Preliminary Report

Trip date:  June 5-18, 2013

Entry:  Mary's Lake (fly-in)
Exit:  Bloodvein River, between Sabourin & Simeon Lakes (fly-out)

Route:  Mary's, Artery, Barclay, Musclow, Sabourin, Simeon Lakes and sections of the Bloodvein River.

Weather:  OUTSTANDING.  Only had 1 day over that stretch when the wind was an issue ... but wasn't to the point where you couldn't get on the water.  Only a small smattering of rain (I actually got a lot wetter from being splashed by pike at the canoe).  Skies ranged from blue-bird to cloudy.  Temps ranged from mid-70's to low 50's.

Bugs:  Unexpectedly light.  Did have evening skeets which started about 8:30-9:00 (but a host of dragonfly's seemed to discourage them on points).  Did see a few blackflys and gnats, but not in significant numbers.  I did see 1 tick.

Fishing:  Good to Very Good.  I was able to catch walleye (enough to eat) and pike every day.  In most cases the number of walleye ranged to about 20 with about half that number of pike.  One afternoon I did manage to bag over 40 walleye. Their size ranged from small to large with the vast majority falling into the perfect "eater" size category.   The largest pike came in at 43 inches, with another topping 40.  Several others in the 36-38 range.  And YES.  I did catch a few smallies.  They were wide spread with the largest going 18 inches.

Portages:  The trip turned into more of a base-camping adventure due to the condition of portages.  Unless visited by a lodge operator (e.g., Musclow portage), the portages were in bad to extremely bad shape.  We took both portages into Artery ... one listed at 14 rods, the other 35 rods.  Each took approximately an hour to negotiate due to deadfall in the trail (if you could actually find the trail).  Some of the deadfall would require something more than hand tools to remove.  However, much could be cleared with hand tools and a little muscle.

Campsites:  Like portages, the campsites needed a little TLC.  Some of the observed campsites had substantial deadfall covering them ... some would need chain saws to clear.  We did some amount of clearling on every site where we stayed (3 of them).  The first site (Mary's Lake) took a couple of hours to make livable.

Solitude:  Not so much.  There is a large fishing lodge on Sabourin and the motor boats range all over the connecting waters there.  So, most days we did see motor traffic.  Generally speaking they were at some distance and making runs from one "hot spot" to another.  Only in the most rare circumstance could we see them fishing from where we were.  We did have 3 days where none were seen/heard. Oddly, we also ran into fishing boats on Artery (which cannot be directly accessed by the Sabourin Lake Lodge).   But as a concession, I did get a could of beers from the fellow Texan I encountered.  (Not the only Texan I encountered on the trip, btw.)  We only met 1 other canoeist during our trip.

More details later.

dd

Thanks DD!  I'll be flying into Artery Lake then paddling back to Red Lake in mid-August.  Your info is interesting and helpful.

prouboy

much like prouboy I was interested in reading your account dd. I am always yearning for details and just a bit more from most trip reports I read however. Pics are always nice to..........

Musclow has always intrigued me.........did you give it a go?.

Your post leaves me wondering abiout my own adventure..........

Much like the famous line in Jaws.........."we're going to need a bigger boat">>> I am wondering if I'm going to need a bigger saw  ;D

mastertangler wrote on Jun 22^nd, 2013 at 11:37pm:

Much like the famous line in Jaws.........."we're going to need a bigger boat">>> I am wondering if I'm going to need a bigger saw  ;D

Harlan at Red Lake Outfitters made sure WCPP was ready for paddlers this year. I spent 23 days just after ice out helping him out by clearing as I did my canoe trip. My strong recommendation is not to attempt any route that has not had a chain saw crew through it this spring. Another thread here has a link to the park's  June 10 update on portage conditions. The park was going to have 3 crews continuing the portage clearing. There are ample routes open but some have yet to be cleared. Watch for the updates or contact Harlan at Red Lake Outfitters for the latest openings. They do not make a hand saw to handle what some of those portages contain.

a

As Marten noted, a lot of trails have been cleared already y this year.  In fact, the park is in relatively good shape considering the storm we had.  Our crews have done a bang up job of opening up routes and clearing the way.  We have already cleared 24,300 meters of trail and we are still going. 

The Bloodvein will be seeing park crews ( one is already out there), as well as our crews so in the next 3 weeks, the entire way from Lund Lake, through to the Manitoba border will be free and clear.

Harlan

starting to get pumped up........storm, down trees, bad portages......it all adds up to a bit of a mystery.

This is exactly why I like catching big fish.......your never really sure of the outcome. Always a bit of a challenge. And so it will be in WCPP. I have a strong inclination that my choice of route is not oft used. I will ease about and see if it will go.

I'm more concerned about the return leg than the way in. I'll take my bigger silky saw and clean up as much as I can so in case I need to to do an about face and return the way I came I can make some decent time. Never know when you will be turned back.

And who knows........I might end up much as dd.........basecamping and doing some side trips. The thought is unappealing however after the long drive, the long winter getting in shape and the muskies waiting at the end of the line.

mastertangler wrote on Jun 24^th, 2013 at 10:55pm:

starting to get pumped up........storm, down trees, bad portages......it all adds up to a bit of a mystery. This is exactly why I like catching big fish.......your never really sure of the outcome. Always a bit of a challenge. And so it will be in WCPP. I have a strong inclination that my choice of route is not oft used. I will ease about and see if it will go. I'm more concerned about the return leg than the way in. I'll take my bigger silky saw and clean up as much as I can so in case I need to to do an about face and return the way I came I can make some decent time. Never know when you will be turned back. And who knows........I might end up much as dd.........basecamping and doing some side trips. The thought is unappealing however after the long drive, the long winter getting in shape and the muskies waiting at the end of the line.

Yes.  You might just have to put up with such sub-standard fishing as this:

  (You need to Login or Register.  What was amazing about this fish was not so much the length, but the build ... obviously he had been eating well.

dd

nice fish dd........

didn't mean to throw off on your trip. You took what was offered and I would of probably done exactly the same thing from the sound of your description..........and been content.

But as much as I like to fish what I have in mind puts the fishing in 2nd place. Sort of weird.......the fishing is the motivation but the transit to the fishin hole is the real reward. I know you understand what I mean.

I'm wondering how you liked the packboat. What a great time you must have had.

nctry_Ben wrote on Jun 25^th, 2013 at 10:46pm:

I'm wondering how you liked the packboat. What a great time you must have had.

Clearly, a Pakcanoe is not in the same class as my Prism.  The Pakcanoe is not quite as good in straight line speed and is a bit heavier, but it was completely ample for the type of trip I had planned.  It was loaded aboard the float plane as another piece of gear and took me (solo) about an hour to assemble in the field in less than a perfect spot at the arrival location (space was a bit cramped and under a tree where I couldn't fully stand up).  But even in ideal conditions, my assembly time would normally run about 45 minutes.  The take down time was near normal ... 20 minutes, but for a float plane you need to have a soft landing spot so the floats don't get damaged.  So, it was necessary to shuttle all our gear (and me) out to the float plane on departure ... not a big deal, but a consideration (esp. if you did a solo trip).

I can't say that I gave my canoe much of a portage work out ... I only did 3 (day trip) portages.  However, you'd need to take some care with it if you were bushwhacking (which I did).  I wound up with a quarter size hole in the much thinner side material ... no doubt a sharp stick found a soft spot.  (I even heard it pop when it went thru, as I dragged the canoe over some deadfall.)  It was above the water line so I didn't take on any water and putting a patch on the hole was easy and simple.  (The directions indicate that it takes 24 hours for the adhesive to fully cure ... I waited overnight before hopping back in the canoe and proceeding as normal.) 

One thing continues to impress me about getting the canoe overhead ... at 45 pounds, I think it goes overhead MUCH easier than the longer/lighter Prism.  I suppose this is due to the tubing frame ... you have hand holds all over the place, so getting a grip at the right spot is no problem.

Of course transport of the pakcanoe to/from canoe country was as simple as it gets.  I just loaded it into my camper on the back of my pickup and off I went.

One feature I REALLY liked about the fact that the hull flexes a bit.  When I would pull up to a sloping rock to climb out of the canoe (e.g., campsite, portage, lunch stop, etc.) I had minimal worries about the canoe sliding down the rock on exit.  Once I put foot pressure on the hull with the rock underneath, I pretty well always stuck there.  With a hard shell, there is a tendency for it to slide down the rock slope.

dd