TO COURSERON ... July 17 ... (Long full day -- 5pm, 6 1/2 hrs moving)

Paddle down Monmort (route to the right of the large circular island at the SW end is shorter). The maps are poor here, not showing a series of islands to the left before this island)

R Island rapid. Small. Let down on right side of right channel (very shallow). Or Portage 50 yds taking off in the middle of the island. Poor loading spot. Hang a right from pool at the bottom. (possible C.S. at top of portage).

R Ran center to left and out to the right at bottom

First pond

Second pond paddled to (Old surveyor site on N Shore in 2nd pond)

R run right

R just below, ran right past large rock & out to the left. Shallow.

R’s Several shallow ones to the 3rd pond.

R Run right, just left of big boulder.

R Run right and then left of boulders at foot. Shallow & Tricky.

Paddle north up Little Loon Lake & down the stream exiting it

R Island rapid. Run left of swells in left channel, around the bend & out of the right below.

R Long and narrow. We ran far right, running just right of the large rock in the middle & out to the right of the swells below. (Very tricky here, ’70 ran to left of this large rock)

R’s Several long shallow and tricky rapids down to the pond (’70 described this as a horse race and 2 rapids. We found them not that clearly defined and the “horserace” was tough)

Paddle down Pond (Possible C.S. on left at the N end of pond on rocks)

R/P Long. We took a 200 yd portage on the left, put into the small stream coming in from the SW. Paddled down the stream about 50 yds, until passage was blocked. Second Portage takes out on left and goes 450 yards to a pool. (This avoids a long rapid which must be let down and another rapid with a let down at the top and them shot out to the right at the bottom). (’70 too let down, but said portage would have been better)

R Just below. We shot right at top, going right of a large rock in center halfway down. Easy. (Water everywhere looks to be a good foot lower than normal).

CAMPSITES on Courseron.

• 100 yds down on left after the last rapid
• We bushed one on a sand and gravel site NE of the “N” in Courseron on the 4-1s , on the S shore.
• Clay & Bill ?
• At foot of lake on left, just as the river swings left.

Another wet overcast rainy day. The wind was out of the N or NE for a while. Now it is perfectly calm.

Another day of small tricky shallow rapids, hard on the canoes and on everyone’s patience. The maps today were terrible, not showing a whole series of large islands at the end of Lac Mormont, showing a peninsula not an island in another place. Rather confusing for me. We beat the other section off. They’re probably camped an hour or two behind us. We only saw them at lunch. Except for a boat load of Indians fishing, we haven’t seen anyone else in 10 days. Thankfully no one has messed up, gotten sick, cut bad,… All our stuff is starting to smell and feel damp, musty. Hope some sun comes our way soon. Great meal of spaghetti & meatballs and pineapple bannock & corn. I’m having trouble with food this year. I eat so much and I’m still always hungry. My bowman (30 lbs lighter than any one else) is ok or portages & good in rapids now, but paddling on lakes he really lacks power.

Really pretty lake we’re camped on. Lac Courseron, we bushed out a site here. A mountain (hill) across the lake, sand beaches all around, and a real low cloud cover make a nice picture. What happened to our beautiful weather of the first 2 weeks?