Wapomeo Trippers

 Wapomeo Trippers Head to Biscotasing – 1967 by Viiu Kanep

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The Taylor Statten Camps - Canoe Trip
TSC Canoe Trip

After years of tripping in the park, the 14-day trip in 1967 headed to new Ontario waterways. This as the Biscotasing area – west of Sudbury around Chapleau and the Spanish River.
A lot of planning went into this trip because of the new destination. John hood, John Pickerel and I along with six experiences senior campers – Marty Gregg, Carolyn Pirrie, Sue Rutherford, Jackie Scott, Sue Thompson, and Betty Thomsett – attended to numerous details. The group was to be trucked to Sudbury, and from there we were to board the westbound CPR train with all our gear and canoes.
We headed out early on July 30 to catch the 9:35 train from Sudbury. Our destination was mile post 113. The train stopped there and we, with our equipment, were put off and were able to put our canoes in the east arm of Ramsey Lake. A beautiful rocky country awaited us as we paddled along. There were no designated campsites and little flat land, so we had to make our campsites each night. Our route was to make a figure eight, finishing in Biscotasing, where our equipment would go to an Ahmek trip.
We paddled through Ramsey to the Spanish River, then headed off toward Sulphur Lake, Upper Green and Red Pine toward Elbow River. Our seventh day we were to be on Indian Lake, at Ray’s Lodge. There we were to meet up with Lord and Lady Hunt, who had visited the camp as representatives of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Lord Hunt had been with Sir Edmund Hillary on the Everest Expedition. It was a memorable event when the ranger plane came down and taxied toward the lodge. Not only was it exciting to meet them, but they also brought our mail from camp.
Our trip continued toward Earl Bay and Hogsback Channel leading to Drefal Lake. At Drefal we were to participate in the National Campfire to celebrate our centennial year. It poured all day and we ended up staying at the CPR section house. There we had our campfire at midnight: flashlights, sticks and candles on the living room floor – better than no campsite at all!
From there we had two more days, then the Spanish River and back to Biscotasing where the Ahmek boys were already waiting. We caught the Eastbound train to Sudbury arriving at 10:00pm and we were driven back to camp – tired, enthusiastic, and happy – full of memories for a lifetime.

An excerpt from Fires of Friendship: Eighty Years of the Taylor Statten Camps