Battling the Elements in the Great White North

On February 21, 2014 myself and my Dad, and my two cousins, Dan and Chris, and a friend, Jackson, began our journey North to Kapikik Lake. This time we were not in an airplane. Kapikik Lake is technically only accessible by air, making it an extremely remote location for our fisherman in the summer. That being said, there is one other way to get there, which can only happen in the wintertime. There is a winter bush/ice road that takes you to Birch Lake where the Springpole Gold Project is situated. From there, there are about 6 lakes between Birch and Kapikik that can be crossed only by snowmobile.

Taking advantage of this winter road is a great way to haul materials and furniture to your outpost cabin to cut down on the amount of freight that needs to be flown in by airplane. Having done this many times before to our other outpost cabins, my Dad and Chris were well prepared with the proper equipment to move our stuff from point A to point B.

With three trucks, each hauling a huge trailer, we were loaded down to the max. Lumber, paneling, cupboards, appliances, furniture, 7 snowmobiles, and a few large hauling sleighs, we were going to make this trip count. Ahead of us, we had about 75 miles on the Red Lake Hwy, 60 miles through the bush on the winter road, and about 30 miles across lakes and portages by snowmobile. We left at 5:00 a.m., which would give us lots of time to get to the cabin before dark.

Fuelling Up in Ear Falls Around 7:00 a.m.

We fueled up in Ear Falls and then turned down toward the winter road. We thought the road had been plowed recently, but we were sadly mistaken. There was about 2 feet of snow on this very rough and narrow road with snowdrifts upwards of 3 feet. Once we started down the road and realized what a challenge it was going to be, there was not one place we could have turned around – we were committed.

And the Shovelling Begins...

How we made it down that road is beyond me. The trucks took turns pulling each other out of the ditch and up hills. We broke many tow ropes, shoveled until we couldn’t shovel anymore, and somehow always managed to become unstuck. With about 20 miles left to go, we unloaded a couple of snowmobiles to lighten up the trailers. Jackson and I rode these machines the rest of the way on the road. This was after we used the snowmobiles to pull one of the trucks up a hill because being the truck in the lead, there was no one ahead to pull it out.

Pulling the Truck & Trailer with Snowmobiles

9 hours later, after getting the trucks stuck 20+ times, we eventually made it to the first lake that we would cross by truck. We were one portage away from Birch Lake and were held up for about an hour as we waited for a jack-knifed semi truck to get pulled out by a grader. These guys are the definition of "ice road truckers" and they were about to tackle the same road that we had just come down.

Ice Road Truckers Leaving the Mine

It was a great feeling arriving at Birch Lake. Excited to get to the cabin, we unloaded the other snowmobiles and packed the sleighs with supplies. We studied the map, which showed the several lakes we would be crossing and the portages to get from lake to lake. We had a few hours left of daylight – plenty of time to get some miles behind us and get our journey started.  We decided that if it wasn’t working out, we would follow our trail back to the trucks and stay in one of the trailers for the night, which was equipped with a heater.

We took off in single file; the Summits ahead to break trail. Things seemed to be going well, despite the huge snowdrifts and blizzard-like conditions that would sweep away our tracks within minutes.  However, we figured we would still be able to find our way back, if need be. We had a few miles behind us, when we hit our first patch of slush. The first 4 sleds made it through, but my Dad who was pulling a heavy aluminum sleigh, got absolutely buried. After about an hour of digging and pulling and getting other machines stuck, we all broke free and continued on. It was a minor set back, but nothing that we hadn’t expected.

At the end of Birch Lake, it was time to find the first portage. This should be easy enough, as our map marked the spot exactly and it was still daylight. As we sat on the lake waiting for Chris and Dan on their Summits to locate the trail, the daylight started to slip away. But, they eventually found the trail and we continued on.

At the beginning of this first portage was where things started to go downhill for me. I had no idea how hard it would be to handle a snowmobile in that deep of snow! Following a trail should have been easy, but keeping my sled on it was such a challenge! It wasn’t long before I flew off the trail and fell off of my machine. When I stood up, the snow was up to my chest. I have no idea how Dan and my Dad were able to dig me out, but thank goodness I had them. The journey didn’t get any easier after that. We got stuck countless times in chest deep snow and waist deep slush.

We had made it across a few lakes getting closer to our destination. The dark had set in completely and the wind and snow hadn’t let up at all. The only lights we had were our snow-covered headlights. At times we would spend an hour in one bay searching and searching for the portage trail. The Summits would search the shoreline for any break in the trees, getting stuck over and over again.  We stopped and talked many times discussing whether to turn back and stay in the trucks overnight or to trudge on in the dark. Everyone was in consensus that we wanted to get to the cabin and stay the night. This way we would get a good sleep, and have a trail to follow the next day when it came time to haul more supplies from the trucks to the cabin.

We spent hours and hours searching and circling around on these lakes. We had left behind us the aluminum sleigh on one lake, Chris’s sleigh on a different lake, and a smaller sleigh on another lake. It was just too hard to break trail pulling these sleighs and we were tired of getting them stuck in the slush. Eventually, I had had enough of driving, so we left my snowmobile behind too. I got on the back of my Dad’s machine and we continued on. We had a few big lakes ahead of us, but according to the map we were getting close to Kapikik.

We finally came through the narrows on Kapikik Lake. It didn’t take long to find the cabin and oh, what a feeling when we did! It was 11:00 p.m. and we had been travelling on snowmobiles since 4:00 p.m. We got all of the heat sources going in the cabin, the generator started, and the lights on. We took off our soaking wet and frozen clothing and hung it up around the cabin to thaw out and dry. Despite the way our suits looked, everyone had kept extremely warm – probably from working so hard! We sat around the fire and talked about our crazy adventure over a couple of well-deserved drinks. What a day we had had! Everyone was so happy to be at the cabin after traveling for 18 hours.

We Finally Made It!

After a very short sleep, the guys regrouped and took off to get some more supplies from the trucks and pick up the sleighs and the snowmobile that we had left behind. After our experience the night before, I expected that they would be gone pretty well all day. I blasted some Johnny Cash and began my day. I cleaned the cabin from top to bottom, prepared some food for when the guys returned, and then I started to put pine on the walls. I only had a small amount (as the rest was still on the trailers), but it was enough to finish off a couple of small walls.

Putting Pine on the Walls

Around 7:00 p.m. I heard the sleds coming across the lake. I stepped outside and counted 4 headlights coming towards me so that was a good sign. As they got closer, I realized that none of them were pulling a sleigh. Obviously they had had another day/night like the one before. Apparently they had got stuck in the slush so many times and decided that getting to the cabin was priority once again.

It turned out that they had actually had a productive day over all. They had spent most of their day at the mine, fixing one of the trailer hitches and also unloading their things from the trucks. Since they weren't going to be able to haul it all to the cabin as planned, my Dad asked the miners if they could leave their lumber and material there for a couple of weeks rather than bringing it all back home. My Dad was so grateful when they said yes. My parents will hire a plane in the next couple of weeks to fly everything from the mine to the cabin. The miners were beyond friendly and helpful to the guys. They even offered them tea, coffee, and snacks.

We enjoyed a delicious steak dinner that night and laughed and talked about the last couple of days. The plan was to get a good sleep and then retrieve the sleighs in the morning, and then we would head home.

It only took a couple of hours in the morning for the guys to retrieve the sleighs. I stayed behind and packed up our things and prepared for the long journey home. It would only take a couple of hours by snowmobile now that we had a trail, but the winter road could easily take us another 9 hours.

Finally Got a Couple of Sleighs to the Cabin!

The snowmobile ride was great. It only took us an hour and a half. The wind had changed overnight and flattened out those huge snowdrifts. The wind however, didn’t do the ice road any favours. We loaded up our sleds and started down the ice road in the trucks, which was at least two feet deep in snow! The trucks barely made it through. We were imagining these huge drifts on the bush road as well, which would not be good news for us. BUT, to our surprise, the road had JUST been plowed. Talk about a miracle! It took us only about 4 hours to get to Ear Falls and we were home safe and sound before dark.

The Bush Road... Plowed... What a Beautiful Thing.

What a weekend! At times we were in a little over our heads (quite literally, in snow), but we made it there and back safely!  Although our bodies were a little “broken-down”, not one of the sleds or trucks broke down on us, which was a bonus. We didn’t exactly get the work done that we had anticipated, but everything is within a short flying distance from the cabin, which is a big help.

It was a once in a lifetime experience for some of us. For my Dad and Chris… it was just another day at the office!

Hope you enjoyed our story :)

Until next time,

Meagan 

Northbound to Kapikik in the Cessna

Northbound in the Cessna 180

After patiently waiting all winter, we finally made our first trip to Kapikik. After a long few months of -30°Celsius weather with windchills of -40°Celsius, we had a window of time where the weather was forecasted to be around -17°C to -25°C and sunny! Dad packed down a runway on Edward Lake, packed the Cessna with food and supplies, and last Friday morning he and I took off northbound. The flight was beautiful. The sun was shining and the ride was very smooth. At 3,000 ft, the temperature was cold, at -25°C. I was very thankful for the goose-down snow suit that my Grandma had given me this winter. Even though it was cold in the plane, I was toasty warm! 

After about an hour and 20 minutes, we were flying over the cabin on Kapikik Lake. Everything looked great from up in the air. There didn’t appear to be too much snow on the roof, and the cabin was still in one piece! It was hard to tell from the air how much snow there really was on the ground and lake. We assumed there would be significantly more than at home, which would be a lot! We circled once and then landed. It was a smooth landing, but the snow drifts made for a bumpy taxi towards the shore. We circled around on the snow a couple of times in front of the cabin to get an idea of how deep the snow was, check for slush, and to make a trail that we could park on. The plane seemed to be making it’s way around okay so we decided to take our chances and park. We parked the plane a ways out from the cabin where the snow wasn’t quite as deep. 

I jumped out of the plane and sunk down to about mid-thigh. Snowshoes were going to be essential for the walk to the cabin. We got the snowshoes and sleigh out out of the plane and started loading our things. Dad made the first trail and I followed. Aside from the deep snow, everything looked like it had kept really well over the winter. One thing that we couldn’t help but notice was the lack of animal tracks! There were no bird tracks, no wolf tracks, no caribou tracks, not even any mouse tracks! I guess the burnt landscape and the deep snow doesn't make for very favourable conditions for animals to live in the winter time.

I started to shovel off the deck while Dad finished unloading the plane. He was much better on the snowshoes than I was! Once that was done, Dad started a fire inside and then went under the cabin with the propane heater to warm up the generator. He got the generator going and brought the propane heater inside to warm up the cabin. We kept the generator running the entire three days that we were there and it only used about 6 gallons of gas! It worked perfectly for keeping all of our power tools going, lights on, etc. 

The snowmobile, however was another story. It didn’t work out so great. Dad managed to get it running, so he started out towards the airplane. Our plan was to pack down a runway so that it would freeze by Sunday when we planned to leave. He managed to get it onto the snowshoe trail, but about halfway to the plane, the machine slipped off the trail and into the fresh snow. We really got an idea then just how deep the snow was. Needless to say, the machine is still sitting there in the snow. We put some wood blocks under it so that it wouldn't freeze in, but I don’t think it will be going anywhere for a while! 

We cleaned everything up and got everything organized inside the cabin so that we could start working. Dad tarped off one room to use as a bathroom, put a bucket in there, and well, we don't have to talk about that... 

It wasn’t long before Dad was measuring the front wall, facing the lake and cutting the first piece of tongue and groove pine. Our main focus for the trip was getting the cabin shoveled out, organized, and putting up as much pine on the walls as possible. Before we knew it, we were half-way up the first wall. Dad showed me how to work with the tongue and groove, how to measure our pieces, use the air nailer, and cut the boards to size. It didn't take me long to figure out what I was doing. Once we got a system down, I think we made a pretty good team! Day one went great, we nearly finished the entire front-facing wall. The generator ran great, the propane heater we brought was fantastic, and everything was coming together nicely! 

Around 5:00 p.m. we cleaned up our work area and made our beds. When that was done, we sat by the fire, each with a beer, and admired our work. Dad made a great dinner of chicken and potatoes and it didn’t take long for the dark to set in and we were lights out. I didn’t know I could fall asleep so early! We kept the fire going and shut off the propane heater. Although the cabin was insulated, it's a very large space to heat. By 10:00 p.m. we both woke up shivering. The fire had gone out and it was nearing zero degrees Celsius. I got out of bed and started the propane heater and the fire. We both slept in 3 layers of clothes with a couple blankets and sleeping bags each. It got very warm in the cabin after the heater ran for a while… almost too warm to sleep, but we managed to fall asleep anyways... Until the propane ran out! We thought we were cold before… it was freezing in there now! Not to mention I had cracked a couple of windows because I was worried about oxygen. Dad found a part bottle of propane which was enough to get us through until morning. 

By the time we woke up, that part bottle had also run out. We got a fire going and found another part bottle of propane. As we were warming up by the fire, drinking our coffee, Dad tells me that we have one full bottle of propane left. He says that we must save this bottle in case the electric heater doesn’t work to warm up the plane when we go to leave the next day. So, what I understood was that we had one more full day and night, with only the wood stove to keep us warm. 

In a little bit of a panic, we put our heads together and came up with a plan. The fire would be enough to keep us warm while working during the day, as long as we kept putting wood in it. As for night time... we could use our little “Buddy Heater” which only takes a small amount of propane, but only heats a very small space. Or we would need to sleep where the heat was - high up. We began to construct a bed in the rafters, which was seeming like our best option. I tried out the bed, which was comfortable and most definitely warm, but without any safety railings I felt like I could roll off in the night. Also, being so close to the ceiling made me feel claustrophobic. I told Dad this and he didn’t even want to try it out. It was time to put our thinking caps on again. 

As the sun was rising across the lake, Dad set out to the fish house. I didn’t ask what he was doing. I was so wrapped up in the beauty of the sunrise, standing out on the deck taking pictures. Dad popped his head out of the fish house. “I found three full bottles of propane!!” “We are laughing now - let’s crank up that heater!”. Thank goodness! 

We began putting up the tongue and groove and within no time we finished off the front facing wall. We really had a system down now and managed to finish 3 more walls after that! It was a gorgeous day. The sun shining through the windows was almost enough to keep us warm. The view was breathtaking. I took a break to step outside and admire our surroundings. There truly is beauty to be found at that place, even through all of the burnt trees. 

We started to clean up around 5:00 p.m. again and poured a couple of drinks. We then decided to move the remaining pine to the finished section of the cabin, along with the make-shift kitchen and the groceries. We were all set to start on the biggest wall in the morning. Dad made dinner again. Pork chops and beans this time… it was actually pretty good! We went to bed early again, pretty much right when it turned dark. This time, however, we kept the propane heater going all night and didn’t worry about the fire at all. It stayed nice and warm in the cabin all night. 

We meant to wake up at 5:30 a.m., but I guess we were so comfortable that we slept until 6:30 a.m., giving us a later start to our already short work day. We drank our coffee quickly and had a little something to eat. As it began to get lighter out, we noticed that it was snowing lightly and was very cloudy. The wind was picking up quickly as well. We weren’t sure if we’d be able to fly home today due to the wind and low visibility. We started working with hopes that it would clear up in a few hours. 

Dad went out and plugged the electric heater in to warm up the plane engine. We set a timer for two hours, as by this time it should be warm enough to start. In the meantime, we got quite a bit done on the wall and cleaned up the cabin nicely. I finished packing things up while Dad went to start the plane. He came back a minute later and told me that the heater didn’t work at all. It had been blowing cold air for the last two hours. Dad said to me that this is going to be a big set back for us. He told me to suit up because he was going to need lots of help! 

We took a tarp down to the plane and our propane heater from the cabin. We made a big tent over the front end of the plane and put snow along the edges to hold it down. Once it was all sealed up, we started the heater inside of the tent, underneath the plane. Within minutes, the airplane was defrosting and there was water dripping from it. This was a very good sign. It wasn’t long until the plane was warm enough to take the tarp off and start it. It started with no problem - what a relief! We waited in the cabin for about 20 minutes, grabbed the rest of our things, and then got into the airplane. Since we didn’t have a runway packed down, we had our fingers crossed that we'd be able to get moving. Dad dug out the skis and luckily, that was enough to get the plane going. 

It was still windy, but the visibility was better and the flight was actually pretty smooth. We flew over Shabumeni and Grace and took some pictures. We also flew right over a caribou that had recently been killed by a wolf. The wolf wasn’t around anymore, but there were sure lots of birds. We flew over the winter road on Birch Lake and got a good look at it. In the next couple of months, we will be taking another trip to Kapikik using the winter road, so it was good to get an idea of what we’d be facing. All in all, we had a very productive and fun trip, without too many hitches. We are really looking forward to our next trip. It’s great to see some progress with the cabin. It is going to be beautiful!

Until next time,

Meagan

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! The Christmas holidays were great for us - filled with lots of family time and ice fishing! The fishing in the shack has been incredible so far. I've been posting a few pictures on the Facebook Page and there will be more to come. Lots of good "eaters" and a few big ones, that of course we let go.

Family Fishing on Christmas Eve

Dad and Chris have been busy with minnow trapping, despite the frigid temperatures. At times, the temperature reaches almost minus 40 Fahrenheit! Dad and I are hoping to fly up North to Kapkik soon to do some work on the cabin, but there seems to be no break in the weather in the near future. In the meantime we have been doing lots of work in the shop.

Dad has me building wooden coat racks for the cabins. He made up a few different templates for me and told me just to keep building them. I have about 50 finished and apparently I'm not done yet! When he gets an idea, its go big or go home. I have no clue where his ideas or inspiration come from, but I don't ask questions! He has called this "line" of coat racks the "Gatzke Wildlife Collection" - don't ask! 

He has taken his design to the next level this week with matching coffee tables and end tables. Who knows what he will have me building next… I really hope the weather warms up so we can get up North soon!

Only about a week until we are on the road to St. Charles, Illinois for the All Canada Show at the Pheasant Run Resort. We hope to see lots of you there! 

Happy Near Year, everyone! May 2014 bring you lots of good health and happiness!

Until next time,

Meagan

Embracing Change

I have some exciting news that I would like to share...

I am officially joining the Clark's Resorts & Outposts Team as a full-time employee!!

This weekend marks the end of another great chapter and the start of another very exciting one…  it's amazing where life can take you sometimes. 

It has taken a few years and a winding road to get here, but I am so happy that I have come to this decision and that I was accepted with open and welcoming arms. Officially on Monday, I will get to call myself a part of the Clark's team and finally play a role in the family business. I am so excited to be a part of something so amazing… after all these years, I have come to realize that the greatest opportunity has been right under my nose this whole time. I will get to be a part of an incredible team and work for two of the most hard-working people that I know. I can't wait to help out and be a part of something that they have worked so hard to build and I hope that I can be a part of expanding it even more. 

My Mom and Dad are not only the best parents, they are truly an inspiration and they make an incredible power team together. I feel so proud to call them my parents and am so honoured that I will get to be a part of what they do. I am thankful for the support of my friends and family, my husband, and everyone else that has helped me along this journey. I am so excited to start this next chapter and can't wait to see what life has instore for me next!

I just want to thank again, my husband, Devin for being so supportive. This will be a pretty big lifestyle change for us (especially in the summer) and he has chosen to support my decision and not hold me back in the least, and for that I am truly grateful. This is why I married him… among a thousand other amazing qualities. 

Have a GREAT day everyone. Life is short, so enjoy every second and do what makes you happy!

Until next time,

Meagan

Website Updates & More!

Hello everyone! I hope those of you in the States had a GREAT Thanksgiving. We are getting buried in snow over here! We've had lots of big snow falls, lots of road closures and even school closures already and it's snowing again as I type. It's looking like we're going to have a very white Christmas - great for those with snowmobiles! The ice is coming along nicely, it hopefully won't be too long before we can get the ice shacks out.

Dad (Wayne) has been spending lots of time at the Eagle Junction Store doing some updates. The updates include a new coffee bar with stools and a new shelving unit for gifts. The airplanes are still being worked on... getting the skis put on so that they are ready to take flight once the ice is safe. Mom (Karla) has been working lots at the stores, both Eagle Junction and Sunset Baits. She's been putting out lots of new merchandise just in time for Christmas!

Coffee Bar at Eagle Junction

As for me, I just took (and passed!!) the Canadian Firearms Safety Course this weekend, which gets you a PAL Licence (Possession and Acquisition Licence). In the new year I will take the Hunters Safety Course and hopefully get to shoot a deer next fall! Or at least some grouse :) Something else I've been working on in the past little while is my parent's website(s) for Clark's Resorts & Outposts. I've been working lots with the guy that designs and runs the website and I'm really excited to say that the changes are all done and we are up and running!

Please visit www.clarksresorts.com and take look around. The biggest changes were made to the outpost pages. You can now find everything you need to know including what to pack, what is included in your trip, rates, and lots of pictures of the cabins and lakes. There is a Google Map to show you where each cabin is located and the GPS coordinates are displayed underneath the map. Many of you may have been visiting www.northernlightsoutposts.com to get information on the outposts, which is the website that my parents acquired when they bought Gawley's outposts. Now that we have made so many updates to the clarksresorts.com website, you will notice that when you type in www.northernlightsoutposts.com, it will bring you directly to the outpost page on www.clarksresorts.com (picture below).

Other updates to the website include new pictures of Clark's Camp, K.C.'s Landing, and Northern Lights Resort. We have also added a page of testimonials, so you can see what our guests have to say about their trips to the drive-to camps and outpost cabins. There is also a "request a brochure" feature on the website so that you can easily request to have a brochure mailed to you. One more update that I'm excited about is that my blog is now connected to the website! It'll be even easier to follow now.

When you're checking out the changes to the website, be sure to click on the Batmobile video (even if you've already seen it!) It's always good for a good laugh and to get you in the ice fishing spirit! Don't forget that we offer some awesome ice fishing packages to beat those winter blues! You can come and fish in one of these warm, comfortable shacks located right out from K.C.'s Landing Resort or you can be more adventurous and explore the chain of lakes on your snowmobile.

Ice Shacks at K.C.'s Landing

Sam with a nice walleye, fishing in a shack out of the cold!

That's all for now! It's time to think about Christmas decorating, baking, and shopping! It is after all, December 1st already! Hard to believe Christmas is only a few weeks away...

Until next time,

Meagan

Cold in NWO: Fishing & Hunting Update

I hope everyone is having a great fall so far! I thought I'd give you a little update on what's going on at the camps. Although not officially - I would say winter is here! It was a very cold weekend in Northwestern Ontario. There is snow on the ground, the roads are slippery, and some lakes in the area are frozen over. Edward Lake is trying hard to freeze, but the wind is keeping that from happening. It's been quite blustery the last few days and it doesn't seem to want to let up. You can see in the picture below, the ice started to form along the shore last night.

The guys are anxious for the lake to freeze so that they can get back in the airplanes and continue with their work up North. They've got the docks out at the camps and of course, the muskie fisherman are done, so the ice can come any time now! 

It was very cold on the lake for our muskie fisherman this year, but they had a really great time. They managed to land some nice muskies and walleyes, including a 30 inch walleye (picture below) and a chubby 44 inch muskie (picture below). 

The deer hunters in camp are having a good week. Everyone got together last night for a fish fry. They sure looked happy to come inside out of the cold last night and they really enjoyed the fish dinner! The cold weather must make it hard to be patient and sit still, waiting for that big buck! A few of them have gotten their deer already and the rest are still braving that cold weather, waiting for the right one. They got a couple of deer today, including this nice 10-point buck (picture below).

That is all for now! Stay warm everyone.

Until next time,

Meagan