The first part of this summer's canoe trip was in Atikaki which is just west of WCPP in Manitoba. I found the route from Wallace Lake to the Bloovein River via Aikens Lake and the Tea Pail Portage to be a great paddling route. This is the link to the trip report on CCR and includes a G4map, GPS file and PDF of the trip journal which is picture heavy.   (You need to Login or Register

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Glad to read about and encounter another canoeist who has paddled the Atikaki Park.  I was a guide with the Scout facility in Bissett during the summers of 1998 and 2010 through 2014.  You went through the southern section of the park, while I paddled throughout the middle sections ( Bloodvein River, Sasaginnigak, Kawaseecheewonk etc. ) I hope that your trip was as enjoyable as my summers were.   

My goal was to see if the route was still in use. It was and the scouts seem to be using the Scout Lake, Bloodvein,Gammon and Tea Pail portage back to the Bloodvein on a regular basis. I am heading into the areas above tbe Bloodvein next year. Looking at getting a Pak canoe and having Bluewater Aviation drop me up there so I can wander around. I know your trips are really ambitious but I will be content to poke around for weeks. You wouldn't have any old sketches of the possible routes you are allowed to share?? I have gleaned bits and pieces from the scouts videos and the web site but info is scarce.

I don't know of any "Tea Pail" portage.  The Bloodvein and Sas waterways, as well as the Gammon west of Stonehouse and the "Africa" portage, are all used and maintained by the Scouts. 

As for route info, that can be tough to put on line, as each Scout trip follows an itinerary planned out by the Scouts themselves ( with some "assistance" by the Charlie Guides).  Each route is custom made by each Scout crew.  Those of us who have worked for the Scout program hesitate to put route suggestions on line, as there are some Scout leaders who will decide a route for the Scouts, then assert that the routes are fixed, set itineraries like what is at Disneymont Philmont.  The Scout Leaders will then refuse to allow the Scouts to plan their own trip, and having the Scouts plan the trip is a central part of the program.  Almost every time, the Scouts come up with trips that are more physically challenging and adventuresome than what the leaders think of as a canoe trip -- and one of the main points is to get the Scouts to take a challenging, rigorous canoe trip, not a fishing trip.   

With Northern tier, there are no set, fixed itineraries.  Plus, some of the names used for portages and lakes are appellations that have been created by the staff at Bissett.  For example, the pair of portages between Stone house Lake and the Gammon river are called "Viet Nam," and the lake in the middle of the pair is called "Africa Lake."  Neither of these are official Canadian names. Same with waterways known as "Mordor," which is the waterway and region directly east from Scout Lake to the Ontario border and Hobbs Lake, and Heartbreak Portage, which is the trail that exits Scout Lake to the immediate NNW.  "Heartbreak" derives its name from the fact that it traverses a swamp, and can take crews 3 to 6 hours to complete.  Scout Lake and Hobbs Lake are official Canadian names, while "Mordor" is not.   

Thanks for the reply and policy explanation. Probably best that I explore it on my own. The scout's Vietnam is what the Berard map calls Tea Pail Portage. Interesting that info is so scarce that an equal number of paddlers are using the uglier portage of the two options to Stonehouse from Africa Lake. But then maybe scouts are choosing it on purpose. Northern Tiers site does list some routes but it sounds like the scouts can put their own plan together and have a unique adventure.

Fond memories  :) of the area.  I look forward to canoeing there again.  The Map table / chart table at Bissett is made from several of my notes. 

Additional note:  The Scouts have not been using the Obukwin portages since the 1980s.  I have no idea what condition they are in.  Many of the campsites along the Bloodvein are in fair-to-passable condition. 

The Obukowin portages are in great shape and used a lot. I traveled them in 2015 and had very little to clean off the trails. Trappers use most of those three canoe portages in winter so they keep them wide enough for their snowmobiles. You just have to make sure as you head north on the middle portage that you head for solid ground and "Stoneman" and avoid the trappers winter trail through flat but boggy ground.

What's the travel time by car from say the Twin Cities up above and northwest of the 'Peg to get at Atikaki? Just curious about the logistics.

HighnDry wrote on Sep 21^st, 2016 at 1:26am:

What's the travel time by car from say the Twin Cities up above and northwest of the 'Peg to get at Atikaki? Just curious about the logistics.

Roughly 3 hours drive NE of Winnipeg.  Approximately 150 miles.  The southernmost launch point would be Wallace Lake campground. 

Marten wrote on Sep 19^th, 2016 at 1:33pm:

The Obukowin portages are in great shape and used a lot. I traveled them in 2015 and had very little to clean off the trails. Trappers use most of those three canoe portages in winter so they keep them wide enough for their snowmobiles. You just have to make sure as you head north on the middle portage that you head for solid ground and "Stoneman" and avoid the trappers winter trail through flat but boggy ground.

Good to learn of that.  The Scouts quit using that route during the 1980s as 1.  The adult crew leaders complained about the trail conditions ( some of them were reported to be absolutely furious, as the trails were a great deal more difficult than they expected ), and 2.  there was a fire in the area during the mid to late 1980s, making the trails tough to locate.  It is one thing to cross a mucky trail full of mire and mud at the end of the trip, after one has learned what to expect, and quite another to begin the trip with three trail of such condition.  People routinely underestimate the rigorous physical challenge some of the trails can present. 

Is there also a trail into Walking Stick which is a bit further south of that area? I seem to remember a discussion of finding a route in there or that one exists but is unused? It looks like an interesting area to  get into (if it can be accessed) but would require either a west-side entry or fly-in to CarrolL

From the Rockford IL area it takes the same amount of time to Red Lake or Wallace Lake near Bissett, Manitoba. From the Twin Cities you would head to Fargo and go up 29 to Winnipeg. That way would be about 10 hours for you with even the gravel roads near the end that allow 40 to 50 mph travel speeds.

Thanks Marten. I thought of that way as well. I know at least one other canoeist who went up to Manitoba to enter Gardner from Beresford, if I remember correctly. He did Thief River Falls, then crossed the border due north and caught the highway south of 'Peg to then head east towards the park. I haven't mapquested any of this but I'd guess it would fall in your time range estimate.

HighnDry wrote on Oct 5^th, 2016 at 1:20am:

Is there also a trail into Walking Stick which is a bit further south of that area? I seem to remember a discussion of finding a route in there or that one exists but is unused? It looks like an interesting area to  get into (if it can be accessed) but would require either a west-side entry or fly-in to CarrolL

I have accessed Walking Stick in WCPP from the east, west and up the creek from Carroll. This summer the creek from Carroll was a hard pull,literally, the last mile because the beavers and their dams were gone. Coming from the west is my favorite but has a some 900 meter portages. There are no maintained or blazed portages but I can get you  my gps tracks through the area.

HighnDry wrote on Oct 15^th, 2016 at 12:54am:

Thanks Marten. I thought of that way as well. I know at least one other canoeist who went up to Manitoba to enter Gardner from Beresford, if I remember correctly. He did Thief River Falls, then crossed the border due north and caught the highway south of 'Peg to then head east towards the park. I haven't mapquested any of this but I'd guess it would fall in your time range estimate.

There are several options but the others are harder to describe. Since I have a cabin in the area I often times cross at Warroad and end up accessing the trans Canada at East Baintree via a well maintained gravel road. Then I follow hwy 11 to Pine Falls.

A little less than 8 from the Twin Cities which means about an 11 to 12 hour trip. This is almost identical to the drive for Wabakimi which I've done twice. Not bad really if it can be done in one long day. It allows for a longer time in the park.

This is on my radar again for this season. God help me.  :D

I will try to talk you into it at the Copia dinner.

Sounds like a plan Marten. See you there.