Q: What are the three coolest places you’ve ever gone on your Lowe?
A: Newpost Falls is probably my favorite, it’s about 125 miles north of here by car, then nine miles by boat, then some hiking. On the way back we stop at an old Hudson Bay trading post where all that’s left is the old cemetery.
My second favorite is Diamond Lake, north of Lake Temagami. It’s about 155 miles by road, then 19 by boat, with the canoe on it. We portaged the canoe to Diamond Lake, went a few more miles, and got to see some very old pictographs.
My third favorite is Horwood Lake, a nice day-trip from here with waterfalls to see, an old abandoned gold mine from the WWII era, and small remnants of pictographs.
Q: Where was your latest trip?
A: Actually, I just got back yesterday from a 62-mile round-trip boat ride from Twin Falls, Ontario, to the west end of Lake Abitibi. We were looking for two sites of historic significance, an ancient aboriginal camp site and the “Lonely Tombstone,” which marks the site of a voyager who shot himself taking his gun out of his canoe in 1865.
Q: Where are you going boating next?
A: We’re shooting to go to Lake Temagami on Saturday to find some massive old growth white pines, which are supposed to be the oldest and/or tallest in the province.
One thing which Emblin notes is that these aquatic adventures don’t always end as planned. In fact, on that last voyage he didn’t find either of the places he had hoped to see.
“The wind and waves were horrendous. I trimmed the motor to bring the bow up and hugged the south shore to keep out of the rough stuff,” he says. “But we did not find what we were looking for. I’ll need to do a bit more homework for the next time we go out!”