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Well here I am, a few short days after the new year and I'm already planning my first trip of 2017. Having exhausted almost every possible kayak-friendly and unfriendly route in the park, I'm now moving into "You're taking a kayak on that route? Are you an idiot?" territory. But I'll get to go places in the park I've never been before, and that's what matters.
The full route as tentatively planned is Opeongo - Big Crow (night 1) - Hogan - Philip (Night 2) - Radiant (Night 3 and 4) - Francis (Night 5) - Lavaque (Night 6) - Lavieille (Night 7) - Little Dickson (Night 8) - Opeongo and home. I plan on heading in two weeks or less after ice out. It's the stretch between Hogan - Radiant - Lavieille that's new territory for me. So to give me time to enjoy and explore, and because of the 23 portages along that section, I've got a pretty relaxed route plan. But I've never been on any of it, I'll be going in early Spring when water levels will be high and water temperatures dangerous, and I'll be alone, so I'm looking for any advice you want to throw my way.
As I'll be alone and in cold water I'm not looking to get adventurous with rapids. Is all swift water portagable, or should I be thinking about doing this trip later in the year? I'll be upstream once I hit the Crow River - will that be a problem? I've read I should expect rocky portages and lousy takeouts / put ins along much of the route. What else should I be thinking about?
Any and all advice is appreciated! 
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I did Hogan to Radiant in a day. Finished around 4:30. The portages are long but easy and down hill. The 110m on the Little Mad is a Class 2 that I would run.
On Radiant, the campsite on the north side 3rd from the left is one of my faves in the park.
In a canoe, most experience paddlers could run Squirrel Raps, Kildeer Raps, and all the swifts. Maybe Francis Raps if the water was right. Portaging Cascade/Whitehorse raps is easier on the rail bed than the portage.
The billion or so portages between the Forks and Lavielle will be a real pain in the butt with a Yak. Nothing for it other than to suck it up. Lining your kayak upstream in high water could be tough. Downstream I would run/line most of them.
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I've looked at similar routes and if I was to do it I think I would start at Wendigo Lake. Avoids the windy paddle/expensive shuttle on Opeongo and 5.5km portage, or doing it on Cedar Lake which still scares me.
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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?
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Looks crazy 
. Only you would skip a bunch of Itty bitty ports to add some monsters. I think you are doing it in the right direction. Going up Partridge Creek in the spring might suck. You can skip the last two ports on the Opeongo (nothing to hit in high water).
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Crazy works! Yep, I'll happily trade a bunch of tiny portages for a monster or two. If I'm going to go to the trouble of getting everything packed up for a portage it better be worth it!
Good to know that's probably the right direction for this loop - thanks.
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Looking at the map closer, I've noticed a logging road that meanders from Annie Bay to Round Island Lake:
We're allowed to portage logging roads, correct? I have to admit it's a bit tempting. A single portage (albeit one that's probably 10 km in length) along a gravel road versus 10 portages of dubious quality. I've read that the portage between Presto and Marshy, in particular, is quite sucktastic. Someone tell me I'm being dumb to consider this. After all, the journey is the point, and I don't think I'm going to bring home any fond memories or pictures of that logging road I walked on for three hours...
Okay, maybe I just told myself why it's dumb.
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you're going in the right direction on white partridge creek.....going up it in the spring isn't really an option with one paddler......ever done that section before?
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Wow. Thats a TRIP. Treat yourself to the best campsite on Proulx on night 8, if it is available . #8 on the PCI map. Its high on a sandy hill, easy gravelly beach to land on. Can see portage to Ope in the distance from the site.
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@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!
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@Uppa That guy on Youtube did it in May too. Only he started in Whitney! Now that's a crazy trip. Good thing you won't have the spider issue in your yak.
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I paddled down WPC in July 2014. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't a breeze either.
The alders are thick and the spiders are definitely defensive. But that's all part of the 'fun'.
I would equate this creek to the beginnings of the Nipissing R (with respect to width, flow, dams, jams and alder-choked sections). It took us slightly over 4 hours to get from White Partridge Lake to The Forks, and we had enough energy to continue on to Wagtail Raps.
And yes, we did stop a couple times to empty (by the handful) the boat of twigs, leaves, spiders & sticks! We actually had a good chuckle at the actual amount of crap in the canoe - numerous times!
And I'd do it all over again.
Great trip you have planned.
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@Uppa - I will do as you ask, "You are crazy to consider a 10km portage"
Think of all the fun things you might see on those lakes that you'd miss on the logging road! You'd miss out on paddling that section of Opeongo River and who could miss Chipmunk Lake! I bet you'll meet lots of furry friends there ready to welcome you. And there appears to be some cool historical remains to enjoy.
Granted, I've never paddled this area so I have no idea what it's like but I do know that I've never met a mean Chipmunk.
If you do decide to avoid the logging road, try to banish it from your mind. You wouldn't want to spend the whole day dreaming of a flat logging road.
Whatever you decide, I'm excited to read the trip report! It will be an adventure either way.
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@ Martin: okay then, spiders in May it is! From Whitney?? Do you know the route he took? That is indeed nuts.
@Peek: Great information, thanks. My day will be just about the same length as yours was, so it's good knowing I'm not over-stretching. There's really no place to stop sooner anyway.
@CanoeClaire: I don't think I was seriously considering it, but the combination of a lot of portages and at least one that's probably going to be flooded (Presto to Marshy) had me looking at my options. No doubt while I'm wading in icy cold water I'll regret the road not taken! But yes, if the whole point was to get where I was going as easily as possible well... the trip starts and ends at Opeongo, so by that logic I'd pull up to the access point, snap a picture or two, and head home. I'll stick with the paddle and portages, for better or worse!
On the topic of trip reporting, my SLR won't be coming on this particular route. Dropping those pounds means I can replace it with batteries - lots and lots of batteries - for my waterproof and point and shoot cameras. I haven't decided exactly how many, but I have at least a dozen for each. I intend to come home with a lot of photos and videos.
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Hey Bob, that guy posted once on the old site. Very brief, got overlooked by most folks, but it was friggin nuts (in a good way!). It was a 21 days solo. Started at Whitney, up through crown land to Booth, over to McKaskill, on to White Patridge, down the Creek to the Pet, up the Pet to Catfish, back down all the way through the Opeongo river. All I ever saw were those raw videos on Youtube. But wow what a trip!
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@Martin - I remember that post and I remember those videos - it was an epic trip. I wonder what happened to that guy?
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Hi Uppa. That's a good route and I've done it on several different trips. The portages from Booth to Round Island are pretty decent. I did them on a day trip from Booth a couple of springs ago. White Partridge Creek was a nice paddle and it had no major problems when I did it, just the odd section of alders which weren't a problem and two spots where there were rocks and logs in the river that I had to pull over. I did that in trip in early June and water levels weren't an issue. When I first planned the trip I thought the creek would take me the better part of half a day but I was at the Crow River in less than three hours. There is more detail in the trip reports on my blog, www.algonquinvoyageur.blogspot.ca
Have a good trip.
Last edited by Tripper (1/16/2017 7:39 pm)
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