Manic 5

As we pulled out of the Manic 2 on this wonderful sunny morning I wasn’t feeling all that cheery. Susan and I have dry camped for 1 or 2 nights but not for 6 nights in a row. I’m all for new experiences but Susan not so much. The road to Manic 3 was in pretty rough shape. The pavement had a rough winter. Seeing Manic 3 only in my rear view mirror we pushed on and found a relatively good road in front of us.

By now I’m sure you are wondering what Manic stands for. I wondered the same thing. It's actually pretty simple. There’s Manic 1, 2, 3, & 5. Manic is short for Manicouagan which is the river from which all these dams are built.

Manicouagon River

We arrived at Manic 5 hydro-electric dam and the problem was where everyone was going to park. I had just filled the truck with diesel and bought Susan an ice cream cone to help soften the blow that we are camping in a parking lot below the dam. The ice cream did not help. It really was like parking in a garbage dump. Then I said “honey we’re home”, she looked around and if looks could kill, well you know the story. Susan was not a happy camper.

The next morning we visited Manic 5 and got a basic tour. We were not allowed inside the dam, so our tour consisted of a young man giving us a talk about the dam. Manic 5 was built on this location because the river naturally narrowed at this point. Surveying, excavation, & building started in 1959 and was completed in 1970. The dam is an engineering feat and is the largest of its type in the world. It consists of 14 buttresses and 13 arches for a total height of 240 meters and length of 1.3 km.

Manic 5

After the tour was over Chris, Curt, & myself decided to drive into the back country to see some sights. We ventured across a bridge to find a beaver dam and home.

Beaver Dam & House

Continuing down the road we came across a fishing camp. The guys were from New Brunswick and were getting ready to head home. They had caught their quota of fish. The planes were used to fly people in and out of the back country to hunt and fish. Six members of the group went up for a 20 minute ride in one of the planes. I guess they wanted a view of the dam from the air. When I was in the military I had to fly in and out of Masset BC in these planes. Been there done that.

Fishing Camp in no-mans-land

Float planes

We headed back to our home in the parking lot/garbage dump to start the social hour. I’m sure if it was not for the 5 o’clock social Susan would not have survived. “Have another drink honey everything looks better with a drink in your hand”.