View topic - The road to Bloodvein and unattended vehicles

Has anyone traveled the new road to Bloodvein? I'm assuming it would be suitable for a front wheel drive car?

What about leaving a vehicle there unattended for a month or more? Does anyone know of someone that lives there whom I could contact about a place to park?

There will be nothing of value, that applies to both the car and the contents, but I would like some assurance it will be there when I return. I don't need secure storage, just someplace to park that's out of the way and someone who knows what's going on so the car isn't treated as abandoned.

A member of this and another forum graciously offered to shuttle me there and back, assuming schedules worked out, but when checking Google maps I see that would be a 9 hour round trip for them and I'm hesitant to put anyone to that much trouble. I'm also pretty sure there will be a scheduling conflict at the beginning of the trip.

Thanks,

Alan

The scheduling might be an issue, we should be back from Geraldton around the 20th of August.

The round trip doesn't much matter to us, I've done to Matheson Island and back in a day.

No longer considering starting at Red Lake and finishing going up the Bloodvein?

Karin

I saw that. I'm hoping to be on the water the 17th, if not a day or two sooner.



Starting at the bottom is starting to look more appealing as the realization sinks in what my food pack weight is likely to be. If I start at the top I'll have 3-4 days with lots of ports at full pack weight just getting to the Bloodvein River system. Starting at the bottom would leave me with a lot less food weight by the time I hit WCPP and the longer portages.

Starting at the bottom has the possibility of a more leisurely trip as well. Go hard to get upstream and once I make it to the end I'll have a pretty good idea how long it will take to go back down. If time is on my side I can take extra days exploring WCPP and spend some lazy time floating downstream. If time isn't on my side turn around and head straight back without having to spend that 3-4 days paddling/portaging in from the edge of WCPP.

Starting at the top I'd have to go pretty hard downstream and do the same coming back up since I don't know how long it's going to take. But the reward at the end would hopefully be reaching WCPP and still waters with time to kill before heading back to the car.

What to do with my car is the big question mark if starting at the bottom. At the top I'd have no issue leaving it at the Johnson Lake parking area with Harlan to keep an eye on things when he drives by. I have no idea what to expect at Bloodvein village.

Alan

Up at the Rice River this last weekend the road looked ok. The worst bits were actually south of manigotagan where they have been trying to patch/replace some of the culverts. There were some soft spots and pot holes that would kill your car or you if you hit them at speed or in the dark.
You could always contact the band office in Bloodvein and I think there is a lodge in Bloodvein that would probably let you park there. Cam White at Red River Outfitters may be able to assist with contacts or even a shuttle from his place just east of Winnipeg. The other option is Charlie Simard who does shuttles for the Manigotagan. I understand that he is also willing to shuttle to the Bloodvein. I'm planning on being out paddling that week or I would offer to do it.

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Charlie is pretty reliable but I dont know how to get hold of him. I will ask if my coworker has any relatives in Bloodvein that can look after the car. He might be willing to do a shuttle too...a very enterprising guy if the price is right.

I would not be inclined to just leave it at the bridge for a month.

Christy

I think Charlie's contact details are on the mbeconetwork pages for the Manigotagan.

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Thanks for the info.

Alan

Charlie shuttled our VW golf down that road last year. We picked him up in Manigotagan on our way too Wallace. He kept our car at his place until our earliest possible completion day then drove it to the bridge construction site. The bridge wasn't completed then but it is now. Getting to know Charlie is worth the price of the shuttle. If you want to leave your car at the bridge you can find the bridge on the topos by finding the power line crossing.

Thanks but I've decided to start on the upstream end near Red Lake. Simpler and no shuttle fees. Just a little more weight for the longer portages at the beginning.

Alan

Sounds like I may just miss you. I plan on heading out from Red Lake for a week on the 15th if all goes to plan.

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Forgot to update this earlier. The trip went fine. In the end I'm very glad I started at Red Lake as the numerous portages with full pack weight on the upstream leg would have been very annoying. Running downstream first also let me develop my 'river eyes' in terms of training my brain to spot portages and to know where to look for them. I also remembered where many began on the downstream side of the rapids since they were fresh in my memory. They tend to be marked very well when going downstream but not so well when coming from the other direction. Especially some of the Class I's and swifts which are probably run by nearly everyone going downstream but can't be paddled up.

After seeing Bloodvein Village in person I don't think I would have had a problem just showing up and finding someplace to leave my vehicle. Didn't get out to walk around but the people I met on the water were all friendly. I'd guess there are over a thousand people there? It was bigger than I thought it would be, at least from my vantage on the water.

The trip was great. Spent 30 days on the water. Picked up the Gammon River on the way back upstream to the put-in at Douglas Lake. Upstream travel wasn't particularly difficult. Never been on a river with so much flow yet so little current.

Alan