had to use my paddle to disperse my weight in order
to climb out. Portaging through this stuff was out of the question. The
extra weight of the packs would just make us sink further. So. for the next
three hours we slogged through the bog and dragged the loaded canoes behind
us. Finally reaching our portage, we spent about half an hour resting and
removing leetches (I had 23 on my legs). After the portage, we hit open
water and were treated with a brisk wind and fairly strong current at our
backs. This helped us make really good time and we reached our access point
around 5pm.

Surprisingly, we did not see too much in the ways of wildlife. Mostly,
different sorts of birds. Most interesting were loons, which truly are as
beautiful to see as they are to listen to. They would suddenly surface very
close to the canoe, often within 15 feet. Usually, they were found in pairs
as they mate for life, and when one dies the other tends to live only
shortly thereafter. We heard wolves every night. One night was particularly
chilling, as the usual long gentle howling was replaced by excited yapping
and growling. What followed was more and more growling and snarling and some
sound that can be best described as an animal screaming. Then silence.
Presumably, a pack had brought down a deer not too far from our camp. Sound
can carry a far distance in the bush, but later that same night we could
hear the pack much more clearly. We could even hear the wolves panting.
Maybe a bit too close for comfort.

Mandatory OM content (lessons learned):

1) I wish I had shot more pictures. Believe it or not, I only shot 1 roll of
film and most of those were simple snaps of my friends. I just did not find
much time for picture taking. Shame, but next time our timetable will be
different.

2) For the sort of trip this was, the Tamron SP with matching teleconverter
setup was useless and needlessly added weight to my already overloaded pack.
Any wildlife shots I got were "fleeting moment" grab shots, and there simply
was no time to setup a tripod, etc.etc. for use with any longer telephoto. A
135mm and a converter will be all that I will pack for tele use next time.

3) I need to upgrade my tripod. Although the one I use now is fairly light
and compact, which was nice for this trip, and I have not really found it to
be lacking on the paved streets of the city where I usually shoot, it did
not fare well on the rugged terrain in the bush.

4) While it did not see much use, my OM-2n didn't let me down when called
upon during some fairly harsh conditions. At night, the temperature dipped
to 6 degrees Celsius and by the lake, with the windchill, it felt somewhat
colder than that. It was constantly damp and at times  took a nasty bump or
two. While portaging, I was very greatful for the small OM design and was
glad that I wasn't hauling around some wonderbrick.

If anyone on this list is considering a trip to eastern Canada in the
future, I high recommend a visit to Algonquin Park for those of you who
enjoy the outdoors. Last weekend, I felt like I was living a piece of the
history of this country as early explorers and the Voyageurs involved in the
fur trade often paddled these waters and travelled along these portage
routes. If someone should decide to try this, let me know. I can loan you
most of the gear you"ll need and help you out any way I can. September is a
great time to visit the park as the leaves have already begun to turn in
some areas and there were virtually no insects.

I apologize for the long message, especially to digest members.

Glad to be back, and off to shoot my TOPE pictures,

Bruce


Bruce Hamm
Ottawa, Canada
bhamm@xxxxxxxx



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