June 17th – Cloud then Sun – Our 7 am plane arrived at 8:15 - John O’Sullivan plus maps for the new block, groceries and a new tent. We had gotten up at 5 am to finish packing. Two trips to our new camp in the north part of Gulf 1 a block of 100 claims. Spent the rest of the day setting up another new to us tent. By the end of the day we had the bare basics done and were both beat. Still a great deal to put in place in the morning.
June 18th – Sun/Cloud – Finished the balance of camp set up by noon. Things like burying our ice chest to keep things colder – rebuilding the table – work surfaces – latrine ( a smooth log between two trees with a hole dug behind works well usually tucked behind the tent in a bush area) and fire wood. The thin metal air tight eats wood quickly but give off a wonderful heat.
We were off into the field that afternoon. Just north of camp located an ultra basic exposure. tom thought it could be the source of a pre-recorded of high Ni (nickel) anomaly in the lake sediments. I goofed as the grocery order was missing milk and eggs – Tom is going to have to check them in the future to make sure this doesn’t happen too often. Finally we are able to talk to Goose Bay by radio.
June 19th – Rain/Sun – strong gusty NW wind – 5 km - Off we went at 10 am for a traverse up the west side of the lake to the NW corner of the block. Didn’t locate anything exciting. Very cool with intermittent showers. No radio contact tonight.
June 20th –1/2 inch of snow – gusty NW wind – Woke up to snow - Left camp after it melted about 11 am. Worked the south side of the lake. Tough bush with lots of alders and ground birch. Found nothing of interest.
Our new tent is quite nice – very roomy with a fancy new style reversible tarp – the black side attracts the sun shine and heats the tent and the reverse sort of a metallic gray is supposed to reflect the sun so the tent doesn’t get too hot – so far I do not see that the reflecting heat side will be used much.
June 18th – Sun/Cloud – Finished the balance of camp set up by noon. Things like burying our ice chest to keep things colder – rebuilding the table – work surfaces – latrine ( a smooth log between two trees with a hole dug behind works well usually tucked behind the tent in a bush area) and fire wood. The thin metal air tight eats wood quickly but give off a wonderful heat.
We were off into the field that afternoon. Just north of camp located an ultra basic exposure. tom thought it could be the source of a pre-recorded of high Ni (nickel) anomaly in the lake sediments. I goofed as the grocery order was missing milk and eggs – Tom is going to have to check them in the future to make sure this doesn’t happen too often. Finally we are able to talk to Goose Bay by radio.
June 19th – Rain/Sun – strong gusty NW wind – 5 km - Off we went at 10 am for a traverse up the west side of the lake to the NW corner of the block. Didn’t locate anything exciting. Very cool with intermittent showers. No radio contact tonight.
June 20th –1/2 inch of snow – gusty NW wind – Woke up to snow - Left camp after it melted about 11 am. Worked the south side of the lake. Tough bush with lots of alders and ground birch. Found nothing of interest.
Our new tent is quite nice – very roomy with a fancy new style reversible tarp – the black side attracts the sun shine and heats the tent and the reverse sort of a metallic gray is supposed to reflect the sun so the tent doesn’t get too hot – so far I do not see that the reflecting heat side will be used much.
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Wheee! The stove pipe hole is at the back so is closer to the sleeping area. These large roomy 12’ x 14’’ tents are much like living in a small one room cabin –with a little ingenuity and inventiveness - add in many years experience – you quickly find a pattern that works well that can be repeated time and again. As we will be constantly moving this summer a set pattern that works well will save time and energy. The aluminum frame posed a few problems but even they were soon overcome.
Tom had pre-cut pieces of plywood and lumber for the table/counter/bed etc. before leaving Goose Bay. He kept the sizes uniform as possible so that they bundle easily for transportation. Have to love duct tape in the bush it is a priceless commodity. The bed frame is made with logs on which a couple of pieces of plywood get nailed to – then the 2 foamies fit well side by side and our sleeping bags and bedding make it just like home. There is a piece of plywood which makes a counter for the Coleman stove, dishes, water bucket etc. – there are nails and hooks in the plywood edge where I hang pots and utensils . New to us is a fancy metal pipe piece on which the Coleman lantern is hung; as with aluminum framed tents, one cannot hang things easily.
Tom makes me a shelf under this counter out of thin wood poles to hold the food cartons off the ground. A similar shelf is made to lay duffle bags etc which keeps them also off the floor. The chairs are fold – up lawn chairs which work well and the table just another piece of plywood. Sometimes we have to dig a hole for one or two of the legs to achieve "level" but it works well as a counter – a place to eat – to wash dishes to work on maps – draw – read etc.
It doesn’t take long for the dirt floor to become quite dry and we clear any interfering ground growth were needed. After a few days daily living is working smooth as clock work and quite enjoyable.
Though I do remember one trip to Mistimisk Lake in the middle part of Quebec. The plane dropped us off on the shore in a rain storm - we were drenched by the time we'd set up camp and got settled in and the fire going. The next day when the rain stopped we found we had set up on top of a seepage area and the more we walked about the muddier the floor became. As we were only going to be a few days we chose not to move the tent - thus when one woke up in the morning the first items on were socks and rubber boots. An interesting experience.
The snow this morning surprised me. The country here is quite rugged – our traverse distance is calculated via the map and doesn’t count in the many in between steps require to go from point A to point B.
This block will have a great deal more climbing involved. The hills in some areas are quite steep. But once up on a ridge one can walk quite a distance.
All in all life is good - Sharon
Tom had pre-cut pieces of plywood and lumber for the table/counter/bed etc. before leaving Goose Bay. He kept the sizes uniform as possible so that they bundle easily for transportation. Have to love duct tape in the bush it is a priceless commodity. The bed frame is made with logs on which a couple of pieces of plywood get nailed to – then the 2 foamies fit well side by side and our sleeping bags and bedding make it just like home. There is a piece of plywood which makes a counter for the Coleman stove, dishes, water bucket etc. – there are nails and hooks in the plywood edge where I hang pots and utensils . New to us is a fancy metal pipe piece on which the Coleman lantern is hung; as with aluminum framed tents, one cannot hang things easily.
Tom makes me a shelf under this counter out of thin wood poles to hold the food cartons off the ground. A similar shelf is made to lay duffle bags etc which keeps them also off the floor. The chairs are fold – up lawn chairs which work well and the table just another piece of plywood. Sometimes we have to dig a hole for one or two of the legs to achieve "level" but it works well as a counter – a place to eat – to wash dishes to work on maps – draw – read etc.
It doesn’t take long for the dirt floor to become quite dry and we clear any interfering ground growth were needed. After a few days daily living is working smooth as clock work and quite enjoyable.
Though I do remember one trip to Mistimisk Lake in the middle part of Quebec. The plane dropped us off on the shore in a rain storm - we were drenched by the time we'd set up camp and got settled in and the fire going. The next day when the rain stopped we found we had set up on top of a seepage area and the more we walked about the muddier the floor became. As we were only going to be a few days we chose not to move the tent - thus when one woke up in the morning the first items on were socks and rubber boots. An interesting experience.
The snow this morning surprised me. The country here is quite rugged – our traverse distance is calculated via the map and doesn’t count in the many in between steps require to go from point A to point B.
This block will have a great deal more climbing involved. The hills in some areas are quite steep. But once up on a ridge one can walk quite a distance.
All in all life is good - Sharon
Please keep in mind that if you click on a photo it will reload larger
- then use your back arrow to take you back to the blog.
- then use your back arrow to take you back to the blog.
Like Many Northern places the Labradorians have a very familiar saying:
"IF you don't like the weather wait 10 minutes - it will change."
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