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3/12/2018 9:56 am  #1


Baden-Powell Lake

My daughter (in Guides) would like to visit Baden-Powell Lake this summer.  We are not able to make a trip until sometime in August.  I am concerned with water levels and accessibility at that time of year.  She is eleven and has been on one canoe trip before.  She is not big on portaging, so I would think that excessive bushwacking would not be good.  Any details or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

3/12/2018 1:39 pm  #2


Re: Baden-Powell Lake

Of course water levels will vary from year to year, but if I recall correctly for the last 5 years (or so) the Friends of Algonquin Advisory page usually states 'Vanishing Pond has Vanished!' around the end of July or early August - again that will vary from year to year but by August you may be in for a bit of a mud slog.

At the end of the day, your only options are to either come from the south and go up the creek, or come from the north through Vanishing Pond and the creek. Since you said a ton of portaging isn't in the cards, your only option is to come up from the south (Blue Jay Lake). From the put-in of P405 to the shores of Baden-Powell Lake, it's about 900 to 1000m. So even if it is a bit of a slog, it's not terrible long and could be a decent day trip adventure if you're camping on a nearby lake.

i think it would be worth a shot - even if you can't get there, you'll have a decent story about the time you tried!

 

3/18/2018 11:09 am  #3


Re: Baden-Powell Lake

Unless it's an unusually wet summer, you'll be walking, or maybe wading through the marsh to Baden Powell Lake. Even the creek between Vanishing Pond and Blue Jay often gets difficult or impossible to paddle in dry summers, and the tributary from Baden Powell is even smaller.

I once made it to Baden Powell, by accident. It was the first weekend of May, so very high water levels, and I was travelling north towards Vanishing Pond. Made a wrong turn and unwittingly headed up the creek towards Baden Powell. The creek got narrower and narrower until it was difficult to squeeze the canoe through, we were basically pushing ourselves along the banks. Finally we hit a big beaver dam and behind it was Baden Powell Lake. Realizing where we were and that we had to backtrack to the main Vanishing Pond creek, we didn't want to redo the narrow squeeze so we portaged along the marshy banks, ankle-deep in water. Granted this was 10 years ago and I don't know the current status of the beaver dam, or if that would change anything. It's also certainly possible that the whole marsh dries up in August and it becomes an easy, grassy portage.

 

Board footera

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