Quote:


I have a old trip report that can attest to that.
I stood in canoe and used double paddle to navigate like a Gondolier thru a stretch before hitting portage from Boulder to Jean.
I doubt you could walk, at least I didn't find it possible.
First and only attempt I went in crotch deep and if I didn't have canoe next to me to lever/roll myself into, I would still be there

In low water conditions the middle section of Jean-Boulder can be as bad as DR too.

If you decide to explore the area inside 3-Mile, Beaverhouse, Jean, Bentpine, let me know. I've covered that pretty well over the years.

Good fishing, slower travel, nice solitude, lot of logging artifacts. Strong winds not as much a problem either.

This is great info folks - thanks!

After my late night post I talked to my son & he's leaning toward the first set of options ("A") & taking the B-chain instead of Deux R. if conditions warrant that.  Probably Lonely Ck vs. Jean Ck also unless we get an East wind on Sturgeon.  (We paddled about 20km on Quetico into an East wind 2 yrs ago!  I think "Prevailing Wind" means "the wind that prevails over you & is always in your face!")

It's not as much new territory for me as the Badwater - Jean options, but it may be a better route for us to have fun.  But I'll keep the Badwater - Jean notes for another trip!

-Tom

All your options sound good to me.
So much depends of water levels/ wind direction.
I think I would bring maps to cover all the possible options and after checking with Park Ranger station, make my choice based on the most current info.

Being flexible is far less stressful and much more enjoyable than locking yourself into a route.

As long as you put-in on schedule and take-out the same, everything in between is open to negotiations with Mother Nature

"OK, I'm now wondering about a complete departure that hits lots of new ground for me & also gets to Oriana (2 goals).
-Beaverhouse - Badwater - Fair - Your - Boulder - Jean - Albert etc
or
-Beaverhouse - Badwater - Fair - Your - Snow -LP-Trail-March - Bentpine CK- Sturgeon - Jean Ck - Rouge - Burntside- Jean-Ceph - Albert etc"


That's a much lesser traveled area than your original route plan - a few years ago, I went West out of Jean thru Boulder, Your, Snow, Trail to Bentpine Creek, then east on Sturgeon.  Trail Creek was really a nice paddle as I recall;  lots of sign of the old logging days on Bentpine Cr - several logging dams you have to portage around before you get to Sturgeon.  (never saw another person in there, nor any sign of recent travel).  Lesser traveled means generally fewer campsites also.   Seems to me that the NW quadrant of the park has the most ticks as compared to other areas - doing that little loop out from Jean, I was picking lots of ticks off of me at each pass on the portage trails - sometimes a dozen on each pass.  But that would be end of May early June - they may be gone later in the year.

Jean Cr isn't that difficult, probably easier with the beaver dams as they eliminate a couple of portages at least.

Bentpine/Clair was redone two years ago. One path was blocked off and the rest had flagging tape. I did it in the rain and I don't recall any mud at all. Flat and easy - although spooky. There is still that nasty little steep part near Bentpine of course but possibly via a slightly different route.

Looking at your options... they all look great! I've been through Deux Rivere a couple times in last 5 years and had no problems, but i agree that you should call park or ask outfitter before heading that way. Also agree that in and out of Halladay are difficult and not worth the extra work.  West bay to badwater is difficult, but Clair to Bentpine is most difficult of all the possible portages in your options IMO.  Numerous mudholes on the Claire side, and a couple difficult rocky slopes that one of our canoe carriers fell down.  Canoe gave him a nice bruise for the rest of the trip.  Not much for campsites from what i can remember once you leave the west end of Your until you get to bentpine.  Went through Beaverhouse, badwater, Your, Snow, Bentpine, Claire, Ceph, Albert, Jean in August 2010 so feel free to message me if you have any specific questions.
Ploder

Mad_Mat wrote on May 4^th, 2012 at 12:24pm:


That was roughly July 1, 2010.  Coulda been a day on either side of that.  Also, we were going up the Deux, not down, altho I don't really think it mattered a bit which way you were heading.

Tom,

If you opt for Route A, use the B Chain if park officials are telling you Deux Rivieres is questionable.  I've always been lucky using DR but the B Chain IS pretty and we've enjoyed fishing the lake trout & walleye in Oliphaunt (and then there was that all-women's college group doing calisthenics in the morning mist at the campsite just on the other side of the portage leading into Sturgeon... but, again, I've always been lucky).  Also, there is a small rapids as you exit the B's and begin to approach Oliphaunt.  I capsized a canoe there last summer attempting to take it upstream.  Kingfisher suggests I dove right into one of his favorite walleye holes; if only I had known!  It was mentioned that Lonely is a very fine SM lake.  Try next to the small stream just off the portage coming in from Yeh.  Yeh is a very fine largemouth lake and, for some reason, I often run into wildlife in that area (biggest deer I've ever seen, otters, etc.).  Enough has been written in other threads about fishing along much of the rest of this route.

You'll work a little harder on Route B, in my opinion, but my guess is you'll find a good deal more solitude until you get over to Jean.  Walleye fishing is good almost anywhere along the way but you won't find LT until you get over towards Jean.  Consider day trips down to Bearpelt or Wildgoose... again, for the walleye.  The portage from West Bay into Badwater wasn't in bad shape when we did it a few years back.  Just don't opt for dropping down into Badwater from the due north (or the reverse), unless you're up for a real "adventure."  There's an infamous picture taken by KF someplace on this website in which Mrs. Kingfisher expresses EXACTLY what SHE thought about this option (you might say she was, um... sort of "saluting" it, in a manner of speaking).  Anyway, I'm recommending the other approach.

Jimbo   

Wow, thanks for the input!
A few thoughts:
- Duex R. condition is very concerning.
- B-chain was my first choice, but if Deux is passable, I like it as a quick route (shorter, fewer portages, no Fern-Olifaunt!) to buy some rest somewhere later in the trip.
- Jean Ck sounds maybe difficult, and I understand we may not be able to make it 'cause of wind.  So then Lonely. 
- Maybe add Draper if going that way...
- Jesse-Maria was in good shape in Aug 2010. Nice work!
- Agreed Halliday is no holiday.  Did that once.
- Oriana-Jesse over Oriana-Hamburg in low water.

OK, I'm now wondering about a complete departure that hits lots of new ground for me & also gets to Oriana (2 goals).
-Beaverhouse - Badwater - Fair - Your - Boulder - Jean - Albert etc
or
-Beaverhouse - Badwater - Fair - Your - Snow -LP-Trail-March - Bentpine CK- Sturgeon - Jean Ck - Rouge - Burntside- Jean-Ceph - Albert etc
or
-Beaverhouse - Badwater - Fair - Your - Snow -LP-Trail-March - Bentpine Lake - Clair - Burntside- Jean-Ceph - Albert etc

Wow, what a change that would be -- I don't know anything off Quetico main body to Jean on any of those!

Thoughts, esp. about difficulty of these options?  Thanks!  -Tom