TO CAT FALLS. ... Good half day 4 hours moving, July 30. --- Paddle 1-2 miles.

P around rapid with ledges. 150 yarder on right just around a peninsula (shootable?)

Paddle 6 miles, nice current.

P 300 yds on grassy bank loading on right before the first fast water. Passes through several surveyor cuts and an old C.S. at the beginning. Loading area terrible. Load slowly so as not to pile up at below portage landing. (Old trail continues to the right 10 yards from end of this portage, and bypasses the below tricky shoot down to the next P. Overall length then would be 2 1/2 miles)

Shoot down right shore through small stacks. (A big rapid and stacks out in the center) River arcs slightly left. Very, very tricky! In high water it might be unwise to shoot this (no good holding eddies here).

P 1 1/4 miles on rocky shore landing on right before the second major pitch of Cat begins. Before the first of the islands and close to the end of the point. If in doubt land and locate, as it is a swift current and the rapids and falls start just below. Only room for two canoes to unload at a time in a small eddy. Half way down the trail makes final turn away from the river & cuts across the peninsula.

C.S. Very good. At the end of the portage. (Trail heading downriver leads to an old overgrown Hydro camp -- good blueberry and raspberry picking. A spring 30 yards down trail.

A short day today. Only about 10 miles of paddling and three portages, the last being a 1 1/4 miler. No sweat. Tricky approach to the last portage. The last two portages were around Cat Falls. The first, 350 yds around the first pitch, then I had to put in and shot down the right shore to find the last portage around the main pitch of the falls. A very small unloading area in a very small eddy just above the main pitch-shooting down stacks and around rocks down to the landing. Definitely a trouble spot. We made it no sweat!

These falls are really huge-amazing. We’re camped at the end of the portage on a nice site below the main falls Beautiful forest here- lots of aspen, a little birch- huge fir spruce and a little jack pine. Huge trees here. Beautiful country.

Ran out of film what a killer!

Later: All the rain we’ve been having is finally paying off in one way- its blueberry and raspberry season and in cleared out areas they just carpet the ground. Great! At this campsite I followed a trail headed down river for about 500 yards to a really old hydro campsite. All the major trees had been cleared out, so the berries just carpeted the area. Blueberry pancakes tomorrow and maybe raspberry too- yum!

Can’t wait to get to Rupert’s House and get mail (hopefully).

Bill & Clay should roll through tomorrow around noon or in the afternoon, we haven’t seen them in 2 weeks- hope they’re OK. Don’t know what we’ll do if they don’t show. They should. The next moving day, the day after tomorrow will be tricky. I’ve been dreading part of it all trip. Probably trouble spot #13- “PlumPudding” -- over a mile of big rapids that has to be shot blind, the brush, etc. being too dense and the rapid too long to scout. Will be very hairy! Had the rest of the popcorn and sipped more Orange Pekoe tea a little while ago, it was great. West or southwest wind, clear and really hot all day today. Beautiful -- just hope it holds! You’d know that the hot sunny weather would have to come during the long portages and the cold overcast and rainy during the long lake paddles. Oh well, better now than never.