I jumped in - twice - on Big George Lake last week. It was "holy crap I need to get out now" cold. 

 

To answer my own questions (now that I’m back):

The bushwhack - logging roads - bushwhack from big George to wabamimi is doable. The stretch of logging road immediately north of big George hasn’t been used in many years and is quickly being reclaimed (I dragged, not portaged, my kayak - overhead foliage made portaging impossible). It connects to a logging road that still is in use after a few hundred meters that takes you to wabamimi. I didn’t try bushwhacking out of wabamimi, I stuck to the official portages. They have blowdowns and occasionally it wasn’t obvious where the trail was but I got through then without too much trouble.

The portage from Menona to Wee George hates you and wants you to die.

Lastly: my bushwhacking took place in primarily deciduous forest in early spring before the leaves were out and I had great visibility to figure out the best path forward. It will likely be considerably more frustrating with full foliage.

Trip report to follow eventually!

Just came out from the north side of the park. Black flies are out in swarms but not yet biting (it wouldn’t surprise me if that changes in the next day or two). Mosquitoes virtually nonexistent still.

Animoosh?

Anyone been through this area lately - as in the last year or three? My Spring trip has me spending nights on:

North River Lake
North Depot
Menona
Big George
Wabamimi
Merganser

.. which involves quite a few low maintenance portages and even some bushwhacking and logging road travel the way I'm planning it (If AlgonquinLakes is lurking, he'll recognize it as the trip we almost did together years back before I had to back out). 

With the exception of a tiny little stretch between Clamshell and the start of the portage into Menona this is all new territory for me (which I'm excited about), so any info on the portages or any commentary on the lakes/campsites is appreciated. My intent is to bushwhack from Big George to the logging road north of it (looks to be ~150 meters) and then walk the logging road up to Wabamimi and bushwhack in (which is even closer). Then the next day I'll find the logging road again and follow it until it crosses the portage up to Merganser. Satellite imagery confirms the roads are there so I don't think this is going to be a problem, but if anyone knows anything relevant about this plan, I'm all ears!

Big Trout

Sorry, I thought it would be clear that the only way I'd ever be paddling a canoe is because there will be someone else in it with me! If I were solo then I'd be in my kayak, as God intended. 

@PaPaddler: yes, I could Google it (and have). But there are a million resources and a million instructional videos, and I have no way of telling the good from the bad because I know nothing. So I turned to those who do.

@RobW: See, I don't think the paddle strokes are at all similar between a canoe and a kayak - which may well mean my canoe paddle stroke is just that terrible. What I dislike about paddling a canoe is that a) it seems to be an incredible amount of work compared to a kayak and b) making the boat go where it want it to go. 

@MartinG: see above. You think there's any chance I'd be solo paddling a canoe?  Why would I put myself through that? Would a kayak paddle even work in a normal canoe? I mean a normal length kayak paddle, a 220 cm. I imagine it's at least 30-40 cm too short. 

@MooseWhizzer Dave: thanks, all of that is very helpful. As you say, it gets me thinking. 

@solos: interesting that you're also suggesting a kayak paddle. I just assumed Martin was being... Martin. Most of the trip will be open water, and the river we're going down won't be super windy. If I can actually use my kayak paddle I'll feel about a thousand times better about all of this. 

Great read and pictures Martin. You guys aren't messing around.