14 August 2016, Sunday
We bid adieu to La Chaumiere du Village and drive north on Route 6 for over 400 miles, passing the 55th parallel on the way. It seems a long way north, until I look at the map of Manitoba and find we are only half way to its northern border with Nunavut. Expansive fields of soy give way to boreal forests of balsam pine and aspen. There are a few small “towns” along the way and very few cars or people.
The only address we have for Sasagiu Rapids Lodge is Route 6, Settle Lake, Manitoba. Settle Lake is not a town, it is an almost 50 km long lake. As we approach the northern end of the lake I see a sign reading Thai Buffet tonight. I catch a glimpse of the building through the trees as we drive by. It is our lodge. We make a U-turn just beyond a bridge over the Sasagiu Rapids and turn into the parking area.
It is 4 pm and our room is not quite ready so we tackle the buffet. It is quite good. Steve and his wife are the owners of this lodge which is currently crowded with contractors working on resurfacing a nearby road. Steve is Canadian. His wife is from Thailand. Both are warm and welcoming. Steve warns us to get an early start on our hike. He says he will watch out for us on Tuesday to make sure we get back safely. His wife anxiously asks if the food is too spicy. She loves spicy food. We assure her it is perfect.
After dinner we organize our backpacks. We will both be carrying about 14 kg. Packs organized, we decide to drive to the trailhead at Pisew Falls Provincial Park. We head down the road…in the wrong direction. It’s a good thing we decided to reconnoiter tonight! Realizing our mistake, we make another U-turn and finally arrive at the park. Pisew Falls is quite impressive. It is named after Misshepezhieu, our old friend from the pictographs. After viewing the falls with their 13 meter drop we find the trailhead for Kwasitchewan Falls, the highest falls in Manitoba (apparently about 3 meters higher than Pisew Falls.) We walk down to the bridge across the Grass River at the start of the trail. There’s a lot of water flowing here!
Now back at the lodge, we walk down to the water to view the rapids as the water flows out of Settle Lake. I spy a white pelican on a rock out on the river and take photos. Time now to retire to our room and rest up for tomorrow.
