For various and special reasons some stories get intertwined, in this tale, the sense of place has some juxtaposition on the back roads.
There is only one provincial park accessible by road with campsites north of the 50th parallel latitude.
At this same park, there was a past Sasquatch sighting that required some investigation. There is an exciting notion that a hairy, apelike monster might be thereabouts.
In the past, there have been Village Media Sasquatch stories and in this park, there was one to verify.
These were unique reasons enough to seek out both for a road trip to the most northwestern part of the province.
The park
On the Ontario Parks website Provincial Park is described as “secluded and serene,” and it is. The tranquil thought was this might be the place to see Bigfoot?
It has 69 campsites, spread out within three distinctive areas, 26 with electrical service; CSites #17-21 have elevated views. This northern gem is located 160 km north of Vermilion Bay, between Kenora and Dryden on Highway 105 to Red Lake. My campsite #72, among the cluster of 13 others, was along the 1.5 km long beach, no one else was there on Friday, Aug. 9.
Since 1996, the campground and day-use areas have been operated by the Friends of Pakwash and the Township of Ear Falls, in partnership with the MNR-Ontario Parks.
It is just north of Ear Falls, you drive west off of the highway and almost immediately you see that ornate, provincial park brown gatehouse a throwback from the park architecture from the sixties The park was established in 1967. The kiosk’s screen doors have that distinctive spring twang and click-thump sound when opening and closing.
From the park management plan, “The length of stay for campers ranges from 2.0 to 3.4 nights. The average party size ranges from 2.7 to 3.3 people and the July/August occupancy rate averages close to 44% (Ontario Parks Statistics 2007).” It is a little lower this year I discovered.
Ryan Seeley is the Park Superintendent, he works out of a Red Lake Office.
“Visitors to Pakwash are generally from the American upper mid-west who come for the fishing opportunities. We also get a lot of locals from Red Lake and Ear Falls who bring their family to get away from the city and spend some time enjoying the outdoors.”
“Pakwash is a very quiet park, it doesn’t see the number of campers that some of the more southern parks get, so I expect the tranquillity attracts some folks. But if I had to guess the high-quality fishing is the number one draw to the park. Pakwash is a large lake that sees relatively few anglers, as a result, it has excellent walleye and northern pike fishing."
(This was verified by a Facebook query-response by Kimberly Anne Budweg who has owned the adjacent Pakwash Lake Camp since 2006, The camp property was established in 1951, see Pakwash Lake.)
“You don’t have to be a “real fisher” to do well on Pakwash Lake,” said Ryan. “A jig and a minnow in the right spot and you can easily have an exciting afternoon catching a variety of fish. If that’s not your thing, Pakwash has a beautiful beach that extends almost 2 km, a play structure, swings, a beach volleyball court, and even the Northern Lights if you are lucky.” I was wondering then if it would be a fortunate visit to see Yeti tracks along the beach.
Pakwash Provincial Park is located in an area of the province which is known to be the southern range of both woodland caribou and wolverine, species which are designated "threatened" on the Species at Risk Ontario (SARO), animals you don’t usually hear about when you are “from the south.”
If you are a birder, fifty per cent of all migratory birds are found in the boreal forest. It is reported that about 50 per cent of all bird species (Neotropical migrants) found in North America regularly use or breed in the boreal forest. The birds of the park are typical of the boreal forest and include a wide variety of songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and waterfowl, such as the blackburnian warbler, magnolia warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, black-capped chickadee, boreal chickadee, common goldeneye, common raven, and ruffed grouse.
In recent field surveys, a total of sixty-five bird species were recorded as seasonal residents of the forest habitats of Pakwash Provincial Park. The American white pelican is also found on the lake. Two species have been observed in the park that are considered rare in Ontario. The great gray owl is a large owl found in the boreal forest across the northern hemisphere. An immature rusty blackbird has also been observed in the park.
Pakwash is part of the Northwestern Ontario Sunset Country Driving Route, which also includes some other smaller parks such as Ojibway Provincial Park, Sandbar Lake, Caliper Lake, Sioux Narrows Provincial Park, and Aaron Provincial Park.
Sabe
Sunset Country, the tourism region, also purports Sasquatch sightings. In and around Dryden-Vermilion Bay I saw three Sasquatch figurines roadside.
For example, the bigfoot statue located in Vermilion Bay stands 20 feet tall and weighs 3 tonnes. This giant statue is an eye-catcher in this small town. It has been in place since 1982 and stands right beside the Trans Canada Highway. Owners Liz and Max Lang of Vermilion Bay say that the Bigfoot was built completely by hand by a local man several decades ago. The name of this man is unknown and his whereabouts are an even greater mystery. There is a Sunset Country Sasquatch Society on Facebook.
Nearby Aboriginal communities include Lac Seul, Wabaseemoong, Grassy Narrows (English River) and Wabauskang. These Aboriginal communities are all within the boundary described by Treaty #3. Pakwash
In Indigenous cultural teachings, it is said there was a giant called Kitch-Sabe. Kitch-Sabe walked among the people to remind them to be honest to the laws of the creator and honest to each other. The highest honour that could be bestowed upon an individual was the saying "There walks an honest person. They can be trusted." To be truly honest was to keep the promises one made to the Creator, to others and to oneself. Elders would say, "Never try to be someone else; live true to your spirit, be honest to yourself and accept who you are the way the Creator made you."
I asked my Indigenous mentor, Dr. Jonathan Pitt from Nipissing University about Sabe. He continues to be a resource regarding cultural matters.
He said Nicole Abotossaway is a member of Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation on Mnidoo Mnising (Manitoulin Island) and a part-time instructor at Nipissing University, she is also currently completing a doctoral degree at Western University.
He said, “She says this about Sabe. The reason we don’t see Sabe is because Sabe is between both worlds, this one and the Spirit world. The spaces between spaces or inter-dimensions. Some have said they have seen him and then he is gone without leaving any tracks.” People today still believe in governments and institutions. Perhaps they also believe in their own higher power, however, they have never seen them. People thought this about the little people too, before remains of hobbit-like little people were found in Indonesia.”
Good enough reasons to keep my eyes and ears peeled.
By chance, there was a meeting outside the park’s fish cleaning shack with campers Sandy and Peter Mitchell from Stouffville, Ontario.
Before heading to Ojibway Provincial Park (east of Dryden- Wabigoon) they told me as avid campers they “really enjoyed the peace and quiet” and the “diversity of birds” of Pakwash. And, “If we don’t use these northern parks they could close.” There were several provincial park closures about a dozen years ago.
Since they had been here for a few days I asked them about any Sasquatch sightings thereabouts. But alas, “no,” but they were interested in the past report
I also asked gatehouse attendants Paige, who goes to university in Guelph, and Sabryn attending school in Thunder Bay. They were amused with the question but again another “no.”
Sasquatch-Pakwash?
On a recent Back Roads Bill podcast investigator Peter Smith from Ontario Sasquatch – not to be confused with Sasquatch Ontario, “Please,” said Peter, identified a sighting report # 108-75 Pakwash PP.
In the report, Peter said, “An amusing incident occurred, when Rolly, the Electrical Construction Manager, whose office was across the hall from mine, stuck his head in my door one morning and asked if he could have a word. He closed the door and sat down. In a hesitating manner, he asked if I investigated sasquatch sightings. I said yes, and he proceeded to tell me of an encounter that he had had many years before. I asked him how he knew about me.
“A week before," he stated, “I had received a report from a witness who had been part of a junior ranger group (JR) years before. They had been harassed by a Sasquatch, while at a camp near Red Lake. The OPP had been called in, and it was a well-known incident at the time. The witness was a sales rep, and recognized my name, when I followed up on his report and contacted him. He told the electrical manager, who then came to me. Rolly has been one of our field companions since.
“He is a good tracker. So, two guys, in adjacent offices, did not reveal their off-duty interests, out of concern for ridicule, given their supervisory positions within the company. I was the General Manager, and I did not want 120 construction workers discussing that the boss chases Sasquatch. This is so true for most witnesses. We have no idea how many encounters are only shared with family, close friends, or not at all. Guess that we only hear about perhaps five per cent.
Peter said there are over 7,000 documented reports for North America, there may be over 100,000 actual encounters that we are not aware of.
“I followed up with the witness and met with Dave Liddard Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010, to talk about the Red Lake sightings. We met at 10:30 a.m. and our time was limited as we were both at work.
“The actual sighting was at Pakwash Provincial Park right at the JR Camp. Dave did not actually see the big white Sasquatch but was there when the event occurred and he heard the grunts and groans from the creature.
“The JR Camp was set up much like a construction site with trailers for sleeping and cook trailers with a building for washrooms and showers. The sleep trailers is where the event took place. The bush is about 30 feet away from the trailers. The setup was at one end of the park about 1/4 mile from the main entrance gate and Ranger residence. The Junior Rangers were all about 17 years old and from various locations in the province.
“Dave remembers it being a record-breaking hot day. There had been a number of wallets go missing from the boys' bedrooms and one had been found in the bush behind the trailers so the other boys that were missing wallets were looking in the bush area for their wallets also, and had trampled quite a bit of bush down.”
Peter describes: “On the evening of the event Dave was sitting in his bedroom in the first trailer and heard the strange grunts and groans coming from the bush area and thought of a bear right away as they had trapped bears and had been chased by a bear that summer. Two of the boys were shaking and sweating very noticeably and said they saw a creature. Dave asked if it was a bear and the answer was “no”. The sightings had occurred about 10 p.m.
“The next day the MNR (game warden) armed with a rifle went searching for the creature. Dave had asked if the boys may have mistaken a bear for this creature but the reply was that because there was a full moon the bear would have been very visible.
“The two boys were asked to draw a sketch of the creature they saw and were kept separated while they drew their pictures. Dave stated the drawings were very similar. The creatures were 9ft to 11ft tall, white with green eyes that glowed in the dark. Here is another sighting map.
Peter stated, “Dave Liddard is considered a credible witness. We have no reason to doubt the accuracy of his report. He has kept quiet for years, so obviously is not seeking attention. There are no red flags with respect to the witness. “
The JR camp has now been disbanded.
That night
Alone along the beach campsite #72 it was a cool and rainy night. I listened to the nighttime noises emanating from the boreal forest. If there was to be an encounter this might very well be the time. I was mindful of the JR camp story.
As always, sleep takes you to the early morning and the first avian awakening songs.
Come morning I looked for tracks along the beach.
I have not seen a Sasquatch yet.
Jane Goodall is a dame of the British Empire, founder of a global institute that bears her name, a Messenger of peace for the United Nations, and is one of the most respected and renowned ethologists. And she is a bit of a Bigfoot truther.
Being open-minded like the she said, “I am a romantic and would like to believe Bigfoot exists.”
Pakwash is a park worth visiting for many reasons and maybe someday there will be another sighting there. Perhaps more important than whether this being exists, is what it symbolizes, those sought-after places on the back roads we are drawn to.