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Hello all,
Seems every year this time I get a craving to commune with fellow Algonquin lovers and make an appearance on the forum for a few months. But since I no longer paddle a Trillium16, I thought I'd go back to my original Twitter handle.
Currently planning an early May trip, 9-10 days solo. Here's what I've got in mind, counterclockwise, with stops on Erables, Calm, 875M portage into the Nip near Highview Cabin, High Falls, Plumb, the Pet just above the 300m by the falls, Camp Five, Mink. The new sections for me on this are:
- from the 695 portage on Maple Creek through to Lawren Harris
- from Nod to the end of the 2865m toward the Nip
- from the 645m between Robinson and Junco to the far end of the 925m between North Cuckoo and the Pet
- from the 1685m into Fry from Cedar all the way around to Little Cauchon
Any comments, thoughts, warnings, etc? Don't worry--I've read multiple horror stories about Maple Creek up from the 695, and certainly Birchcliffe Creek has a reputation. But I'm wondering if anyone out there has explored the "unofficial route" from Calm to Behan, or completed the 2865m low maintenance portage from Gibson to the Nip. And of course, the crazy chain of portages linking Robinson with the Pet!
Thanks all!
Russ
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I took the route from kiosk through to the Skuce Lake portage 2 years ago in May. The high water made it easy to go up Maple Creek and there was only one or two lifts over beaver dams as I got near the Skuce portage. You may consider taking a portaging shortcut (2300 m) from the Skuce portage via 2 logging roads to North Raven Lake. I did that to avoid potential alders and to save time. However, if you are carrying over a week worth of food then a single portage might not be in the cards.
Sounds like a great route. I wish I could get that much time to do such a long trip.
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Thanks for the tip solos! Wow, it pays to connect on the forum for sure; I don't see any trace of that on the map and wouldn't have considered it was possible if you hadn't mentioned it. How did you discover this shortcut? Is it easy to find and connect between the two logging roads?
Yeah, getting my gear weight down to the point I can comfortably solo carry has become something of an obsession. I've made considerable cuts over the last couple of years in the areas of tent, cook kitchen, type of foods brought, and luxury items. This year I'm overhauling my sleep system further, which should get me down about another 3-4 pounds. I'm also training pretty intensively, which truthfully will be the real difference maker as the #1 item that needs weight shedding is me!
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Hi Paddlerunner. I found the route by obsessing with google maps satellite view. The inspiration came from reading a couple of horror stories about traveling on the upper portions of Maple Creek. I posted a trip report that has some additional detail on my experience:
Nowadays, I’m a BIG FAN of using the Ontario Government’s “Make a Topographical Map” site:
Here is a screenshot that shows the junction of the Maple Creek paddle route (green dots) with the Skuce Lake portage (more green dots), in the upper right of the below image. In the lower left you’ll see the portage connecting Tillie to North Raven. The next image is the same area but replacing the topo data with only imagery. I had to use a 1:9028 scale to fit both features into the same screenshot, but the website lets you zoom in to 1:1128 scale, where you’ll see better detail. Note that the portage does not show up in the imagery but the roads are clearly visible.
The roads are super easy to portage since they are flat. The first one (~1000 m) had short little pines that were easy to step over/through but they would have had 2 years to grow a little and collect more deadfall, unless they started actively using this road again. The other road (~1250 m) was more major and is likely somewhat active and clear.
The final image shows both the 1000 m road and its relation to the other two roads that are clearly visible on Jeff’s Map. FYI, I used a Keewaydin 16 for my trip and it’s a speedy little boat. I bet the 15 is just that much lighter and nimbler. Have fun planning your trip.
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Very cool! What Jeff's Map seems to be missing is the upper east-west road connecting to the Skuce Lake portage but I definitely see it in the sat image. That's amazing! I'll have a read through your trip report for sure and check out the topo site too. Thanks again for the info!
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I just wanted to point out that the above images are not taken from a satellite. They are taken from a plane. The government topo site mentioned above has a nice explanation of how Ontario is subdivided into several sections that are reimaged on a 5 year rotating schedule. They also mention who their customers are, such as municipalities monitoring for building without a permit. Fortunately, the government serves up this data for free to the general public for personal use, but I think we are not getting the best possible resolution.
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