1 & 2: Did the Tim River from Queer to Shippagew in Oct 2020. You are heavily overthinking the beaver dam situation - they were so insignificant, I don't even recall crossing any - but I'm sure they're there. Hell, even if there were 7 dams over a few dozen kms - is that really going to make you choose a different route? You're a canoe tripper!
 
3: Small swift, not rapids. You're good to paddle them in either direction without issue. While every situation is slightly different, when there is no rapid classification, you can safely assume it's a swift. That doesn't mean get reckless and go run it without looking - it just means a swift is not a rapid, and can usually be traversed in both directions. YMMV.

4. I camped at Little Trout Creek. Nice little site. Heard wolves. I did my 2nd night at the last lone campsite on the Tim River before continuing on to Shippagew. If you haven't been to Shippagew, go for it. Nice little lake. If you have, maybe save the effort and cut out early at Shah. Can't go wrong either way.


Overall though, don't worry about beaver dams, it's a non-issue (regardless of how many little brown dots you see on the map).

My report from the area:
T104: Tim River - Shippagew - Devine - Rosebary

Edit: Corrected September to October
 

Last edited by Peek (6/10/2022 7:08 am)

@Peek, don't worry I wasn't going to choose another route because of the dams Those huge dams like in the picture I linked are just a pain when I travel solo because I need to completely unload and reload my boat to get across. If I had to deal with a ton of those then I'd probably add a second night camping on the river. But based on what you've said, one night on Little Trout Creek then pushing through to Shippagew in one day seems realistic. Thanks for the extra info, will check out your trip report.

@Mike, thanks for the info. The dam picture I linked was from the Pet from that trip lol. I remember seeing on the Algonquin advisories that the Tim had basically dried up and people were reporting it was the worst they've ever seen... if you made it through the Tim in those water levels without too much complaint, then I'm sure it won't be too bad for me. Any reason you chose the portage through Longer instead of through Blue?

I just got back from canoeing the Tim River in Mid May.  I canoed the Tim from the Queer Lake Portage down to Shippagew.  I spent one night on the farm remnants site.  It was a great trip, water levels were high.  That stretch of the Tim I doubt is effected by lower water.  There were wasn’t really anything for beaver dams as I recall, there was one take out where a tree fell across the river wasn’t a big deal at all, I was travelling solo.

Fall of last year I paddled down the Tim from the Stag Lake portage.  No issues either,  Shippagew is a nice lake with two sites, so if you make a booking chances are you’ll be on the lake alone.  If you enjoy river travel then I recommend the trip.  I’ve got another trip booked down the Tim in early October.
As far as the "rapids" after the 275, they weren't rapids at all.  There is a large rock in the middle of the river, no fast water just current.  Very easy to paddle around, in low water the rock would probably be above water in my case it was a paint scraper.   Pm me if you have any further questions I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Last edited by captainchaos2000 (6/10/2022 12:17 pm)

Thank you everyone for the info

Thanks Lukatch, appreciate the info