MiBSAR's home
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09-13-10 Notice: This SAR operation
has been postponed pending further research on wreckage found in
2005.
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We'll be chartering the 30-foot,
catamaran (twin hulls) landing craft pictured above for our insertion
and extraction, hopefully at the mouth of the White Gravel River and
in White Spruce Harbor, respectively. Captained by Keith McCuaig of
McCuaig Marine Services in Marathon (mccuaigmarine@shaw.ca,
807-229-0193), it's capable of transporting 12 passengers and rucks.
Custom-built in 2008 by Armstrong
Marine, Inc., in Port Angeles, Washington, the catamaran has an
electric-hydraulic ramp and is powered by twin gas outboards4-cycle
Yamaha 250s. |
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The above plane wreckage was found in White Gravel Canyon in a
remote part of Pukaskwa National Park during a 2005 Canadian backpacking
expedition. Click
here to read more about this investigation. (Photo courtesy
of Mary Powell)
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The wing cross-section, including an intact rib,
is likely from a small bush plane, perhaps one similar to the deHavilland
Canada DHC-2 Beaver pictured above. Click
here to read more about this investigation. |
MiBSAR's late-summer 2011 Canadian Backpacking
Expedition has been set for July 31 to August 12.
This 13-day, 40-klick (kilometer) expedition
will involve MiBSAR's first attempt at summitting Tip Top Mountain, an
outcrop regarded as the pinnacle of Ontario from its discovery in 1899
until improved cartographic techniques pushed it off its top spot 1967.
The later half of this expedition will
involve a SAR field operation in White Gravel Canyon. We'll be searching
for a unknown, hidden crash site that is likely the source of a piece
of plane wreckage found further downstream on a 2005 expedition. Click
here to read more about this wreck.
Estimated per-person costs:
Park entry and camping fees$100
Round-trip landing-craft feesequal share of $1,400
Tentative Itinerary:
July 30 |
Sat |
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Travel to Voyageurs Inn and Cookhouse
in Batchawana Bay, Ontario |
July 31 |
Sun |
1 |
Drive to Pukaskwa National
Park; register in afternoon; board chartered landing craft in early
evening; bivouac along Lake Superior Shoreline after insertion near
mouth of White Gravel River |
Aug 1
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Mon |
2 |
Cache backup food stores
in case landing craft is delayed by heavy seas during extraction.
Work our way up river in South White Gravel Canyon |
Aug 2 |
Tue |
3 |
Work our way up river in South
White Gravel Canyon |
Aug 3 |
Wed |
4 |
Cache expedition food stores; depart
South White Gravel Canyon and bushwhack south to summit Tip Top
Mountain; bivouac on summit |
Aug 4 |
Thur |
5 |
Flex day |
Aug 5 |
Fri |
6 |
Depart summit of Tip
Top Mountain and bushwhack north, returning to South White Gravel
Canyon to pick up expedition food stores cache |
Aug 6 |
Sat |
7 |
Depart South White Gravel Canyon
and bushwhack north, dropping into White Gravel Canyon, where our
SAR operation for bush plane crash site will begin |
Aug 7 |
Sun |
8 |
Work downstream in White Gravel
Canyon in search of bush plane crash site |
Aug 8 |
Mon |
9 |
Work downstream in White Gravel
Canyon in search of bush plane crash site |
Aug 9 |
Tue |
10 |
Flex day |
Aug 10 |
Wed |
11 |
Work downstream in White Gravel
Canyon in search of bush plane crash; arrive at Lake Superior |
Aug 11 |
Thur |
12 |
Hike coastal trail south to White
Spruce Harbor |
Aug 12 |
Fri |
13 |
Early-morning extraction by chartered
landing craft in White Spruce Harbor |
Aug 13 |
Sat |
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Travel or backup day |
Aug 14 |
Sun |
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Travel or backup day |
Further details about this expedition and SAR field operation
will be posted on this page as they become available.
Last revised on 07-16-10
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