Blind River April 2026

[Grant Lamontagne]

It's that time again!

I am heading off to the airport to go and spend time with my family. Usually I go in May for my father's birthday, but unfortunately this year there may be some work complications so I am going in April instead.

I'm a bit exhausted as it's pretty early (it's almost a quarter to four in the morning) and we spent the day at the camp yesterday, but I'll talk about that in the camp thread.

Fortunately I am not driving the plane so maybe I'll catch a few more winks in the air!

Def

[Chako]

Safe travels. I am happy to hear you are not driving it. So much flooding in the Algoma, Sudbury, and Manitoulin regions right now. Here is a photo taken a day ago. We hardly have any snow left. It all melted so fast. Manitoulin Island has flooded like the locals have never seen before. Some highways were closed all over the place. Goulais River just north is really bad this year. Even flooding in the Sault with a few local roads under water.

PXL_20260418_024226610 by Chako, on Flickr

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I have been hearing about it and seeing it on the various groups on FB for the area.  I probably won't be adventuring too far on the ATV as a result, but we will see what happens.

Apparently climate change isn't the hoax that many people pretend it is!   

Def

[Chako]

Climate! What is that!?!?

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Well I didn't have long to wait in Toronto to change planes, but then halfway to Sudbury the pilot apparently forgot his lunch, so here I am back in Toronto.

Seriously, we seem to have broken the plane, and so we have to switch to a new one   I should have landed in Sudbury half an hour ago, but I'm in Toronto waiting for another plane.

At least I'm not in a hurry for a meeting or appointment or something!   

Def

[Chako]

  

[Grant Lamontagne]

Made it safe and sound to Dad's place just after 3pm.

Its been a long day.  I woke up at 2am after going to bed last night around eleven.

Up at 2am to leave by 3am to be at the airport for 3:30am, to take off at 5am.

All went well, except....

The first flight was Halifax to Toronto, but we sat on the tarmac in Halifax for a while because there was some shut down at Pearson airport in Toronto.  Not sure why, but if they aren't landing aircraft, we shouldn't take off, right?

Eventually we get the go ahead and take off, landing in Toronto about an hour before my connecting flight leaves.  That's good- it's enough time to get through the airport- barely.

Also, on the Halifax to Toronto flight I realize I have forgotten to pack my microphone for recording episodes of EDC-TV. We record on Mondays, and there are two episodes while I'm here, and I'm not prepared for either of them.   

I get to the next gate and I manage to sit down for a few and eat my "breakfast" which consists of an overpriced bag of peanut M&M's.  Breakfast of Champions, right?   

I don't make it all the way through the M&M's when we start boarding, which is great. Everything is on track to get in to Sudbury at a few minutes after 9am.  Nice, except it's Sunday and Best Buy doesn't open until 11, which means we have to hang around Sudbury before the two hour drive home.

We get about 25 minutes into the 45 minute flight to Sudbury and the aircraft develops a mechanical issue and there isn't an appropriate technician in Sudbury, so we have to turn around and head back to Toronto.

These things happen- they have another plane for us but we are unloaded into the terminal while the replacement plane is prepped.

Finally we board and are on our way again.  I feel bad for anyone that is flying for a meeting or appointment of some kind, but my brother lives in Sudbury so he and my father just went back to my brother's place to wait.

I arrive in Sudbury a couple of hours late, which is not a big deal, but I figure if better use the little boys' room before we go, and for some reason it's dark in there

Whatever, I need to go. It's a small, regional airport and the door is propped open enough that there's enough light to do what I have to do.

It turns out that the reason the lights in the washroom are out because the washrooms are considered low priority and the airport is running off its emergency generators because someone went off the road and took out power to this whole end of the city.

Oh well, I landed, I'm happy enough.

I am hungry though, see we stop at Tim Hortons, a popular doughnut shop in Canada. I order a turkey bacon club sandwich, which, according to the people at this particular store, shouldn't have turkey on it   

I'm remind d of that scene in Lethal Weapon. If you know, you know. If you don't, search "Lethal Weapon Drive Thru" on YouTube, and make sure no one around you is offended by a little bit of foul language.

After that we swing by Staples and I got a new microphone, not the one I'd been looking at online because when I looked what was in stock I was looking at a different location than the one we ended up in, and this one didn't have the one I'd intended to get in store.  Fortunately they had a more expensive one.... 

But, we eventually made it back to my father's house and now I am having a frozen pizza for supper because I didn't have the energy to make anything else. 

I am beat and I imagine I won't be up too late tonight!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

After an early night last night I am channeling my inner John Astin this morning:



I am definitely feeling much better now.

As Chako mentioned, due to a much higher snow load here this year there is rampant flooding everywhere.  I didn't get any photos yesterday (sorry, I was too busy driving) but all of the small rivers and streams that we passed on the way here were raging torrents.  My father's dock (he lives on the river in case you haven't read all of the previous BR threads) is currently underwater as well.  I don't think that has happened since maybe 1996?

I am going to get out today and try to get some photos of the water levels and stuff, but no promises. 

Def

[pfrsantos]

Enjoy your stay.

 

One little thing: whatever you do, don't pick up any cobblestones from the street! Remember what happened last time?!

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, sorry about that....  If only I'd known what would happen! 

I wouldn't have done it.... If indeed I did such a thing... Which I cannot confirm nor deny at this time....

But getting back on track here, I fired up my drone this morning.  The battery was half dead so I didn't get a lot of pics, but this is Dad's dock.  Usually those steps lead down to a walkway, and that walkway is usually a two to three feet above the water, sometimes even with a small amount of beach underneath.

In short, the water is probably about five feet higher than usual, which as you can see, is not good for the properties next to Dad's. As you can see, they are lower than Dad's property, and are therefore under water.

You can also see where the water line normally is.

The last photo is my father and his dog at the water line.  Below where they are at you can see the ledge or erosion, which is the usual high water mark, and there's usually some beach below that.

So yeah, the flooding is pretty bad, and the lake a few hundred meters upstream is still frozen, so there's a lot of water yet to come!   

Hopefully it will melt slowly, even though the temperatures are supposed to be well over 10C in the next couple of days.

Def

[Chako]

That does look bad.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, that island in the 11-12 o'clock position in the second photo is not usually an island.  It's usually someone's yard.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sorry I haven't been keeping this thread up!   

I've been having a great time, although not much has been picture worthy.

My father has a Rubbermaid storage bench on his dock, but it was washed away by the flooding and we found it on a neighboring property, so we went and got it back.  The water in the driveway on that property was almost to the top of the tires on his side by side, so that was a bit exciting!

We also got his winter tires changed out to summer ones- not as thrilling, but it needed doing, so we did it.   

I spent a lot of time editing EDC-TV episodes since getting here- I had to finish the last episode so I could get it posted on Friday and we recorded a new episode while I was here, so I edited that too.  Abe wasn't available for that session so we have a really cool guest star. That's definitely an episode everyone is going to want to see! 

Also, I knew fell well that our recording schedule meant that I was going to be recording two episodes from here and guess who was too stupid to pack any of the recording equipment?   

But I think I mentioned that....

Friday evening my brother and his wife arrived for the weekend, and that was great.  They had left their Ford Edge here for the winter since they didn't have the room in their driveway for another car with all the snow, so we had to try and get that started.  I tried hooking up a booster pack to jump start it, but quickly realized that since the batter has exploded, it probably won't work.   

We carefully disconnected the air filter cover so we could get at the battery itself and removed it so as not to slop the remaining battery acid all over the car, ourselves or either of the dogs!   

It was carefully placed in the garage until we can figure out a safe way to transport it somewhere to dispose of it properly, and a new one was plopped in.  The Edge started up after that with no major issues.  It was a bit lethargic at first (to be expected, as it was completely buried in snow for the last few months!) but once we ran it for a bit and then took it around the block a few times it was absolutely fine.

Then my brother and I took out the kayaks- the river is still very high, but a lot lower than it was when I arrived, but the best part is the lake a few hundred meters upstream is still largely frozen.  We paddles up to the lake and around the ice flows and had an absolutely great time- and got our first sunburns of the year, but it was absolutely worth it!

Due to a heavy work schedule and some house repairs and now working on the camp I haven't actually paddled in the past 4-5 years, and  I cannot tell you how good it felt to paddle again yesterday. 

Pictures soon!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Dad's little shih-tzu Minnie is an almost constant source of entertainment.   

This is the Cataract Falls- I've been here when it was rushing like crazy and I've been here when it's barely a trickle.  I have never seen it roar like this year.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Also in case you couldn't figure it out, that was Dad's bench washed up against someone else's dock.

Also, there are going to be a fair number of photos of Minnie.  It's just going to happen.

This is Dad's side by side, SXS or UTV.  Whatever you want to call it.  He just calls it "the bike" because it replaced his ATV, but really that wasn't technically a bike either.   

Naturally it has the right marking, supplies by our own Whoey.

And a survival manual that has been laying around the house for a few bazillion years.  I was going to photo each page, but it's sixty pages and that started to seem like effort.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Here are the photos of the battery.  That thing was not happy and I wouldn't let my brother haul it out as he's the pretty one.

Some chemical burns will fit in with the rest of the scars on my anatomy, but he is quite reasonably intact and I aim to keep it that way!   

After replacing the battery and taking the Edge for a ride I found my nephew's work issued knife and I figured you'd all be pretty angry with me if I didn't share it.  Also, it seemed pretty cool and I seriously thought about pretending it was still lost!   

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

And now on to the important stuff.... The kayak photos!

We encountered a large ice flow on the way up to the lake, that was probably 8-10 feet front to back and almost twice that wide.  My brother was content to paddle up to it and look at it, but that wasn't enough for me, so I paddled hard right up the middle and beached myself on it.

smurf yeah.

I don't have any decent photos of that at the moment but I think my brother has some.  I'll post them when I can. 

In the meantime here are some photos of paddling around the ice in the lake, and proof that the otters and muskrats are active!

Ded

[Grant Lamontagne]

Guess what?

Muskrat butt.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

The ice was still six inches inches thick and so in theory it was thick enough to walk on, but even I am not that dumb.  It was brittle, cracked and melting.  There is no way it would have held.

The ice flow that I beached myself on ended up splitting in half when I got off it, so I wasn't going to try anything else, although we did use our kayaks like ice breakers and cut off some big hunks for the fun of it. 

My father and sister in law were somewhat concerned about us doing this, and at one point my brother texted his wife saying "I have Grant's boat but I'm not sure where he went.  He can't have gone too far as I have his sweater."

I was also going to get my brother to get out of the boat at a communal boat ramp up the street and walk home, while I paddled back with his boat.....

I'm very good at coming up with jokes, I just have no desire to pull them off, and I am sure my 85 year old father appreciates that.

Def

[Chako]

Looks like a good time with your family, exempting the battery!

[Whoey]

I pulled a rather spicy battery from an 8 year old laptop the other day, but it had nothing on that one!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Looks like a good time with your family, exempting the battery!

It's always good to come home.  If I have to risk the odd sloshing of battery acid or torrential floods to do it, that's a small price to pay.   

I pulled a rather spicy battery from an 8 year old laptop the other day, but it had nothing on that one!

I'm the other way- I have a lot more faith that this battery isn't going to spontaneously combust than I do a laptop battery!   

Def

[AzteCypher]

That looks pretty cool!  Sorry to hear about all the flooding though.  That's nuts.

[Grant Lamontagne]

The terrain here is extremely rocky and uneven from unimaginably huge rocks left behind by giant glaciers called The Canadian Shield, and going upstream from here the land slopes upward for about a hundred meters or so before sloping back down.  Dad's property is about halfway between and is the last property on this side to be above water, but fortunately it was by a significant margin.

So, thankfully, we weren't directly affected by any flooding.

Yesterday I swapped out Dad's kitchen faucet for a new one. The one he had was pretty well on its last legs and had to have a rubber band wrapped around the handle to keep it from dripping.  Unfortunately due to arthritis issues in his hands, Dad is limited in what he can do himself, and being out here in the middle of nowhere, it's challenging to find help.  My cousin's husband was always up for lending a hand, but unfortunately he passed away a  couple of months ago.

But that's okay, I'm happy to help my father with anything I can, and I like to feel useful, so swapping in a new faucet was no issue whatsoever.

I even got to use my grandfather's wrench, which was great, even if I did almost drop it on my face.   

I also brought the Wuben G5, partly because it was slim and fit easily into my organizer and partly to see how I got on with it as an only light. I also do like having the red light.

It seems to have held its own for most things, although it did find myself hitting the button then having to go back and flip the switch to hit the button again.  Not the end of the world, but an annoyance.

I also tried sticking it to the underside of the sink to light up what I was doing and the magnet wasn't strong enough to suspend it.  Fortunately there was a reasonably conveniently placed bracket for a fire extinguisher that I could prop it up on.  It's just annoying to have a function like that and not be able to use it.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

We were in town yesterday as well, picking up a few things, like that faucette and I spotted this sign in the hardware store that made me laugh.

It makes sense to put them in the same aisle, as one should be well lubricated while camping.

(For non native English speakers, being well lubricated means having a few drinks.)

There's another connotation but what happens at camp is your own business.   

I also spotted this 4 port USB hub that I had to force myself to not grab.  I really like Pez candy and I thought this was great, but I don't really need a 4 port USB hub, so I left it.

There is a good chance I'll go back for it, but luckily for me I am leaving tomorrow so I only have to resist the temptation for a little longer ...

Def

[Antti Lammi]

Interesting looking wrench, never seen that kind.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Apparently I posted the wrong side of the wrench, sorry about that!

Here is a better photo, showing it is a Wescott brand wrench.  These were made for automotive use (duh!) and other mechanical use where there was limited space that you could access or have much throw with a straight handle.  I really like it.

I see them from time to time but I don't have any myself.  I could see some benefit to a lighter, aluminum version though, especially since, as I said, I almost dropped the thing on my face.

 

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Unfortunately my father's dog got a hold of my headphones the other day and I debated whether or not to get a new set.  I have Bluetooth headphones, but I'm old fashioned and I feel like wired ones are better should I want to use them on an airplane.  Chances are I won't, but they are cheap and worth having just in case.

Also, I feel like I got off easy as I've lost track of how many of Dad's hearing aids she has destroyed.   

I ended up going to the only store in town that would have headphones, and they just happened to be right next to the Pez shaped USB hub.   

For those of you saying that you didn't know I was a big fan of Pez, you obviously don't recall my trip to New Orleans last year when I bought Pez candy in bulk.   

This was too cool to pass up.

It was also on clearance in the store and therefore cheaper than it is on Amazon, so I am counting it as a solid financial decision.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm not happy about it, but another trip is coming to an end. 

Sure it will be great to get home, but this is also my home, so it is a bit confusing. The worst part is, I hate leaving my Dad.  He's going to be 85 next month and every time I leave may be the last time I see him, making it even harder to go.

I will be leaving shortly for the two hour drive to the airport, followed by a two hour wait for the 1 hour airplane ride to Toronto, where I have a two hour layover and then a two hour flight back to Halifax.

It's a long day of travel and I won't be home until after 10pm local time.

Def

[Chako]

Safe travels.