Kingfisher wrote on Jun 16^th, 2011 at 4:22am:


Ah, the memories!  The front-end of that (alleged) portage into Knox Lake was bad enough.  However, I think it was the swamp I wandered into (& got stranded in) when you & Matt went left (& I went right) during our bushwhack that really dampened the allure that "mud slogs" held for me.

Alas, I no longer embrace such challenges!

Jimbo   

Jimbo, I think you owe it to your guests to at least give them a fair taste of Quetico and ensure they have the opportunity for a 2-hour mud slog. You did it for me last year in WCP and I'll treasure the memories.

If later in the season or in dry conditions I can attest to the possibility of a two hour mud slog...we did it in 2006...met db on the portage there .  That was in August, beaver dams were 5-6 feet high at the time and also in low water conditions.  If your gang doesn't mind cavorting in hip deep mud then it just boils down to how fast you can travel in those conditions dragging the canoe in a few inches of water.   

Best bet is to check with Park officials prior to entry. The water level seems to vary. Last year, it was a drag for us. This year it seems to be ok. Know before you go...

Forgot to comment on water level -- I've never seen the water level HIGHER.  I traversed the Park from Stanton Bay to Prairie Portage.  Water was high all the way. 

prouboy

Take the Deux.  I paddled it on June 2.  Fine.  No problem.

Way, way, better than the B-chain!

prouboy

traveled downstream on Diuex Rivieres on May 30th.  Water was a little low (down 6" or maybe 12"), but plenty deep enough.  Did have to get out on 2 or 3 beaver dams and pull over them since they were up out of the water already, - much more so than in past trips thru there at same time of year where I've generally paddled over all or most of those same dams.

I'd given some thought to travelling Oriana cr to Hamburg, rather than Jesse on our way out, but thinking about the lower water levels we encountered, decided to go thru Jesse.

Of all the lakes we paddled, Jesse was one of only two that were not low - Beaver dam at the little rapid at west end (now need to portage there on the big flat rock) had Jesse topped off to full, and maybe an inch or two above as a few trees were starting to turn brown.

this is difinitely a year to pay attention to low water warnings, unless there is some really substantial rains for a period of time.

As my CURRENT plan is to paddle through Deux Rivieres nine days from now, Tom's comment, below, quoted from another thread caught my interest:

"I'd originally planned to go Stanton Bay thru the B-chain to Oliphaunt & somehow out Walter/Jesse, etc.  With just me & my 3 kids going, I wanted easy/medium/hard route options.  "Easy" was to bail out thru Deux Riviers -- but I hear that's a 2 hour mud-slog, so that was enough to tip me over to my other close-contender route, BH-Nym."

Can anyone confirm the status of Deux Rivieres?  Am I better off heading south through the B's & Oliphaunt after I enter at Stanton Bay?  We're headed to Sturgeon Narrows that first day.  The B's would take longer but are prettier.  

Is the water level really that low or have the beavers really gotten that bad?  It's probably been 3 years since I've been through....

Any update on conditions through there would be appreciated!

Jimbo