Photo: Tim Gooderham

October 31, 11:15 a.m. TLA building end of Mine Road. Lake Temagami is behind the spruce. The snow was mostly gone by the following morning as the temperature rose above 10 C (50 F).

October 31, 2001

More rain and high winds

Flood warning remains in effect with a forecast of up to 20 millimeters of rain and winds up to 50 kilometers per hour.

October 28, 2001

Flood warning issued

A flood warning has been issued for the Temagami watershed. According to the Temagami Lakes Association's gauge at the end of the Mine Road, 254 millimeters (10 inches) of rain has fallen since September 22. Lake and river levels are high. Rising water levels downstream of the watershed on Lake Nipissing have already caused flooding. "Let's hope we don't get any more rain for a few days," says Tim Gooderham, a member of the Lake Nipissing French Sturgeon River Watershed Advisory Board (SNIF), which issued the warning.

 << NOV-DEC

October 24, 2001

Hap seeks help for new canoe-routes book

Hap Wilson has begun work on a new edition of the classic Temagami Canoe Routes book. Contribute to this one-of-a-kind project by sending in your ideas, corrections of old material, changes to routes over the years, new routes, etc. Contact Hap or Stephanie at eskakwa@vianet.on.ca

October 23, 2001

Rainbow Bear of Sharp Rock

Anyone seen a bear of many colors around Diamond or Sharp Rock? Its new look adds rich yellow, red and sky-blue accents to its own natural black base.  After rearranging some porch furniture in a cabin on Sharp Rock in late September (see October 15 story), the bear broke into a wooden box of oil paints. "It was easy to track his wanderings after that," says Harold Keevil, the cabin's owner. "He left rainbows of smudges here and there." 

October 18, 2001

First snowfall of the season

If you woke up yesterday in Temagami, you would have seen a white world, with green sticking up through it. The roughly "two inches" of snow did not last the day. This season keep tabs on winter snow: snow-depth map.

October 17, 2001

Wakimika Lake Cabin Removed

The cabin reportedly being constructed at the narrows between Wakimika and Pencil Lakes has been removed. There is no evidence remaining of the builder or the cabin. 

October 15, 2001

Bear Ravages Sharp Rock Cabins

Three cabins in northern Sharp Rock Inlet on Lake Temagami had bear breakins in late September. One or more bears gained entry by going through double-pane windows, an exterior wall and even a solid-wood door. After one cabin's door was repaired, it re-entered through the repair. Once inside the bear ravaged the kitchen and removed all the food. A fourth cabin had exterior damage, but the bear did not enter. In each case, no one was around. "My family has had the place since 1963, but this is the first-ever bear intrusion," says Bill Bateman, a cabin owner. 

It is possible this is the Diamond bear. Camping on northern Sharp Rock Inlet is not recommended. 

October 3, 2001

OFAH Wants Crown Land Camping Rule Changed

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) wants Ontario to change the length of time that camping is permitted on Crown (public) land. Currently, campers are permitted to stay on Crown land for a maximum of 21 days a year, at all campsites in total. This allows campers to occupy a single campsite for up to three weeks and restricts long stays over numerous sites.

For heavily-used campsites, the OFAH says, this causes environmental damage to the site and the surrounding water, and is "not particularly fair to others wanting to use it," says Mark Holmes, OFAH spokesman. 

The group wants to wave the cumulative rule completely, but keep a 21-day maximum stay on a campsite. For designated sites, the MNR would have the authority reduce the maximum to 14 days. 

The Crown land camping rule is a long-standing controversy among canoeists, as it limits those who may travel more 21 days a year. Canoeists also have found sites monopolized in high-traffic areas, particularly those accessible by motorized vehicles.

October 2, 2001

Water Levels Continue to Rise

Last week saw four inches of rain and more is in the forecast for this week. Lake Temagami, as reported by Tim Gooderham, is now above mid-June's pollen line.

October 1, 2001

Goulard Road Gate Demolished by Vandal

On or about September 15, a unidentified person on a motorcycle, using an acetylene torch, cut into seven or eight pieces the gate and its posts on the Goulard Road. The gate is located about 500 meters south of the portage between Wawiagama and Obabika Lakes. It is maintained by Ministry of Natural Resources to restrict public access. 

At the same time, another gate on private property near Lake Obabika Lodge, at the south end of the lake, was also sliced up with a torch by someone on a motorcycle. "He was a professional," says Peter Herburger, proprietor of the lodge. "He knew how to weld, it was a clean cut." The Goulard gate has not been re-installed to date. Conservation Officers (COs) with the MNR and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are investigating.

The road had been used in the 1980s for logging north to the Obabika River. It was later extended into the famed old-growth stand across the Obabika and Wakimika Rivers in 1989. Eleven environmentalists were arrested at the gate site while blockading its construction. The stand was preserved before it was logged and the bridges were removed in 1996.

September 26, 2001

Water Levels On the Rise

Rain for September is already 168 per cent of normal for the month, according to a story in the North Bay Nugget. "I think this rain now has brought the water levels back up to where we're in pretty good shape for the winter," the story quotes MNR lands and water specialist Phil Hall. 

September 24, 2001

MNR Will Wait till Spring to Look at Bear Situation

Since bears will soon be hibernating for the winter, MNR will not take any action on the Diamond bear. "If there is a problem in the spring, we will look at what to do then," says John Salo, superintendent of Obabika River Park.

September 13, 2001

Bear Attack on Diamond Lake

Bear attacked tent with Jeff Sobie inside on the night of September 8. Screaming did not deter bear. Growling, it ripped open the tent. A second kayaker's screaming behind the bear stopped the attack, but the bear did not leave the campsite. Terrified, the uninjured kayakers left the campsite in the dark. FULL ACCOUNT     BEAR WARNING  

 September 11, 2001

Ontario Forests Burned Way Down This Year

In spite of lack of rain and extreme fire-hazard conditions through the middle of the summer, the amount of forest that has burned is low. The total area burned in Ontario so far this year is under 10,700 hectares. This is about "five per cent of the provincial 10-year annual average for this time of year, which is almost 227,500 hectares," according to the MNR. Much of this credit should go to the diligence and effort of MNR's fire management services.

September 10, 2001

Chrismar's Temagami 1 Map: A Review

Temagami 1 - Northeast, a  new canoeing topographic map by Chrismar, covers an area bounded by Latchford, Diamond Lake, Maple Mountain and Spray Creek. (Chrismar reports it will publish two more maps of Temagami.) It includes portages, campsites, the new conservation reserves, and at least one route that has not been published before (Thunderhead route). It is an ideal map as it is waterproof and has a comfortable scale of 1:80,000. This can easily be a replacement for 1:50,000 topos. If you were doing the Mowat's Landing, Lady Evelyn, Maple Mountain, Mendelssohn, Mowat's route, it would save the purchase of three topos. At $14.95, this makes the map a bargain.

Christine Kennedy, the co-producer, says the map was produced directly from aerial photos rather than government data. We know that government topos are riddled with small errors, as they often used summer students in doing aerial-photo interpretation. Kennedy made clear that their map is "accurate." I would be cautious. 

There are a number of errors. The two portages between Lady Evelyn and Willow Island Lakes show an open body of water along the eastern portage. The tiny creek is overstated on the map and could mislead anyone looking for the trail. Two campsites at Ferguson Mountain are mispositioned. Another in the Lower Narrows of Sharp Rock Inlet does not exist. All this was found with only a quick map inspection.

It is available at bookstores, outdoor stores and Temagami outfitters.

— Brian Back        

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