View topic - Scarce info on the Seal River 2019

I’m a UK based paddler for some reason I have always wanted to paddle the Seal River.

Having exhausted my Google fu I’m struggling to find any information that suggests anyone is outfitting trips on the Seal.

I could bring my own Pakboat from the UK but I’d really like to encourage a few folk from over here to join me.

Any local knowledge would be gratefully received.

I don’t want to use Blackfeather. Long story involving cheese.

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Know the wisdom of patience during times of inactivity.

www.forestknights.co.uk

There isn't any local (ie: Thompson MB) canoe outfitters I'm aware of that service Seal River trips.

If you need to rent a canoe and/or gear your best bet would be to do so in Winnipeg.

I've paddled the Seal twice, once starting from Tadoule Lake which you can reach by scheduled flight from Thompson and have your boat and gear shipped in via air cargo. I also paddled the South Seal from South Indian Lake (Leaf Rapids) to Tadoule Lake and then on to the coast.

One very positive thing for anyone considering paddling the Seal is that the train from Churchill to Thompson has just (like this week) resumed service after being non-operational since major flooding last Spring.

You can find my detailed trip report for the South Seal route here: http://recped.com/seal/

The Seal is a great trip, if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

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"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

I have done the Seal twice also. Both times started at Kinoosao, Saskatchewan. Up the Cochrane River To a place P. G. Downes called Maria Lake Trail in his book Sleeping Island.

Winnipeg outfitters like Wilderness Spirit (http://www.wildernessspirit.com/) do the Seal. I did the river with them several years ago. It's still one of my favourite rivers.

We tried to plan a self-outfitted trip a couple of years ago but found that there was no scheduled air into Tadoule Lake so getting a hard shell boat up for the trip was going to be prohibitively costly. A part of the group who owned Pakboats made the trip and really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the replies.

Looks like I have a bit of work to do researching the logistics.

No doubt I’ll have more questions later.

_________________
Know the wisdom of patience during times of inactivity.

www.forestknights.co.uk

How long do you have for the trip, as it maybe possible to hire a boat ride/shuttle your canoe across Southern Indian Lake and then canoe north to the Seal River but it adds a week.

There should be some Seal river trip reports here on myccr.

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Brian
http://www.JohnstonPursuits.ca

 

For the Seal proper, Flying into Tadoule Lake would be the answer. With a Pak boat, it would be very reasonably priced from Thompson -- sub $300 (as of four four years ago).

For North Seal, Same thing, but flying into Lac Brochet, then a half a day to the start of the cross via Maria Lake.

For South Seal, Leaf Rapids, then Barrington/Big Sand Lakes. I haven't gone past there on that route, but The South Seal seems pretty reasonable between there and Tadoule from my Google Earthing.

I find the Seal between Blackfish and Stony to be easy, and have never portaged after several trips through that, although the water gets annoyingly low fairly early in the summer.

No idea on the Churchill end of things, since I always solo paddle, don't carry a gun, and am concerned about polar bear country.

The Wilderness Spirit seems a great outfitter there. Hope to visit the Seal river in the future.