The earlier thread inquiring about Mubwayaka jogged my memory and I thought I'd share an interesting tale.

Back in May of 1983 a friend and I were looking to do a trip on the west side of Algonquin.
In my files I had an old Ontario tourism booklet from the late 60's early 70's that had a listing for an outfitter in Kearney that rented canoes. Prior to the advent of the internet we all used whichever means we had at our disposal to find information.

Anyhow I called the outfitter and he was flabbergasted at my request.
Said he hadn't been in the business for a few years now and where'd I get the phone number?
After explaining how I'd come to call him he paused then said "Sure, come on up I've got a canoe for you no problem".
He proceeded to ask me if I knew who he was. "No says I, should I?"
Turns out it was Ralph Bice, which back then meant absolutely nothing to me.

Completely unawares we arrived at his residence in Kearney whereupon he ambled out to meet us as we pulled up.
My friend and I were both a bit taken aback. To say he looked a wee bit long in the tooth is an understatement.

He proceeded to greet us warmly and invited us inside for a coffee before we picked up the canoe.

What an amazing character! For at least 3/4 of an hour he regaled us with tales from his guiding days, we were spellbound.
The one that sticks in my mind is when he took a young Harold Ballard on trip down through Rock and Penn lakes catching numbers of good sized brookies.
I remember he said that Harold still owed him a buck as he had made a bet with him that he'd catch 3 fish on consecutive casts.
Of course he completed the feat and still seemed peeved after all those years that Harold had welched on the bet.

Finally winding down he led us outside to his rack of canoes out back.
All of them were old beat up canvas covered cedar crafts that had definitely seen better days.

He pointed to one and says "She should be good to go, when I knew you were comin' I filled her up with water to make sure she don't leak".
"The wood should be good and swollen now, so any cracks should be tight as a drum!" LOL!

We kind of looked at each other with sideways glances, but beggars can't be choosers and happily lashed the old boat to my roofracks.

As we were saying our goodbyes Ralph says "Are you boys lookin' to do some fishing?"

"Well as a matter of fact yes we are. We're hoping to catch some brook trout".

"Let me see your map" says Ralph.

I pulled out my topo and with a palsied hand he pointed his finger here and there finally stabbing down on Pugawagon lake.

"Fish there" he said, "You'll catch all the speckles you want!"

We thanked him profusely and off we went.

On that trip we camped on Mubwayaka and day tripped into Pugawagon.
Mubwayaka was a beauty of a lake I thought. The site if memory serves, was on a bit of a bluff on the east shoreline. Fishing was so/so, we caught 3 or 4 fish total and we worked the lake hard.
But true to his word Ralph's info on Pugawagon was bang on!
I can't begin to tell you the numbers, but it was crazy.
They weren't big, all of them between 10 and 14 inches, but an absolute ton of fun!

The canoe never did sink BUT the cedar soaked up water like a sponge and the damn thing must have weighed 150 lb's! LOL!

We were alternately toasting and cursing Ralph depending on the length of the portage.

It was only much later that we both finally realized exactly who Ralph Bice was and how truly fortunate we were to have met him the way that we did.

Definitely one of my fondest Algonquin memories.....

wow that's a great story

We've decided to spend a night on Ralf Bice for our last night on our next trip

I'll be sure to tell my nephew this story

thanks for sharing.

Ron

I've stayed on and travelled through Bice on many a trip. It's a great story and thanks for taking the time to share it.

Laurie
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www.outdooradventurecanada.com
www.wildernesscooking.com

Hey Solo,

Thats a fantastic story of chance!
I really enjoyed that thanks for sharing it.

That was lovely, Mike, one of those simple things that should never be forgotten.

Bice sounds like a character for sure, also having a lake named after him, and all.

You too can live the life of Ralph Bice for a 5 Week Interval starting at $74,900!

Ralph's property in Kearney is now a timeshare.


http://www.painterslanding.com/

History

The area known today as the Almaguin Highlands was originally communal hunting and fishing grounds for the Huron, Ojibway and Algonquin native aboriginals.

This point of land where the Magnetawan River enters storied Mirror Bay (where Painters Landing is now located) has been a base camp for those heading into the Algonquin Park for over a hundred years. Jutting into the Bay at its westerly reach, its lee shore was a natural stopping off point for voyageurs leaving the Bay and heading into the Rivers upper reaches or leaving the Rivers sometimes busy currents for the Bays calm. Because of its ideal location, the Town of Kearney started as a logging town in the latter part of the 1800s. Before the arrival of the railway, loggers would use the Magnetawan River to float logs down to sawmills further downstream. Once the Canadian National Railway arrived at Kearney, the town secured its importance as a logging centre with many sawmills and lumber camps.

Legendary Ranger and Forester, Ralph Bice (1900 - 1997) whose exploits are chronicled in numerous books and magazines, once lived on the property, where Painters Landing now stands. Ralph and members of that famous group of early 20th century painters, the Group of Seven, were closely enough acquainted for Ralph to write authoritatively about Tom Thompson and to form and provide opinions of the life and eventual death of this iconic Canadian Painter. Ralph Bice was the epitome of that vanishing breed of outdoorsman. He authored five books related to wilderness themes. He received many international and national awards, including the prestigious Order of Canada, for his dedication to conservation, educating the public on the ways of trapping, wildlife and nature appreciation.

Today the trains come to Kearney no more. Autos have replaced railroad carriage for visitors and the Park preserves the forest. Canoeists on the other hand are perhaps more plentiful today than ever.

Wonderful story, thank you for sharing.

Darryl H.

Very cool. It's neat when the planets align.

Great story. Thank you for sharing.

SBA