Mal Due Raquette - snowshoe sickness

The French Canadians had a great name for it, when you went lame while using snowshoes.

Mal due Rackette or Snowshoe Sickness must be experienced to fully appreciated.

It can occur as a result of a person using snow shoes for the first time and/or is not physically fit. Even an experienced snowshoe user can get an attack when snowshoeing long distances in deep snow.

The main muscle on the inside of each leg at the groin becomes over taxed with the constant lifting of each foot and snowshoe out of the deep snow in order to take the next stride. The nose of the snowshoe must be lifted high enough to clear the snow and this results in an exaggerated lift of the knee.

The weight of the snowshoe and the snow on it, seems to get heavier and heavier with each mile trod.

Eventually a person reaches the stage where all the will power cannot lift the snowshoe up out of the hole one more time. If you are miles from home and in deep snow you are now trapped. You are an invalid in the wilderness. Sometimes a rest of a few hours can improve the situation and if you are not alone the other person will break trail.

The experienced outdoorsman will pitch camp and try again after a good night sleep. Some times it can take a few days to recover. The experienced outdoorsman usually has learned about "mal due racquette" many years previously and starts building up his muscles on short snowshoe trips before risking any long distance journeys.

Personally I learned my lesson the first time and went to considerable trouble to make sure it did not happen again. When it strikes you have trouble walking on flat snow free ground and shuffle along like a very old person. It can also strike the ankle joint but that usually occurs with people who are totally unfit and should stay home by the fireside.

Never go on a long snowshoe journey without making sure your companions are all fit. Society does not look kindly on people who abandon their trail mates and leave them behind to freeze or starve to death

Spring Canoeing on The Lake of the Woods

When winter draws to a close and March is half gone, I start watching the lake for signs of spring. The warmer temperatures and the water current thins the ice where it flows around a large island. I lived on the north shore at a point where the lake opens up very early in the spring.

The snow lies deep all over the land but the open water tempts the canoeist in me. In the first photo, taken on the north shore high above the lake, you can see the open water to the left and other areas where the ice is thinning. This is when the North Country is starting to awaken from the long cold winter.

On the first warm sunny day the urge is too great. Soon the snow will be too soft to snowshoe so we waste no time. We grab snow shovels and head for the mounds of snow that outlines the location of the canoes. Once they are free of their winter blanket and sit on top of the snow, we load up the life jackets and paddles. After strapping on the snow shoes we grab a tow rope and head towards the lake dragging the canoes behind us..

The canoes follow easily until we come to the steep slope that leads from the top of the hill to the ice below. At this point we stop, remove the snowshoes and climb into the canoes. A slight push with a paddle and off we go down the long steep snowy slope, and out onto the ice of the lake.

　
The ice right to the water's edge remains thick and strong so we are able to set the canoe in the lake and get in as safely as if we are on the rocky shore. In spite of the fact that my friend and I are strong swimmers, we are very appreciative that we can make no mistakes that result in us ending up in this icy water.

On many an occasion we have purposely placed a hand in the water up to our wrist. Before we can finish counting to ten the chilling pain forces us to pull our hand from the water. It is an excellent reminder of the risk we take. Neither one of us has ever dumped a canoe, but we realize it can happen.

As we push off from the icy shore we move into a canoeist's dream. The water is like glass and the canoe slides through it with hardly a sound. Our course is limited by the ice but as the days go by the open water becomes wider and the path longer. The deep snow, thin ice and limited open water keeps the rest of world at bay.

It is a time of the year when we have the lake all to ourselves.

We drift by dozens of private cabins buried in snow, without any sign of life. The huge snow drifts give the feeling that they will never be gone 'til June. We experience the lake in a way that no one else even contemplates. All the photos we obtained were unique

I experienced this special time by myself for many years until I was joined by a friend who was tired of hearing about it and wished experience it himself.

We enjoyed this for many years and referred to it as "Spring Canoeing."

The Trapper & Hunter

This old painting reminded me of a deer hunting trip I took in my younger days in Northwestern Ontario. It resulted in the post that follows.