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Hello all! I am new to this forum, I have just had a few questions about an upcoming portage trip I am embarking on. Firstly, I am 26 years old, and in very good shape. My friend and I have hiked the 36km (I think) western upland trail in 2 days, and also the 2nd loop of the upper highland trail in 2 days. Recently I did a solo hike of the same 36km loop in western uplands in 3 days, but found it too easy. The same friend and I have been kayaking several times, and white water rafting as well. We have never canoed.
We will be doing a 3 day portage trip starting from smoke lake, about 9am on day 1. I tallied up the kms and this should be an accurate day to day coverage:
Please give me an input you can on my route that you think would be useful. Thank you very much!
Canoeing lengths:
Day 1: 23km
Day 2: 15km
Day 3: 7.7km
TOTAL: 45.7km
Hiking with canoe:
Day 1: 3km
Day 2: 2.83km
Day 3: 2.2km
TOTAL 8km
GRAND TOTAL OF TRIP: 53.7km
Here is in image of the trip I have planned, with my planned route marked with a black line.
i65.tinypic.com/3531pva.jp
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It wouldn't let me post the full link to the pic without making another topic which I don't really want to go: copy and paste the image link in your browser and add a "g" to the end to make it .jpg
Sorry about that
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Http://www.i65.tinypic.com/3531pva.jpg
Last edited by Pazmore (9/06/2016 9:57 am)
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Pazmore wrote:
Hello all! I am new to this forum, I have just had a few questions about an upcoming portage trip I am embarking on. Firstly, I am 26 years old, and in very good shape. My friend and I have hiked the 36km (I think) western upland trail in 2 days, and also the 2nd loop of the upper highland trail in 2 days. Recently I did a solo hike of the same 36km loop in western uplands in 3 days, but found it too easy. The same friend and I have been kayaking several times, and white water rafting as well. We have never canoed.
We will be doing a 3 day portage trip starting from smoke lake, about 9am on day 1. I tallied up the kms and this should be an accurate day to day coverage:
Please give me an input you can on my route that you think would be useful. Thank you very much!
Canoeing lengths:
Day 1: 23km
Day 2: 15km
Day 3: 7.7km
TOTAL: 45.7km
Hiking with canoe:
Day 1: 3km
Day 2: 2.83km
Day 3: 2.2km
TOTAL 8km
GRAND TOTAL OF TRIP: 53.7km
Here is in image of the trip I have planned, with my planned route marked with a black line.
i65.tinypic.com/3531pva.jp
Have fun, This is one of the routes I had planned with my group a few years ago, and one I still want to do. Unfortunately, my group more consists of guys who would don't want to portage at all. Which is limiting.
My Route had us stay at Bonnechere Lake, and take out Cahce Lake instead of canoing/portaging back to our starting point.
Since this is your first time canoeing, your first day MAY be a little long at 26km total, it would also depend on how many trips you have to make at the portages, it also may not leave alot for sight seeing either.
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Hi Pazmore,
Welcome to the forum. The route you selected looks great. It will be nice, full days on day one and two and then an easy finish.
One thing I would consider altering would be to paddle around the peninsula in Big Porcupine - but I prefer to paddle instead of portage. That's a day with five or six portages already...the loading/unloading gets a little monotonous after a while and if you can eliminate a pair of those events (as well as giving your legs a longer rest after the portage from Ragged to Big Porcupine) you might see it as a positive.
The other consideration would be to spend that last night on Little Island lake - it will have a slightly more interior feel than Tanamakoon might (allows motors, camp on the lake, easy access).
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That's longer than I would want to do on the first day. I'd say Bonnechere is a better target for the first day. Since you are used to backpacking you'll probably pack fairly light but don't forget the extra gear that comes with canoeing including PFD's, paddles, safety bucket plus the canoe.
Smoke to Big Porc was a full day for me in the spring, but I never single carry the portages.
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Hi Pazmore,
Welcome to the forum. The route you selected looks great. It will be nice, full days on day one and two and then an easy finish.
One thing I would consider altering would be to paddle around the peninsula in Big Porcupine - but I prefer to paddle instead of portage. That's a day with five or six portages already...the loading/unloading gets a little monotonous after a while and if you can eliminate a pair of those events (as well as giving your legs a longer rest after the portage from Ragged to Big Porcupine) you might see it as a positive.
The other consideration would be to spend that last night on Little Island lake - it will have a slightly more interior feel than Tanamakoon might (allows motors, camp on the lake, easy access).
Thank you very much for that information, now that I'm looking maybe we will canoe around the peninsula rather than portage it! And also I had no idea that tanamakoon was a spot for motor vehicles, we would definitely rather spend the night somewhere that feels "remote". I will call today to make those changes. Thank you
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That's longer than I would want to do on the first day. I'd say Bonnechere is a better target for the first day. Since you are used to backpacking you'll probably pack fairly light but don't forget the extra gear that comes with canoeing including PFD's, paddles, safety bucket plus the canoe.
Smoke to Big Porc was a full day for me in the spring, but I never single carry the portages.
We really like a challenge... But what do you mean by safety bucket? A helmet?
Thanks
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We really like a challenge... But what do you mean by safety bucket? A helmet?
Thanks
Safety bucket is the all-in-one solution to the Transport Canada required safety gear - bailing bucket, floating throw rope, whistle (aka "sound signaling device") and flashlight (if you don't already have one).
I can understand pushing yourself - not my priority, but I get it. Still given how short your 3rd day is I would want to balance out the distance a bit more. You also didn't mention when you are planning on going? Days are getting shorter and sunset is getting close to 7:30pm.
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Sorry, when I wrote "motors" I meant "motorboats" (of limited HP) are permitted on that lake. You see the little motorboat icon on Jeff's map? That's the tip-off; as well as that it is connected to Cache Lake which has full access including a ramp as well as many cabins.
And I think RobW might be onto something. We went to Bonnechere in a day and I was about done. We could have gone farther but it felt good to stop. We at lunch on Big Porcupine and travelled in a fairly leisurely manner that day with a group of six including three kids.
Last edited by PaPaddler (9/06/2016 12:44 pm)
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Thanks you guys are very informative which is great. We will be going on the September 17th weekend, so 2 weeks from now. From what I can see it's supposed to rain, is there ever a problem with the canoe filling up with rain water? And I had no idea abut the safety bucket, I'll have to get some of the rope you mentioned.
Maybe you're right too, shortening day 1 a little bit and adding more kms to day 2 makes sense. Maybe night 1 at Bonnechere and night 2 at little island lake.
Do you guys also find wearing gloves helps when paddling?
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If you're renting the canoe, then the outfitter should have the safety gear too. If not, then you can get something like this at Canadian Tire:
Note they usually have a cheaper one around $20.
With the number of portages you'll be doing, you'll have plenty of chances to drain the canoe. ;-) On a more serious note, yes you can get some water starting to accumulate in the canoe but that's more in the "getting your feet wet" category than the "imitating the Titanic" category.
In colder weather (think spring snow storm) I'll regularly wear gloves. I'll also occasionally wear light gloves just to help with blisters but not if paddling regularly.
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I have done the same loop you are planning to, but with the days divvied up differently. In my case I spent the first night at Bonnechere and the second at Kenneth (which would have been Head if we hadn't opted to make one totally unneccessary portage).
Is there a reason you're trying to cover so much ground in the first two days and so little on the last day? Will you have somewhere to be on your exit day? The way I did it is a considerably more even distribution of distance. But also, remember that Cache Lake has an access point, a lodge, and lots of cottages, and Tanamakoon has a summer camp (though it will probably be sitting empty now that it's September)... so if you pass through that area on your second day, it means your canoe trip won't even include one full day removed from development/motorboats/road access. I guess that's just a personal thing but I'd rather pass through that stuff on my last day when I feel I'm on my way out already, and keep the middle day(s) of the trip more remote-feeling.
If the motivation for going so far on the first two days is the "challenge", why not make the whole route a little longer instead? For example you could travel through Little Coon/McGarvey/North Grace/Louisa instead of Bonnechere/Phipps/Kirkwood if you feel the current plan is too short.
Since you're all new to canoeing I assume you'll be renting a canoe, so you don't have to worry about buying a bailer kit, the outfitter will supply them. Tip: though the Portage Store is right across the road from Smoke Lake, Algonquin Bound (just outside the west gate) makes free canoe deliveries to Smoke Lake and their rates are lower.
I've canoed in all kids of weather and never felt worried about losing buoyancy due to rain buildup... but if you do, you'll have the bailer.
I don't use paddling gloves but some people do find them helpful. Especially if you're using a wooden paddle that's a bit worn.
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Thank you guys for your input, I am going to re-arrange the trip now and stay at Bonnechere for the 1st night, and head lake on 2nd night. Wake up 3rd day and do the 2 long portages and then canoe the hell outta there!
One more question, once at Smoke Lake access point to park my vehicle, there's a portage right away to get to Smoke Lake, right? Can I not change my access point to Canoe Lake and canoe under highway 60 and launch right into Smoke Lake, and not do the initial portage?
Sorry for all the questions, thanks again.
Last edited by Pazmore (9/06/2016 8:07 pm)
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Smoke lake has a parking lot and a small dock for launching. You would only need to portage if you're carrying your canoe across hwy 60
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Yeah - there's no extra portage involved in starting from Smoke Lake, not sure where you're getting that. Smoke and Canoe Lakes each have their own parking lot right on the lake. You will have to go to the Canoe Lake access point to get your camping permit since that's where the permit office is physically located, but after doing so you can drive across to the Smoke Lake access point.
Now, when people rent canoes from the Portage Store (on Canoe Lake) and then launch from Smoke, they usually carry the canoe across to Smoke and drive the rest of their gear in their car, since doing so is faster than paddling up Smoke Creek or roof-mounting the canoe for such a short drive. If you're renting from Algonquin Bound they can deliver right to Smoke.
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