Possible canoe trip?

[samb]

In 2020, for my 60th birthday present to myself, I had a trip booked to paddle in Canada at Woodland Caribou Park for 10 days with a friend. Covid put an end to that. In 2021 travel restrictions still in place prevented the second attempt.
In 2022 my friend had a medical episode which means that for him, the trip was no longer a possibility.
Since then, family events - births and weddings - have got in the way but next year is at present mostly clear.

My criteria are that I want to be on a self guided trip, be part of a small group, be somewhere remote and wild, and a duration of up to two weeks. At present I have no one wanting to join me. Another thing that I want to do sometime is to attend the assembly.

Could I combine the two? Is there anybody - or do you know anyone - contemplating something similar that would be prepared to put up with a lone Brit for a couple of weeks in the wilds in the US or Canada on either end of the assembly? If that person is you, please message me as I'm sure we'll need to 'vet' each other before decisions are made. If you know of anyone else, please spread the word.

Thanks

Sam

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Woodland Caribou - this is very remote, and a very long way from NY where the Assembly is.
Good luck on your adventure.

Dan
ps - you might have better luck with Algonquin, it's much closer.

 

[samb]

Dan - Woodland Caribou was the original 2020 trip. I just want wild (ish) now so whatever fits the bill
Sam

 

[Worth Gretter]

Sam, if you are already in upstate NY for the Assembly, there are lots of good spots in NY!
I'm sure MCG will chime in, he has ofter posted about these waters.
And there is this Adk Paddling Guide.
Another resource for maps and info is the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

 

[Rob Stevens]

Sam;
There is plenty of paddling in Adirondack Park, where the Assembly is held (Paul Smith's College). Actually, PSC is located within the St. Regis Canoe Area; https://dec.ny.gov/places/saint-regis-canoe-area

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (https://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org/ )
passes near by Paul Smith's College where the WCHA Assembly is held. One year, a friend and I paddled from Saranac Lake to Lake Champlain in a few days. Water levels can be a little low below dams.

Overlapping the Assembly is a two week long event of the Adk Mountain Club which is mostly day trips from PSC; https://adk.org/adk-announces-42nd-annual-paddle-outing/

Rob

 

[MGC]

I was not going to chime in for the simple reason that I do not think an extended wilderness experience is still possible in the park. Even putting two weeks of paddling together there is a bit of a challenge. I can offer up many standard routes and the mentioned St. Regis ponds are one, but even if you string it all together it does not add up to more than 4 or so days of paddling. Most of the routes in the park are at most three or four days and unless you start connecting them, a few weeks is very hard to accomplish. I used to like putting the 9 and 7 carries routes together and torturing myself with 4 or 5 days of carrying nearly half of what I paddled, but those routes are pretty busy these days.
Paddling from Blue Mountain Lake to Tupper or to Saranac are favorites, except for the bit from Axton down (boring). Whatever you do, stay away from the Fulton Chain unless you love being thrashed by jet skis and wakeboarders.
Algonquin Park offers far more routes and a bit more of an experience. There are still places in Maine that are less accessible, but picnic tables and outhouses on sites, does that count? Stay on the Penobscot side of the Allagash and run up from Greenville to get some big water experience (Moosehead) and a first-rate wildlife tour, but again, it's far from proper wilderness. That late in the season, it's too late to run the St. John.
It all circles back to how wild the wild needs to be to measure up.

 

[samb]

Thanks for that MGC. It's what I thought, I'm ideally really looking for something far more remote and am making enquiries elsewhere as well as here.
It's bad enough when I see someone else when I'm in the "wilds" of Scotland paddling, I was looking forward to the likelihood of not seeing anyone for 10 days in WCCP, so as a last resort I'll have to lower my ideals, but will always try to avoid picnic benches when 'wild' camping.

Sam

 

[MGC]

As expected. Based on Woodland being the original goal, nothing we have down here is close. That's not to say it's bad, but the expectation to travel for days without seeing throngs of people, it's hard to pull that off. I recall that experience on the Allagash but that was 55 years ago. We saw one paddler from Chesunkcook on...a solo paddler, a total he man. Prior to the Allagash he had done something I have never done, paddled the Racquette River from it's beginning to the St. Lawrence. He did not realize (when he planned the route) that the Racquette, one of our nations most damned rivers, vanished into large iron tubes in various places with the riverbed reduced to literal drips of water. Power generation....
Now the Allagash is a highway filled with poly canoes that are loaded to the rails with ice chests and folding camp chairs. The "improved" access to the river system has changed much of it's character.
You could piece together some Penobscot and Kennebec for a bit less travelled route.
Whatever the case, Algonquian or your original destination sound like good destinations to me.
Or, something quite different...I never thought I would enjoy the St. Lawrence as much as I did. It's massive and there are massive ships and dams and locks and homes and camps along the way, but what a river. We still need to finish it, the section from Montreal on I think needs a sea kayak, but it's one we still talk about.

 

[Gil Cramer]

Samb,
Go for it. if that's your dream don't settle for less!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MGC]

Gil is right. If it's a dream, nothing less will do. I'm still wrapping my head around why I jumped from a plane, but it was on my list. Having done it I (immediately) recognized nothing else could have substituted for going for it.

 

[Gil Cramer]

Samb,
You might contact Cliff Jacobsen. He has led and been on wilderness trips for a long time. He can possibly steer you to someone who can help.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Agreed - depending on how far you are willing to travel and what level of outfitting you need, and partly what type of scenery you desire.
Closest to farthest - Algonquin, Quetico, Woodland. (note, I believe you can fly to Woodland (Red lake))
And of course the many rivers in Canada (of which I know nothng, I'm a lake paddler).

As expected. Based on Woodland being the original goal, nothing we have down here is close.

 

[safisher]

Quetico Provincial Park is certainly wild...and for those of us in Minnesota more accessible than Caribou Woodlands. On our last trip we spotted about one other party in the distance every other day.

 

[samb]

Agreed - depending on how far you are willing to travel and what level of outfitting you need, and partly what type of scenery you desire.
Closest to farthest - Algonquin, Quetico, Woodland. (note, I believe you can fly to Woodland (Red lake))
And of course the many rivers in Canada (of which I know nothng, I'm a lake paddler).

You can fly into Red Lake but in 2020 with two of us, it worked out cheaper to hire a car for two weeks and just just drive for 6 hours each way. We had arranged full outfitting and flights into Winnipeg, car hire to Red Lake then flying into the park to be dropped off. Covid has a lot to answer for! On the bright side I have the money from my 60th Birthday present to myself and now my 65th birthday present too!

I think my heart is set on Woodland and am making enquiries there. My problem is that I like to be as independent as possible so don't really want to join a guided tour, yet I'm not comfortable about being alone out in the proper wilderness (In the UK, the furthest you could get from a phone signal is probably less than half a day!) I suppose I'm looking for someone who doesn't know me but is prepared to take the risk of joining me

Sam

 

[Rob Stevens]

There are plenty of places left in Canada where you will see lots of wildlife, and few people. There is a lot of info & discussion forums at My Canadian Canoe Routes (Wilderness Canoe Association); https://www.myccr.com/

Many of the "Friends of" groups have Facebook pages; Algonquin, French River, Killarney, etc..
Some also have their dedicated websites. For instance; Friends of Temagami https://www.friendsoftemagami.org/canoe-route-maintenance
Ottertooth.com also has a treasure of resources on Temagami, though their website seems to be "unsafe" (unregistered?).

Many of the "wilderness" routes have been turned into "Parks", with the result, you are required to reserve in advance (6 months!) and pay a fee.

Backcountry Paddling in Ontario Parks

One (sometimes cheaper) alternative is Crown Lands;

Recreational activities on Crown land

What you need to know about camping and other recreational activities on Ontario’s Crown land (also known as public land). This excludes provincial parks and conservation reserves.

www.ontario.ca

Your Guide to Crown Land Camping In Ontario

Discover what crown land is, where you can camp and what to expect.

northernontario.travel

 

[fernieite]

I've never been to Woodland Caribou, but it sounds promising.

The only longish wilderness trip I ever did was a 3 week circuit in the Temagami (Ontario) area way back in 1979 or 80!
It was a 12-person trip. 6 Chestnut Prospector canoes. Two guides. We had to fly into the base camp from North Bay by bush plane. (I think the business was called Headwaters)
It was fantastic. Quite remote. We didnt see any other people for the entire trip. The ONLY signs of civilization we saw for those 3 weeks was the odd jet stream flying by...

Btw, Temagami is closer to the assembly than Woodland Caribou is...

Anyway, I hope you can organize a beautiful and enjoyable trip, Sam.

 

[robin]

I spent two weeks solo in Woodland Caribou in 2010 when I retired at the age of 62. I have been to Quetico, Temagami, Algonquin and LaVerendrye in Quebec, plus a few other places up there and WCPP was by far the best. I saw 3 people, some bears, moose and smaller wildlife, not one motor boat although I passed a fly in fishing lodge. The only place that came pretty close to WCPP was a solo 100 mile crown land trip up above Nakina, Ontario in 2015.
Unfortunately, I’m unable to do portage trips anymore otherwise I’d be interested in going back. It’s two hard days of driving from my home in Maine but still worth it. Good Luck

 

[samb]

I spent two weeks solo in Woodland Caribou in 2010 when I retired at the age of 62. I have been to Quetico, Temagami, Algonquin and LaVerendrye in Quebec, plus a few other places up there and WCPP was by far the best. I saw 3 people, some bears, moose and smaller wildlife, not one motor boat although I passed a fly in fishing lodge. The only place that came pretty close to WCPP was a solo 100 mile crown land trip up above Nakina, Ontario in 2015.
Unfortunately, I’m unable to do portage trips anymore otherwise I’d be interested in going back. It’s two hard days of driving from my home in Maine but still worth it. Good Luck

Thanks for this Robin. I'm now starting to look at solo trips but my wife is hesitant about me going far from civilization by myself!
Sam