Re: wood collecting, I take a 15" Sven Saw on my trips. If I need to baton wood I use my knife for that (a Grohmann fixed blade, forget the specific model). I mentioned I don't often have a full-on campfire other than on the first night, but I use the saw every day cutting proper-sized lengths of wood for the twig stove, so the weight (312g) is justified. Yes, wood for a twig stove is narrow gauge enough that I can snap/break it, but not to consistent lengths. The saw lets me cut proper lengths consistently and quickly. 

I'm not a minimalist when it comes to gear but I'm definitely not packing much weight for cooking. My cooking/eating kit consists of:

MSR Titan Kettle: 118g
Bushbuddy Twig Stove: 158g
Titanium folding spork: 18g
GSI Personal Java Press (coffee mug and press combined): 306g
A collapsible bowl: 80g
Harder to define: the kettle's in a bag (soot control + holds water for washing up), and I take a foil windscreen. Probably ~300g combined.

So all told I'm around a kilo for my cooking stuff, which suddenly doesn't sound so light after all. The windscreen comes in handy but there are always other solutions - maybe I'll starting leaving it behind. 

A side effect of solo camping and (generally) long-ish travel days is that campfires for me are few and far between. I have a fire for sure on the first night to cook something fresh, but on many trips that's the only fire I ever have, unless I've got a rest day baked into my trip. 

All my cooking, which really just means boiling water, is done over a twig stove. It makes for boring meals but it's certainly efficient when it comes to pack weight!

I've been on all parts of your proposed route and I have to agree with Martin and trippy that you're pushing it. But then I don't know what you paddle, your experience level or your fitness level, so that doesn't make me right!

Your post suggests you're going solo (you're always using "me"). Assuming that's correct, a solo canoeist would need only one windy day to have no chance of keeping to that schedule. You've got no room for error and no chance to make up time if you fall behind. Even if you're experienced and fit, you're gambling on good weather throughout. To answer your specific questions:

1. Catfish is one of my favourite lakes in the park (but I have quite a few!). The Cauchon Lakes I'm not a huge fan of, as they have cottages on them (sparse, but they're there). 

2. Nadine to Remona is not an issue. 

Little Cauchon to Nadine is, as Martin suggested, a hell of a travel day. You can easily be paddling into the teeth of the wind all the way up the Cauchon Lakes (I've dealt with that 2 of the 3 times I've paddled that stretch). The series of portages from there to Erables aren't a particularly big deal, but still that's about 5 1/2 km of portaging just to Erables. Then you've got the all the portages from Erables to Nadine, which includes a nasty climb known as Heart Attack Hill. You're climbing 95 meters over the span of about 700 meters of trail. To say it's rough would be an understatement. Then after completing that soul-crushing portage you've still got 700 meters from Little Osler to Osler, and then 1830 meters into Nadine. 

Aaand.. now I noticed you said you're going to shorten things up. Good call. But at least I answered the 'hardest portage' question. For sure Martin's talking about Heart Attack Hill. 

Edit: Except Martin posted again while I was typing this, so my post is officially pointless. Damn you!
 

In case anyone's curious I found his original post on the old site, and the YouTube playlist (17 short videos) of his trip:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/352882/thread/1424163425/last-1424280452/Introductory+first+post+and+trip+videos.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHaS9dyhsqSiec_tQTAluaBsA6j6g2Ns3

@Tripper: Good stuff! I'd read your trip report that involved the day trip to Round Island, but the White Partridge trip was new to me. 

@Kurt no, everything from when I portage into LIttle Dickson until I leave Philip days later will be new territory for me. It's mostly river travel and I've been dodging rivers when possible on most of my trips. I have no problem whatsoever with portages, but tiny little 'ports can get frustrating after a while when it takes more time to get organized on each end than walking the portage takes. Fortunately this particular route isn't too bad about that - it's kind enough to have lots of long portages instead ;). A grand total of 35 1/2 kilometers of them, in fact.. yikes. 

I've read what trip reports I can find that involve White Partridge Creek (which isn't many) and found a youtube video of a guy paddling it so I have some idea what I'm in for. My favourite thing about his video was that every time he brushed an alder, multiple spiders dropped into his canoe. I'll probably be early enough in the season to not have that problem, but I'll have the spray skirt handy just in case. It can double as spider proofing. 

@tentsterforever: I've paddled Proulx many times but never really paid much attention to the campsites.That one looks gorgeous - if it's available I'll definitely head for it!

 

@ JB: I've been on all of those lakes, albeit on different trips - you'll no doubt have a great time. When you're climbing Heart Attack Hill, keep an eye out for my willpower. It's probably still curled up in the fetal position next to the trail, waiting for the pain to stop. ​It sounds like you've got some family history in the park - have you ever posted about it? 

I'm planning a 9-day early-Spring solo, and the route I've tentatively decided on will have me camping on 8 different lakes, none of which I've spent a night on before (and many of which I've never even been to). I've got a copy of Jeff's wall map with a pin in every lake I've ever camped on - 8 new pins from one trip will be a new record. In/Out through Opeongo with nights on Annie Bay, Round Island, Little Dickson, White Partridge, Francis, Radiant, Philip, and Proulx. I've paddled through Proulx and Opeongo many times but never camped on either, I've always been enroute somewhere less accessible. In early Spring it should be pretty peaceful.

MSR Guardian Purifier. It's a pump filter but it filters water super fast and easy, and is self cleaning. Love it. 

Them-A-Rest NeoAir Camper (Large): One of my splurges when it comes to gear weight (1 pound 14 oz / 850 g) but it's 3 inches thick inflated and is super comfortable. Worth it for a good night's sleep. 

Western Mountaineering Sycamore MF Sleeping Bag (-4 C): I can't sleep in a mummy bag - I need room to sprawl. So when I went looking for a top quality barrel bag, this was literally my only choice. It's lighter and more compressible than my other bags, and has been worth every penny. 

 

Okay, the more I stare at those 8 billion tiny little portages between Lavieille and Radiant the more I hate them, so I've mapped a new route. The best part of this loop is that while I've been through many of these areas, I've never camped on any of these lakes, so I'll get to add 8 new pins to my wall map!

Access Point 11 (Opeongo).

Night 1: Annie Bay 
Night 2: Round Island 
Night 3: Little Dickson 
Night 4: White Partridge 
Night 5: Francis 
Night 6: Radiant 
Night 7: Philip 
Night 8: Proulx 




It means I'm against the current on the Petawawa and Madawaska rivers, and I'm not sure that's the brightest idea, but other than that I think it's a bit more kayak friendly and lots of new territory for me to explore. 

Thoughts?