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TripperMike wrote:
If you don't want to hit it twice, why not go out through Philips/Madawaska/Radiant? As mentioned, you have probably carried on trails that are not much different, this one just has a nickname.
I'd rather do the 2.3km downhill on the way back vs. adding that many more km's to the trip looping through Radiant, including the 3.5km and needing to cross the length of Cedar on my last afternoon. I might consider the 2.9km from Luckless though if I really don't want to do Unicorn again
I portaged Unicorn Hill in 2018. Part of a ten day solo trip. Did the double carry and it wasn't a big deal. Sipping some Whiskey by the fire on Catfish at the end of the day was a nice reward.
Thanks, that's good to hear. Sounds similar to what I'll be planning, close to a ten day solo, and definitely whiskey by the fire 
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Luckless to Nipissing is fine, Nipissing to Luckless is worse than unicorn hill.
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Been across it twice from Hogan, booth times double carries. The first time it was 104 plus the humidex.
That being said it not a bad walk. Ya the fist bit leaving Hogan is a bit of a climb but hump your gear to the top and then enjoy what I found to be a rather nice walk in the woods.
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Luckless to Nipissing is fine, Nipissing to Luckless is worse than unicorn hill.
That's not possible, it doesn't even have a fancy name.
Been across it twice from Hogan, booth times double carries. The first time it was 104 plus the humidex.
That being said it not a bad walk. Ya the fist bit leaving Hogan is a bit of a climb but hump your gear to the top and then enjoy what I found to be a rather nice walk in the woods.
Which portage are you referring to? I'm talking about the 2.3km leading into Catfish
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Luckless to Nipissing is fine, Nipissing to Luckless is worse than unicorn hill.
What Peek said.
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Whenever I am speaking to someone about a trip in some park, and they mention a portage by name, I pause. Very rarely is a portage named because it was very caring and loving. No.... it's named because it has caused someone, somewhere, pain.
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Luckless to Nipissing is fine, Nipissing to Luckless is worse than unicorn hill.
That's not possible, it doesn't even have a fancy name.
Been across it twice from Hogan, booth times double carries. The first time it was 104 plus the humidex.
That being said it not a bad walk. Ya the fist bit leaving Hogan is a bit of a climb but hump your gear to the top and then enjoy what I found to be a rather nice walk in the woods.Which portage are you referring to? I'm talking about the 2.3km leading into Catfish
Oops wrong unicorn hill. I was thinking of Hogan to Big Crow.
That's what I get for just skimming a post.
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... did the hill on Monday, it's fine.
That’s great that you already got a trip in during this Pandemic. I’m hoping to go soon but I don’t want to wear full bug gear and I don’t want to subject the dog to endless mosquito bites. So, how were the bugs?
Unicorn Hill was tough when I did it a few years back. It was a crazy hot and muggy day which made it all the more challenging. It's a good sense of accomplishment once finished. As stated before, don't let one portage derail a trip.
Came back from doing the Devil's Staircase over the weekend. You could tell I was no where near being in mid-season form. 
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I was in the park around the Achray area and made the mistake of bringing my dog. I was fine with permethrin soaked clothes but my poor Portuguese water dog got eaten alive, especially her belly. Won't bring her again during blackfly season. They were bad in friday's heat but with the wind and colder temperatures they weren't too much of an issue on Saturday and Sunday,
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Unicorn Hill was tough when I did it a few years back. It was a crazy hot and muggy day which made it all the more challenging. It's a good sense of accomplishment once finished. As stated before, don't let one portage derail a trip.
Came back from doing the Devil's Staircase over the weekend. You could tell I was no where near being in mid-season form.
How would you compare Unicorn Hill to Devil's Staircase? I thought Devil's Staircase was 'tough', but it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. Of course it's also significantly shorter than Unicorn Hill
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trippy, I just checked my GPS track from Monday's trip up the hill to get the actual numbers for ya.
The 'hill' itself is 548m long and begins just after the sharp left turn (see trail on map) and ends at the 'height of portage' mark.
It rises 49m over 548m, which equates to about a 9% grade.
Honestly, it's not that bad. Much much worse portages and hills out there.
If the Devils staircase you're referring to is between Big Porc & Ragged, it rises 51m over 560m - so its pretty much identical, super close in fact. I've only ever walked down it, so can't give an 'up' opinion, but the math says its the same as unicorn hill.. maybe a fraction worse.
Last edited by Peek (6/08/2020 9:07 am)
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Thanks Peek, that's exactly the kind of info I was hoping for. Correct I'm referring to the one between Big Poc & Ragged... so sounds like Unicorn Hill is basically Devil's Staircase with an extra 900m tacked on to either end.
Thread StarterDevil's staircase is much shorter but goes pretty much straight up the whole 600 or so meters. Unicorn Hill is more of a slow gradual and constant climb if I remember correctly. I would personally take the shorter pain and have it over and done with. Legs were burning after the DS for sure.
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On the topic of steep, uphill portages - anyone walked the Golden Staircase from Kimball's into Rockaway? Located just outside the park border via Dividing lake/Hollow river area. I've got a friend with a cottage on Kawagama and we've long discussed a trip from the dock into the park.
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If you don't want to hit it twice, why not go out through Philips/Madawaska/Radiant? ...
It's a really nice route though I hated that 3.5 K portage before radiant. It wasn't particularly tough but I felt every time it approached the river was a giant tease.
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... did the hill on Monday, it's fine.
That’s great that you already got a trip in during this Pandemic. I’m hoping to go soon but I don’t want to wear full bug gear and I don’t want to subject the dog to endless mosquito bites. So, how were the bugs?
Hey Solos - sorry, just saw this now. The trip was awesome, it felt amazing to finally just chill at a campsite. Granted when we came out, the world was on fire, but that's another topic all together.
Regarding bugs, simply put: we got lucky - our first night went down to -5 and must've killed most of the bugs because the next 5 days were so sunny I had to ditch the shirt a few times. Bugs were easily managed with some DEET and even then only a bit was needed... however... our luck ran out while loading up the truck on Cedar to head home - they came out in full force and were buzzing around me like sawdust blown from a miter saw.
Hope you get out there soon man!
I'm headed back in on Friday and I expect them to be horrible.
Edit to add: Great pic of the doggo and yeah, June is probably the worst month for dogs to canoe trip in. They just can't swat like we can!
Last edited by Peek (6/13/2020 9:31 am)
