View topic - Kayak route need from paint lake to Hudson bay

I need help finding a route for an end of August kayak trip. My only requirements are 1. Start in Paint Lake (although Thompson could be arranged) 2. Get to an area with polar bears and belugas.
It looks like Churchill is the cheapest/easiest place to arrange for return transportation so I was thinking of making this the target destination. I have pretty much unlimited time for the trip, but will be constrained by the weather, and by the amount of food I can carry.

What kind of kayak?

How are you with portaging?

Will you be travelling solo?

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http://www.canoepaddler.net

A composite sea kayak. I'm prepared for a lot of lengthy portages, and yes I will be solo.

You can cross over from the Grass River at a Thicket Portage to Cross Lake then down the Bigstone to the Hayes. The book by Paul Gahlinger may give you some other ideas.
You can buy a copy at this link- http://www.paddle.mb.ca/products-page/books/northern-manitoba-from-forest-to-tundra-by-paul-gallagher/

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http://www.canoepaddler.net

Do you have any suggestions to get to churchill?

Descending the Grass River from Paint Lake would take you to the Nelson, just below the Kelsey generating station and just upstream of Split Lake.

If you look back through this thread -

http://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtop ... 13&t=40590

you will see a couple of posts about a route from near Split Lake on the Nelson to Churchill via Waskaiowaka Lake and the Little Churchill and Churchill Rivers. Whether the person inquiring about a route ever made the trip, I am not sure.

In the Manitoba trip reports forum is a report on the Little Churchill / Churchill section by "Rappi".

Without a great detour to the west, I don't see another option for reaching the town of Churchill from your position via the Grass / Nelson. That said, this would be a very serious undertaking and I think the crossing to Waskaiowaka could be problematic in a sea kayak.

-jmc

Suggestion....Plan a start at Norway House ferry crossing on the Nelson and head up to Gillam. Decide once there if you want to continue on to Churchill from there. Depending on your experience with wilderness tripping you may want to cut out early.

If you are heading to Churchill then a gun of some sort is advisable. You are part of the food chain. This would be a great trip but maybe not feasible with a kayak strictly because of the limited load capacity involved. Solo, you need to carry ALL the gear. A canoe might be better.

Christy

If you're not opposed to "portage via train", you could paddle to Gillam, take the train up to McClintock and put in on the Deer River. Then take the Deer, Dog and Churchill Rivers into Churchill. Otherwise, it would take some significant portaging to get from the Nelson to Churchill.