Telescope Lake - Many of our guests call this lake their second home.

Telescope Lake
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Telescope Lake has always been an excellent fishing lake, and therefore serves as a place with rich history of trapping, fishing, and traveling. Arthur Carlson's trapper's cabin still sits in good shape on a point near the dock, however the new cabin is nestled on top of a hill with an excellent view of the lake. The cabin, the only one on the lake, has four bedrooms to sleep eight people comfortably, and a shower. Telescope is thirty-five miles west of Red Lake, within the Woodland Caribou Provincial Wilderness Park, where the regular fishing regulations apply. It is among a unique group of clear cold water lakes at the top of a watershed. The lake was named such because of it's telescope-like shape. There are also two additional lakes to portage to, and all three have walleye, northern, and lake trout.
 
This lake has a lot of history for the Carlson family. Years ago, Hugh and Craig's father, Arthur Carlson, brought guests here by canoe or in his home built boats across four rough portages from Viking Island on Douglas Lake. He guided his guests on a true wilderness fishing adventure. All provisions were hauled over the portages- no sissies allowed! By the age of about 12, Hugh and Craig were trained fishing guides. They learned their trade out on the water and in the bush. The guests themselves did some of the training! Some guests still tell stories of those good old days. Those who can no longer make the trip have great memories of "Back in the Day". Once during the 1950's, the group made the portage trip to find the cabin burned to the ground! Oops, long trip back to Douglas! Another trip a huge wind storm flattened all the trees on the portages and the group had to cut a tunnel through the blowdown to get home. Then during the 1980's an extremely hot forest fire raged down the shoreline coming close to burning the cabin. Ministry of Natural Resources fire crew were able to defend the cabin and point as the fire raced by. You can see the young jackpine growing along the shoreline and the patches of bare rock where the fire burned even the soil. Arthur trapped here for many years. Enid, Hugh's wife, and Arthur enjoyed several winter trapping seasons in this cabin. Beaver, fisher and marten were their main catch. Sometimes a wolf or two. The main pack from the area avoided our traps but would troop past the cabin during the night, lifting their legs at our water hole. Message received. Today this cabin is a place of refuge for many of our guests who return year after year to their lake.

We would like to remember Lee London, Frank Paull, and Albert Neufeld who have died but who left their souls on Telescope Lake.

A memory of Telescope, Kevin Estill, August 2007

Here is my favorite memory from a week of fishing and adventures on Telescope Lake. It occurred just before sunset on the last day of my visit. There truly is a "pot-of-gold" at the end of the rainbow. It was the perfect end to one of the best vacations I've ever had. Thanks to all at Viking Outposts for your warmth and hospitality.

A Wind Storm on Embryo, George Bichler May 2006

We were out fishing in the northwest corner of Caribou Bay, when a thunderstorm hit us. We made for the shore, so as not to be on the water with lightning around us. We had just tied up the boats on a small point when a fierce wind starting blowing out of the east, then suddenly it switched from the west, blowing even harder, maybe 70-80 mph. All of a sudden, trees started falling around us. With nowhere for us to go, all we could do was to face into the hard driving rain, and try to duck.





As you can see from the pictures, we were lucky that the boats were not damaged, as the trees that fell into the water barely missed striking them. The rest of the story involved us having to "surf" back down Lac Lammont, driven by huge waves crashing into the portage, right before the rapids. Our boat on tbe Telescope side of the portage had broken free from its mooring during the storm, and we had to retrieve it. Just another day in paradise, fishing in Canada!!

Bob Dicus and family came to Telescope in 2005

It looks like they had a great time. Enid