Not what you wanted to hear I'm afraid but I do think going upstream on the Nip would be worse than going upstream on the Tim.

To be fair I haven't gone upstream that section of the Nip, but I've gone downstream on it some years back, and both ways on that section of the Tim. I've said on this forum before why I don't like that section of the Nip -- it's so alder-choked that at times it doesn't look like a canoe route at all. When going downstream, the direction of current, however subtle, forces you to suspend your disbelief about being on route. If you were going upstream, although the current wouldn't impede you kinetically, it would be very difficult to know that you were going up the right stream and not up some equally (im)passable tributary. That, and the portage to Big Bob is invisible from the Nipissing, since it's tucked away up a little creek.

By contrast, the route along the Tim is fairly obvious in either direction.

Actually when I did the same loop you're planning, I wanted to do it counterclockwise just like you do, but campsite availability forced me to go clockwise. I still feel that booked up saturday night at Rosebary Lake saved me from an awful misadventure.

Now, this was some time ago, maybe 7 years. Conditions may have changed along the Nip, and I'm looking forward to hearing about what it's like now. If you do go upstream along the Nip, make sure you have some sort of GPS-enabled device, like a smart phone with Jeff's map on Avenza, to verify you're still on the Nip and to know when exactly to look for the Big Bob portage. I definitely didn't have something like that back then.

Thanks guys, that's exactly what I was looking for. I've travelled upstream on the Tim below Rosebary, and the alder sections are definitely challenging to paddle through when fighting the current AND the paddle-grabbing alders.  I understand the Nip in that section is worse.  
Booking now - Nip west of Grassy Lake on Monday, Loontail on Tuesday.

EddyTurn wrote:

Hi Shawn, 
Latour creek is passable, but lacks water. After P1300 it took me half an hour of hopping and dragging in the mud from where one can't walk any more to where one can really paddle. The Tim is fine and no much current, Loontail is easy, the Nip I didn't paddle this section.

Sounds fun!  I had to reschedule for next Monday due to illness - not me, the guy I'm going with (which is reminder for why I solo).  Hot, dry week - should be interesting to see how that affects levels!

My Self Reliance wrote:

Water levels were good.  I'll post some videos of this route over the next week or two.  Latour could get worse if we don't get any rain
 

Thanks for the update Shaun!  3 weeks today I'm doing that same route with some friends.  Hopefully some wet weather at least keeps the levels at bay.  I'm not counting on it but I can always hope right?

By the way awesome video as well.  I watched both yours and Joe's this morning.