Last week I came off my longest trip in close to 20 years and my longest solo by a large margin. Feeling lucky to have had a luxurious stretch of time in the back of beyond. I think I was out 23 days?

Route: Little Caribou, Caribou, Smoothrock, Smokey, Iris, Elf, Granite, Spirit, Thunder, Burnt, Great, FON, Brennan, Stump, Gault, Flindt, Flet?, Flindt river, Heafur, Foam, past Allanwater bridge, up the Brightsand river to Redsand lake and then down the Kopka with a take-out at Bukemiga.

This route was a last minute plan b; my original plan was to paddle the Albany from Osnaburgh to Fort Albany, but I just wasn't comfortable doing it with the water levels so high.

I worked my body over pretty good--only had one rest day (wish I had more). Had to triple portage until day 12 or so, then it was down to double portages for a spell until I got to the Kopka. Actually, there was a wrapped canoe in the first set of marked rapids on the Kopka, and later at Sandison Lake? I found a kitchen pack belonging to the wrapped canoe party, which I carried out to Bukemiga.

Blueberries were everywhere. Water levels were very high. Bugs weren't bad, all things considered. I really enjoyed the lakes above Brennan--spirit, thunder, etc., though I had to flag and crash one portage I just couldn't find. The lowlight for me was probably going up the Brightsand--maybe with lower water it would be more enjoyable.

Anyway, good times!

Wow - great stuff! Hope you write a detailed report, and would love to see a route map. A number of the lakes you mention are not immediately familiar - Thunder? Spirit? Burnt? FON?

Nice trip. In 2009, a very high water year, we did a Wabakimi Project trip on the Albany from Osnaburgh Lk with plans to get to Miminiska Lk but were not able to go beyond Achapi Lk because of high standing waves NE of Achapi. We terminated the trip on the advice of Don Elliot Mattice Lake Outfitters who flew us out from Achapi. We bypassed a number of portages by cutting through the flooded forest in the canoes. This trip was in mid August and Achapi Lk was the most mosquito infested place I have ever been.

sns: "Wow - great stuff! Hope you write a detailed report, and would love to see a route map. A number of the lakes you mention are not immediately familiar - Thunder? Spirit? Burnt? FON?"

I was using Bruce's maps from Wabakimi Outfitters. That chain of lakes was an alternate way to get to Brennan Lake (instead of going around Brennan Falls).

deerfoot: "Nice trip. In 2009, a very high water year, we did a Wabakimi Project trip on the Albany from Osnaburgh Lk with plans to get to Miminiska Lk but were not able to go beyond Achapi Lk because of high standing waves NE of Achapi. We terminated the trip on the advice of Don Elliot Mattice Lake Outfitters who flew us out from Achapi. We bypassed a number of portages by cutting through the flooded forest in the canoes. This trip was in mid August and Achapi Lk was the most mosquito infested place I have ever been.
"

Yowzers. That sounds harrowing. Makes me feel better about my decision. I was thinking about all those portage landings at the brink of falls....

One thing I remember about finding portage landings in the Wabakimi area is that often they were located at the last possible place you could pull out before you were in trouble. I guess the original travelers wanted to do the shortest possible portage. On many Wabakimi Project trips we had to very carefully approach any drops because we usually had no idea which side of the river the portage was on. You had better have solid back ferry skills.

On one trip, which was the first trip of the year in late May and in high water, we worked our way upstream on each side of the river which allowed us to approach portages from the down stream side. A much safer way to find portage landings.

tomo: "

sns: "Wow - great stuff! Hope you write a detailed report, and would love to see a route map. A number of the lakes you mention are not immediately familiar - Thunder? Spirit? Burnt? FON?"

I was using Bruce's maps from Wabakimi Outfitters. That chain of lakes was an alternate way to get to Brennan Lake (instead of going around Brennan Falls)."

Interesting. Still not clear what your exact route was...can you draw it on google maps or something for us to see? Are those lakes in question north of Brennan and NW of Granite?

I think this is the stretch you are referencing. I see I missed a day tracking :). I turned south at the missing tracking area, completed the portage (crash), then turned northwest to where the dots begin again...Does that make sense?

It does! I have looked at those lakes as a possible bushwhack destination. Bushwhacks are easier with established portages! Everything maintained in there? Boat caches? Any of those other lakes to the W & N have portages?