March 23rd, 2012:  Tom and I attempted to drive a new quad and Polaris Ranger into Bolton but ran into nothing but bad luck. It’s been the most mild winter I’ve ever seen and it will be a record breaking early ice out this year unless we have a really cold April. The machines are stuck out in the bush as we were picked up by ski plane after spending 2 days and a night out in the middle of nowhere.  The Quad broke down and since we were spending more time stuck than moving we had to quit.  Most of the creeks we were trying to cross were flowing and open and one swamp really beat the heck out of us!  I’m hoping to make an arrangement to pick the Ranger up with a helicopter and have it dropped at the lodge this summer but that might be too expensive so we will likely have to wait until next winter to try again.  The Quad is not accessible even with a helicopter so it will sit there until next winter for sure.

After this misadventure, on our way back from Norway House I picked up the Cessna 206 from The Pas and flew it down to Selkirk.  It ran great and will be very useful to us this season.  The river is already wide open here in Winnipeg which usually means only 3 more weeks for open water at Bolton!  Open water before May, I guess maybe there is something to this global warming.  The water levels on the creeks seemed fairly high, but that’s normal when the snow is melting so I’m guessing the water levels at our lakes will be normal this year.  Not high or low, just right where it should be.

We’re planning the fuel haul for mid May this year, a bit later than usual but we don’t have any big projects at the lodge this spring so we’re not going to get up there extra early.  I will fly in on wheels with the C-206 and probably leave Tom behind to keep an eye on the camp and start to get a few things going.  This way he can keep me informed of the runway and ice conditions.

We have been fortunate to pick up a few more groups for the lodge for the season but I’m still waiting on a bunch of groups to commit.  If even half of them come through we should have a pretty good season.  Here are a list of open dates for this season:

Aswap Lake and Joint Lake are SOLD OUT for the season!!

Bolton Lake American Plan Packages Available:

  • June 29 – July 4 (5 days) – space for up to 10 guests at a special rate of $2199 per person
  • July 1 – 8 (7 days) – space for up to 10 guests at a special rate of $2499 per person
  • July 4 – 8 (4 days) – space for up to 12 guests at a special rate of $2099 per person
  • July 15 – 22 (7 days) – space for 2 guests at a special rate of $2499 per person
  • July 20 – 24 (4 days) – space for up to 12 guests at a special rate of $2099 per person
  • July 22 – 29 (7 days) – space for up to 14 guests at a special rate of $2499 per person
  • July 22 – 27 (5 days) – space for up to 14 guests at a special rate of $2199 per person
  • July 29 – August 1 (3 days) – space for up to 20 guests at a special rate of $1699 per person
  • August 1 – 5 (4 days) – space for up to 14 guests at a special rate of $1999 per person