I don't agree that you need 3-4 days for this trip. In Sept. 2005 I took my two children (ages 10 and 12) on this lovely trip, for the third time. It takes barely an hour to get down Smoke Lake, even with wind and a light chop, then the quick portage into Ragged. 50 minutes paddling takes you to the (muddy and shallow) entrance to the steep portage up to Big Porcupine.
Big Porcupine is often windy, but even so getting to the short Bonnechere Lake portage takes much less than an hour. Once in beautiful Bonnechere you have your choice of charming campsites, and it's far enough away from the highway that the day trippers are left behind.
We left the Smoke Lake access point at 8.30 on Saturday morning, and got to our Bonnechere Lake campsite 4 hours later. The next morning we left to retrace our steps, and after less than 4 hours were back at the car. We still had time for a leisurely afternoon swimming and relaxing.
You can definitely stretch this great route into several days, but if you have only a short weekend, don't be deterred - it's definitely doable without killing yourself.
Comments
I don't agree that you need 3-4 days for this trip. In Sept. 2005 I took my two children (ages 10 and 12) on this lovely trip, for the third time. It takes barely an hour to get down Smoke Lake, even with wind and a light chop, then the quick portage into Ragged. 50 minutes paddling takes you to the (muddy and shallow) entrance to the steep portage up to Big Porcupine.
Big Porcupine is often windy, but even so getting to the short Bonnechere Lake portage takes much less than an hour. Once in beautiful Bonnechere you have your choice of charming campsites, and it's far enough away from the highway that the day trippers are left behind.
We left the Smoke Lake access point at 8.30 on Saturday morning, and got to our Bonnechere Lake campsite 4 hours later. The next morning we left to retrace our steps, and after less than 4 hours were back at the car. We still had time for a leisurely afternoon swimming and relaxing.
You can definitely stretch this great route into several days, but if you have only a short weekend, don't be deterred - it's definitely doable without killing yourself.
Michael Watson
Toronto/Huntsville