There's another thread a little further down about the same thing, check out some of the answers there: http://algonquinadventures.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=1554

My suggestion:

trippythings wrote:

I've been thinking about an early May trip as well. I don't fish, but a few other things to consider taking advantage of would be travelling on popular routes (since they won't be popular during ice out), and strong waterfalls.

I'm considering Cache down to Pardee, to Louisa/Frank, to Clydegale, up to Rock. Probably with 1 more day lodged somewhere in the middle.

Get to see the waterfalls on Head, Pen/Clydegale portage, and Pen/Rock portage while they're at full force. Get to travel through a popular route during a non-popular time. And some of those lakes are particularly great for moose as well (I've never done a spring trip but I assume it would be even better).

There are some pretty big lakes, but you can hug the shore without any setback for pretty much everything other than a small section of Cache (would be early morning anyways on Day 1), and the 15min to cross that section of Louisa.

And about your mention of sunsets, you'll have no issue finding nice sites along this route that offer sunset views.

R2 wrote:

Thanks tripppythings , I did the Rock Lake to Louisa loop in August so I am looking at a different location this May . I really enjoyed  reading and watching  your island trip report you posted . What are your thoughts on that route in the spring? 

Thanks! I've never done a spring trip but I would think the trip I did wouldn't be smart to do, especially in 5-6 days. The first and main reason would be the several large bodies of water; this cause setbacks with wind, but also it's much more dangerous in spring water temperatures. One accidental tip while solo in the middle of Burnt Island, or Big Trout, etc. with no one around can be life or death. The second reason would be that you're going pretty far from an access point (that was one of my main goals with that route), but in the spring season you're more at risk for delays, due to weather, blowdowns on portages, etc. There aren't many options for re-routing once you're out there that would help shave off time in case of any delays. I'd probably be comfortable doing the exact route in 7 nights / 8 days during spring.. but I typically like to err on the side of caution.

Of course you can do a modified version of my trip. There's the shorter loop from Canoe --> Otterslides --> Big Trout --> White Trout --> Sunbeam --> Canoe. It's much easier and 'safer' in terms of distance for the amount of days, but you'd still face the dangers of crossing large bodies of water.

You could also do Smoke --> Bonnechere --> Pardee --> Head --> end either at Cache or back to Smoke. Take a rest day on any of those sites and it becomes 4 nights 5 days. Some large lakes but at least you can hug the shore for most of the time if needed, making it a much safer trip option. Bonnechere has some nice sites in the south (I loved the one I camped on last summer), I really enjoyed Pardee as well, and Head you could probably snag the waterfall site which would be nice in the spring when the falls have a bit more water flowing.

"...looking for nice campsites with a sunset view, fishing isn't my thing, more of wildlife exploring kind of guy..."

Paddling through wetlands areas with deafening spring peepers at that time of year might be interesting...maybe down the river from Access 2 to Rosebary. There's a west facing peninsula with a great campsite on the east Rosebary shore and the backbarrier ponds on the north shore should be full of peepers going full blast. Also to the east and north, Longbow, Floating Heart. The river should be wind-sheltered if that turns out to be a problem. From there, a loop should be possible to plan out on the map.

These are always great to hear in wetlands areas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3QicOAiBXk


Besides west-facing campsites, west-facing shorelines are great to paddle... these poplars will break bud and show the first signs of green sometime after ice-out, enjoy.





 

Last edited by frozentripper (2/01/2018 8:25 am)

I certainly like open campsites with a western exposure for the sunset, however in the early season these can be very uncomfortable if you are getting a cold wind blowing out of the northwest.  That's why you will quite often see fishing groups take bushed in sites that will provide good wind protection, especially from a northwest wind.