August

 

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AUGUST 12, 2005 

Changing of the Seasons aboriginal ceremony September 16-19

The annual Changing of the Seasons aboriginal ceremony, hosted by Temagami First Nation elder Alex Mathias, will be held September 16 to 18 on Obabika Lake.

Ceremonies marking the fall equinox, a traditional feast, sweat lodge, dancing and drumming will be held over the weekend in the area near the Spirit Rock sacred site and the Wakimika Triangle old-growth forest.

Participants camp for the weekend at campsites at the north end of Obabika Lake with most arriving in canoes by early Saturday morning.  Earthroots is arranging carpools from Toronto.

CEREMONY INFO:  Alex Mathias – 705-498-2818

CARPOOLS: Earthroots

ACCESS MAPS: Obabika Lake 

AUGUST 12, 2005 

Fire total highest since 1987

There have been 1,076 fires in northeastern Ontario this year, the highest since reaching 1,063 fires in 1987, MNR reported today.

There are 88 active fires in the northeast — with 12 in Sudbury and North Bay districts that cover Temagami — 29 of which are not under control.

For the season, 788 fires were caused by lightning.

Some fires are burning close to three feet underground due to drought conditions.

There are 140 out-of-province forest firefighters in Ontario from Alberta, Manitoba, Yukon and Northwest Territories.

AUGUST 11, 2005 

West Nile virus found in Temiskaming bird

The first bird this season in Temiskaming has tested positive to West Nile virus, according to stories in yesterday's Northern News and the Temiskaming Speaker.

The dead crow that tested positive was found July 29 in New Liskeard. Last year at this time, two dead birds tested positive in the District of Temiskaming.

The virus has not been detected this summer in mosquito pools in the districts of Temiskaming, Nipissing, Sudbury or South Porcupine.

And there have never been any confirmed infections in humans or horses (which are notably susceptible) in Temiskaming.

The public is asked to report to the Temiskaming health unit any dead crows, ravens, raptors or jays (birds most likely to be sources of the virus) that have been dead less than 24 hours.

AUGUST 9, 2005 

Keewaydin's history on sale in Temagami

Canada's oldest youth camp has a new award-winning history out and it has debuted in Temagami stores. If you are interested in canoes, camps, Temagami, canoe tripping or the history of the North, this book will hook you.

Keewaydin Camp is Temagami's oldest private institution, dating back to 1902, but actually started in Maine in 1894, before heading north in search of the wilderness that had become nearly extinct south of the border. The camp today has the largest active fleet of wood-canvas canoes in the world and still uses wannigans and tumplines. There is nothing ordinary about the camp and this 440-page book by Brian Back, illustrated with over 450 photos and maps, is no different.

  Book summary

   RETAILERS:  Temagami Outfitting (Temagami town)

                      Temagami Lakes Association (lake Hub)

                      Ojibway Lodge at Keewaydin (North Arm)

Photo: cover The Keewaydin Way

Sample Pages (PDF files: 300K)

Tump knot

Long-trip table - two-page

                         spread

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

AUGUST 5, 2005 

Fire ban removed

This morning the Ministry of Natural Resources removed the northeastern Ontario fire ban that prohibited all open-air fires.

The ban may still be reinstated after the weekend. "The bush is not thoroughly soaked, and we're still in drought conditions," cautions MNR spokesperson Amanda Brosseau.

Since July 14, campers have been required to use portable stoves for cooking. The 26-day ban in 2001 topped this year's 23 days. Neither set a record.

Logging activities would have been restricted or halted before the ban came into force as forest-products companies operate under strict guidelines for fire hazards.

The annual average is 600 to 900 fires. Barely halfway through the season, there have been over 800.

The only area of northeastern Ontario still under a ban is Wawa district northwest of Sault Ste. Marie.

AUGUST 5, 2005 

Which fire ban, you say?

If you were paddling through Wolf Lake this summer, you were within the boundaries of the recently expanded city of Sudbury (now known as Municipality of Greater Sudbury). Yes, all that bush and old growth is now in a city. No, there won't be sewers installed anytime soon.

How is this possible? Thank the Mike Harris government – since swept out of Queen's Park by the McGuinty Liberals. In an attempt to reduce the Ontario budget, the Tories pushed municipal land grabs so the province could download services – and costs – onto them.

(Sudbury wasn't alone. The Municipality of Temagami jumped on this murky bandwagon, and now it covers Lake Temagami, Cross Lake, Rabbit Lake and parts of Obabika and Diamond lakes.)

Greater Sudbury put into force a fire ban at the same time as Ontario. But now Ontario's is off, and Sudbury's remains on. Can you light a campfire on your campsite on Wolf Lake? Yes.

A municipality can create a bylaw to issue fire bans within its boundaries  — Temagami also has one — but those bans only cover municipally owned and private properties. Wolf Lake is surrounded by Crown land. According to Senior Information Officer Bob Thomas at MNR, the only ban that has jurisdiction on Crown land is the MNR's.

Ontario's ban is more muscular than any municipal bylaw. It covers all land within a Restricted Fire Zone where a fire ban is in effect, private or public, municipal or not.

Ironically property owners on Matagamasi Lake, also within Sudbury, today could not light an outdoor fire on their property, but if they were camped next door on Crown land, they could. 

Photo: Temagami Lakes Association's 3D map of Lake Temagami

AUGUST 4, 2005 

New 3D map of Lake Temagami

The Temagami Lakes Association has published a  three-dimensional, 26- by 39-inch, 1:50,000-scale, wall map of Lake Temagami.

The map is available at the association's building at the end of the Mine Road (Lake Temagami Access Road) and from local retailers.

The group, which represents property owners on Lake Temagami and connected lakes, also publishes the Lake Temagami Shoal Map (see story below).

  RETAILERS:

       Town:

                Temagami Outfitting

                Dad's Outdoor & Convenience Store

                Temagami Marine

                Train Station

                Welcome Centre

       Lake Temagami Hub:

                Boatline Bay Marine

                Ket-Chun-Eny Lodge

                Loon Lodge

                Wabun Camp

       Lake Temagami North Arm:

         Canadian Adventure Camp

         Camp Wanapitei

         Ojibway at Keewaydin

Photo: Temagami Lakes Association's shoal map of Lake Temagami

  RETAILERS:

       Boatline Bay Marine

       Temagami Outfitting

       Camp Adanac

Dad's Outdoor & Convenience Store

Ket-Chun-Eny Lodge

One Stop Trading Post

Temagami Welcome Centre

AUGUST 3, 2005 

Best of the best: Lake Temagami Shoal Map on sale

The best navigation chart of Lake Temagami is now available to the public at local retailers.

The tear-resistant, waterproof , two-sided map includes numbered islands, shoals, shallows under five feet in depth, navigation buoys and markers, and navigation channels.

The map evolved over five decades. The association began publishing a shoal map in the 1950s. It was printed as an unwieldy set of four linen sheets. Quite boat unfriendly and sales to non-members were restricted.

In the 1970s, the association reduced the size by a quarter and put it on a single sheet. However, it was so small that Pam Glenn commented in the Temagami Times in 1984 that it could not be read "without the aid of a magnifying glass."

In 1983, Reg Sinclair, then an association director and Land and Parks Supervisor at MNR began work on an entirely new and more accurate chart. With his son Dale he put in hundreds of hours, translating aerial photos and modifying the result with the local knowledge of members.

The map came out in 1984 in a single, plain-paper eight-foot roll. Still boat unfriendly.

In 1987, after content revisions, the eight-foot roll was dropped in favour of its current two-sided, waterproof, one mile to one-and-three-quarter-inches format.

It has since gone through two revisions. This is the chart no boater can be without. It's less expensive than a new prop.

   

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Maps and information herein are not intended for navigational use, and are not represented to be correct in every respect. 
All pages intended for reference use only, and all pages are subject to change with new information and without notice. 
The author/publisher accepts no responsibility or liability for use of the information on these pages. 
Wilderness travel and canoeing possess inherent risk. 
 It is the sole responsibility of the paddler and outdoor traveler to determine whether he/she is qualified for these activities.
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