52 day canoe trip in the western sub arctic
General Information:
Maps required: 74 P/4, 74 P/3, 74 P/6, 74 P/11, 74 P/10, 74 P/10, 74 P/15, 75A/2, 75 A/1, 75 A/8, 75 A/9, 65 D/5, 65 D/12, 65 D/6, 65 D/11, 65 D/10, 65 D/9, 65 C/12, 65 C/13, 65 C/14, 65 F/3, 65 F/2, 65 F/7, 65 F/8, 65 G/5, 65 G/4, 65G/3, 65 G/2, 65 G/8, 65 G/1, 65 H/4, 65 H/3, 65 A/14, 65 A/15, 65 A/16, 65 A/10, 65 A/9, 55 D/12, 55 D/11, 55 D/10
Trip reports used: Camp Wanapitei 2017, Canoe trip #26 (Black Lake to Flett Lake) http://www.tpcs.gov.sk.ca/canoe26 , Kasba to Baker Lake trip report, http://www.myccr.com/canoeroutes/kazan-river-kasba-lake-baker-lake, Snowbird to Baker Lake http://www.myccr.com/canoeroutes/kazan-river-snowbird-lake-baker-lake (didnt use), Camp Wanapitei Kazan trip report from 1987
Emergency access points: Kasba Lake Lodge and an outpost on the Kazan River, Wilderness Dream Lodge on Ennadai Lake, Radio tower on Ennadai Lake. Apparently there is an abandoned air strip near Cullaton Lake (along the Kognak River). A float plane can land easily on any large lake and the Tha-Anne is essentially all flat barrens so a helicopter could land anywhere
.
Total paddling distance: 788km
Days on trip: 51 paddling days – June 30th-August 19th
Number Portages: 36
Total portaging distance: 25.2km
Pace of trip/ level of difficulty: Very difficult and pushed trip
Skill level of group: very skilled paddlers and portagers.
Water levels: High in July however the Kognak and Tha-anne rivers had low water levels (could be normal for mid-august though)
General weather: Average for the area and time of year. Warm in July but by august nights were going down to around zero.
Travel days:
General Recommendations about this Route:
We broke the trip into sections. I will describe each section in detail and give general recommendations about each.
1. Portaging Section – Black Lake to Wholdia Lake
This section took us 14 days (however one day was devoted to a medical evacuation). There are many portages especially the first 8 days including the Chipman portage that is 5km on day 2. All portages are mostly established and follow either snowmobile trails or old trails used by the Dene people. There are also some large lakes (Selwyn Lake, Flett Lake, and Wholdia Lake). The winds can be fierce on these lakes and can slow progress significantly.
2. Overland Section 1. – Wholdia Lake to Snowbird Lake
This section was one that Fraser and I created via Jenne Lake and to our knowledge no-body has attempted this route. It took us 3 days and we would recommend it be done again. In general it was a good overland. We had to drag canoes up and down creeks however we were able to paddle parts of the creeks. It was very buggy. Portages were difficult, not established and we bush crashed all campsites. As an alternative to this route, the Dene elder we spoke with said the traditional route to get from Wholdia to Snowbird involves a more northern route.
3. Overland section 2. - Snowbird Lake to Kasba Lake
Again this section took a new route (from the middle of Snowbird Lake via Latmier Lake to the northern part of Kasba Lake) that Fraser and I created and to our knowledge nobody has attempted this route. We would not recommend this route. We created this route to avoid paddling long distances on Snowbird and Kasba Lake (to attempt to avoid winds). We originally thought it would be faster than the more commonly used southern route. It was not faster due to creeks that were dried up and absolutely horrible portages (lots of swamp, alders, and bush crashes). We anticipated this section would take us 2.5 days and it took us 5 days to complete.
The route that most people take to get to Kasba Lake is from the southern end of Snowbird Lake to the southern end of the Kasba Lake (as seen in the ccr trip report listed above). We recommend anyone going from Snowbird to Kasba Lake take this route.
4. Kazan paddling section - Kasba Lake, Ennadai Lake, Kazan River
Kasba and Ennadai Lake are very large lakes and even with very minimal wind large swells develop. We found we needed spray skirts on the boats and we took routes that kept us close to shore at all times. The weather/wind can change in an instant and you do not want to be caught in the middle of a large lake when a storm passes through. Also, the islands on these lakes were grassy fields with minimal trees. You cross the tree line just past Caribou point on Ennadai Lake. The Kazan is an extremely beautiful river with very fast current, large waves and isn’t too technical. Spray skirts are needed. We completed Kasba Lake in 1 day, 1 day on the Kazan river to get to Ennadai Lake. Ennadai Lake took 4.5 days to paddled and we spent the equivalent of 1 day on the Kazan river before turning off for our next overland.
5. Overland section 3. – Kazan River to Kognak River
This overland section was amazing. It took us 3 days to complete. It is all above the tree line (although there are some groupings of trees that you can scour firewood from) so you can see the lake and portage if you go over the nearest ridge. The ground was flat to walk on (no muskeg). The wind can be very strong and we often had to resort to dragging the canoes instead of portaging them on our heads due to wind.
6. Kognak River and Tha-Anne River
The Kognak river starts at the southern end of Hicks Lake and starts off very shallow with lots of rocks to avoid. There is some current but it isn’t very fast. The Kognak river goes through many lakes which are very picturesque and there are rapids in the narrows between them. The Kognak curves above and below the tree line so we were sometimes able to find firewood. Once the Kognak joins with the Tha-Anne then it becomes a lot faster and wider. There is continuous current even in some of the Lakes. Thaolintoa Lake is very shallow and has lots of sandy sholes. The Tha-Anne is completely above the tree line and we did not find any firewood. You also enter polar bear country about 75km from the coast of Hudson’s bay. The weather in this area is very unpredictable and changes very fast as storms blow in off of Hudson’s bay. The barrens are also very windy and would be buggy in July. We had arranged to be picked up by a motor boat at the mouth of the Tha-Anne on Hudson’s Bay but we fell behind and were picked up by helicopter just before Hyde Lake. It looks as though there are significant rapids from Hyde Lake to Hudson’s Bay.
Abbreviations/ Language for Tech:
**Note** Before completing this route make sure to do some thorough research on canoeing in polar bear country! Polar bears are dangerous animals and you need to be prepared for them.
Trip Report
The participants arrived in Stoney Rapids via a Calm Air flight. We then had a meeting with a local Dene elder and 2 advocates for Dene rights and land claims. They shared knowledge of the land, maps, and Dene culture with us which was invaluable on our trip. We camped in the storage yard of Scott’s General Store that night before they shuttled us to our put-in on Black Lake.
Day 1 – June 30th
Campsite: 845 724 74P/6 - start of Chipman portage
HOW: 10am-7pm (9 hours)
Distance travelled: 22km
Weather: cloudy with headwinds – some waves on Black Lake
Synopsis: paddled down Black Lake – big lake so can get windy!
We put in on Black Lake at the Camp Grayling put in (this is further up Black Lake not in the community of Black Lake). We had some headwinds and waves to paddle through but not horrible conditions. The pace of the day was leisurely as our paddling muscles were still not fully developed. Had the traditional bagels and cream cheese for lunch and eventually made it to the entrance where the Chipman river enters the lake and found an old campsite behind a small island there. It was nice and open but we decided to camp 400m further into the bay as this is the actual start to Chipman portage. This site is more in the bush so it’s a bit buggy but saved us from portaging an extra 400m. Had stir fry for dinner and set up the bug tent as it was buggy! Super fun first day!
Note: the chapman portage does not start where it is shown on the 1:50 topographical maps. It is in the back of a bay just to the right of where the Chipman river enters black lake. Follows a winter snowmobile route so it’s easy to spot. There is also an old grave site marked by a white fence that the Dene elders told us not to disturb and pay respects to.
Day 2 – July 1st
Campsite: 856 730 74 P/6
HOW: 11-5:30 (6.5 hours) – all portaging
Distance travelled: 2km
Weather: cloudy and sun with some rain in the morning
Synopsis: portaging on the Chipman all day
First day of the Chipman! Organized gear and assigned portaging groups of 3 (the packs were so heavy you needed two people to lift a pack onto you). The gear was organized so that each person had 3 loads: 1. Heavy - food packs, 2. Semi heavy -Boats and food packs 3. Everything else. We portaged in “legs” where the leader would walk for 10min (500-800m distance wise) and the stop. All the gear would then be brought to that location. We quickly realized that out packs were too heavy for us go 10 min so the rest of the loads were 8min. We camped just after the first stream we encountered and used it as our water source. We took 3 “legs” of 3 loads each to reach this point. We found this was the maximum our bodies could complete. We highly recommend this campsite. The portage is all on old snowmobile trials with some dry and wet ground intermittently. Lots of Muskeg. Try to bring as much water as possible as there is no stream or water source (besides puddles) until you camp. A life straw or small bottles of bleach to purify individual Nalgene’s is also a good option!
Day 3 – July 2nd
Campsite: 862 755 – 74 P/6
HOW: 10:30-6
Distance travelled: 2km
Weather: sun -> rain -> sun -> rain… ect
Synopsis: Chipman portaging
We portaged all day along the Chipman again today completing 3.5 “legs” over the course of the day. Each leg was again 500-800m terrain dependent which was 8min of walking with a wannigan on (that corresponded to almost 20min with an expedition pack cause they are soooo heavy!). We crossed one deeper stream/pond and camped just after the 2nd stream. Had alu gobi for lunch and thai noodle soup for dinner – twas delicious. We also saw unripe cloud berries and filled up our nalgenes from puddles again. There are only two streams that you will pass. Again there was lots of muskeg for our tired legs to get stuck in (walk on the outsides of the trail!). There were also multiple small braids/ forks in the trail but they all lead to the same location.
Day 4 – July 3rd
Campsite: 865 773 – 74 P/6
HOW: 10:45-5
Distance travelled: 1.5km
Weather: HOT
Synopsis: finished Chipman and portaged again
Today we finished the last BRUTAL load of the chipman!!! There was a short paddle to the next 900m portage which we completed in 2 “legs” and camped at the end. There we had a nice swim and washed our sweaty and tired bodies. Lemon poppy seed loaf for lunch with Nutella and mac for dinner. Hard but great day!
Day 5 – July 4th
Campsite: 857 843 74 P/6
HOW: 10:30-7
Distance travelled: 7km
Weather: sunny and hot
Synopsis: lots of portages!
Tech: **See canoe trip #26 trip report or Jean and Asa’s 2017 trip report for more details on the lake names and portages:
This was a long and hard day of portaging for us with lots of tired bodies but we were super efficient and handled it like the champs we are! We had lots of snacks, lots of bugs lots of heat and the small lakes were beautiful.
Day 6 – July 5th
Campsite: 967 997 – at start of portage around rapids
HOW: 10-4 (6 hours)
Distance travelled: 20km
Weather: sunny, hot and tailwinds
Synopsis: Paddled Chipman Lake
Some upstream current where the lake narrows. Very relaxed. We portaged everything and camped at the start of the rapids. Jack caught the fish of trip (8lbs pike) and we ate it for dinner with Risotto. Fraser also caught a fish at the campsite but we let it go. The lake is great for fishing!
Day 7 – July 6th
Campsite: 012 068 - 74 P/10
HOW: 10-5 (7 hours)
Distance travelled: 12km
Weather: hot and sunny and tailwinds
Synopsis:
Tech:
Day 8 – July 7th
Campsite: 031 195 74 P/10 on Selwyn Lake just after last portage. Small site
HOW: 10-7 (9 hours)
Distance travelled: 12km
Weather: moderate side winds then gusty headwinds and had a lightning drill in the afternoon. Hot then cold temperatures
Synopsis: finished the “portaging section” of our trip
Tech:
It also got very windy and cold after the thunder storm passed.
Day 9 – July 8th
Campsite: rough campsite but good tent sites up the hill 144 510 74 P/15
HOW: 8:15-7:15 (11h)
Distance travelled: 31km
Weather: cold w/ head winds then cold rain with side winds then calm and warmish
Synopsis: Paddled up Selwyn Lake
First 2km took us 2 hours to complete we had extreme headwinds till we got to the east side of Selwyn. Then we were sheltered from the wind so had side winds most of the rest of the day. The channel got wavy with winds but the winds died down later in the day so we continued on. Camped 100m south of the NWT border in a bush crash (Saw Jean and Asa’s campsite but we saw no good tent sites – all rocky). Our campsite has nicer tent sites up the hill away from the water.
Day 10 – July 9th
Campsite: same as day 9
HOW: 0 hours
Distance travelled: 0km
Weather: sunny
Synopsis: Evac Day
We had an evacuation by float plane today due to medical reasons. We stayed at the campsite the rest of the day and slept (as many of us had been up all night), scrubbed, cleaned wannigans, and rigged a solo boat.
Day 11 – July 10th
Campsite: 716 328 – 75 A1 – nice campsite
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 26km
Weather: hot with tail winds
Synopsis: crossed in NWT and paddled Selwyn Lake
The solo boat worked well with a kayak paddle when it wasn’t windy but when winds came up we needed to tow the solo boat and use a regular paddle in order to steer well. Sang songs as we paddled down the very large lake.
Day 12 – July 11th
Campsite: 410 855 – 75 A/8 – bush crash at end of portage. We recommend finding a site on Flett Lake if time allows
HOW: 9:30-6:30 (9h)
Distance travelled: 14km paddle, 2.5km portage
Weather: super hot and no wind
Synopsis:
Paddled the last of Selwyn Lake through mostly sheltered islands till the last 3km where it opens up. The portage is super hard to find but once you find the trial it is obvious (still an old snowmobile route). It is to the left of the rocky hills in the back of a “bay”. Are two entrances, one is Muskeg and one is a trail. We recommend the trail entrance over the muskeg one for obvious reasons. The portage is flat and beautiful. We did two 8min legs of approx. 800m and then one final leg of 1.7km of only the gear we needed to camp as is no water source along this portage. Fill all water bottles before portaging. Is also a campsite about 150m into the portage.
Day 13 – July 12th
Campsite: 521 012 – 75 A/8 – superb site on an open area
HOW: 8:30-6:30 (10 hours)
Distance travelled: paddled 26km and last of portage
Weather: hot, sunny and headwinds
Synopsis: Paddled Flett Lake and finished portage
Finished portage in two short loads. The trees were semi thinning in some areas and we camped in one of those thinning areas.
Day 14 – July 13th
Campsite: 618 148 65 D/12
HOW: 9-6 (10 hours)
Distance travelled: 21km
Weather: cloudy with some headwinds
Synopsis: Flett to Wholdai lake
Went through the islands from Flett to Wholdai Lake (didn’t portage as Jean and Asa did). We got turned around in the islands (navigation is tough). We were slowed due to low group moral and winds today. We decided to camp to try a new time schedule – see below. Today was also Valentines day so we exchanged cute sayings about each other and ate spag for dinner. Sandwiches with meat, cheese and sprouts for lunch (yumm!) and had Emily’s group snack of red velvet protein balls (made with beet juice!).
**new time schedule: Inspired by Jean and Asa! We wanted to start getting up and camping earlier (up at 3am and off site by 6am and camp by 3pm) to take advantage of times when its less windy. To keep our minds sane we adjusted our watches 3h ahead so 3am (actual time) says 6am on our watches.
Day 15 – July 14th
Campsite: 7128 132 – 65 D/12
HOW: 10-5:30 (new time) 7.5 hours
Distance travelled: 12km
Weather: headwinds – rain
Synopsis: Started cross-over
Tech: 1. 701 148 – turned off Wholdia and started dragging up the creek. Dragged the whole creek.
Windiest day of trip so far even with our adjusted time schedule! Paddled the rest of Wholdia lake and came to our creek. We began dragging upstream in the worst bugs of trip so far. Clouds and clouds of musquito’s! It was rainy and cold. The creek was shallow and rocky at some points and deep at others. All very drag-able. We were cold and tired by the time we camped so we had left-overs for dinner.
Day 16 – July 15th
Campsite: 805 068 – 65 D/5 unnamed Lake
HOW: 10:30am-8:30pm
Distance travelled: 12km
Weather: sunny with headwinds
Synopsis: long day of dragging
Tech:
Day 17 – July 16th
Campsite: 977 157 65 D/11
HOW: 12pm-2am (with a 3hour “nap” at dinner time to rest for a night paddle)
Distance travelled: 21km
Weather: sunny
Synopsis: First night paddle! Yay?
Tech:
Day 18 – July 17th
Campsite: 025 175 – 65 D/11 – amazing grassy island on snowbird Lake
HOW: 3pm -6:30pm (3.5h)
Distance travelled: 6km
Weather: windy tailwinds, sunny and cloudy
Synopsis: Snowbird and the Flatwater dump
Tech:
Day 19 – July 18th
Campsite: 165 251 – 65 D/10
HOW: 11pm-5am
Distance travelled: 14.5km
Weather: light winds
Synopsis: Night paddle on snowbird
We decided to paddle at night as the weather had been windy during the day and we didn’t want to risk another dump. Also put spray skirts on for warmth and protection from the large swells that occur on these big lakes even when there is minimal wind. We island hopped to the other shore doing crossings between 500m and 1.5km. It gets to be a twilight dark between 11pm and 3am this time of year on Snowbird so we always had “some light” but used headlamps on boats as they could be hard to see at times. Gets too dark to safely be able to portage so we had to switch back to paddling in the day. Also, at this point we had changed our watches back to normal time. We kept our watches in normal time for the rest of the trip.
Day 20 – July 19th
Campsite: 269 248 – 65 D/10 – Latmier Lake bush crash
HOW: 5pm-10pm (5hours)
Distance travelled: 12km (including 1km down the wrong bay ops!)
Weather: sunny with some winds
Synopsis: onto another overland. Creek was good, bugs were bad!
Tech:
Day 21 – July 20th
Campsite: 301 235 – 66 D/10
HOW: 10:30-6:30 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 7km
Weather: sunny and low wind
Synopsis: environment here is great for paddling… not for portaging
Paddled down the rest of Latmier Lake. Made a portage (1km) through some alders, swamp, and muskeg. Completed this in 2 tough loads. Essentially a straight line in the shortest distance between the two lakes. The whole area is crappy for portaging so pick your own adventure. Had a camper fall with pack on their back (tripping over all the fallen down trees) so that slowed the portage down. Camped at the end of the portage. Fraser and I scouted the next portage while kids cooked an amazing Mac and cheese for dinner. The next creek marked on the map is super shallow and not draggable so we decided to portage around it tomorrow.
Day 22 – July 11th
Campsite: 326 244 – 66 D/10 - bush crash on creek
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 2km
Weather: sunny with some wind
Synopsis: Crappy Creek
Paddled across the small pond then portaged to the next unnamed lake. This portage was also about 1km but the terrain was the same as previous day (awful for portaging) so we did it in 2 loads again. Was a very exhausting portaging. The next creek started out being paddle-able but quickly got smaller and smaller until it became very narrow and shallow. Lots of fallen over trees, shallow rocks that needed to be moved and alders that needed to be cleared. We did this for a while and then did a 50m portage to a place where the creek got larger again. We camped here.
Note: as I sit here typing this trip report … would recommend just portaging all the way to the next “pond” anywhere on the right shore. Again, the ground is bad for portaging but would be faster than trying to drag/ portage/ find the creek.
Day 23 – July 22nd
Campsite: 237 332 - 65/D11
HOW: 11-7 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 1km ish
Weather: so much rain and a lightning drill in the afternoon
Synopsis: We are sick of Crappy Creek
Do not attempt to drag this creek… just portage! We spend the whole day dragging, doing lift overs on land and attempting to clear the creek until we eventually decided to portage. See the note on day 22… just portage around this whole section to the next bigger pond. Fraser and I scouted the next creek section and found it looked the same as the last creek so we scouted a portage on the right side avoiding the whole creek. Camped at the start of this portage.
Day 24 – July 23rd
Campsite: 356 198 65 D/10 - bush crash on larger “z shaped” lake
HOW: 10:30-8:30 (10 hours)
Distance travelled: 6km
Weather: rainy and cloudy
Synopsis: our mood = “we just want to get to Kasba and off this crossover!!”
Tech:
Day 25 – July 24th – Xmas!
Campsite: 373 194 – 65 D/9 – Kasba Lake after paddling about 1km
HOW: 12-6 (6 hours)
Distance travelled: 6km
Weather: sunny
Synopsis: Kasba Lake! It’s a Christmas Miracle!
It was Christmas today so we had a slow get away due to opening stockings and admiring the xmas tree. Fueled by candy, we dragged the rest of the shallow creeks between small ponds to Kasba Lake. Really good fishing on Kasba! We stopped early to put on spray skirts and cross the lake tomorrow.
Day 26 – July 25th
Campsite: 558 172 – 65 D/9 – gorgeous campsite on rock hill at start of Kazan!
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 21km
Weather: sunny with no winds!
Synopsis: Kasba Lake = gorgeous
Excellent fishing on Kasba! We took the sheltered route along the North shore via some small islands but always staying within 1km of shore. This is a huge Lake and very deep so the waves could and winds could be huge. We were lucky and it was dead calm so we did it easily in one day. We camped where the current from the Kazan river started. This is a good idea there is a very large rapid at the beginning of the Kazan River so you don’t want to run it late in the day.
Day 27 – July 26th
Campsite: 460 360 65 C/12 – very nice
HOW: 10-6:30 (8.5hours)
Distance travelled: 37km
Weather: sunny with some headwinds
Synopsis: KAZANNNNN
Tech:
Day 28 – July 27th
Campsite: 732 456 – 65 C/14
HOW: 9:30-6 (9 hours)
Distance travelled: 28km
Weather: hot and light tailwinds
Synopsis: Ennadai and Caribou Point!
We collected firewood from the last campsite to bring with us. We were still able to collect lots of wood but the trees were starting to noticeable disappear. We were lucky that we had no winds but we paddled along the south-eastern shore of the lake where there were lots of points and islands that could potentially provide wind protection. We crossed to the opposite shore in the islands around Caribou point where the lake narrows. Caribou point is along the caribou migration route so it is important not to camp directly on the point. You can stop to see the migration trails and it is really an amazing sight. Plus gorgeous view of the Lake. According to the Dene the caribou usually cross this passage around the 1st or 2nd week of august.
Day 29 – July 28th
Campsite: 885 618 – 65 C/14
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 19km
Weather: thunderstorms kept rolling through, headwinds in the afternoon
Synopsis: Ennadai pt 2
Thunderstorms in the morning and afternoon slowed our progress. We also camped early due to more thunderstorms. We paddled along the north western shore the whole day. The trees are becoming very sparse. The hills are all barren except for the occasional clumping of trees which you can still gather firewood on. Can pretty much camp anywhere.
Day 30 – July 29th
Campsite: 939 806 – 65 F/2 – parallel to town of Ennadai but hidden behind a large island.
HOW: 8 hours
Distance travelled: 22km
Weather: sunny with clouds, some wind in the am but less as the day went on
Synopsis: Up Ennadai and saw 1st caribou!
We didn’t see if the town of Ennadai marked on the map existed as it was hidden by a large island. But previous trip reports have said they stayed there and have had food drops there. It was a good paddling day but there are lots of open stretched that could get super windy. Saw our first caribou today in a narrowing with lots of islands. Everyone was very excited and on caribou watch the rest of the day.
Day 31 – July 30th
Campsite: 125 636 – 65 F/7 – across from large esker on Kazan River
HOW: 9:30-7:30 (9 hours)
Distance travelled: 40km
Weather: sunny and headwinds
Synopsis: Kazan is so gorgeous!
Finished paddling the rest of Ennadai Lake and before long we were back on the Kazan. Kazan has lots of current. Is a technical R1 at 935 945 – 65 F/7. It is still fast flowing and there are lots of swifts and current in the narrows. Today was Halloween so we dressed up in costumes at the campsite (and some people had theirs on all day!) and trick-or-treated between the tents. We camped across from a very large esker that you can see about 5km away as there are no trees really. Is still the occasional gathering of trees and if you really try can find firewood. Also, the landscape is hilly with these weird small “mounds” of gravel (lots of glacial features here!). At night we heard wolves and pups that must have had a den in the esker so maybe don’t camp on the esker.
Day 32 – July 31st
Campsite: 205 032 – on beach at start of Calhoun Lake
HOW: 9:30-7:30 (10h)
Distance travelled: 11km
Weather: sunny and super windy
Synopsis: finished Kazan and started the overland. Loving this overland
Tech:
Day 33 – August 1st
Campsite: 286 936 – 65 F/8 – far side of uterus shaped lake
HOW: 10:30-7:30
Distance travelled: 12.5km
Weather: headwinds and storms in afternoon
Synopsis:
Day 34 – August 2nd
Campsite: 357 947 – 65 F/8
HOW: 10-7 (9h)
Distance travelled: 10km
Weather: sunny and super windy again
Synopsis: Overland portaging
Tech:
Day 35 – August 3rd
Campsite: 419 958 – 65 F/8
HOW: 10:30-6:30 (8h)
Distance travelled: 6.5km
Weather: sunny and cool then cold and cloudy
Synopsis: Overland portaging all day
Tech:
Day 36 – August 4th
Campsite: 480 960 – 65 G/5
HOW: 9:30-6 (8.5h)
Distance travelled: 7km
Weather: artic wind, cloudy, tail winds on Hick’s Lake
Synopsis: Finishing overland and Hick’s Lake
Tech:
Day 37 – August 5th
Campsite: 640 769 – 65 G/4
HOW: 9:30-5:30 (8h)
Distance travelled: 21km
Weather: sunny, cold and tailwinds on Hick’s Lake
Synopsis: Starting the Kognak!
Tech:
Day 38 – August 6th
Campsite: 904 796 – 65 G/3
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 28km
Weather: overcast, no wind
Synopsis: Kognak River – more lakey
Elliot Lake is super rocky and islandy (hard to navigate) but once you reach Vera Lake there are trees and grassy hills again! All steep hills close to the water on Vera Lake until we camped. We made good time on the lakes today because we had no wind. Is some (but minimal) current in the narrows between lakes.
Day 39 – August 7th
Campsite: 105 733 – 65 G/2
HOW: 10-5 (7h)
Distance travelled: 19km
Weather: overcast, rainy, headwinds
Synopsis: Kognak River
Day 40 – August 8th
Campsite: 192 785 – 65 G/2
HOW: 10-6 (8h)
Distance travelled: 14km
Weather: overcast
Synopsis: Fun whitewater on the Kognak
Tech:
Day 41 – August 9th
Campsite: 305 953 – 65 G/8 – the elbow
HOW: 10-6 (8h)
Distance travelled: 19km
Weather: all over the place – cool, then hot, huge rain storm for 5min
Synopsis: The elbow! – super fun whitewater day
Tech:
Day 42 – August 10th
Campsite: 573 865 – 65 H/4
HOW: 10:30-7 (9.5h)
Distance travelled: 28km (woah!)
Weather: overcast and headwinds at the end of the day
Synopsis: Ducker Lake
Tech:
Day 43 – August 11th
Campsite: 65 H/4 574 866
HOW: 10-11
Distance travelled: 100m
Weather: extreme headwinds – intermittent sun and rain all day.
Synopsis:
Due to the extreme winds we couldn’t even paddle the boats off the campsite. We dragged 100m along the shore into the next bay and realized it was a massive waste of energy for very little gain. Stopped for the day and were wind-bound. We did a small hike up to the tallest ridge. Reorganized packs and napped! Also played lots of ukulele and had a sing along.
Day 44 – August 12th
Campsite: same as previous day
HOW: 0h
Distance travelled: 0km
Weather:
Synopsis: WINDBOUND again.
Checked lake at 7am and it was just as windy as before (wind didn’t die down at night either). We had an extended breakfast and it was still windy. We amalgamated packs and did a full food inventory and a new menu. We did a 3rd installment of an itinerary to try to make it to Hudson’s bay by day 52.
Day 45 – August 13th
Campsite: 850 759 – 65 H/3
HOW: 9:45 – 6:30 (8.25h)
Distance travelled: 30km
Weather: sunny and side winds
Synopsis: Fun rapids on the Kognak and water started moving faster!
Tech:
Day 46 – August 14th
Campsite: 095 615 – 65 A/18
HOW: 10-6 (8h)
Distance travelled: 30km
Weather: strong headwinds/ side winds and rain
Synopsis: Started the Tha-anne! Lots of current on the river now!
Tech:
Day 47 – August 15th
Campsite: 382 592 – 65 A/18
HOW: 9:30-6 (8.5 hours with a 1 hour lightning drill)
Distance travelled: 27km
Weather: hot, cold, rain, huge thunderstorm
Synopsis:
Tech:
Day 48 – August 16th
Campsite: 406 445 - lovely grassy field in the swifts
HOW: 10:30-5 (7.5hours)
Distance travelled: 16km
Weather: windy, sunny and cold (very cold day)
Synopsis:
The Lake we paddled today gets windy easily and is shallow in some places (no crazy abnormally shallow spots though). We took a route through the island narrows. Rapids at the end of the Lake are just swifts. We elected to camp before the next Lake as the wind was picking up and we saw a lovely spot.
Day 49 – August 17th
Campsite: 469 279 – start of river section
HOW: 10-4
Distance travelled: 23km
Weather: humid, sunny and almost no wind
Synopsis: We were lucky that there was no wind today on the lake. It has some islands to hide in on the left shore but there are some large crossing sections. Camped before the start of a major river section. Also, was extremely buggy at this campsite (typical barren blackflies probably due to lack of wind and high humidity)
Day 50 – August 18th
Campsite: 390 341 - 55 D/12
HOW: 10-5:30
Distance travelled: 18km
Weather: hot and humid, then a thunderstorm. Turned super cold and rainy immediately after
Synopsis: Lots of lining and a huge hail thunderstorm!
Tech:
Day 51 – August 19th – Last day on the river
Campsite: 604 156 55D/12
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Weather: cold, rainy then sunny and wind from the SW
Distance 28.5 km
Synopsis: Fun whitewater! Saw lots of caribou today. All rapids where super fun! We found a great side channel that bypassed the large section of rapids that are marked on the map. A adventurous crew may want to explore parts of the main channel, but we really enjoyed ours.
Tech:
1) R1 478 315 55D/12 Ran ducky RR big waves at the bottom
2) R1 540 240 Ran RL small ledge
3) R2 542 239 Center right big waves
4) R2 535 223 ledge with big hole ran tiny RR channel beached on shallow rocks at the bottum. Ran spaced out ducky
5) R2 continued to 554 217 ran ducky and eddy hopping lots of rocks and holes
6) R1 533216
7) All other marked rapids are swifts
Day 52 – August 20th – Helicopter pick up
We were not going to make our original destination (Hudson’s bay) in time to make our pre-booked flights from Arviat so we got picked up by helicopter today and were flown to Arviat along with all of our gear. This took 6 trips in a long range helicopter (3 trips with people and 3 with all of our gear). This took all day from 8:30am-8:30pm. We were able to see some of the river from the helicopter and it is fairly tame all the way to Hyde Lake. After Hyde Lake we really don’t know what the river will do. We anticipate a large ledge/falls to portage and some big rapids as the river drops significantly over a small amount of time. Also, we are now in polar bear country and we saw a bear from the helicopter. We advise travelling with a gun/ local hunter and bringing bear bangers ect. We travelled with a bear fence which we would have set up around out tents (not kitchen). We arrived in Arviat and were greeted by two people who were friends of our participant’s parents. They showed us around Arviat and were extremely generous and helpful. We had permission to camp in an open area close to the airport but is also a hotel in town.
**Note** Before completing this route make sure to do some thorough research on canoeing in polar bear country! Polar bears are dangerous animals and you need to be prepared for them.
Maps required: 74 P/4, 74 P/3, 74 P/6, 74 P/11, 74 P/10, 74 P/10, 74 P/15, 75A/2, 75 A/1, 75 A/8, 75 A/9, 65 D/5, 65 D/12, 65 D/6, 65 D/11, 65 D/10, 65 D/9, 65 C/12, 65 C/13, 65 C/14, 65 F/3, 65 F/2, 65 F/7, 65 F/8, 65 G/5, 65 G/4, 65G/3, 65 G/2, 65 G/8, 65 G/1, 65 H/4, 65 H/3, 65 A/14, 65 A/15, 65 A/16, 65 A/10, 65 A/9, 55 D/12, 55 D/11, 55 D/10
Trip reports used: Camp Wanapitei 2017, Canoe trip #26 (Black Lake to Flett Lake) http://www.tpcs.gov.sk.ca/canoe26 , Kasba to Baker Lake trip report, http://www.myccr.com/canoeroutes/kazan-river-kasba-lake-baker-lake, Snowbird to Baker Lake http://www.myccr.com/canoeroutes/kazan-river-snowbird-lake-baker-lake (didnt use), Camp Wanapitei Kazan trip report from 1987
Emergency access points: Kasba Lake Lodge and an outpost on the Kazan River, Wilderness Dream Lodge on Ennadai Lake, Radio tower on Ennadai Lake. Apparently there is an abandoned air strip near Cullaton Lake (along the Kognak River). A float plane can land easily on any large lake and the Tha-Anne is essentially all flat barrens so a helicopter could land anywhere
.
Total paddling distance: 788km
Days on trip: 51 paddling days – June 30th-August 19th
Number Portages: 36
Total portaging distance: 25.2km
Pace of trip/ level of difficulty: Very difficult and pushed trip
Skill level of group: very skilled paddlers and portagers.
Water levels: High in July however the Kognak and Tha-anne rivers had low water levels (could be normal for mid-august though)
General weather: Average for the area and time of year. Warm in July but by august nights were going down to around zero.
Travel days:
- 1 helicopter day – August 20th
- 1.5 days in Arviat – August 21st- August 22nd
- 2 travel days (Arviat to Temagami)– August 22nd- August 23rd
- 1.5 days on Lake Temagami – August 24th – August 25th
- 1 day at Camp Wanapitei - August 25th & August 26th
General Recommendations about this Route:
We broke the trip into sections. I will describe each section in detail and give general recommendations about each.
1. Portaging Section – Black Lake to Wholdia Lake
This section took us 14 days (however one day was devoted to a medical evacuation). There are many portages especially the first 8 days including the Chipman portage that is 5km on day 2. All portages are mostly established and follow either snowmobile trails or old trails used by the Dene people. There are also some large lakes (Selwyn Lake, Flett Lake, and Wholdia Lake). The winds can be fierce on these lakes and can slow progress significantly.
2. Overland Section 1. – Wholdia Lake to Snowbird Lake
This section was one that Fraser and I created via Jenne Lake and to our knowledge no-body has attempted this route. It took us 3 days and we would recommend it be done again. In general it was a good overland. We had to drag canoes up and down creeks however we were able to paddle parts of the creeks. It was very buggy. Portages were difficult, not established and we bush crashed all campsites. As an alternative to this route, the Dene elder we spoke with said the traditional route to get from Wholdia to Snowbird involves a more northern route.
3. Overland section 2. - Snowbird Lake to Kasba Lake
Again this section took a new route (from the middle of Snowbird Lake via Latmier Lake to the northern part of Kasba Lake) that Fraser and I created and to our knowledge nobody has attempted this route. We would not recommend this route. We created this route to avoid paddling long distances on Snowbird and Kasba Lake (to attempt to avoid winds). We originally thought it would be faster than the more commonly used southern route. It was not faster due to creeks that were dried up and absolutely horrible portages (lots of swamp, alders, and bush crashes). We anticipated this section would take us 2.5 days and it took us 5 days to complete.
The route that most people take to get to Kasba Lake is from the southern end of Snowbird Lake to the southern end of the Kasba Lake (as seen in the ccr trip report listed above). We recommend anyone going from Snowbird to Kasba Lake take this route.
4. Kazan paddling section - Kasba Lake, Ennadai Lake, Kazan River
Kasba and Ennadai Lake are very large lakes and even with very minimal wind large swells develop. We found we needed spray skirts on the boats and we took routes that kept us close to shore at all times. The weather/wind can change in an instant and you do not want to be caught in the middle of a large lake when a storm passes through. Also, the islands on these lakes were grassy fields with minimal trees. You cross the tree line just past Caribou point on Ennadai Lake. The Kazan is an extremely beautiful river with very fast current, large waves and isn’t too technical. Spray skirts are needed. We completed Kasba Lake in 1 day, 1 day on the Kazan river to get to Ennadai Lake. Ennadai Lake took 4.5 days to paddled and we spent the equivalent of 1 day on the Kazan river before turning off for our next overland.
5. Overland section 3. – Kazan River to Kognak River
This overland section was amazing. It took us 3 days to complete. It is all above the tree line (although there are some groupings of trees that you can scour firewood from) so you can see the lake and portage if you go over the nearest ridge. The ground was flat to walk on (no muskeg). The wind can be very strong and we often had to resort to dragging the canoes instead of portaging them on our heads due to wind.
6. Kognak River and Tha-Anne River
The Kognak river starts at the southern end of Hicks Lake and starts off very shallow with lots of rocks to avoid. There is some current but it isn’t very fast. The Kognak river goes through many lakes which are very picturesque and there are rapids in the narrows between them. The Kognak curves above and below the tree line so we were sometimes able to find firewood. Once the Kognak joins with the Tha-Anne then it becomes a lot faster and wider. There is continuous current even in some of the Lakes. Thaolintoa Lake is very shallow and has lots of sandy sholes. The Tha-Anne is completely above the tree line and we did not find any firewood. You also enter polar bear country about 75km from the coast of Hudson’s bay. The weather in this area is very unpredictable and changes very fast as storms blow in off of Hudson’s bay. The barrens are also very windy and would be buggy in July. We had arranged to be picked up by a motor boat at the mouth of the Tha-Anne on Hudson’s Bay but we fell behind and were picked up by helicopter just before Hyde Lake. It looks as though there are significant rapids from Hyde Lake to Hudson’s Bay.
Abbreviations/ Language for Tech:
- DS – ducky style
- RR – river right
- RL – river left
- RC – river center
- 1BY1 – one by one
- Poop shoot: a small side channel usually very narrow and straight. Helpful way to avoid going down massive rapids.
**Note** Before completing this route make sure to do some thorough research on canoeing in polar bear country! Polar bears are dangerous animals and you need to be prepared for them.
Trip Report
The participants arrived in Stoney Rapids via a Calm Air flight. We then had a meeting with a local Dene elder and 2 advocates for Dene rights and land claims. They shared knowledge of the land, maps, and Dene culture with us which was invaluable on our trip. We camped in the storage yard of Scott’s General Store that night before they shuttled us to our put-in on Black Lake.
Day 1 – June 30th
Campsite: 845 724 74P/6 - start of Chipman portage
HOW: 10am-7pm (9 hours)
Distance travelled: 22km
Weather: cloudy with headwinds – some waves on Black Lake
Synopsis: paddled down Black Lake – big lake so can get windy!
We put in on Black Lake at the Camp Grayling put in (this is further up Black Lake not in the community of Black Lake). We had some headwinds and waves to paddle through but not horrible conditions. The pace of the day was leisurely as our paddling muscles were still not fully developed. Had the traditional bagels and cream cheese for lunch and eventually made it to the entrance where the Chipman river enters the lake and found an old campsite behind a small island there. It was nice and open but we decided to camp 400m further into the bay as this is the actual start to Chipman portage. This site is more in the bush so it’s a bit buggy but saved us from portaging an extra 400m. Had stir fry for dinner and set up the bug tent as it was buggy! Super fun first day!
Note: the chapman portage does not start where it is shown on the 1:50 topographical maps. It is in the back of a bay just to the right of where the Chipman river enters black lake. Follows a winter snowmobile route so it’s easy to spot. There is also an old grave site marked by a white fence that the Dene elders told us not to disturb and pay respects to.
Day 2 – July 1st
Campsite: 856 730 74 P/6
HOW: 11-5:30 (6.5 hours) – all portaging
Distance travelled: 2km
Weather: cloudy and sun with some rain in the morning
Synopsis: portaging on the Chipman all day
First day of the Chipman! Organized gear and assigned portaging groups of 3 (the packs were so heavy you needed two people to lift a pack onto you). The gear was organized so that each person had 3 loads: 1. Heavy - food packs, 2. Semi heavy -Boats and food packs 3. Everything else. We portaged in “legs” where the leader would walk for 10min (500-800m distance wise) and the stop. All the gear would then be brought to that location. We quickly realized that out packs were too heavy for us go 10 min so the rest of the loads were 8min. We camped just after the first stream we encountered and used it as our water source. We took 3 “legs” of 3 loads each to reach this point. We found this was the maximum our bodies could complete. We highly recommend this campsite. The portage is all on old snowmobile trials with some dry and wet ground intermittently. Lots of Muskeg. Try to bring as much water as possible as there is no stream or water source (besides puddles) until you camp. A life straw or small bottles of bleach to purify individual Nalgene’s is also a good option!
Day 3 – July 2nd
Campsite: 862 755 – 74 P/6
HOW: 10:30-6
Distance travelled: 2km
Weather: sun -> rain -> sun -> rain… ect
Synopsis: Chipman portaging
We portaged all day along the Chipman again today completing 3.5 “legs” over the course of the day. Each leg was again 500-800m terrain dependent which was 8min of walking with a wannigan on (that corresponded to almost 20min with an expedition pack cause they are soooo heavy!). We crossed one deeper stream/pond and camped just after the 2nd stream. Had alu gobi for lunch and thai noodle soup for dinner – twas delicious. We also saw unripe cloud berries and filled up our nalgenes from puddles again. There are only two streams that you will pass. Again there was lots of muskeg for our tired legs to get stuck in (walk on the outsides of the trail!). There were also multiple small braids/ forks in the trail but they all lead to the same location.
Day 4 – July 3rd
Campsite: 865 773 – 74 P/6
HOW: 10:45-5
Distance travelled: 1.5km
Weather: HOT
Synopsis: finished Chipman and portaged again
Today we finished the last BRUTAL load of the chipman!!! There was a short paddle to the next 900m portage which we completed in 2 “legs” and camped at the end. There we had a nice swim and washed our sweaty and tired bodies. Lemon poppy seed loaf for lunch with Nutella and mac for dinner. Hard but great day!
Day 5 – July 4th
Campsite: 857 843 74 P/6
HOW: 10:30-7
Distance travelled: 7km
Weather: sunny and hot
Synopsis: lots of portages!
Tech: **See canoe trip #26 trip report or Jean and Asa’s 2017 trip report for more details on the lake names and portages:
- Portage from lake B to Lake C (square Lake) – 60m easy
- Portage from lake C to Lake D – 500m easy
- Portage from lake D to Lake E – 100m. Ankle twisting! The start was marked by an orange jerry can in the trees. If this wasn’t there the portage is a bit hard to find.
- Portage from Lake E to Lake F – 500m easy. ***Jean and Asa mention a hard 800m portage that bypasses lake E but we didn’t see it.
- Portage Lake F to Chipman Lake – 600m moderate. Super buggy.
This was a long and hard day of portaging for us with lots of tired bodies but we were super efficient and handled it like the champs we are! We had lots of snacks, lots of bugs lots of heat and the small lakes were beautiful.
Day 6 – July 5th
Campsite: 967 997 – at start of portage around rapids
HOW: 10-4 (6 hours)
Distance travelled: 20km
Weather: sunny, hot and tailwinds
Synopsis: Paddled Chipman Lake
Some upstream current where the lake narrows. Very relaxed. We portaged everything and camped at the start of the rapids. Jack caught the fish of trip (8lbs pike) and we ate it for dinner with Risotto. Fraser also caught a fish at the campsite but we let it go. The lake is great for fishing!
Day 7 – July 6th
Campsite: 012 068 - 74 P/10
HOW: 10-5 (7 hours)
Distance travelled: 12km
Weather: hot and sunny and tailwinds
Synopsis:
Tech:
- Finished portage at campsite
- 990m – portage at 973 005. The start is further from the rapids than you would think. Trail has lots of fallen down trees and the end is awful. Took us a while to complete in 2 “legs”
- 300m portage around rapids – lots of fallen down trees. Start is hard to find. Eventually found it on RL shore after paddling up the current at the bottom of the set.
Day 8 – July 7th
Campsite: 031 195 74 P/10 on Selwyn Lake just after last portage. Small site
HOW: 10-7 (9 hours)
Distance travelled: 12km
Weather: moderate side winds then gusty headwinds and had a lightning drill in the afternoon. Hot then cold temperatures
Synopsis: finished the “portaging section” of our trip
Tech:
- 100m portage into the small lake – 034 186 – portage is two bays east of the river mouth – very nice!
- 700m portage – top right-hand bay of the small lake. Nice portage. Snowmobile evidence
It also got very windy and cold after the thunder storm passed.
Day 9 – July 8th
Campsite: rough campsite but good tent sites up the hill 144 510 74 P/15
HOW: 8:15-7:15 (11h)
Distance travelled: 31km
Weather: cold w/ head winds then cold rain with side winds then calm and warmish
Synopsis: Paddled up Selwyn Lake
First 2km took us 2 hours to complete we had extreme headwinds till we got to the east side of Selwyn. Then we were sheltered from the wind so had side winds most of the rest of the day. The channel got wavy with winds but the winds died down later in the day so we continued on. Camped 100m south of the NWT border in a bush crash (Saw Jean and Asa’s campsite but we saw no good tent sites – all rocky). Our campsite has nicer tent sites up the hill away from the water.
Day 10 – July 9th
Campsite: same as day 9
HOW: 0 hours
Distance travelled: 0km
Weather: sunny
Synopsis: Evac Day
We had an evacuation by float plane today due to medical reasons. We stayed at the campsite the rest of the day and slept (as many of us had been up all night), scrubbed, cleaned wannigans, and rigged a solo boat.
Day 11 – July 10th
Campsite: 716 328 – 75 A1 – nice campsite
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 26km
Weather: hot with tail winds
Synopsis: crossed in NWT and paddled Selwyn Lake
The solo boat worked well with a kayak paddle when it wasn’t windy but when winds came up we needed to tow the solo boat and use a regular paddle in order to steer well. Sang songs as we paddled down the very large lake.
Day 12 – July 11th
Campsite: 410 855 – 75 A/8 – bush crash at end of portage. We recommend finding a site on Flett Lake if time allows
HOW: 9:30-6:30 (9h)
Distance travelled: 14km paddle, 2.5km portage
Weather: super hot and no wind
Synopsis:
Paddled the last of Selwyn Lake through mostly sheltered islands till the last 3km where it opens up. The portage is super hard to find but once you find the trial it is obvious (still an old snowmobile route). It is to the left of the rocky hills in the back of a “bay”. Are two entrances, one is Muskeg and one is a trail. We recommend the trail entrance over the muskeg one for obvious reasons. The portage is flat and beautiful. We did two 8min legs of approx. 800m and then one final leg of 1.7km of only the gear we needed to camp as is no water source along this portage. Fill all water bottles before portaging. Is also a campsite about 150m into the portage.
Day 13 – July 12th
Campsite: 521 012 – 75 A/8 – superb site on an open area
HOW: 8:30-6:30 (10 hours)
Distance travelled: paddled 26km and last of portage
Weather: hot, sunny and headwinds
Synopsis: Paddled Flett Lake and finished portage
Finished portage in two short loads. The trees were semi thinning in some areas and we camped in one of those thinning areas.
Day 14 – July 13th
Campsite: 618 148 65 D/12
HOW: 9-6 (10 hours)
Distance travelled: 21km
Weather: cloudy with some headwinds
Synopsis: Flett to Wholdai lake
Went through the islands from Flett to Wholdai Lake (didn’t portage as Jean and Asa did). We got turned around in the islands (navigation is tough). We were slowed due to low group moral and winds today. We decided to camp to try a new time schedule – see below. Today was also Valentines day so we exchanged cute sayings about each other and ate spag for dinner. Sandwiches with meat, cheese and sprouts for lunch (yumm!) and had Emily’s group snack of red velvet protein balls (made with beet juice!).
**new time schedule: Inspired by Jean and Asa! We wanted to start getting up and camping earlier (up at 3am and off site by 6am and camp by 3pm) to take advantage of times when its less windy. To keep our minds sane we adjusted our watches 3h ahead so 3am (actual time) says 6am on our watches.
Day 15 – July 14th
Campsite: 7128 132 – 65 D/12
HOW: 10-5:30 (new time) 7.5 hours
Distance travelled: 12km
Weather: headwinds – rain
Synopsis: Started cross-over
Tech: 1. 701 148 – turned off Wholdia and started dragging up the creek. Dragged the whole creek.
Windiest day of trip so far even with our adjusted time schedule! Paddled the rest of Wholdia lake and came to our creek. We began dragging upstream in the worst bugs of trip so far. Clouds and clouds of musquito’s! It was rainy and cold. The creek was shallow and rocky at some points and deep at others. All very drag-able. We were cold and tired by the time we camped so we had left-overs for dinner.
Day 16 – July 15th
Campsite: 805 068 – 65 D/5 unnamed Lake
HOW: 10:30am-8:30pm
Distance travelled: 12km
Weather: sunny with headwinds
Synopsis: long day of dragging
Tech:
- dragged the creek
- made a portage from 792 068 straight to unnamed lake. Lots of muskeg. Creek shown on topo map didn’t exist.
Day 17 – July 16th
Campsite: 977 157 65 D/11
HOW: 12pm-2am (with a 3hour “nap” at dinner time to rest for a night paddle)
Distance travelled: 21km
Weather: sunny
Synopsis: First night paddle! Yay?
Tech:
- dragged to small pond
- portaged on “trail” at left hand side of lake.
- at 854 068 there was a section of about 10m where the creek almost disappears. Before this it is regular dragging and after it is regular dragging
- made dinner and “napped” at 927 095 -65 D/11 so we could rest to attempt to paddle at night.
- Paddled at night to where we camped. Camped due to being too tired to continue.
Day 18 – July 17th
Campsite: 025 175 – 65 D/11 – amazing grassy island on snowbird Lake
HOW: 3pm -6:30pm (3.5h)
Distance travelled: 6km
Weather: windy tailwinds, sunny and cloudy
Synopsis: Snowbird and the Flatwater dump
Tech:
- Rapid (R1 technical) at 995 172 – 65 D/1. Scouted due to rocks and being the first rapid of trip
- Lined a shallow rocky section after this on RR then ran the very bottom (still shallow though)
- Had a dump on Snowbird during the 1km crossing to the first island due to huge winds and waves from a microburst that came out of nowhere (was calm when we started the crossing). Camped at the island to warm people up and because we were tired from paddling at night the night before.
Day 19 – July 18th
Campsite: 165 251 – 65 D/10
HOW: 11pm-5am
Distance travelled: 14.5km
Weather: light winds
Synopsis: Night paddle on snowbird
We decided to paddle at night as the weather had been windy during the day and we didn’t want to risk another dump. Also put spray skirts on for warmth and protection from the large swells that occur on these big lakes even when there is minimal wind. We island hopped to the other shore doing crossings between 500m and 1.5km. It gets to be a twilight dark between 11pm and 3am this time of year on Snowbird so we always had “some light” but used headlamps on boats as they could be hard to see at times. Gets too dark to safely be able to portage so we had to switch back to paddling in the day. Also, at this point we had changed our watches back to normal time. We kept our watches in normal time for the rest of the trip.
Day 20 – July 19th
Campsite: 269 248 – 65 D/10 – Latmier Lake bush crash
HOW: 5pm-10pm (5hours)
Distance travelled: 12km (including 1km down the wrong bay ops!)
Weather: sunny with some winds
Synopsis: onto another overland. Creek was good, bugs were bad!
Tech:
- Upstream on a creek, smaller sections needed dragging (easy) and some were paddle-able. The creek was nice to us today!
Day 21 – July 20th
Campsite: 301 235 – 66 D/10
HOW: 10:30-6:30 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 7km
Weather: sunny and low wind
Synopsis: environment here is great for paddling… not for portaging
Paddled down the rest of Latmier Lake. Made a portage (1km) through some alders, swamp, and muskeg. Completed this in 2 tough loads. Essentially a straight line in the shortest distance between the two lakes. The whole area is crappy for portaging so pick your own adventure. Had a camper fall with pack on their back (tripping over all the fallen down trees) so that slowed the portage down. Camped at the end of the portage. Fraser and I scouted the next portage while kids cooked an amazing Mac and cheese for dinner. The next creek marked on the map is super shallow and not draggable so we decided to portage around it tomorrow.
Day 22 – July 11th
Campsite: 326 244 – 66 D/10 - bush crash on creek
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 2km
Weather: sunny with some wind
Synopsis: Crappy Creek
Paddled across the small pond then portaged to the next unnamed lake. This portage was also about 1km but the terrain was the same as previous day (awful for portaging) so we did it in 2 loads again. Was a very exhausting portaging. The next creek started out being paddle-able but quickly got smaller and smaller until it became very narrow and shallow. Lots of fallen over trees, shallow rocks that needed to be moved and alders that needed to be cleared. We did this for a while and then did a 50m portage to a place where the creek got larger again. We camped here.
Note: as I sit here typing this trip report … would recommend just portaging all the way to the next “pond” anywhere on the right shore. Again, the ground is bad for portaging but would be faster than trying to drag/ portage/ find the creek.
Day 23 – July 22nd
Campsite: 237 332 - 65/D11
HOW: 11-7 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 1km ish
Weather: so much rain and a lightning drill in the afternoon
Synopsis: We are sick of Crappy Creek
Do not attempt to drag this creek… just portage! We spend the whole day dragging, doing lift overs on land and attempting to clear the creek until we eventually decided to portage. See the note on day 22… just portage around this whole section to the next bigger pond. Fraser and I scouted the next creek section and found it looked the same as the last creek so we scouted a portage on the right side avoiding the whole creek. Camped at the start of this portage.
Day 24 – July 23rd
Campsite: 356 198 65 D/10 - bush crash on larger “z shaped” lake
HOW: 10:30-8:30 (10 hours)
Distance travelled: 6km
Weather: rainy and cloudy
Synopsis: our mood = “we just want to get to Kasba and off this crossover!!”
Tech:
- 1.5 km - Portage from unnamed lake to square unnamed lake. We scouted this portage the day before. Very hard. Did in 3 legs. Ground = bad for portaging.
- Rest of streams are paddleable and flow downstream!! Except the last 50m of one at 335 208 where we did some serious rock moving, dragging, and lift overs.
Day 25 – July 24th – Xmas!
Campsite: 373 194 – 65 D/9 – Kasba Lake after paddling about 1km
HOW: 12-6 (6 hours)
Distance travelled: 6km
Weather: sunny
Synopsis: Kasba Lake! It’s a Christmas Miracle!
It was Christmas today so we had a slow get away due to opening stockings and admiring the xmas tree. Fueled by candy, we dragged the rest of the shallow creeks between small ponds to Kasba Lake. Really good fishing on Kasba! We stopped early to put on spray skirts and cross the lake tomorrow.
Day 26 – July 25th
Campsite: 558 172 – 65 D/9 – gorgeous campsite on rock hill at start of Kazan!
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 21km
Weather: sunny with no winds!
Synopsis: Kasba Lake = gorgeous
Excellent fishing on Kasba! We took the sheltered route along the North shore via some small islands but always staying within 1km of shore. This is a huge Lake and very deep so the waves could and winds could be huge. We were lucky and it was dead calm so we did it easily in one day. We camped where the current from the Kazan river started. This is a good idea there is a very large rapid at the beginning of the Kazan River so you don’t want to run it late in the day.
Day 27 – July 26th
Campsite: 460 360 65 C/12 – very nice
HOW: 10-6:30 (8.5hours)
Distance travelled: 37km
Weather: sunny with some headwinds
Synopsis: KAZANNNNN
Tech:
- 565 185 – 65 D/9 – “the elbow” – R2/R3. The Kazan is a very wide and fast flowing river. It was just after the spring melt to the water levels were high and water was cold and fast. “The elbow” has multiple parts to it and is one continuous 2km rapid.
- R1 wave train. We stopped here to catch eddying and practice ferrying/ eddying out.
- R2 - Ran 1 by 1 over the next drop to an eddy on RR. Big waves! Very strong and tippy eddy lines… eddy out lower if possible.
- R2 – paddled RL around the inside of the 90 degree “elbow” to avoid a very big hole on RR as well as some massive waves. Note: previous trip reports ran through the forest on RL to avoid this but the entrance to the eddy is very small and the water is too fast to ferry from eddy on RR to RL so if you want to do this you need to stay on the RL. We also had spray skirts so we could handle the big waves. Spray skirts necessary on this rapid.
- All narrows have swifts and fast flowing current. There is current through some of the small lakes. Also the river is deeper…very few rocks to avoid.
- R1 – 467 277 – 65 C/12
- R1 – 455 278 – 65 C/12
- Swifts up to Ennadai Lake
Day 28 – July 27th
Campsite: 732 456 – 65 C/14
HOW: 9:30-6 (9 hours)
Distance travelled: 28km
Weather: hot and light tailwinds
Synopsis: Ennadai and Caribou Point!
We collected firewood from the last campsite to bring with us. We were still able to collect lots of wood but the trees were starting to noticeable disappear. We were lucky that we had no winds but we paddled along the south-eastern shore of the lake where there were lots of points and islands that could potentially provide wind protection. We crossed to the opposite shore in the islands around Caribou point where the lake narrows. Caribou point is along the caribou migration route so it is important not to camp directly on the point. You can stop to see the migration trails and it is really an amazing sight. Plus gorgeous view of the Lake. According to the Dene the caribou usually cross this passage around the 1st or 2nd week of august.
Day 29 – July 28th
Campsite: 885 618 – 65 C/14
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 19km
Weather: thunderstorms kept rolling through, headwinds in the afternoon
Synopsis: Ennadai pt 2
Thunderstorms in the morning and afternoon slowed our progress. We also camped early due to more thunderstorms. We paddled along the north western shore the whole day. The trees are becoming very sparse. The hills are all barren except for the occasional clumping of trees which you can still gather firewood on. Can pretty much camp anywhere.
Day 30 – July 29th
Campsite: 939 806 – 65 F/2 – parallel to town of Ennadai but hidden behind a large island.
HOW: 8 hours
Distance travelled: 22km
Weather: sunny with clouds, some wind in the am but less as the day went on
Synopsis: Up Ennadai and saw 1st caribou!
We didn’t see if the town of Ennadai marked on the map existed as it was hidden by a large island. But previous trip reports have said they stayed there and have had food drops there. It was a good paddling day but there are lots of open stretched that could get super windy. Saw our first caribou today in a narrowing with lots of islands. Everyone was very excited and on caribou watch the rest of the day.
Day 31 – July 30th
Campsite: 125 636 – 65 F/7 – across from large esker on Kazan River
HOW: 9:30-7:30 (9 hours)
Distance travelled: 40km
Weather: sunny and headwinds
Synopsis: Kazan is so gorgeous!
Finished paddling the rest of Ennadai Lake and before long we were back on the Kazan. Kazan has lots of current. Is a technical R1 at 935 945 – 65 F/7. It is still fast flowing and there are lots of swifts and current in the narrows. Today was Halloween so we dressed up in costumes at the campsite (and some people had theirs on all day!) and trick-or-treated between the tents. We camped across from a very large esker that you can see about 5km away as there are no trees really. Is still the occasional gathering of trees and if you really try can find firewood. Also, the landscape is hilly with these weird small “mounds” of gravel (lots of glacial features here!). At night we heard wolves and pups that must have had a den in the esker so maybe don’t camp on the esker.
Day 32 – July 31st
Campsite: 205 032 – on beach at start of Calhoun Lake
HOW: 9:30-7:30 (10h)
Distance travelled: 11km
Weather: sunny and super windy
Synopsis: finished Kazan and started the overland. Loving this overland
Tech:
- Portage off the Kazan at 171 059 – 65 F/7. 400m easy to unnamed lake.
- Portage unnamed lake to stream at 197 062 – 65 F/7. 200m easy.
- Lift over 20m around rock garden as creek narrowed
- Portage 400m around rock garden and creek to 3rd opening
- Portage 300m from stream to Calhoun Lake.
Day 33 – August 1st
Campsite: 286 936 – 65 F/8 – far side of uterus shaped lake
HOW: 10:30-7:30
Distance travelled: 12.5km
Weather: headwinds and storms in afternoon
Synopsis:
- Portage 247 977 – 1km. had to portage early because we became wind bound at the end of Calhoun Lake. If not wind bound this portage is probably 400m
- Portage 283 945 to uterus-shaped lake.
Day 34 – August 2nd
Campsite: 357 947 – 65 F/8
HOW: 10-7 (9h)
Distance travelled: 10km
Weather: sunny and super windy again
Synopsis: Overland portaging
Tech:
- Portage from over shaped lake to next small lake – 300m
- Portage into McCourt lake – 200m
- Portage out of McCourt Lake into small lake located at 345 927 – 65 F/8
- 200m into next lake at 348 929 – 65 F/8
Day 35 – August 3rd
Campsite: 419 958 – 65 F/8
HOW: 10:30-6:30 (8h)
Distance travelled: 6.5km
Weather: sunny and cool then cold and cloudy
Synopsis: Overland portaging all day
Tech:
- Portage at 361 952 – 65 F/8 - 400m to island-y lake
- Portage 384 956 – 300m to lake with genital shaped point – easy
- Portage 406 959 to 409 957
- Portage 412 419 to 958 – skipped lake in the middle. Very nice portage.
Day 36 – August 4th
Campsite: 480 960 – 65 G/5
HOW: 9:30-6 (8.5h)
Distance travelled: 7km
Weather: artic wind, cloudy, tail winds on Hick’s Lake
Synopsis: Finishing overland and Hick’s Lake
Tech:
- portage 400m – 420 958 to Easter island head lake
- portage 700m from 425 961 to Hicks Lake
Day 37 – August 5th
Campsite: 640 769 – 65 G/4
HOW: 9:30-5:30 (8h)
Distance travelled: 21km
Weather: sunny, cold and tailwinds on Hick’s Lake
Synopsis: Starting the Kognak!
Tech:
- swift at 560 888 – 65 G/4 does not exist. Just shallow moving water
- R1 at 588 844
Day 38 – August 6th
Campsite: 904 796 – 65 G/3
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Distance travelled: 28km
Weather: overcast, no wind
Synopsis: Kognak River – more lakey
Elliot Lake is super rocky and islandy (hard to navigate) but once you reach Vera Lake there are trees and grassy hills again! All steep hills close to the water on Vera Lake until we camped. We made good time on the lakes today because we had no wind. Is some (but minimal) current in the narrows between lakes.
Day 39 – August 7th
Campsite: 105 733 – 65 G/2
HOW: 10-5 (7h)
Distance travelled: 19km
Weather: overcast, rainy, headwinds
Synopsis: Kognak River
- Swifts in the narrows
- 095 735 – R1
Day 40 – August 8th
Campsite: 192 785 – 65 G/2
HOW: 10-6 (8h)
Distance travelled: 14km
Weather: overcast
Synopsis: Fun whitewater on the Kognak
Tech:
- Rapids from campsite to 135 715 – easy R2’s and R1’s all continuous with eddy’s. Read and run – some big waves but fine with spray skirts. Technical and need to avoid pillows and rocks but we believe we had low water levels.
- Set at the very end of this section (at approx.135 717) is very rocky and a pin city. (not big water just rocky!) The leader boat went through but elected the rest of the boats to line the top on RR and run the bottom.
- R2+ (very large waves) at 192 785 – first rapid in the next river section after the Lake. Has a very large hole in the middle. We ran on RR between the hole and a pillow rock that is very visible from the bottom but not from the top. We recommend scouting this rapid before running. Spray skirts = 100% necessary!
Day 41 – August 9th
Campsite: 305 953 – 65 G/8 – the elbow
HOW: 10-6 (8h)
Distance travelled: 19km
Weather: all over the place – cool, then hot, huge rain storm for 5min
Synopsis: The elbow! – super fun whitewater day
Tech:
- R1/R2’s continuous – finished rapids to Mountain Lake
- 883 233 – 65 G/2
- R1 – 262 893
- R2 – 269 899- ran left of the island. Read and run
- R1 - 902 272 – 65 G/1
- 289 909 – 65 G/8 – starts 4km of continuous R1/R2 technical with big waves whitewater. It gets big at times so be cautious! Below are some of the approximate locations of the bigger sets:
- 295 919 – R2 – big waves. Lots of pillows ran ducky.
- 300 925 – R2 - really big waves at the bottom. Ran center through boulder garden to avoid waves. Ran 1 by 1.
- 305 944 – R2+ lots of big waves in the center and a large hole on RR. Ran ducky.
- 305 946 – R3 ledge. Ran 1 by 1 from 305 944 (end of large ridge) to slack water eddy on RR then lined/ ran tight RR through rocks
- R1 to campsite
Day 42 – August 10th
Campsite: 573 865 – 65 H/4
HOW: 10:30-7 (9.5h)
Distance travelled: 28km (woah!)
Weather: overcast and headwinds at the end of the day
Synopsis: Ducker Lake
Tech:
- Rapids at the elbow (where the 90 degree turn in the river) are R1’s
- Continuous rocky and technical R1’s and R’2 till 318 951
- Swifts until Ducker Lake. Ducker Lake took a very long time to paddle due to being tired and the solo boat. Also, winds came up when we got to the end of this Lake.
Day 43 – August 11th
Campsite: 65 H/4 574 866
HOW: 10-11
Distance travelled: 100m
Weather: extreme headwinds – intermittent sun and rain all day.
Synopsis:
Due to the extreme winds we couldn’t even paddle the boats off the campsite. We dragged 100m along the shore into the next bay and realized it was a massive waste of energy for very little gain. Stopped for the day and were wind-bound. We did a small hike up to the tallest ridge. Reorganized packs and napped! Also played lots of ukulele and had a sing along.
Day 44 – August 12th
Campsite: same as previous day
HOW: 0h
Distance travelled: 0km
Weather:
Synopsis: WINDBOUND again.
Checked lake at 7am and it was just as windy as before (wind didn’t die down at night either). We had an extended breakfast and it was still windy. We amalgamated packs and did a full food inventory and a new menu. We did a 3rd installment of an itinerary to try to make it to Hudson’s bay by day 52.
Day 45 – August 13th
Campsite: 850 759 – 65 H/3
HOW: 9:45 – 6:30 (8.25h)
Distance travelled: 30km
Weather: sunny and side winds
Synopsis: Fun rapids on the Kognak and water started moving faster!
Tech:
- R2 – 615 893 – 65 H/4 – ran tight right to avoid waves. Ducky
- R2 – 616 896 – ran tight right to avoid shallow ledge across the river. RR line just big waves. Ran 1 by 1.
- R2 – 705 862 – ran tight to RR shore in a fun “s” shape through ledges. RL of the island is an R3 ledge.
- Swifts in widening at 815 818 – 65 H/3
- R2 – 812 800 – ran ducky RR
- R1 ledge – 812 794 – ran tight RR. This flows into an R2 (big waves). We avoided the waves by paddling on RR (R1) ducky.
- R1 – 815 785
Day 46 – August 14th
Campsite: 095 615 – 65 A/18
HOW: 10-6 (8h)
Distance travelled: 30km
Weather: strong headwinds/ side winds and rain
Synopsis: Started the Tha-anne! Lots of current on the river now!
Tech:
- Section at 936 7128 started with swifties then an R1, then swifties. R1 has some exposed rocks. Ran center avoiding rocks as needed
- At the confluence of the Tha-Anne the current gets stronger and the river really begins to flow.
- Swifty/ R1 at 031 568
- After this the current gets significantly faster. We were able to make distance despite extremely strong winds. If we had this wind on a lake likely would have been wind-bound.
Day 47 – August 15th
Campsite: 382 592 – 65 A/18
HOW: 9:30-6 (8.5 hours with a 1 hour lightning drill)
Distance travelled: 27km
Weather: hot, cold, rain, huge thunderstorm
Synopsis:
Tech:
- R2 – 195 603 – 65 A/18 – ran RR ducky
- Took right channel into Thaolintoa Lake (300 590). This has about 6 inches of water from 315 585. We walked (pulling the boats behind us) along the left hand channel and stopped walking at about 346 586 because was just deep enough to paddle. There is a good channel on the left shore that you should take when you first enter the lake to avoid all these shallow bits.
Day 48 – August 16th
Campsite: 406 445 - lovely grassy field in the swifts
HOW: 10:30-5 (7.5hours)
Distance travelled: 16km
Weather: windy, sunny and cold (very cold day)
Synopsis:
The Lake we paddled today gets windy easily and is shallow in some places (no crazy abnormally shallow spots though). We took a route through the island narrows. Rapids at the end of the Lake are just swifts. We elected to camp before the next Lake as the wind was picking up and we saw a lovely spot.
Day 49 – August 17th
Campsite: 469 279 – start of river section
HOW: 10-4
Distance travelled: 23km
Weather: humid, sunny and almost no wind
Synopsis: We were lucky that there was no wind today on the lake. It has some islands to hide in on the left shore but there are some large crossing sections. Camped before the start of a major river section. Also, was extremely buggy at this campsite (typical barren blackflies probably due to lack of wind and high humidity)
Day 50 – August 18th
Campsite: 390 341 - 55 D/12
HOW: 10-5:30
Distance travelled: 18km
Weather: hot and humid, then a thunderstorm. Turned super cold and rainy immediately after
Synopsis: Lots of lining and a huge hail thunderstorm!
Tech:
- 475 282 – 65 A/9 - R2 ran RL
- Continuous R1’s and R2’s till 504 303 – big waves and holes throughout but can be easily avoided by paddling on the other side of the river to these features. Scouted by boat
- 508 307 – 65 A/9 - Lined RL
- Swifts and R1’s easy until number 5
- 533 318 - Large R4 ledge – lined RL (this is the starts of a continuous set of ledge till island at 544 326)
- Lined RL around 2nd much larger ledge (R4+) at 533 323
- Lined the left channel on the RL around top of the island (could ferry across to RR here but rapid on the right channel looks large although we didn’t scout it) at 541 325
- 543 328 - Ran left channel around island. Tight RL!
- River is continuous current/ swifts after this. Moves fast. No major rapids to note. We got stopped for 2h due to multiple thunder storms rolling through. Otherwise could have gone further.
Day 51 – August 19th – Last day on the river
Campsite: 604 156 55D/12
HOW: 10-6 (8 hours)
Weather: cold, rainy then sunny and wind from the SW
Distance 28.5 km
Synopsis: Fun whitewater! Saw lots of caribou today. All rapids where super fun! We found a great side channel that bypassed the large section of rapids that are marked on the map. A adventurous crew may want to explore parts of the main channel, but we really enjoyed ours.
Tech:
1) R1 478 315 55D/12 Ran ducky RR big waves at the bottom
2) R1 540 240 Ran RL small ledge
3) R2 542 239 Center right big waves
4) R2 535 223 ledge with big hole ran tiny RR channel beached on shallow rocks at the bottum. Ran spaced out ducky
5) R2 continued to 554 217 ran ducky and eddy hopping lots of rocks and holes
6) R1 533216
7) All other marked rapids are swifts
Day 52 – August 20th – Helicopter pick up
We were not going to make our original destination (Hudson’s bay) in time to make our pre-booked flights from Arviat so we got picked up by helicopter today and were flown to Arviat along with all of our gear. This took 6 trips in a long range helicopter (3 trips with people and 3 with all of our gear). This took all day from 8:30am-8:30pm. We were able to see some of the river from the helicopter and it is fairly tame all the way to Hyde Lake. After Hyde Lake we really don’t know what the river will do. We anticipate a large ledge/falls to portage and some big rapids as the river drops significantly over a small amount of time. Also, we are now in polar bear country and we saw a bear from the helicopter. We advise travelling with a gun/ local hunter and bringing bear bangers ect. We travelled with a bear fence which we would have set up around out tents (not kitchen). We arrived in Arviat and were greeted by two people who were friends of our participant’s parents. They showed us around Arviat and were extremely generous and helpful. We had permission to camp in an open area close to the airport but is also a hotel in town.
**Note** Before completing this route make sure to do some thorough research on canoeing in polar bear country! Polar bears are dangerous animals and you need to be prepared for them.