Does anyone have any information on Hoare Lake in Quetico? We're going to trip there this summer and would like info on portages, campsites, etc. thanks

If you have not left yet contact bojibob, he has been there a couple of times late 70's and I was there in 1980.  very tough to get in.  beautiful lake with ponds nearby.  great island campsite.  best to come in via camel lake. 

Hello Pierre,

I have been into Hoare twice as per my previous post on the Hoare Lake Message Cache.  My last trip there was in SEP of 1979 and my buddies went in 1980.  So, my information is a almost 30 years old.

Hoare is a Quetico Challenge for many reasons and seldom visted.

If you review the map there is only three possible routes in/out.

The first route if coming from the south, is via Pooh Bah which requires you to take the Conmee to Pooh Bah Triple Portage  Then into Lakes Bernice and Allan and finally into Hoare. Those poratges are all rated from difficult to "never again" on the QJ Portage database.  I would tend to agree with the difficult. There is no info on the poratge from Allan to Hoare in the QJ database for very good reason.  There isn't a true portage   However, it has been done twice to my knowledge. Once by a group of my friends in 1975 from Hoare to Allan.  They were kind enough to leave a blaze on a tree on the west shore of Hoare that we used again in 1979 to cross over. This was the only marker I saw that day and never found am established trail.  This was also one of the scarier moments of my 47 years of Life.  We (party of three) started out from Hoare and decided on a rare double portage and launched towards Allan with a 2 paddles, 3 day packs, and our camera equipment.  We used a map and compass and made it over through thick brush in about 40 minutes.  We then back tracked to Hoare in about 25 minutes and retrieved the Canoe and two heavy packs.  When we headed back towards Allan and somehow became "misoriented" and stopped about 40 mins into the portage and realized we didn't recognize this new open forest.  We dropped the gear and walked out a few hundred meters in several directions - calling back to the "base" until we were almost out of yelling range.  This exercise of futility lasted most of the day.  Keep in mind I was only 18 years old at the time, but a relative expeirenced outdoorsman, having been to the "Q" twice previoulsy and a veteran of several dozen of River trips, but at this point I was very scared.  I was no longer misoriented - I was lost - in a place that no one was going to find me.  After panic set in we back tracked to Hoare in about 60 mins and set up camp again on the island and decided we had no choice but to do it again in the morning (we had 2 of 3 paddles and some very expensive photo gear on Allan.)  The next moring I reset the compass, rechecked it every 100 or so yards and we made it over in under an hour.  We were back in Business!  A little information about the portage it goes up about 100 feet in elevation fairly quicky from Hoare and then flattens out.  I remeber it to be dry and thick, but again this was September. My guess is on the first attempt we moved more Southwest vs West and missed Allan lake by going south of it. Bottom Line:  It can be done, just be sure you use GPS or have good map and compass skills. Believe it or not, I don't classify it as "never again."

The best route into Hoare is via Camel Lake:

This route is no where near as tough as the Pooh Bah, Berniece, Allan route.


The route starts at Camel Lake. How you get to Camel depends on which entry point you use. I have come up two ways. 

The first trip in 1978 was up Agnes, Kawnipi, Russell, Heron Bay, Fred, Nan into Camel. A long but easy trek.

The 2nd trip was up Kahashawpiwi, Keefer, Sark, Cutty, Metacryst (we took a tough unlisted portage from Metacryst to Cub, this is a seldom used and was a very wet portage, that I'm not sure even exists today) If you want to pass on this, I have read a few posts on people going to Cub via Baird and it didn't sound too bad. From Cub the route into Camel is doable via Eag and Cutty Creek which flows into Camel. Here is a excellent link from a recent trip  (2008) taken by Ho Ho with a good detail and narrative and photos taking the Kahashawpiwi route into Camel.

http://www.bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=trip.report_view&sel_trp_id=1312

* Note: They did not go into Hoare. They preceeded on to Vernon and Delahey and took the "death march poratge" into Conmee. Which could be reversed into Camel.

Once you are in Camel you will pass through the Camels Narrows and you will need to look on the west side of the lake for the creek that "flows" west into a unamed pond south of Hoare. The Map is pretty clear.  There is NO defined or marked portage.  You need to follow the creek to the pond. This entire area had been burned sometime in the late 60's or 70's and was fairly thick with new growth which made the dry rocky creek with numerous deadfalls very attractive.
We followed the creek on the north bank, sometimes dropping into the creek and jumping back out and over the many dead falls.  This will lead you into Pond #1.  We would take a short break here and then paddle the pond towards pond #2 with a quick jump portage into Pond #2, which is directly south of Hoare.  (This pond is loaded with Smallies  We caught over 20 in about an hour with 3 of us.) Jump in the canoe for a quick paddle to the to the NE corner of the Pond. There may still be some blazes on a tree or two.  Your objective is to travel to the south eastern inlet bay of Hoare. If you can't find the blazes- no worries, this is a easy but steep down hill walk though some of the most beautiful old growth forest  (140 years +) in Quetico. Taken from Ancient Forest.org  "The old-growth stand at Hoare Lake (#33) is dominated by white pine with a significant sub-component of red pine and balsam fir. This stand borders the entire southern shoreline of Hoare Lake".

http://www.ancientforest.org/guide.html#11

The Only Campsite is on the island on the north central part of the Lake.

On this island there is/was a message cache.  I know of at least 4 groups that have posted there. We stayed there for several days on each trip and it was always the highlight of my trips to the "Q"  The Lake is loaded with Lake Trout and your view of the old growth forest from your rocky beach campsite is one for ages.  Trust me... no one will be paddling by.

As I mentioned there is a 3rd route into Hoare. Our group leader had read about Hoare Lake in a old National Geographic Magazine and the rumor was that they conducted a expedition throught the Q in the 1950's and got to Hoare from the North via Fred, Allan Creek and two no name ponds.  I have read of other groups travelling from Fred to Allan and vice versa in QJ Potage database, none make the leap from the pond to Hoare.  But it does look possible, but it sounds like a tough route to me.

Death March, Lost...  Deadfalls, Dry creeks.....! No Easy way in...Is it all worth it?  To go where very few have gone before and enjoy one of the hidden jewels of the Q...a sunken lake...surrounded by an ancient growth forest in total solitude.... I say YES.

I am more than happy to give you additional information via email or phone call if interested.

If you should make it....  please let me know how you did it...