Rent your canoes from Base Camp Algonquin in Kearney, right across the street from the permit office.  Chris and Robin are great people with great canoes.  Book early as they get busy. 

Be sure to prepare for bugs, both physically and mentally.
 

I agree it's an ambitious trip for a self described 'average paddler'.  But I think it really depends on your ability to travel light and what your trip expectations are. 

Do you guys typically single carry portages?
Are you comfortable with a 15-20km paddling day?
Do you pack dehydrated and/or light weight meals?

The upside of this time of year is that you will have good water levels on the Tim and the Pet.  I would recommend a bug shelter for camp, Eureka 'no bug zone' is a great and affordable option. 

I will ditto what trippythings said, totally. Also:
- day 4 camping on David lake or Mubwayaka - book really early as single campsites on these lakes are almost always occupied;
-4 or 5km portaging on day 5 could be tough even single-carry.

I've done the first week of june and hit peak blackfly and really bad mosquitoes (and no see ums and horse flies as well)  .. .they are relentless so fully agree with the cautions in the posts above.  But its also worth stating that the fishing and solitude is unsurpassed in early June.  We went from Opeongo through to lavielle/Dickson and back to Opeongo one trip and only saw 3 other groups (from a distance) and had great fishing all the way.  Major bonus is that we had our pick of sites on all the lakes we went on.   I'd do it again for sure .. .we just wear bug hats with sleeves that go to the wrist .. .spray our hats and clothes a few times a day with deep woods off and honestly just put up with it.  The odd time if there's a breeze you get a break, out on the lake you get a break and when the temperature drops down after dark you get a break.  Sometimes you get an unexpected break …   when waiting for the water taxi on Opeongo at the end of the Dickson portage we rested in the sun for a couple of hours and never saw a fly.  The portage was loaded with mosquitoes … Go figure.  

But if you are not really into fishing then the early june is just not worth it.  Fall would be better.  My 2 cents.    

trippythings wrote:

mikey5290 wrote:

...I think we are capable of the mileage, we usually single carry and are all in even better shape physically than last year. 
 

Have you done full travel days while fully loaded? In your first post you mentioned that you paddle in and then day trip... I interpreted that as paddling in to a lake like Rock Lake (no portaging), setting up camp, then day tripping. If that's the case then the single carrying has only been with day trip gear, not fully loaded? If so I would definitely recommend an easy trip to start, especially if you consider yourselves average paddlers and haven't done proper travel days with loading/unloading a full boat, portages with all your gear, etc.

But if by "paddle in" you meant the opposite of what I interpreted (multiple portages into a backcountry lake, set up camp, then day trip from there) then you'll have a more realistic indication of what you're capable of.

Dead_Weight (DW) wrote:

I've done the first week of june and hit peak blackfly and really bad mosquitoes (and no see ums and horse flies as well)  .. .they are relentless so fully agree with the cautions in the posts above.  But its also worth stating that the fishing and solitude is unsurpassed in early June.  We went from Opeongo through to lavielle/Dickson and back to Opeongo one trip and only saw 3 other groups (from a distance) and had great fishing all the way.  Major bonus is that we had our pick of sites on all the lakes we went on.   I'd do it again for sure .. .we just wear bug hats with sleeves that go to the wrist .. .spray our hats and clothes a few times a day with deep woods off and honestly just put up with it.  The odd time if there's a breeze you get a break, out on the lake you get a break and when the temperature drops down after dark you get a break.  Sometimes you get an unexpected break …   when waiting for the water taxi on Opeongo at the end of the Dickson portage we rested in the sun for a couple of hours and never saw a fly.  The portage was loaded with mosquitoes … Go figure.  

But if you are not really into fishing then the early june is just not worth it.  Fall would be better.  My 2 cents.    

The whole time I read your post I was thinking "why not just go in the fall?" then I got to the end lol. I don't fish so mid to late September is my favourite time in the park... still warm, colours starting to change, way less busy after Labour Day weekend when kids are back at school, and usually very few bugs.

I usually try to plan June only because its easiest with work schedules both mine and the boys. But I may leave this trip for the fall and see if we all get the time off.
 

Last edited by mikey5290 (1/06/2020 8:13 pm)

mikey5290 wrote:

We usually go in multiple portages fully loaded and then "trip" from there. Example was our trip from Smoke lake to Bonnechere lake. we spent 2 days adventuring there, then headed back the same route.

Not sure what everyone classes as "average" so I err on the side caution when describing our abilities.

Oh ok, more than I initially thought from your first post. Your intended route will be more ambitious and difficult than what you're used to, but not unrealistic. I say go for it. But I definitely think you should make it a fall trip Just keep your eye on the water levels through the season to make sure the Tim is still passable when you want to go. And build in at least a day or two of buffer in case of any delays along the way.

Hi Mike, sorry about late to the party here but..

3 buddies of mine and myself did your prospective days 1 through 3 this past July.
Lots of good information in this thread - I just want to add in a few points for your consideration.

- Don't camp on Shah. Campsites are 'meh' and after the monotony of the Tim River you'll want to camp and travel through some large lakes with wind (especially in June!). I'd suggest carrying on to Misty Lake for your second night. Misty is beautiful and will shorten up your next few days. Rosebary to Misty took us 6.5 ish hours with double portaging and lolly-gagging in the Tim River because of low water/beaver dams.
- On Misty go for PCI #17. One of my favourites in the Park!
- On your night 3, camp on Daisy Lake near the Ralph Bice portage and it will cut down on your travel time for day 4. (take that portage up to Ralph and David Lake instead of down through Hambone, etc.)

If you want little bit more information give me a PM. Enjoy! The bugs will be terrible on the Tim during June so, as many here have said, have a bug shelter or keep to camping on the lakes, cheers.