View topic - Chipewyan River info please...

Hello all, I am wondering if anybody has any information about the Chipewyan River and if it can be canoed early July. We are hoping that we can get as close as possible to Island Lake (wmu 518), so any info on the 5km stream that runs from the Chipewyan River south to the lake would also be appreciated.
Thanks.

I haven't been in there but I imagine the river is viable in July. I would suggest a small chain saw and 5 gallons of DEET would be a good idea. How are you planning to get in there? That is the middle of nowhere! It's a long way from any road and a very long upstream paddle from Wabasca.

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These waves didn't look that big when I scouted it!

Haha, thanks. Yep, we're expecting there to be a few bugs... My map shows a decent service road that almost gets most of the way to the river and google earth seems to show that same road actually crossing the river. Unless we can get some solid verification that this trip is doable, we may put in at this juncture and head to the Wabasca and up towards the Liege.
The main purpose of this trip is to do some backcountry camping and fishing. I had heard that the fishing at Island Lake is fantastic, but we didn't want to fly in and hiking a heavy pack 15km to the lake also seemed excessive... hence the enquiry into canoeing down the Chipewyan. But this is sounding less and less viable too, so maybe we'll have to settle for cruising around the Wabasca. Cheers.

I didn't zoom in enough in map source. It looks good, but I wouldn't be surprised if you encounter some challenges on that road. 4WD & a good winch would be wise.

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These waves didn't look that big when I scouted it!

Thanks Doug. Had overlooked the winch - good thinking! I really appreciate your input. I'll be sure to update everyone on how this works out in the end.