Once again proving that having a backup plan is always important...
We were looking forward to an extended August long weekend with a five day loop trip from Beaverhouse. The plan was to head east on Quetico Lake, through Jean, Burntside, Bentpine, skirt the edge of the burnt area in Trail, Little Pine and Snow, west through Your and Badwater, then the long 1440m portage back into the West Bay of Quetico and back out at Beaverhouse.
When we got to the Beaverhouse access point, the parking lot was jammed...we got the last spot, and there were two other groups unloading at the same time as us. I've never seen so many vehicles parked at Beaverhouse. But the portage was dry and the water still up from a wet spring, so we were able to launch at the "close" end of the portage, rather than doing the extended, dry season carry. We were on the water for 11:00am
The day was hot but calm; we got a good jump on the other groups and were at the portage into Quetico Lake in under an hour. We had to wade the small rapid just before the portage, but that was no problem. The landing however, was a mire of clay...slippery, sticks to everything, and I lost a shoe knee-deep when I was carrying the canoe (we did manage to dig it out...).
We had a site in mind on Quetico Lake, and with all the traffic we didn't waste any time getting there. A lovely spot, three-quarters of the way down the main arm...small sand landing, open stand of red pine with a good breeze and no bugs. A good start to the trip.
The second day was even better...a little cooler, and with sun and light winds. We were on the water before 9:00 and got the portage into Conk Lake by 10:30. The takeout to the Conk Lake portage is a bit sketchy...rough, steep rock and the water was thigh deep unloading the canoe. But otherwise, a short and easy portage alongside a pretty waterfall (definitely worth taking a few minutes to go down the side trail to see). Conk Lake itself is a pretty little lake, but we were only on it fifteen minutes before the next carry into Jean Lake. Another easy one, with good landings at either end. We saw one canoe coming into the portage as we were coming off...the last people we saw for 48 hours.
Jean struck as a nondescript lake, but the paddling was good. Stopped for lunch on a small island, let the dog have a bit of a run, and then headed around the point into the south bay of Jean. Partly because the shoreline is so featureless, we had a bit of trouble finding the trailhead for the portage into Burntside, and by the time we did, a wind had come up...it was a bit tricky unloading the canoe at the rocky landing while trying to keep it from bashing against the rocks.
Despite the wind on Jean, Burntside was calm and we made a quick shot to our planned campsite, another breezy point in a red pine stand. Swimming here wasn't as good as the first night, but otherwise we liked the site better. It has a lovely, level rock shelf about eight feet above the water, a couple of small scraggled trees growning out of cracks and a great west facing exposure for the sunset.
Day three was where things got interesting. Heading west on Burntside started off sunny, but by the time we got into the west bay the sky had gone overcast with an occasional sprinkle of rain. We didn't see any evidence of the first portage between Burntside and Clair Lake that is identified on the map (162m), but we were able to drag over a couple beaver dams and paddle the stretch with no problem. The rest of the creek was a slog though...a series of paddle-a-bit, drag-a-bit sections that took us longer than we'd planned. Keeping in mind that 2024 was an extremely high water spring, I'm sure that this stretch of creek would be completely dry in a normal August.
Portage into Clair was easy to find...the landing on the creek side was mush, on the lake side a smooth dome of rock. My partner's pack rolled down into the lake, soaking her rain gear and a couple other items in the easy-access pocket.
Locating the portage between Clair and Bentpine was tough...depsite printing off maps, satellite images, and other people's trip descriptions, it took us a half hour trying to figure out where to unload. And this was definitely the worst portage of the trip. Clearly a portage crew had done some clearing a year before, but there was still the need for some saw work on the trail. We lost the trail a couple of times in the moss and trees. And a tough steep hill in the middle. Not the worst portage I've done in my career, but it wasn't fun.
When we got to Bentpine, we started to hear thunder in the distance, and by the time we were on the water the rain had started...and my partner's rain gear was soaked from its dunk in Clair Lake. We went to the closest site, threw up the tarp and put on soup to wait out the storm.
A couple hours' break and we were on to March and Trail lakes. Trail Lake is right on the edge of the 2021 burn area, and it was both interesting and creepy to be paddling through the skeltons of dead trees.
From Trail Lake, our planned route had us following Trail Creek into Little Pine Lake. Kevin Callan's 2009 book says that Trail Creek is "navigable". I asked the Park staff if paddling here after the burn would cause us any issues...they said "no problem".
DON'T GO TO TRAIL CREEK IN AUGUST! It's only 300m ask the crow flies, but it's horrible! The wetted channel wasn't even as wide as the canoe, but the rest of the area is a quaking bog. We tried dragging the canoe through this but kept breaking through, up to our waists in spots. A few inches of water, but apparently bottomless muck. Add to this a summer hatch of horseflies and a dog that kept trying to get out of the boat. A half hour of misery got us less than 100m.
Now, I know that there are some people who accept dragging a canoe in low water as just part of the experience...I've done it myself. We'd already done it earlier in the day. But the footing in this bog was horrible, and with just the two of us it didn't feel safe to go on. So back we went, another half hour to get back to the place where we could float the canoe. We didn't want to retrace the route we'd just come through (especially the creek drag), so we decided to head east, back through Trail and March and take Bentpine Creek into Sturgeon Lake. Just three short portages.
The first two (252 and 285 m) weren't bad...more muck to drag through on the downstream ends (and, interestingly, a mire of old tree bark, presumably from log driving days), but trails themselves were fine. The last one though (94 m) was the capper for the day. The creek ends at an old logging dam that has been "upgraded' by beavers. There was no landing immediately apparent; my map had it marked on the right side of the creek, but a bushwhack didn't come up with a trail. Back at the canoe, we noticed a pile of rocks and an old logging peavy tool at the top of a flat rock, about six feet above the water. Sure enough, that was the trail. Another tricky unloading on the rock face, packs on and down the hill...smack into a waist high patch of poison ivy. I have seriously never seen such a big patch of P.I., and there was no way to complete the portage without carrying right through it. Of course, we were both wearing shorts.
My partner didn't say a word for the rest of the paddle that day. We passed a couple places marked as campsites on our map, but nothing appropriate for us. Finally, an hour after the poison ivy, we found a nice site on an island on Sturgeon Lake. At which point I found that I had a dozen tiny leeches attached to my left ankle. A fantastic capper on an all-round fantastic day.Once those were dealt with, out came the soap and we scrubbed ourselves and the dog, hoping we could avoid a PI rash (we escaped the worst of it, in the end). And here ends the day of misadventure...any one of those challenges we would have just brushed off, but to have it all on the same day was pretty crappy.
Day 4 started windy...I was afraid we'd be wind bound for the day, and my partner still wasn't speaking to me. But by the time we'd eaten and packed up, the wind had died off and we had a lovely paddle north on Sturgeon Lake to the outlet of Jean Creek. My partner started to relax a bit. The map shows a 344m portage at the bottom end of the creek, but we didn't see or need it. Other than a couple beaver dams to lift over, we paddled straight through. Jean Creek was actually a delight after our three creek experiences the day before...even going upstream the paddling and portages were easy. Rouge Lake was small but lovely, and then we were back into Burntside.
The rest of the trip was just a repeat of the first two days, in reverse...except we saw a lot more people, several groups on Burntside, Jean and Quetico lakes. We were fortunate to get the same campsite on our last night as our first, more good swimming, and celebrated with the tiny tetra of wine we'd brought along. Up early on the last day and we were back at the Beaverhouse parking lot by noon on the last day. By now the parking lot was overflowing...some idiot had blocked me in and it took a ten-point turn and some brush scratches on my paint job to get out. And the 25 or so cars parked along the goat-path that stands in for the road in to Beaverhouse made the drive back out to the main road interesting...especially when we met three vehicles on their way in. But then we were in to Atikokan for gas and snacks, and home by dinner time. Four great days, one challenging one. 80% of a fantastic trip!
Take aways and advice for others:
1. Beaverhouse parking lot is jammed during the first week in August, and that makes people forget their parking etiquette.
2. Avoid Trail Creek in midsummer
3. Be aware of the field of poison ivy on the easternmost portage along Bentpine Creek. Wear long pants and long sleeves, and plan to bag those clothes and not wear them for the rest of your trip, or at least until you can wash theurushiol oil out of them with soap and hot water.
