...would you park at and head off to Crab?

The one off of Van Vac Road.

yea thanks, i found the info in one of my books, also there is one on wolf road that would work as well.

Burnside is a big lake and getting across both ways requires some skill and luck. You can be a bit selective about the weather when you cross Burnside going in but most times the weather and wind on the get out day and time can not.

First time we used the Van Vac launch site there was a stiff wind from the west. We launched any way and we ended upside down in some pretty cold water in May. That is another story.

The next time we entered Burnside we used the sourthern site off Wolf Road. My logic was we would be better protected to a west wind by the north shore and the many islands if the weather got bad on the get out day. This trip worked out much better.

Of course you can always take a tow across Burnside and remove the risk of bigwater crossing.

UPBoy

bwcasolo: "...would you park at and head off to Crab?"

It's just about the same distance to Crab Lake Portage from either the Wolf Lake Road access and the Van Vac Road landing.
You will have more protection from the Wolf Lake Landing because of all the islands if you have a strong west wind, but it can get confusing unless you know the lake or have a good GPS.

The Great Outdoors: "

bwcasolo: "...would you park at and head off to Crab?"

It's just about the same distance to Crab Lake Portage from either the Wolf Lake Road access and the Van Vac Road landing.
You will have more protection from the Wolf Lake Landing because of all the islands if you have a strong west wind, but it can get confusing unless you know the lake or have a good GPS."

thankyou.

Summer SW wind can turn both routes into a hairy open water crossing--you can get wind and waves blowing pretty hard straight up the long fetch there.



Starting from the Wolf Lake landing involves crossing a half mile of open water before you're into the shelter of the islands. You'd be heading due north going in and can angle off the waves, but returning into those waves can be dicey.

Going in from the Van Vac Road landing will mean a shorter crossing--about a quarter mile over to Dollar Island--but the waves tend to get funneled right there into quite a chop--and you'd generally be paddling pretty much across the wave action.

Van Vac landing has better parking, especially after spaces at the Wolf Lake landing got reduced--it can get parked up!

If it's a very windy day and you put in at the Wolf Lake Landing, you can go left (sw) & hug the shore line over to Tamarack Creek and hide behind the islands and mainland all the way to Crab Lake Portage. This will take a bit longer than going in a straight line.
If it's a windy day, you cannot hide when going to Crab Lake Portage from the Van Vac Landing.

The Great Outdoors: "If it's a very windy day and you put in at the Wolf Lake Landing, you can go left (sw) & hug the shore line over to Tamarack Creek and hide behind the islands and mainland all the way to Crab Lake Portage. This will take a bit longer than going in a straight line.
If it's a windy day, you cannot hide when going to Crab Lake Portage from the Van Vac Landing."

that is my plan exactly, and was the information i was looking for. thanks, should be a very beautiful, paddle, looking forward to it!

I have used Passi Rd. Easy parking and fairly protected if you need to hug the shoe or dance around islands and I had one.

I have not used the others, so I can not compare.


John