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Date/Time: 03/28/2024 06:47AM
Rabc fail

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Previous Messages:
Author Message Text
Springer2 08/29/2022 03:10PM
Oh, the horror. But we made it to Yum Yum for a night and Shan Walshe and McNiece more than made up for it, not to mention Kashahpiwi (Shan Walshe pictured)


Ho Ho 08/29/2022 02:31PM
Found my grainy disposable cam pics from our first encounter with Boggy in 2003 and also my "Trick Bog Portage" annotation on my map



As you can see it was also raining cats and dogs that day - the infamous Day of the Deluge.

PineKnot 08/29/2022 12:32AM
You guys are making me smile.....
Eyedocron 08/28/2022 11:25PM
To clarify, my wife has not gone on all the trips, but my son, who is now 42, has been with me 25 times, and I have 2 granddaughters who have been 3 times. The experience is addictive!
Eyedocron 08/28/2022 11:13PM
My future wife slipped off the logs into this bog with the heavy food pack here in 1974. We were laughing so hard it was hard to pull her out. That was the day she said "I am not sure I love you this much".
We have now been married 47 years, and this was the 4th of what is now 34 Quetico trips.
Ho Ho 08/28/2022 10:38PM
I have some grainy pics from a disposable camera somewhere but I couldn't find the digital scans of them just now.
Springer2 08/28/2022 10:02PM
Ho Ho: "I feel confident that Boggy Portage will in time throw off its new chains (or corduroy) and menace generations of travelers to come."
We can only hope! Oh how I wish I had put my load down and made a video of my buddy half-way across, up to his hips in the bog with the canoe on his head.
Ho Ho 08/28/2022 08:34PM
I feel confident that Boggy Portage will in time throw off its new chains (or corduroy) and menace generations of travelers to come.
Banksiana 08/28/2022 02:33PM
PineKnot: "Wait, what? So no more future stories of paddlers slipping off the corduroy into waist deep muck while swatting hordes of blood-sucking skeets (like my eldest son), or paddlers ending up back on the no-name that they thought was Grey?? Well, maybe in a few years after the bog swallows up that new corduroy, it'll go back to being known as the "Boggy Portage". :-) "
Corduroy is wide, perpendicular to direction of travel and laid firm and tight. Lack of traffic in the last two years has also healed the random scars inflicted by embattled portagers as they tried to avoid the bottomless muck.
Springer2 08/28/2022 12:48PM
Banksiana: "Update: McNeice portage is still (maybe more so) very difficult. Like the YumYum it is at times steep, and on two occasions, ridiculously steep trail."
I never did the Yum Yum but I think the McNiece to Kash was one of the toughest we ever did (Spring 2010, lots of trees down but at least it was dry). The Kett in a wet/flooded spring and McIntyre Creek-Robinson in the rain are right up there.
Photo: McNiece--steeper than the photo makes it look.

PineKnot 08/28/2022 12:45PM
Banksiana: "Update:



McNeice portage is still (maybe more so) very difficult. Like the YumYum it is at times steep, and on two occasions, ridiculously steep trail. The main trouble (and the reason it is tougher than YumYum) is that it is a rugged rocky slick-surfaced trail and for all but the last 200 yards (the Kahshahpiwi side) the surface of the trail is obscured by the thick growth of vegetation. It's not difficult to follow the trail; just hard to see what you are going to put your foot on. My experience was not helped by pouring rain for a good hour despite it being sunny at the time. Basically a mile long portage in which nearly every step must be taken slowly and with exquisite care.


On the upside my dog thought it was excellent.


Other portage notes on route- on the double headed deadly swamp portage from Dell to Grey the park is trying to make it single headed with the western most trail out of Dell being the maintained trail. New corduroy in the swamp section is fantastic.


"



Wait, what? So no more future stories of paddlers slipping off the corduroy into waist deep muck while swatting hordes of blood-sucking skeets (like my eldest son), or paddlers ending up back on the no-name that they thought was Grey?? Well, maybe in a few years after the bog swallows up that new corduroy, it'll go back to being known as the "Boggy Portage". :-)
Banksiana 08/27/2022 03:45PM
Update:


McNeice portage is still (maybe more so) very difficult. Like the YumYum it is at times steep, and on two occasions, ridiculously steep trail. The main trouble (and the reason it is tougher than YumYum) is that it is a rugged rocky slick-surfaced trail and for all but the last 200 yards (the Kahshahpiwi side) the surface of the trail is obscured by the thick growth of vegetation. It's not difficult to follow the trail; just hard to see what you are going to put your foot on. My experience was not helped by pouring rain for a good hour despite it being sunny at the time. Basically a mile long portage in which nearly every step must be taken slowly and with exquisite care.

On the upside my dog thought it was excellent.

Other portage notes on route- on the double headed deadly swamp portage from unnamed east of Dell to Grey the park is trying to make it single headed with the western most trail out of Dell being the maintained trail. New corduroy in the swamp section is fantastic.

Voyager 08/23/2022 07:19AM
I applied by mail ( don't remember when, 1st attempt was with the old form and I got the phone call ) , credit card was charged on Aug. 4th and I received the RABC in the mail Aug. 22.
marsonite 08/21/2022 04:13PM
Finally got my RABC on August 18, the day I got back from my backup trip. I'll use it next year.
timatkn 08/17/2022 09:15AM
campnfish: "Really wish I hadn't seen that photo."


Need to clarify that wasn’t the area we had to slide down. That’s just a picture of a portion along the trail looking down.


T
flaxman 08/15/2022 02:20PM
Getting back to the RABC permit, I, too, had a series of mishaps trying to get mine. Long story short, I mailed it in an hour after the program was reinstated, ultimately determined it was lost in the mail (first time ever). Tried the email route, but then notified that my PDF arrived blank (apparently this has been happening frequently). Re-sent, but by then, the processing time had slowed down with no hope for a timely arrival.

So, off I went to Pigeon River. Pulled in on a Saturday night in late July, the place was empty, and I was in and out in under 30 minutes. I, too, am leery of sending my passport through email, and with hindsight, I would have just planned on picking it up in person.
campnfish 08/15/2022 09:20AM
Really wish I hadn't seen that photo.
timatkn 08/15/2022 06:32AM
McNiece is harder than Yum Yum…oh boy. I’ve only done yum yum so cannot comment. I think Yum Yum got me because I have slight issue with heights and the rock face we had to slide down.
Banksiana 08/15/2022 12:57AM
With a Kahsh permit you can enter from Shade/Grey and either tackle the McNiece Portage or the YumYum Portage- neither is particularly easy- both have steep sections and really really steep climbs up solid rock. YumYum might be easier though there is more altitude gained and lost- the thick regrowth on the McNeice portage since the fires in 06 and 11 makes for some tough going.


The portage from the far south end is long but fairly easy if the beavers are on the job and allow you to float the pond beneath towering cliffs with a giant talus slope below. If the beaver dam has failed the route around the beaver pond is difficult sloppy corduroy with bottomless muck when (not if, when) you slip off the mud slicked logs. The last time through (I think 3 or 4 years ago) I floated the pond in spring and had the corduroy hell in mid-summer.


I'll see what I can find out on my trek and post if I have any news.
campnfish 08/13/2022 06:46PM
Thanks TZ, lots of good info here.
TrailZen 08/13/2022 11:04AM
campnfish: "Doing the same late September, never been up to Kahsh, any tips getting there?"


We've ventured through Kahsh several times--it's a beautiful lake. About 30 years ago we entered Kahsh from the south, and felt the portage was horrible enough that we'd avoid it on future trips. You don't name your entry lake, so I'll blather about a few options...


With Agnes as your entry lake, you can paddle the length of Agnes, go north through Kawnipi, then down the Kahsh Creek chain (Cairn, Sark, Keefer) into Kahsh. Exit via Joyce and head west, or exit further down via a series of no-names into Sarah. Or you can exit via Yum Yum (another tough portage) and work your way through the S chain back into Agnes.


With Sarah as your entry lake, I'd hit the upper end of Sarah and work my way through the no-names into Kahsh. An option is to leave Sarah for McIntyre, then work your way to Joyce and into Kahsh.


If Kahsh is your entry lake, you're pretty much stuck with the 1260 meter portage into the south end of the lake, since the Park requires you to go directly to your entry lake.


Hope it's a great trip! About 1/3 of the way up Kahsh on the east side is a BEAUTIFUL cliff-top site. Doesn't look like much from the lake, and requires climbing ~60 feet above the lake, but the view is amazing (if last year's fires didn't mess things up there) and the site is nice.


TZ



Jackfish 08/13/2022 08:31AM
Ho Ho: "Jackfish, how long did your friend wait for the permit that didn't come in time? "
Bill, I don't recall exactly, but probably two to two and a half weeks. Maybe three. He'd gotten no responses yet and couldn't get any firm answers, so he drove up to Sault Ste. Marie to get it. Lots of driving, but it's what one does when one gets a last minute opportunity to go to Q!
Ho Ho 08/12/2022 09:46PM
Jackfish, how long did your friend wait for the permit that didn't come in time? I just submitted our application a couple days ago. No definite travel date yet but thinking the end of the month.


Luckily, if worse comes to worse, I can drive up to I Falls too. I did it several years ago when I just plain forgot to apply for an RABC until it was too late.


campnfish 08/12/2022 08:36PM
Banksiana: "TrailZen: "Banksiana: "I did the email of the new form the first day it appeared. Received my RABC (via email) the following afternoon.

The pace of application must be picking up."

Nice! When I got the call from CBSA, the agent said they've been slammed with RABC requests. I'm still hoping mine arrives before I start my 1250-mile commute to canoe country, but if not, I'll just drive a bit longer after altering my Quetico reservation.

TZ"

Make sure to keep checking during the commute.
I hope to fill a Kahsh permit on Monday."

Doing the same late September, never been up to Kahsh, any tips getting there?
Jackfish 08/12/2022 03:55PM
My longtime Quetico paddling buddy got an opportunity to take a last minute trip so he quickly submitted his RABC permit application. I'd read on here that some of the folks had received them very quickly. Maybe only a week or ten days from the date of submission.


Well... that didn't happen.


He's retired, so he drove five hours one way to the Canadian customs office at Sault Ste. Marie, ON and picked up his RABC permit directly from them. He leaves for the Gunflint on Sunday and they're headed to a Cache Bay entry on a 10-12 day trip. Falls Chain to Kawnipi and down Agnes to Louisa Falls, then back.


Lucky dawg...
johno 08/12/2022 03:32PM
I emailed mine July 25th and received my RABC August 11th
Banksiana 08/12/2022 03:13PM
TrailZen: "Banksiana: "I did the email of the new form the first day it appeared. Received my RABC (via email) the following afternoon.




The pace of application must be picking up."




Nice! When I got the call from CBSA, the agent said they've been slammed with RABC requests. I'm still hoping mine arrives before I start my 1250-mile commute to canoe country, but if not, I'll just drive a bit longer after altering my Quetico reservation.



TZ"



Make sure to keep checking during the commute.
I hope to fill a Kahsh permit on Monday.
TrailZen 08/12/2022 01:59PM
Banksiana: "I did the email of the new form the first day it appeared. Received my RABC (via email) the following afternoon.



The pace of application must be picking up."



Nice! When I got the call from CBSA, the agent said they've been slammed with RABC requests. I'm still hoping mine arrives before I start my 1250-mile commute to canoe country, but if not, I'll just drive a bit longer after altering my Quetico reservation.


TZ
Banksiana 08/12/2022 01:52PM
I did the email of the new form the first day it appeared. Received my RABC (via email) the following afternoon.


The pace of application must be picking up.
TrailZen 08/12/2022 10:20AM
Like you, marsonite, I tried to get into the system early and used the old form. I had been checking the RABC site for updates, but didn't see anything about form revisions (and had even called CBSA June 30 to confirm that the 2018 version of the RABC application was the latest), so filled it out AND included scans of our vaccination cards. We were traveling the month of July, so I mailed the application from Italy July 8, expecting to see the RABC when we returned. When we returned in early August, the RABC wasn't in the mail dump, so I checked the RABC site and discovered the new application form, which I immediately completed and filed by email. A couple days later I got a call from the CBSA explaining that they no longer accepted applications using the old form; I said I'd also applied via email and the agent confirmed receipt of my emailed application.


I have yet to receive my RABC by email, but I'm going to Quetico later this month. If the RABC arrives by the 23rd, we'll enter via Prairie Portage. If it doesn't, we'll cancel the PP permit and enter from the north. Be flexible!


TZ
marsonite 08/11/2022 09:22PM
campnfish: "Did your card get charged? If so you should see it soon, maybe call and see if it can be expedited.



Mine went USPS as well, card got charged a few weeks ago, but haven't seen anything yet, but I have a month."



I checked about a week ago. It hadn't been charged so I went ahead and cancelled my Quetico permit. I also called border services last week. The guy said all he could do was tell me if I was in the queue which it is. I think they are pretty backed up.


Glad I can use it next year.
campnfish 08/11/2022 08:48PM
Did your card get charged? If so you should see it soon, maybe call and see if it can be expedited.


Mine went USPS as well, card got charged a few weeks ago, but haven't seen anything yet, but I have a month.
marsonite 08/11/2022 07:27PM
Well, I had a permit for Kashapiwi this Sunday...never got my RABC.

It was a complete fubar on my part. I thought I'd get a jump on them by snail mailing my application using the old form. Got a call from border services telling me they had it but I used the wrong form. So that day I emailed my app in with the right form. But the email didn't send....sat in my outbox for a week before I noticed. So I re-sent, and did verify that they had it. Three weeks later, still no word.

I'm not upset about it. My bad. We were a little short of time anyway....we've been talking for years about canoeing the Vermilion river (my wife and I had our first date on a day paddle there) so this is the year. But be warned those RABC's are taking awhile.