The idea of having our own cabin in the northwoods began as I think most such things do...as just a dream. From the first time I set foot on Springpole Lake on my first fly-in trip to the Canadian Shield wilderness in 1988, I was hooked. There was something about the land...the sky...the scenery...that touched my soul as deeply as anything has. It was (and still is) as if it was always part of me somehow...as if I had been born and raised in that environment. So from the outset, I knew that I had to have my own piece of this heaven on earth, not just for me, but also for my family and my friends.
In subsequent years we flew into Springpole again, along with Birch Lake and Cherrington Lake out of the town of Red Lake, Kaganogami Lake and Meta Lake out of Nakina, Smoothrock Lake out of Armstrong, Cobham Lake out of Ear Falls.
At some point early in those trips I began to compile a list of things that I would like to have in my own camp...and of those things NOT to have. The guys on those trips...buddies Rusty Garber, Larry Giddings, Bob (of course) and others got used to me saying, "note to the cabin file" when I saw something I thought important to remember. Even they got into the act of calling out notes to the cabin file!
Over the next few years and trips, the list became refined. Of all of the items on the list, four "must-haves" trumped the others:
1) any property for a cabin had to face west to get the evening sunsets;
2) it had to be located on a very large lake so that the whole lake could never be fished in my lifetime;
3) of all species in the lake, one of them must be lake trout (which also means a very deep lake), and;
4) it must not be a drive-to property...fly-in or boat-in only.
Along about 2004 I stumbled upon several Canadian realty web sites that contained listings for, or were specifically geared toward, recreational properties in Ontario. Austin & Austin Realty and Latitude 50 Realty out of Dryden, along with Recreationland from Thunder Bay were the sites I frequented most, searching them weekly for properties that met the four criteria. Almost none did.
One day in 2006 on the Recreationland site there appeared a listing for a piece of property in Belmore Bay on Sturgeon Lake, about an hour north of Ignace. There are several lakes in Ontario with this same name, but this particular one was the largest...51 miles long, about 10 miles wide at its widest point, and over 300 feet deep at its deepest point. It contained lake trout, the property faced west-northwest and was only accessible by float plane or boat. "Cha-Ching!"
Sturgeon Lake was also one that I had heard endless stories about. Many years before, Bob and Jane
had trekked to the south end of Sturgeon for 12 straight years, staying at Sac Bay Lodge, owned by a
fellow named Woody Schultz. Bob became very good friends with Woody and his wife, and the two
couples would often meet during the off-season for a weekend here and there. If you've read the
previous page you'll recall how annoying the word "Canada' came to be for me. The other annoying
words were "Sturgeon Lake." Bob always talked about Sturgeon and how fantastic the fishing was.
Woody died in a plane crash one year...banking in a turn to the north after picking his plane up from a
tune-up and required check, something happened (still aren't sure what) but the plane nose-dived to
the ground.
Anyway, I watched the listing on Recreationland for about a year before I emailed the realtor, Jim
James. Jim told me about the property...more exactly where is was located...its size...its height above the water line...mineral rights...tree rights...the current owner...and the price. Being the dutiful realtor, he advised that the current owner was not pressed for cash and was, "...holding out for full price." Hmmmm......
It's now May of 2007 and time to go and have a look. Bob and I left for the lake around 3:00 pm on Thursday, May 10th and arrived in Ignace in the late afternoon hours on the 11th.
Several days before we arrived, a CN (Canadian National) train had derailed on tracks about 5 miles
north of the lake. Ground crews and water bombers were fighting quite a forest fire and we learned on
our arrival in Ignace that highway 599 might be closed the next day, blocking our access to the lake.
Are you KIDDING? We drove 23 hours and may not be able to see the property?
Long story short, we WERE able to get to the property the next day, shepherded by Art Mousseau who
owned Mousseau's Island Resort. The property sat high on a ledge about 25' above the lake and was
much more dense with trees and other growth than I had anticipated. Anyway, when we got back I filed
an offer with the realtor (much less than asking) and within 24 hours it was accepted. I guess the
owner, Bill Perrozzo, had decided he didn't need to hold out for full price after all!
So...the dream is off the ground. But I had no idea of the work that was to come with that dream!
