For several years now I've been planning to take a trip up the Shelburne River towards the headwaters at Buckshot Lake. But each year the weather didn't cooperate, or the water levels were too low. However this year was looking good. Plenty of rainfall had created the highest water levels in years. I managed to get a buddy interested and he agreed to take his 17' kevlar canoe. So we started planning a 5-day paddling trip up to Sand Beach Lake and back, using Kejimkujik Park as the jump-off point into the Shelburne River. Because I was paddling into an unfamiliar area, I would leave the dog at home for this trip. We booked Mason's cabin for the nights of Oct 17th and 20th, and planned to stay at a cabin near Sand Beach Lake for the nights of Oct 18th and 19th.
Day 1 (Oct 17th) - Got a late start at the Eel Weir (Mersey River) this morning. Cool temperatures today but the skies were sunny with cloudy periods. We paddled up the Mersey River and into Minards Bay we're we started the long portage over the Hardwood Carry (about 2 kms) to Mountain Lake. This meant 2 trips with the gear and canoe, and took us the better part of 2 hours. After a pleasant paddle across Mountain Lake, and another carry, we dropped the canoe into Peskowesk Lake. The bad news is that a strong westerly had blown up and we were paddling due west up this lake. It was a tough slog in some nasty waves but we finally made it to the Beaverskin Lake carry. After that it was am easier paddle up Beaverskin Lake, then a short carry over to Peskawa Lake... and then onto Mason's cabin. The portages and strong headwinds had slowed us down considerably, and we didn't arrive at the cabin until just before dusk. The cabin was definitely a welcome sight at that point :)
Day 2 (Oct 18th) - Very dark and overcast this morning. Cold rain started at 9am and kept fairly steady for the entire day. Hey, that wasn't in the forecast! :) We got another late start and pushed up the Pebbleloggitch Stillwater towards the Shelburne River. It was a pleasant paddle until we reached the Granite Falls portage. From here we made two trips over 1+ kms of rugged wilderness trail to the stillwater above the falls... not for the faint of heart, especially in a cold steady rain. The sky had darkened and the cold rain had picked up some momentum... not producing the greatest photos ops, heh. We paddled and portaged our way up the Shelburne River, having to drag or line the canoe in some areas. Eventually we arrived at Sand Beach Lake, just before dusk, and were unable to locate the cabin in the fading light. Fortunately the rain had stopped and we pitched our tents in an old camp area above a sandy beach on the Eastern shore of the lake. It was a cold, damp evening but we managed to get a hot meal into us, and warm ourselves around a fire.
Day 3 (Oct 19th) - Clearing skies this morning. We took a paddle around the lake before breakfast and looked for the cabin, but still no luck. The good news is that the sun had revealed itself once more, and was warming up the day. We had breakfast and looked over the maps again. Obviously the cabin was not where I thought it was. On a hunch we paddled to the shoreline ridge on the other side of the river outlet, and I finally found the cabin on a small ridge above the river (just before Sand Beach Lake, looking upstream). What a welcome sight that was! We stoked up the old stove and hung out our wet gear to dry. I explored the ridgelines around the cabin (found plenty of fresh bear scat) and Geoff repaired a corner of the cabin with shingles. It looked like a bear had tried to cut a new door into the wall, heh. After reading the entries (since 1990) in the log book, and watching a beautiful sunset, it was a good sleep in a warm cabin this night.
Day 4 (Oct 20th) - Very cold this morning, with heavy frost and snow pellets on the ground. Very happy to be in the cabin this morning, heh. There is a heavy mist on the river. We cleaned up the cabin and said our goodbyes to Cofan, then headed back down the river. It was a beautiful sunny day with a light westerly at our backs (for once!). We made great time on the trip back downstream and pretty much sailed across Beverley Lake with the wind at our backs. What a difference the weather can make! We stopped at Granite Lake to explore some blue paint markings on the trees but didn't have time to follow them far. Just before the Granite Falls carry we ran a small riffle and hit a big submerged rock... almost dumping the canoe. We managed to recover with a big nasty gouge on the canoe bottom as a reminder. It could have been bad... we were lucky. After the Granite Falls carry it was a very pleasant paddle back to Pebbleloggitch Lake and Mason's cabin... with the warm sun setting behind us.
Day 5 (Oct 21st) - Very overcast this morning and the wind had shifted to strong south-easterly overnight... not a good sign. We cleaned the cabin and pushed off into Peskawa Lake. After hitting some strong wind and wave action on Beaverskin Lake, we were getting worried about the conditions on Peskowesk Lake. However, it turned out to be a fairly decent paddle. Mountain Lake was very choppy but we had the wind at our side. It was a tough paddle back down the Mersey River from Keji Lake, but we finally made it back to where we started. We had just landed the canoe at the Eel Weir when the skies opened up with thunder, lightning and heavy showers... talk about good timing!
It was a great trip, and we learned a few lessons for next time (such as bringing along a canoe caddy for the Keji portages). I can't wait to push even further up the Shelburne River, and we've already started planning for next year's adventure. I'd like to move the trip earlier in October next time and try to catch the brilliant fall colours along the Shelburne River. We were a little late this time and a storm just before our trip had blown the leaves from the trees. I'd probably look to extending the next trip to 7 days as well.
Happy trails... Dino | 
