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Planning on heading out next Saturday and I hear water levels are low throughout the park. Wondering how these two sections are specifically, the Pet between Daisy and Little Misty, and then also from Misty to Grassy Bay. Will be travelling solo without much gear so boat won't be too low.
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You should be fine into Misty. I have heard the water level between Misty and Grassy bay is lower than normal I expect you will need to line your canoe a bit when your nearing the Taylor Chute section.
I'll be around the same area Sunday - Tuesday. If you see 4 guys and a few pups give us a wave.
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We just got back from #3 - Daisy - Misty - Big Trout via Pet both ways. 5 of us in a 18'6" Souris River Quetico. The exact opposite of a solo, that's for sure.
Levels are about 6" lower than usual this time of year. The Pet is totally passable. There is about 50m of a drag just before the 450 m portage between Daisy and Misty. There is a 200-300 m drag between the 160 and 80 m portages between Misty and Grassy Bay. The 155 m can still be bypassed (lining canoe for first 20 m). The entry to Misty on the west side is a bit of a 50-m slog.
On the other hand, the 130 m portage between Timberwolf and Misty is NOT passable. We met several groups who attempted it, it's a good 1.5-hour slog as the little pond has totally disappeared. If you're really keen on going via McIntosh-Timberwolf, then take the longer 765 m (845 m on Jeff's Map) portage.
Again, avoid the 130 m portage.
Cheers!
Marko
PS. We saw a group of 8 canoes at 6PM on Daisy, they were planning to camp on Misty that night. I tried to convince them to stay on Daisy, there were empty campsites. They chose to forge onwards. I wonder when they actually got to a free campsite. I wonder how that slog through the first part of Misty went. In the dark. Eeek.
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TripperMike wrote:
You should be fine into Misty. I have heard the water level between Misty and Grassy bay is lower than normal I expect you will need to line your canoe a bit when your nearing the Taylor Chute section.
I'll be around the same area Sunday - Tuesday. If you see 4 guys and a few pups give us a wave.
Thanks, and I'll keep my eyes open for you 
We just got back from #3 - Daisy - Misty - Big Trout via Pet both ways. 5 of us in a 18'6" Souris River Quetico. The exact opposite of a solo, that's for sure.
Levels are about 6" lower than usual this time of year. The Pet is totally passable. There is about 50m of a drag just before the 450 m portage between Daisy and Misty. There is a 200-300 m drag between the 160 and 80 m portages between Misty and Grassy Bay. The 155 m can still be bypassed (lining canoe for first 20 m). The entry to Misty on the west side is a bit of a 50-m slog.
On the other hand, the 130 m portage between Timberwolf and Misty is NOT passable. We met several groups who attempted it, it's a good 1.5-hour slog as the little pond has totally disappeared. If you're really keen on going via McIntosh-Timberwolf, then take the longer 765 m (845 m on Jeff's Map) portage.
Again, avoid the 130 m portage.
Cheers!
Marko
PS. We saw a group of 8 canoes at 6PM on Daisy, they were planning to camp on Misty that night. I tried to convince them to stay on Daisy, there were empty campsites. They chose to forge onwards. I wonder when they actually got to a free campsite. I wonder how that slog through the first part of Misty went. In the dark. Eeek.
Awesome info, thanks a lot.
So I won't take the 130m into Timberwolf, noted!
For the other sections, when you mention it's a bit of a drag, etc., do you mean that literally as in I'll need to get out of my boat, or travelling light in a solo it will just be shallow but I should be able to push through?
Also both you and TripperMike mentioned lining the boat... I always thought that was for whitewater/rapids, and here we're talking about the exact opposite, ie. low water levels. I've never needed to line my boat before since I've never attempted rapids. What exactly would lining the boat do for this scenario re the Pet?
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You'll be dragging the boat in these sections. Either by pulling it with a rope, or pulling it by the handle. Perhaps it's not what the purists would refer to as "lining", but it's definitely more common in my experience hahaha. It'll be great, dragging one's canoe is good for the soul.
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You'll be dragging the boat in these sections. Either by pulling it with a rope, or pulling it by the handle. Perhaps it's not what the purists would refer to as "lining", but it's definitely more common in my experience hahaha. It'll be great, dragging one's canoe is good for the soul.
Ah I see, I've always been a "pulling it by the handle" guy. Hopefully it's not too bad.
Based on what you saw, would you recommend skipping the Pet from Misty > Grassy Bay and cutting down through Timberwolf/McIntosh instead? I can always change my reservation to spend a night on Timberwolf/McIntosh, or just make the day a bit longer and still head all the way to White Trout.
I'll be passing that way regardless on my way back, so taking the Pet was just to do more of a loop than a there-and-back. Thoughts?
Thread StarterI'm no purist, but technically it's wading as long as you walk behind (not a chance in low water) or in front of your boat. 15-20' of a good (i.e. soft) rope attached to the bow handle will be helpful.
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I'll be passing that way regardless on my way back, so taking the Pet was just to do more of a loop than a there-and-back. Thoughts?
Taking the Pet is way better than Grassy Bay IMO. That's why we went there and back via the Pet. If you've never been to the area, it's a good idea to do the loop and see both.
When I talk about dragging, it means there's generally 2-3" of water on top of either sand (if lucky) or 12" muck (less lucky).
I'm no purist, but technically it's wading as long as you walk behind (not a chance in low water) or in front of your boat. 15-20' of a good (i.e. soft) rope attached to the bow handle will be helpful.
Agree, a nice 20' painter rope in front is a blessing in these cases.
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I'll be passing that way regardless on my way back, so taking the Pet was just to do more of a loop than a there-and-back. Thoughts?
Taking the Pet is way better than Grassy Bay IMO. That's why we went there and back via the Pet. If you've never been to the area, it's a good idea to do the loop and see both.
When I talk about dragging, it means there's generally 2-3" of water on top of either sand (if lucky) or 12" muck (less lucky).
I'm no purist, but technically it's wading as long as you walk behind (not a chance in low water) or in front of your boat. 15-20' of a good (i.e. soft) rope attached to the bow handle will be helpful.
Agree, a nice 20' painter rope in front is a blessing in these cases.
I've seen the eastern half of Grassy Bay going from White Trout into Sunbeam, just not the western half. But everywhere else on this route will be new territory for me. So maybe I'll have some fun and drag and do the loop as intended, going through the Pet on the way there and travelling the full Grassy Bay on the way into McIntosh.
For this type of dragging, how important is rope thickness? I have this 6mm rope, and this cheaper but thicker rope from Dollarama, which I was planning on leaving at home for this trip. I can always attempt with the 6mm and if it fails, just do my usual "pull by the handle" method
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Trippy, lining was definitely the wrong term but I prefer a rope in hand vs. being bent over dragging the bow of a canoe. I usually have a line off the bow to make longer portages more comfortable and am just used to it being there. That being said, any rope will make a long drag more comfortable in my opinion.
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For this type of dragging, how important is rope thickness? I have this 6mm rope, and this cheaper but thicker rope from Dollarama, which I was planning on leaving at home for this trip. I can always attempt with the 6mm and if it fails, just do my usual "pull by the handle" method
I generally have a painter rope tied to the front of the canoe. It's great for:
- lining
- "wading, or " real world lining" as I like to call it
- securing the canoe so it doesnt float away at a lunch spot, dock etc
- balancing the canoe on portages - I time it to the back, that way can control balance with one hand that's not always raised and holding the gunnel. Much more comfortable
I like 30' of 3 mm cord. That's pretty thin, I wrap it around a stick if I need to pull the canoe or for portage balance
The rope from your bailer kit would work well if you need it only occasionally for wading. I like Amsteel Blue in 7/64 thickness, use it for ridge line on the tarp as well.
Any rope will be fine.
M
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Thanks again to you both. I’ve never felt the need for using a rope while portaging but I’ll definitely keep one handy to see if it makes life easier if I bottom out and need to drag.
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... I have this 6mm rope, and this cheaper but thicker rope from Dollarama, which I was planning on leaving at home for this trip. I can always attempt with the 6mm and if it fails, just do my usual "pull by the handle" method
That 6 mm rope won't fail you because its crazy strong and it also has a nice feel in the hand. I use it to tie canoes to my car but I consider it too heavy, expensive, and overkill for any of my uses on a trip. The Dollarama rope should be good enough.
I use E. L. Wood Braiding 5/16 inch Floating Line (which is around 7mm) both for portaging (tied to the front thwart - beats the Hände Hoch position hands down) and for lining etc. Softness will become really important when you have to drag 100 pounds of canoe and gear over mud, rocks and what-not. Pulling it by some 2mm rope will definitely hurt after the first 500 meters or even before it.
Last edited by EddyTurn (8/27/2019 2:37 pm)
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