Trip was completed in August 2000. Party of two. Some portages completed in one trip, others in two trips, others half & half.
Day One - 5 to 6 hrs travel time
Paddle 15 km, Portage 2995 m
This was a long day because we didn`t hit the water at the George access until noon after driving to the park that morning.
Nice views on George. Freeland weed-choked.
The 1975 m portage from Freeland to Kakakise was tough to find in a weed and log choked back bay. The new small signs didn`t help much. The portage also intersected with a hiking trail at two points - not marked on the map and a bit confusing - keep to the left! Otherwise a level, easy portage.
Nice views on Kakakise of the white ridges. Lots of planking/boardwalks on the 940 m portage to Carlyle
Option to drive over to the Carlyle access and launch from there. This would shorten the day and get you into the upper reaches of Johnnie. It is a bit discouraging to paddle and portage a few hours and then come out on Carlyle and Johnnie where there are cottages.
Day Two - 4 hrs travel time
Paddle 14 km, Portage 330 m
Upper Johnnie is beautiful with granite outcrops and views of the quartzite ridges.
Bell Lake very nice.
Three Mile and Balsam Lakes very secluded with a lot of marshy lowlands. Even though in mid-August we saw hardly anyone. Camp on Balsam. Very windy next 24 hrs.
Day Three - 4 hrs travel time
Paddle 10 km, Portage 1230 m.
Mid Balsam Lake island studded and marshy. Lots of wolf scat on portage to David.
David is beautiful with fine views and turquoise waters. Boundary Lake has only one campsite for canoeists (one for hikers). Nice site, great views of Silver Peak and ridges from the portage, very secluded feel. Lots of wildlife in this corridor between ridges. Wolf or wolves in camp that night.
Day Four - 5 to 6 hrs travel time
Paddle 17 km, Portage 1850 m.
Side trip off of Boundary - David portage part way up Silver Peak trail. Great views and pictures only 10 minutes off the portage. Need to be camped another night on Boundary or David to do whole climb to Silver Peak. Very pleasant, easy stretch from David down to Johnnie despite a lot of small portages.
Tough prevailing headwinds on Johnnie and Carlyle. A bit of a long day.
Day Five - 4 to 5 hours travel time
Paddle 10 km, Portage 2995 m.
Retraced same route back to George Lake. Not worth seeing a second time really. Long Option: Go Carlyle - Kakakise - Norway - Killarney - Freeland - George. This is much more scenic but replaces the 1975 m portage with two 1400 m portages in and out of Norway.
Short Option: Exit at Carlyle access and hitch a 10 minute ride back to George then come back and get your gear.