Over the past several years I have managed to (thankfully) arrange a side trip up north during my summer vacation. To be honest, doing this isn't as easy as it sounds. As an expat when you come back for summer or Christmas vacations, time is short and demands on your time are high. As our children have grown older, it is a bit easier to carve out some time...but largely my trips north have been a result of taking longer holidays. I used to take 12-14 days but now have stretched it to 3 weeks. And it helps.

Anyway, I digress. I headed north in late August with my Mom. As is the case most years, I drive up with her from Toronto. As an added bonus, I got to drive my niece Kaitlin's Jeep which made the journey far more enjoyable. (my thanks to the Ritchie clan!!)  It's quality time and the drive is literally a trip down memory lane. We stop in Chelmsford for gas and a coffee/snack. Then we stretch our legs at the Atlantic Watershed gas station on Hwy 144 at the Sultan turnoff...we take the shortcut from there (the road is always good it seems these days) and are in Chapleau in 7 hours or so door to door.

Another ritual that has developed revolves around meals.  This year we had slow roasted lamb shoulder and pierogies one night, fresh caught pike the second and partridge (spruce grouse to be precise) the third. All were absolutely delicious!

We enjoy great food and it gives my Mom and I the welcome opportunity to catch up.

Another tradition that has evolved over the years is a fishing excursion to Pickle Lake at Mileage 51 (also the name of the new band I am in). Back in the day I used to make this trek with friends but for the past two years I have done it alone. This is for a variety of reasons but largely I have been out of the country for so long it is increasingly difficult to coordinate things with friends back home...particularly in Chapleau where my contacts are fewer and fewer.

 That said I enjoy this new tradition. It is first and foremost a physical experience...now that the old logging road is gated off, the walk has more than doubled to about 5-6 kms each way. And then crawling along the shoreline of Pickle Lake is a challenge in itself...it is rocky and overgrown and makes for tricky footing.

Adding to the degree of difficulty was the drizzle throughout the day. Still, I made it to the lake in reasonably good time. After an 0615 departure I was on the lake by 8:30...an hour to drive and an hour and a bit for the walk.

As is usually the case, the fish make their presence known quickly and I typically catch all I'm going to get in the first hour. This trip was no different. I lost one on the second cast...he spit out the lure after  clearing water. That's unusual for pike...they usually inhale the lure. About 20 minutes later I caught this one...about 9-10 pounds.

A nice one and the only fish of the day. After another couple of hours I headed back to the car. For the second year running I ran into Missinabi to get a coffee and a sandwich for the trek home. We had a nice fish fry that night...and I slept very well!

On another evening I managed to visit an old friend and band member from back in the day (People People in the early 80s) Ken Lane. Ken is a talented musician, song writer and all around good guy. I reached out to him a year or so back to get some input on my music. He has provided some valuable feedback on the original songs we are producing for the upcoming Mileage 51 album (coming out in Q1 2015 if all goes as planned). We had a few beer and watched some recordings of bands that graced Chapleau's modern concert venues back in the day. It was a really enjoyable evening (thanks Ken!)

I was happy to have a quick visit with Anthony Dillon as well. Last year we managed to get out to do some fishing on Leblanc Lake and plan to do so next summer. (thanks Anthony for taking a look at that motor!)  I also took a side trip out to Mulligan's Bay to say howdy to Jamie Thibault who now owns and operates Kanipahow Camps. Sadly I missed Jamie but check out the view from his lodge...great spot.

I also ventured out to Serviss Lake on a Sunday afternoon to see old friends Eugene Bouillon and Shirley Ranger...they were at the camp so we had a nice visit. Whenever I am in Chapleau, I take a drive out to Serviss to say hi...one of these days I hope to get Eugene to take me out on the lake!

One welcome change to this year's trip was a side trip to my friend Andre Joyal's (aka Roy) camp on St. Joe's island near Sault Ste. Marie. It involved a cruise along Hwy 129 via Thessalon and it was the first time I had done that drive in a long time. The Mississaugi River is still an impressive part of the journey.

Anyway after about 3.5 hours I was on the shores of Lake Huron at Roy's camp. He bought the place a few years back and completely rebuilt it (stripped it down to the frame more or less) and did an amazing job.

We had a great visit and a nice dinner of Roy's now famous grilled chicken and bacon burger...really tasty.

After a nice evening I headed out at about 0630 and saw two flocks of pheasants on the drive out...it was more wildlife than I saw in Chapleau in three days. (photo taken on blackberry while driving...apologies for the quality!)

Anyway, it was a fantastic trip and it has become an important tradition in itself.
 Thanks for reading!
cheers,
Lorne