I got away from the house today with Mon & Dad at 2
o’clock and arrived at Opeongo just before 3:30. I got my permit and paid for my water taxi
and then said goodbye to Mom & Dad.
I headed up Opeongo in the water taxi to a campsite on the East Arm by
the Wright Lake portage and arrived just after 4 o’clock. There are about four sites along this
shoreline that one can easily walk between.
I set about gathering firewood and within a short time I had
a good for tonight’s fire. Once the wood
was gathered I went about setting up camp.
Once that was done I sat down by the shore and had a snack and read for
a while. As the evening progressed I
decided to prepare dinner. I continued
to read down at the beach while I waited for my dinner to finish cooking. All of a sudden out of the corner of my left
eye I noticed a large, dark shape moving towards me. I looked up and there was a young cow moose
walking the shallows along the shoreline.
At this point she was about 30 feet from me. I didn’t want to spook her so I just sat
still and tried to get my camera out for a picture. She walked right past me, no more than ten
feet in front of me. Unfortunately by
the time I got the camera out she had passed by but I did get a picture as she
continued on down the lakeshore.
 |
| Moose Walking Opeongo Shoreline |
With the highlight of the day over I ate my dinner and then
enjoyed a coffee by the lake while I read some more. As the sun set I hung the food and then got a
good fire going just before 9 o’clock. I
enjoyed it for a bit and then turned in to read for a bit before calling it a
day.
 |
| Opeongo Campsite Near Wright Lake Portage |
Thursday, June 4 –
Day 2
Awake at 6 am after a terrible sleep. The day is clear and crisp with the moon
setting over the distant hills. I get a
pot of water on for breakfast and coffee.
While I wait for the water to boil I go about packing up camp a bit.
Soon the kettle is boiled and I sit down to some oatmeal and
a pop tart and a cup of coffee. I cleaned
up and then set about packing up camp.
I’m ready to go by 7:30 so I load up and head off across camp and down
the 260m portage to Wright Lake. A nice
paddle on Wright soon has me at the 285m portage to Bonfield Lake and from
there it’s just a short paddle to the 5305m portage to Dickson Lake.
I start the portage at 8:30am and plan to do 20 minute
carries with a five minute rest. The
portage is good and with my pace I’m at Dickson Lake by 10 o’clock. I realize along the way it has been 14 years
since I last did the Bonfield-Dickson portage.
 |
| Taking a break at the junction of the portage and cart trail. |
I head out on Dickson heading towards the portage to Little
Dickson. I throw a spoon in the water
and troll as I paddle the lake. After 20
minutes I hook into a nice Speckled Trout weighing 1lb. 3oz. I continue to fish all the way to the portage
but didn’t have any more luck. An hour
and a half paddle has me at the portage to Little Dickson. The portage is only 890m but I just don’t
like it for some reason. Fifteen minutes
puts me into Little Dickson and I fish while I paddle down the lake but don’t
have any luck.
 |
| Nice Spec on Dickson Lake. |
Sooner than I would like I’m at the portage to Sundassa
Lake. I have not been looking forward to
doing this portage since I planned the route last year. On last year’s solo trip I came through this
way and this portage was a complete disaster, blowdowns all over the place!
I started the dreaded trek at 12:45. Much to my surprise the trail had been
cleared! There wasn’t one downed tree
along it. With a couple of breaks I was
at Sundassa Lake an hour after I started.
With a nice breeze at my back to blow the bugs away I
enjoyed the short paddle across Sundassa to the portage to White Partridge
Lake. The landing at the portage is nice
with rocky outcrops and Red Pines. I sat
on the rocks and had lunch still marveling at the fact that the portage had
been cleared.
After a much needed break I loaded up for my final carry of
the day. The portage to White Partridge
is a good one and pretty much downhill except for the first bit at the
start. By 2:45 I was at the lake and
looking forward to paddling it and getting to my site. I headed to the southernmost site on the
eastern shore but didn’t choose it. It
was a nice site but didn’t have anywhere around the fire pit to sit. The next one up the lake was the same. The one after that had a couple of logs for
sitting around the fire and nice waterfront so I chose that one. I quickly got to setting up camp and getting
the food line hung. Once that was done I
changed and headed down to the lake for a swim.
The rocks sloped down into the water so I chose a spot that didn’t look
so steep. Unfortunately the slime on the
rocks was quite slippery and as soon as my foot touched it I quickly started to
slide and before I knew it I was in the lake.
I guess that’s one way to get into the water.
The lake was cool but refreshing after a hard day of
portages and bad bugs. Getting out of
the lake proved challenging but after a few attempts I finally made it back
onto dry land. After drying off and
changing I relaxed and read down on the rocks for a while.
 |
| White Partridge Lake Campsite. |
Eventually it was time for dinner. I cooked up some buffalo chicken wraps and a
coffee and ate down at the rocks. After
dinner I headed out in the canoe to fish for a bit and check out the three
large open sites where the cart trail terminates. They are quite open and would be good if you
had a large group and a lot of shelters but I didn’t find them appealing.
After checking out the sites I headed back out to fish but
didn’t have any luck. Back at the site I
read for a while down by the water’s edge.
A large cloud bank appeared over the western horizon which diminished
the sunset for the evening. The clouds
looked ominous and I hoped that wasn’t a sign of things to come.
With the sun gone I set about getting a fire going and
enjoyed it for the rest of the evening.
I then retired to the tent and read for a bit before calling it a day.
Friday, June 5 – Day
3
I was awakened about 3am by the sound of light rain on the
tent. It only lasted for a couple of
minutes and I hoped it was just a passing cloud. When I woke at 6am the sky was grey and the
winds calm. When I left two days ago the
forecast for today was a mix of sun and clouds.
So far that didn’t look like the case
.
I went about making breakfast and breaking camp. I was on the water just after 7am. The clouds to the south looked dark and
threatening and I hoped they weren’t coming my way.
In a few minutes I was at the 2200m portage to White
Partridge Creek. It was a good trail,
slightly downhill and following an old tote road for a good part of the
way. Thirty-five minutes after starting
the trail I was at the creek. I had no
idea what to expect and I dreaded running into alder choked sections of the
creek. The entire creek turned out to be
an enjoyable paddle. It was wide enough
and deep enough not to pose any problems to my paddle stroke. I encountered ten beaver dams of which only
two I had to get out to pull the canoe over.
There were four spots where trees had fallen across the creek but only
two of those I had to pull the canoe over.
The other good thing was that I was going with the current, which had a
good flow to it and would have made the paddle less enjoyable if I had been
going upstream. There were a few small
sections where the alders extended right out into the creek but they didn’t
pose any problems or slowdowns at all.
 |
| Start of White Partridge Lake to White Partridge Creek Portage. |
 |
| End of White Partridge Lake to White Partridge Creek Portage. |
I had started the creek at 8:10am and to my surprise I was
at the end by 10:55am. I never would
have thought it would have taken only 2 ¾ hours to do White Partridge
Creek! The creek was a pleasant surprise
but the wildlife was lacking, encountering only two Great Blue Herons and an
American Bittern.
 |
| Obstacle on White Partridge Creek. |
Paddling down White Partridge Creek.
At the start of the portage to Lavaque Lake I found a
Nalgene bottle. This was my second find of
the day, the first being a pair of fishing gloves on the portage out of White
Partridge. I loaded up and headed off
towards Lavaque. As I was going up
stream on the Crow River the majority of the trail was a steady uphill
climb. Just a little over 20 minutes and
at about 11:25am I was at Lavaque, my destination for the day according to my
itinerary. It had been raining quite
steadily since 9am and the grey sky gave no hint that it would be letting up
soon. Even before seeing the sites on
Lavaque I made the decision that, given the time and weather, I would push on
to Lavieille for the night thus giving me a day of rest tomorrow.
As I pushed by the sites on Lavaque I was glad I wasn’t
going to be staying there. The 575m
portage out of Lavaque was another uphill slog.
At least on my way back on Sunday they’d all be downhill. I was no sooner done that portage and there
was the next one, a short 45m. As it was
just around a swift I easily paddled up it.
Another short paddle had me at a 110m portage which I carried but on the
way back I could easily track. After
that followed a 250m and then a 65m portage into Malic Lake. I must have completely missed the upstream
sign for the 65m portage because I paddled up a couple of easy swifts and then
was in Malic and saw the portage sign for heading downstream.
Malic has three sites on it all of which are crap. A short paddle across the lake brought me to
another swift. It was too strong for me
to paddle up and too deep to track so I was resigned to do the 90 m carry. After that there were only two short portages
left, a 165m and a 185m. At 1:20pm I was
at Lake Lavieille.
Before heading out into the main body of the lake I headed
across the river and did the 290m portage into Woodcock Lake. I was then back in the canoe and on my way at
1:40pm.
Thankfully the lake was calm and the rain stopped around 2
o’clock. An hour after heading out I
landed on my site for the next two days.
I took the northern most site on the little island that is to the west
of Crow Island.
 |
| Drying out on Lavieille. |
 |
| Campsite on Lavieille. |
I was glad the rain had ceased as I was able to get camp set
up quickly in case it started up again, but it never did. Instead a wind out of the north-west picked
up which allowed me to dry out some equipment that had gotten wet, as well as
keep the bugs at bay. The glorious wind
continued for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Around 6 o’clock the sky started to break up
and by 8 o’clock there was more blue sky than clouds.
 |
| Clear skies after a soggy day. |
 |
| Fishing Lavieille. |
Saturday, June 6 –
Day 4
Holy crap was it ever cold last night! I went to bed with my long-sleeved shirt and
long pj bottoms because I figured it would be cool but it was downright
cold. In the middle of the night I had
to put on socks and my fleece jacket and that didn’t help much. It was a restless sleep to say the least but
I did manage to stay in bed until 9 o’clock.
Once up I threw on another long shirt, pants and rain jacket
to cut the cold north wind that continued to blow. Even standing in the morning sunshine on a
sheltered part of the site didn’t warm my bones.
I put water on for coffee and cooked up a couple of
breakfast burritos and enjoyed both in the sunshine down on the rocks. I then organized things for the day, hung the
food and set off for a little venture across the way to Farncomb Lake.
It was a nice paddle across the lake and I
fished as I went but with no luck. In
then than an hour I was at the 150m portage to Farncomb Lake. It was an easy portage and judging by my
steps it was only about 50m at best. The
landing on the Farncomb side was poor, strewn with rocks that didn’t provide
good footing. From the portage I had to
paddle a narrow creek through a marsh for about ten minutes before actually
getting to the lake. I paddled the
entirety of the lake, fishing while I went but with no luck. I then headed back down the stream and across
the portage to Lavieille. Before heading
out I collected a good amount of wood for my fire tonight.
 |
| Farncomb Lake Portage Landing. |
On the way back I stopped at the campsite across from me on
the little island. It was a really nice
site but like mine it was lacking in tent spaces. After a brief brake I was on my way, fishing
again as I went but again with no luck.
I arrived back at camp around 2pm and had a late lunch on
the rocks. After lunch I relaxed for a
while, read, wrote in the journal and pondered the next few days ahead. After today I’d be on the Petawawa River
until the end.
Just a little after 3pm the wind died down and the lake was
calm. This was odd as it was around the
same time yesterday that the lake went from calm to very windy. The day had also gotten very warm so I
changed into my shorts and t-shirt.
Despite the wind disappearing the bugs never made a return. There were a few blackflies here and there
but not swarming like they had been, and there were also no mosquitoes. About an hour later the wind picked up
slightly again but now it was coming from the southwest. I hoped this was a good omen for pleasant
weather for the next few days.
I continued to read for a bit and then grabbed the fishing
rod and started casting from shore.
After about fifteen minutes I hooked into a nice sized Lake Trout, I
estimated between 3-4 lbs. I played it
for a bit and then it spit the hook near shore.
It was going to be hard to land any decent size fish from shore as I
didn’t have a net and the sloping rock near shore made it precarious to get too
close to the water without the chance of doing a header into the lake while
bending down to grab a fish. Within the
next half hour I caught two small Speckled Trout about 12 inches each, both of
which I released.
It was now past 6 o’clock so I decided to get dinner ready
and have a coffee. I enjoyed the coffee
and read while dinner cooked. After
dinner I cleaned up camp and then headed out for a paddle and to fish a bit
more. I paddled over to the beach site
east of my site. It looked good from far
but it was far from good. I fished some
more while I paddled back but didn’t have any luck.
Back at camp I broke up the wood I had gathered earlier in
the day and collected some kindling. I
then went back down to shore and fished some more. I hooked into a nice 1 ½ lb. Speckled Trout
and this time did manage to get it to shore.
I fished a bit longer but with no more success. I watched the sunset and then went and lit
the fire. A slight wind had picked up
again out of the northeast. I hoped it
wasn’t going to be another cold night. I
enjoyed the fire for a while and then retired for the night.
 |
| Evening fire on Lavieille. |
 |
| Beautiful Last Evening on Lavieille. |
It was another cool one last night. Not as cold as the night before but still
uncomfortable for sleeping.
I was up around 7am.
There was already a good wind coming out of the south making a cool
morning even cooler. It was sunny but
the clouds to the south told me that wasn’t going to last for long. I just hoped I wasn’t in for another day of
rain.
After a quick breakfast and a coffee I packed up and was on
my way just after 8 o’clock. It was a
nice paddle across the lake as the island blocked the wind and then once I got
passed it I had a tailwind with me for the rest of the way. I fished while I went and about a half hour
after leaving the site I hooked into a nice 2 lb. 4oz. Lake Trout. A little less than an hour after leaving I
was back at the first portage on the Crow River, the way I had come two days
ago.
 |
| Lavieille Lake Trout. |
Bypassing 90m portage west of Malic Lake.
I took a quick break then paddled across the creek to the
2270m portage that would continue to take me down the Crown River. It was a good trail, pretty much all
downhill. I stopped for a break a couple
of times and to take some pictures of the rapids. I finished up the portage around
12:15pm. There is a campsite at the end
of the portage and when I went by it I thought I smelled smoke. Once I had dropped the gear I headed back to
check it out. Sure enough, whoever had
stayed there didn’t douse the fire when they left this morning and it was
smoking pretty good. I grabbed an empty
Nalgene bottle and made several trips until the fire was all out.
 |
| White Partridge Creek Looking at Portage to Lavaque from Crow River 2270m Portage. |
Crow River Along 2270m Portage.
The next stretch of the Crow River was a beautiful
paddle. The river was wide, had a good
current and the forest took on a more southern flare. A half hour later I was at a little swift
which was easily run and then soon after that a 510m portage. Another short paddle had me at the 175m
portage around Crow Falls. The falls
itself is beautiful but the campsite there is crap. I couldn’t even find a spot where you could
pitch a tent. I was supposed to stay
there today when I originally planned the trip but after the fact I heard the
site wasn’t any good so I changed my night from there to Wagtail Rapids.
 |
| Lower Crow River. |
Above Blueberry (Crow) Falls.
 |
| Below Blueberry (Crow) Falls. |
 |
| Wagtail Rapids Campsite. |
 |
| Wagtail Rapids Campsite. |
Around 6:30 I decided to get dinner going. The clouds to the south didn’t look promising
so while the water boiled I tidied up camp in case it started to rain. I also prepared some wood for the evening
fire if the weather should hold.
Once dinner was ready I took it and a coffee back out to my
rock and ate. Not too long after I had
finished I felt the first few drops of rain.
I gathered up my belongings and headed back to the fire pit. I brewed up another coffee, hung the food
pack and decided to get an early fire going in case the rain persisted. I enjoyed the coffee and the fire for a short
period of time but the rain had picked up a steady pace and I was forced into
the tent just after 7:30pm. I read for a
while, getting out once to check on the rain, no sure if the drops on the tent
were merely remnants of the rain falling off the trees or if it was still
raining. By 9pm the intensity of the
rain had increased. I read for a while
longer before turning in for the night.
I hoped that it would be a warmer sleep than it had been the past two nights
and that the rain would subside by morning.
Monday, June 8 – Day
6
The rain had ceased late last night and I awoke to a dull
day. I had a quick breakfast and was
packed up and on the water by 8:30am. I
was to camp at Crooked Chute Rapids today and I figured I’d be there by mid to
late afternoon.
A short, pleasant paddle soon had me at the portage around
the MacDonald Rapids. I noticed on the
map that the portage was on the left but I remembered it being on the right the
last time I was this way years ago. The
portage ended up being on the left of the river but years ago it was
traditionally on the right. After the
rail line was abandoned in 1996 they must have moved the portage to along the
old rail bed as an easier trail. While
portaging along the rail bed was easy, it was getting up and down the steep
embankments that was a chore.
 |
| Start of the MacDonald Rapids Portage. |
 |
| MacDonald Rapids, Petawawa River. |
 |
| Old Railway Bridge Below MacDonald Rapids. |
 |
| Old Railway Bridge Below MacDonald Rapids. |
 |
| Old Railway Bridge Below MacDonald Rapids. |
 |
| Bypass Falls, Petawawa River. |
A short paddle had me at the 275m portage which had much
better footing. A quick paddle across
the river and I was at the 500m portage around the Devil’s Cellar Rapids. Another short paddle and I was soon at the
1050m portage around The Temptations.
 |
| Devil's Cellar Rapids, Petawawa River |
Upon reaching the end I realized that I had lost one of my
water bottles in the fall. Being one up
from the one I found a couple of days ago I wasn’t about to go back for just a
water bottle. Some lucky tripper would
find it sooner than later.
As I paddled to the portage around the Poplar Rapids an
adult Bald Eagle flew overhead and perched in an old dead tree. It then flew on down the river towards
Travers as I reached the last portage on the river before the big lake.
The portage to Travers is a good one with a nice gentle
downhill slope. It would be better if it
ended right at the put in at the access point.
Instead, it terminates a little upstream and you have to navigate the last
fifty metres of rapids before hitting calm water. This isn’t a huge deal for experienced
paddlers but for novice ones even a small mistake could result in an unwanted
swim.
It was 11:30 when I reached Lake Traverse. The sky looked like it was trying to clear
but it also looked like it could rain at any moment. With a nice tailwind I paddled down the lake
to the island campsite where I stopped for lunch. I headed off again around 1 o’clock. I’ve never been a fan of the paddle down
Traverse and the long narrow section of river leading up to the Big Thompson
Rapids. It just seems to take forever.
 |
| Radio Dish on Lake Travers. |
After the Little Thompson Rapids portage I had a leisurely
paddle down a nice stretch of river. I
was soon at the small swift and ran it thus avoiding the 130m portage. After that I was at the Grillade Rapids which
is a nice easy run and I was able to avoid the 425m portage. Soon after that I was at the Crooked Chute
portage. I geared up and headed off down
the trail. The first part of the trail
is good and flat as it pretty much follows the river. After about 15 minutes I was at the campsite
at the last takeout before the chute.
This was my destination for the night.
It was 4pm and I felt like pushing on as far as I could. I took some picture and geared back up. A few minutes later I was at the end. A short paddle around the corner and I was at
the Crooked Chute Cabin. It was
unoccupied and unlocked so I got out and took some pictures. I thought about staying the night but I
didn’t know if there was anyone behind me and I still wanted to push on.
 |
| Crooked Chute Campsite and Last Take Out. |
 |
| Crooked Chute Cabin. |
 |
| Bottom of Rollway Rapids, Petawawa River. |
 |
| The Natch, Petawawa River. |
 |
| Campsite, Schooner Rapids, Petawawa River. |
Looking up Schooner Rapids.
Tuesday, June 9 – Day
7
I awoke to a nice sunny day.
I had breakfast and then broke camp.
Today I’m supposed to stay on Smith Lake for my last night but since it
will take me less than three hours to get there I will play it by ear depending
on what the sites are like and what the weather end up being like later.
I was on the water around 9am. I decided to run the last half of the
Schooner Rapids as I had done it several times before. It was a fun ride down but the waves at the
end under the bridge weren’t as big as I remembered them. After the bridge is a little calm section
where the hydro line passes through the Park.
From there is the lower half of the Schooner. This is another easy run right down to Coveo
Lake.
Running the Upper Schooner Rapids.
 |
| Waves at Bottom of Schooner Rapids. |
 |
| Paddling Down Coveo Lake. |
 |
| Wind Disturbance, Coveo Lake. |
Top Section of Five Mile Rapids, Petawawa River.
The paddle down Whitson was uneventful. I bypassed the 500m portage into Smith and
rode the swift into the lake. The two
sites at the top of the lake weren’t appealing so I pushed on to check out the
remaining three at the middle part of the lake.
None of those were too great either.
It was only 11am, was overcast and looked like it could rain. Sitting on a mediocre site for the rest of
the day didn’t seem overly appealing so I decided to push on to McManus and
call it a trip.
 |
| Coming into Whitson Lake. |
 |
| McManus Lake Access Point. |
EPIC trip! Thanks for posting. Really enjoyed reading it. Bless up!
ReplyDeleteEPIC trip! Thanks for posting. Really enjoyed reading it. Bless up!
ReplyDeleteNo brook trout fishing on the crow river or white partridge creek?
ReplyDeleteAmazing.
ReplyDelete