Paddle Power wrote:
To confirm, your plan is from Kinoosao on Reindeer Lake to Nueltin and back to Kinoosao. Distance 500 mi/800 km. Time 40 days. Daily rate 15mi/day (24 km/day). Travelling solo.
That about sums it up except I'll be traveling with my dog as well. Rough estimate by map from Kinoosao is 300 miles and from Walloston Lake 250; each one way. 15 miles/traveling day shouldn't be a problem. From Wallsoston lake it should take 33+ traveling days at 15 miles/day to make the round trip. That should leave ample time for weather, laziness, and over estimating my abilities.
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Experience wilderness canoe tripper, including experience wilderness solo canoe tripping in Northern MB and SK.
Never been that far north. Most of my other tripping has been around WCPP. Most trips have been 10 days or less but last year we (me and the dog) paddled the length of the Bloodvein and back, starting and ending at Johnson Lake. Took us 30 days with 4-5 days of no travel due to weather. Most days were at least 15 miles with a good number over 20 a couple over 25.
The trip I was planning to do this year, and still might, is the Berens River (road access N of Red Lake) to Family Lake and from there catch the Poplar River to Lake Winnipeg. Then a couple days down the coast of Lake Winnipeg to the mouth of the Berens River and all the way back upstream.
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How does the drive to the put-in factor into your trip? I have never been to Kinoosao but I suspect the road is not great (though I don't know what it is like to your other option on Wollaston Lake either) and even if it isn't a mess of pot holes it will be slow going for a solo driver. How long have you factored in for the drive?
I haven't quite factored the drive time into the 45 day schedule. I'm planning for 45 days off work so if I left Friday after work I could drive all weekend and hopefully be on the water Monday; so no days off work for that. The return trip might work out similarly or maybe not. Lots of driving though; about 1300 miles (2100 km) each way.
I haven't found much info about road conditions but I was disappointed to see how much gravel there will be. I hadn't noticed that until you prompted me to look. From my American point of view any road that shows so prominently on a map with actual highway numbers would be paved. Not so up there. Looks like at least a couple hundred miles of gravel no matter which road I take. I assume they're in decent condition, except for maybe that last 60 miles to Kinoosao which is a little dead end spur off the "highway". But they will certainly add time and dust to the trip.
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There is an airstrip on Nueltin Lake so you could always fly back!
I saw that and it could certainly make life a lot easier but I can be stubborn and like doing things myself. I'd rather take an extra 3 weeks off work without pay and paddle it myself than to spend 3 weeks at work to pay for the plane ride. Actually I'd probably have to work for a month or more to pay for that flight.
If I do this trip I guess I always have the option of turning around before I reach Neultin Lake if I can't stick to the schedule.
Thanks for the great input so far.
Alan