I decided to post the photos and details of my trip to Pog Lake in this blog. It seems like the best way to show photos and explain them without physically being present. The portion in italics are notes I made for Katie about the cottage while I was still there. Enjoy!
We left during the first hours of Saturday.
I was picked up at my place downtown between 1-2am, and we took our time having a few stops on the way and arrived at the train station around 9am. The train leaves around 10. You don't want to miss it because you'd be waiting 2 days to catch the next one.
Above is the trains station we travel from in Cartier. The station had a tiny washroom with a few holes in the wall where a sink used to be. The second photo is cousin Katherine with 3 of the 5 dogs that the family brought up. The last is cousin Dan with Nimo. He's pointing to "Main st." (right). You're not mistaken, that's a T-intersection at the end of this road. This road and the train station are the only things in Cartier.
The first picture above is the two-car train called the "Bud Car". You can see the front half of the train in the second photo. This was taken on the way back. It just happened to be empty. On the way there I was lodged in between two stacks of luggage piled high above my head with my arms out preventing them from collapsing in on us. The third is obviously a picture en route from inside the train.
After the long trip we made our way to my grandparent's cabin. Once all of us were packed in the small cabin I looked out the window and it struck me - it's really nice to be here. It's been over two years.
The photos above and below are of our first trip out on the lake. It was Katherine, Dan, Craig, and I accompanied by Molly and Nimo. Below (and embedded) is the destination of our first trip
out. A childhood favorite of ours which we eloquently called "The Rock". It's appeal is not obvious at first, but it just happens to take a very practical shape for what we used to want. One part is ideal for docking the boat, it has a gradual decline into water at another for swimming, it has a steep drop off at another for fishing, and no one ever went there. It was ours. A long time ago 
I built a mighty fort that took the shape of a decently sturdy fence. It was on one of the plateaus. My friend Octav came up with me that year and we spent most of our time working on it. It was made of arm-thick trees, rocks and nails. Because it was built on a rock-face, it was not really posted. It essentially just rested on the ground. Even so, our fortified fence withstood two harsh winters before being brought down. My grandfather was very impressed. I could hardly find a trace this year.
This place has a strange effect. It's really hard to tell time. Sometimes I would guess it to be earlier, sometimes later, but no one cares unless you're missing a meal. I finished reading the book written by my great aunt Kay. You have to read it. It gives you such an appreciation for this place, and for how hard life was only a generation ago. They were TOUGH.
I can't express to you how much I desire for you to be here with me. To smell the air, to see undisturbed nature, to feel no time. I think you would really enjoy the crowded boisterous family meals. Every member is totally unique - quirky but kind. They keep asking questions about you. Some know a lot, some have just heard that I'm very serious about a girl. My cousin Katherine is very disappointed that you won't be in Canada for August when she's getting married to Craig (who's also up). Craig is great. I couldn't ask for a better cousin-in-law. I'll have to tell you all about him soon.
This is the inside of my grandparent's cabin. It's a small one room cottage, built to be cozy and convenient.
Closest in green is my grandfather (Art), and to the right is my grandmother (Erna). It's tough to get her to sit during a meal. Nearly impossible in fact. She's been through a heart attack, and more recently back surgery (so recently they told her she shouldn't leave a bed even to this time) but nothing stops this woman. On second glance, I have to say it's not the most flattering picture. Ha! On the left in white is my aunt Janet, who is arguably the loudest (not an easy feat). Further left in black is my mom (Vivian), and my dad to her side (Bob). At the end of the table, looking deceptively small is my uncle Gerry. He's sitting on the pull-out couch that is used as the main bed in the cabin. Continuing around the table is cousin Dan, then Craig, and finally Katherine. Above the pictures view is the loft. The floor of the loft covers half the room, and there is a ladder on a pivot that is lowered when you need to go up. There are foam sleeping mats up there, so that is where we usually sleep when we visit.
It is now my last day here. The folks left with my aunt Janet on Monday so we went from ten 
people to seven. All nights except for the first I stayed in aunt Kay's cabin (the one who wrote "Pog Tails"). She's not able to look after herself anymore and she stays with her sister up there, so uncle Gerry, Dan and I had her cabin to ourselves.
I know I won't have long to write so I may as well go over the highlights.
The sauna - one pseudo family member of ours (Ward Beattie) owned a software company which was bought by Mircosoft. He's very rich. He was so kind as to build a wooden sauna up here for all of us (Pic to the right). It's small, but fantastic. We just got running hot water here too so you can shower in the sauna when you're ready to get out. So relaxing.
Monday was beautiful, and later in the day I asked Katherine if she wanted to explore the hill. All our cabins are on the south-face of a large hill. It's very difficult to appreciate how large it is unless you're on the lake or have experienced it firsthand.
Interlude:
The end of the dock (bottom left) is where I wrote most of the note on my last day there. This beach is the eastern most portion of our community up there, and although we have full use of it, it is not owned by our family. It's a very nice beach.
My grandparents own two cabins. Cabin one - Mess Hall as we decided to call it - is the one where the family meal 
was taken. The picture on the right gives you an idea of the hill slope we are on. It is taken from the second cabin looking downward toward the bay. You can see where there were two extensions made on the closer side of the building. The main door is on the left side of the photo, and there is a decent sized deck on the far side.
The second cabin is simpler. It is one room with a queen sized bed and a small table. We named it the Bunk Room. We never call them by these names, but we needed something cute for the plaques. It was made as a guest room, and as a more
comfortable place for the grandparents to sleep when there are no other guests. The steepness of the hill is very visible in the photo to the right.
I've been up (the hill) once on a previous trip, but we only went so far. This time I was more determined. We put on some bug spray and headed out - armed with digital cameras. The vegetation is quite thick to start and it quickly thins out turning into very awkward terrain. Boulders, fallen trees and uneven ground becomes the norm. We often found ourselves hopping on to soft vegetation that could have anything (even a hole) underneath.
As you can see the dangers were readily apparent. A spider with the body size of my palm and a glove. Surely this is the last remaining trace of the explorers preceding us!
As we walked on an on we paused for photographs, each picture becoming more impressive than the last as our elevation rose and the sun dropped. The density of the trees keeps making you think that you are at the highest point, but if you travel further you find another plateau. It felt like quite an adventure.
We were absolutely shocked when we got back. We arrived back to civilization at the exact same point of the trail as where we left. The magnitude of this feat can only be comprehended if you had the experience of going through the untamed wildlands personally. Katherine and I were convinced that we had missed out calling in life - destined to be wilderness scouts.
The pictures I captured that night as the sun set (and afterwards) are quite beautiful. I hope you get to see them as you read this.
Tuesday made Monday feel like a picnic. The grandparents and uncle Gerry were taking the motor boat, and Katherine and Craig were going for a canoe trip in the lake. Dan and I already had plans to explore the river that feeds Pog Lake by canoe and we weren't about to give up and sit around the cabin. We asked aunt Kay and she let us borrow her canoe. It's much heavier than our grandparent's and it's seen better days, but we figured all the better if we were to try going up the river. A few more dents won't hurt it....
We grabbed about sixteen beers, a box of crackers, Nimo, and my trusty camera and off we went. Our departure time was around one pm. The water was as smooth as glass, and I could not have asked for a more beautiful day. Dan and I paddled across the lake (about a half hour) and began up the river opening.
This is on the way up to the river mouth - after we'd crossed the main lake.
The embedded pictures below are at the river mouth.
There were too many rocks to continue paddling up the river so we had a few beers, some crackers and made our way up by foot. There was no path so we made our way rock to rock and occasionally balanced across fallen trees. Nimo was a trooper and followed every step of the way.
Looking back the way we came
Nimo. Part dog - part mountain goat. All balls.
Mini waterfalls scattered the river path
After a long trek we reached our goal. A new lake. One we've never seen. We didn't know it's 
name and we didn't care. As soon as we saw it, we knew we had to explore it by canoe. Portaging that path would be tough, but it had to be done. We headed back.
We got a good system down for transporting the canoe. Dan was wearing sandals so he pushed it up the stream and any time the canoe encountered rocks, I would be there to help lift it over. After about 45 minutes we worked the canoe right over all obstacles and into the lake.
I explored the coast on foot and Dan set the canoe for travel. When I got back Dan asked for a favor. After only one minute he had seen five 
"keeper" sized fish FROM SHORE! We had dumped his fishing gear at the river end to save hassle. He wanted to run back and get it. I didn't mind and decided to canoe solo over the new lake while he headed back. It was so peaceful being in the middle of this deserted lake by myself. Completely serene.
Dan got back a good while later and joined me for a quick tour of the closer portion of the lake. Afterwards he went out to fish and I walked along the shore a bit more. Dan was only 
20-30 feet from the land and he was using worms that had been in the sun all day. They were literally disintegrating as he put them on the hook. Even so, Dan could hardly put the line in the water without getting a bite. He would cast, then reel in and a fish would be on the line. He cast about eight times and caught five fish. One was not big enough to keep, and one jumped out of the boat. We brought back three good sized fish, one of which was the biggest caught that week by anyone in our family. Dan couldn't stop saying "this is unreal!". It was fishing as we've never seen.
Before fishing, when Dan and I had explored the lake together I noticed a red marker. While Dan was fishing I found a canoe and an old motor boat (sans motor) underneath it. This was a marker for the end point of a portaging route. Aunt Kay and uncle Harry used to host all kinds of portaging trips when they ran the lodge, and this was obviously the neglected remains of one of them. The trail lead in two directions. I could tell that the short portion lead to the top of the river, and presumably the other portion that headed into the woods lead to the bottom of the river. Dan and I had decided it would be easier to use this portage trail on the way back because it would be a lot more direct. A straight line as opposed to the "C" shaped path of the river. From what I could see, the trail looked quite smooth.
I called out to Dan as he was fishing: "we should bring Craig here tomorrow". By chance Craig was rounding the last corner of the river at that moment. Katherine and Craig had been sent by our grandparents to see if we were okay. We had no watch and it was much later than we'd thought.
Craig went along the portage trail to tell Katherine we were on the way and we started to pack up. It took a while to get all set and with all our gear we could not portage with the canoe over our heads as you normally would. We had to lie a lot of equipment in the canoe and carry it at our sides. This proved to be very difficult.
The trail was much more treacherous than we'd guessed - overgrown with fallen trees and narrowed by vegetation after years of neglect. It was about half an hour of very difficult travel. It felt as though it when forever. We were surprised that Craig had not returned to help us, but as it turns out they had to go home to tell them we'd been found. Instead of waiting we stared across the lake. We were so exhausted and by the time we were half way across the lake the sun was gone, and the moon was out.
Dark ominous clouds had appeared seemingly out of nowhere just as the motor boat was coming back to rescue 
us. The clouds did not blow over, but formed above our heads. They were quite menacing and I would have been very uncomfortable if we had to paddle the rest of the way under these potential lightning clouds. We were in the middle of the lake for most of the trip and heard cracks of thunder in the distance. It was very relieving when we docked the boat.
What an adventure. It was probably about eight hours long in total. Dan and I had quite a bonding experience.
That's the end of my entry.
I have a few photos that I'd like to share that didn't quite fit in before:
The view out of Kay's cabin that I woke up to each morning
The water-plane that my parents and Janet flew out on.
Katherine on our trip up the hill
Mom presenting the fish she caught and me in my "Pocahontas" shot (I hope you all appreciate the rhyme and meter I wrote there)
Molly-May in one of the few pictures ever seen of her off leash in the wilderness.
These two are pictures of Kay and Harry's dock. I don't know why, but I've always loved it...
Safe and sound back home.
I just wish I could have had some more time up there. Looking back, it was simply an incredible experience - and everything worked out perfectly. I could not have asked for better weather, and the time I spent with Katherine and Daniel will be cherished as great adventures. I believe they were adventures of the greatest sort. Just like a child, we were driven by curiosity for the land that we honour and respect. My appreciation for that land has only grown over the years as I come to realize how unique it is, and how fortunate I am to be part of it. It truly is incredible.
