Trip Journal/Log/Report/Diary:
The first portage after leaving the less than adeqate ranger briefing went off as usual. I've done this loop four times so I know the routine. The rangers didn't inform us about the several flooded camp sites or just how bad the portages were. The second portage was worse but doable. The third one into Isaac Lake needs to be rerouted at it's end. The whole thing is a pot holed mess and the end was a series of long ponds with mud up over the knees. We had to remove the canoe cart and float the canoe through the mess. The remaining portages were better but still bad, very potholed. The camp sites were generally in good shape. Wood lots though marked on the map were usually empty or just punk wood. Also, the wood lots don't seem to be near any of the camp sites! We had some pretty severe weather on Isaac Lake with high winds that were close to swamping the canoe if you were weren't paying attention. Because of the high water the trip through the shoot was easiy and the Cariboo River was straight forward but fast. Nothing exceptional with the rest of the trip. The bottom line is that I wouldn't recommend anyone doing the whole loop. Stick to only the shorter west side and enjoy a week of canoe camping. This used to be billed as one of the 10 best canoe trips on the continent. My advice would be to shut down the early part of the loop in order fix the portages.As long as Parks Canada is going to charge for this outing they need to step up and do some work before someone gets hurt.
