My role here apart from been the fish supplier is to fill in for people while they on breaks. It is a good way to check out other projects and see a bit more of the country. Today, I was hanging out with Brendo to check out his Wolf Lake exploration project. We got to the old camp and waited. Mark, the chopper pilot flew in, idled and we boarded the chopper under the rotating blades and within 20 seconds we were in the air. The chopper in this area is a powerful tool. With the swamps, lakes, rivers and poor vehicular access the only way we can get to area is by helicopter. We followed the road down south, just past where we put the boat in only three nights before and then headed west. We found the old camp where the wooden drill core boxes were stacked. We unpacked some old core and took some photos of the rocks. Mark, the chopper pilot, is great bloke, and was willing to lend a hand. He took me through all the compartments in the chopper and was really informative. Brendo and I gave Mark and Matt (one of the helpers) some impromptu geology lessons which was really good.
We had some lunch on the side of the lake and then proceeded to go fishing. What? Well it is a non-accessible lake so we packed the rods into the chopper. We had a few casts and I got snagged. I didn’t want to lose another lure so I waded out into the thigh depth water in my jocks to retrieve it.
Afterwards, we flew to where the line cutters were working and saw a bald eagle and it’s nest in the highest tree on the highest hill in the area. It flew off and the wingspan was huge. The line cutters cut lines (tracks) through the bush and then hand dig the ground and level it so the drill can sit cleanly on timbers. By the way, the drill is flown in place in three sections and the crews flown in and out each day in the chopper. It’s a good gig! We flew to the next lot of holes and I navigated from the front seat. Once you get out of the trees you can see the lakes and work out where you have to go. We checked out two landing spots and picked one. When we landed the chopper sunk a bit into the muskeg. Matt, Brendo and I jumped out with the axe and Mark hovered 20m above us while we cut down some trees for him to land on. I love this exploration caper.
We did some walking through the bush added pegged a few new hole locations with the GPS. Co-ordinates of the proposed holes are plugged into this machine and then you walk through the bush using satellite navigation to find the spot. The best thing about this is, once you have found the spot you can cut heaps of tree down. So we did and had lots of fun doing it!! On the way back I asked if we could go via Kewen Lake to check out where the deep spots were. It was a 5 minute detour but well worthwhile. Under the bridge on the other side of the rapids it looked deep and like walleye territory. I took a lot of photos in our air reconnaissance mission.
We had some lunch on the side of the lake and then proceeded to go fishing. What? Well it is a non-accessible lake so we packed the rods into the chopper. We had a few casts and I got snagged. I didn’t want to lose another lure so I waded out into the thigh depth water in my jocks to retrieve it.
Afterwards, we flew to where the line cutters were working and saw a bald eagle and it’s nest in the highest tree on the highest hill in the area. It flew off and the wingspan was huge. The line cutters cut lines (tracks) through the bush and then hand dig the ground and level it so the drill can sit cleanly on timbers. By the way, the drill is flown in place in three sections and the crews flown in and out each day in the chopper. It’s a good gig! We flew to the next lot of holes and I navigated from the front seat. Once you get out of the trees you can see the lakes and work out where you have to go. We checked out two landing spots and picked one. When we landed the chopper sunk a bit into the muskeg. Matt, Brendo and I jumped out with the axe and Mark hovered 20m above us while we cut down some trees for him to land on. I love this exploration caper.
We did some walking through the bush added pegged a few new hole locations with the GPS. Co-ordinates of the proposed holes are plugged into this machine and then you walk through the bush using satellite navigation to find the spot. The best thing about this is, once you have found the spot you can cut heaps of tree down. So we did and had lots of fun doing it!! On the way back I asked if we could go via Kewen Lake to check out where the deep spots were. It was a 5 minute detour but well worthwhile. Under the bridge on the other side of the rapids it looked deep and like walleye territory. I took a lot of photos in our air reconnaissance mission.
Where we fish at Kewen Lake!! Big pike territory!!
No comments:
Post a Comment