I’ve been watching Dutch Exporers you tube channel. He’s posting a trip right now through WCPP and Atikaki going the entire way on the Bloodvein. My son and I just got back from 125 miles in Wabakimi first whitewater trip Allenwater, Ogoki, upriver on the Berg and Caribou river.

Starting to plan for Bloodvein next year. I’d be doing a 14 day trip on water. From what I’ve seen the Atikaki portion has more of the whitewater. Based on what I’ve seen not knowing distances and costs for getting in and out I’m leaning towards lower Artery Lake and then down the Bloodvein from that point. Not sure about the exit point. Car shuttle, or flight out. Just looking for some feedback, thoughts, and advice.

This would be our first Trip in this area. I did see a Northstar B17 in IXP getting fixed a few weeks ago at Northstar that got pinned on the Bloodvein.

Ryan

We have used Blue Water Aviation in Bissett Manitoba for trips into Atikaki. Also planned to use them for a Bloodvein trip last year which did not take place. They we’re going to fly us into Woodland Caribou to start the trip and shuttle our vehicle to the end point at Bloodvein Village.

I just heard back from them this afternoon. They gave me pricing on the flights from this year as an example. I’m clarifying with them since they gave it by 1 canoe price is this and 2 canoe price is that whether the price is per person. So 2 people 1 canoe is the price they gave not per person. They seem to be a solid option with prices in Canadian which is a nice change and helps us Americans out. The car shuttle price was yes a bit but reasonable for the distance and work involved. Them having a clean exit plan really helped with planning.

Be nice to be in Bissett as well. I’d probably call ahead and swing by the Northern Tier base. Our interpreter from Northern Tier in Ely in 2019 worked at Bissett a year or two. That NT trip really started things off for us.

They stated starting at Artery would be a bit short for 14 days not that we need to paddle every day. We like a few rest days. blue water mentioned Larus lake being an option to extend more distance and based on fire from 21 I think that might be the ticket. Give us some WCPP before going into Atikaki.

Ryan

Blue Water is good outfit to work with. On this year’s trip most of us paid in USD and they gave a fair exchange rate. For our flights in/out we paid a little over $500 USD per person or it would have been about $630 CAN with a credit card.

And we used their large plane, the Turbo Otter, which can handle 2 canoes and 4 people with all their gear. They also have a small Cessna which can handle 2 people and their gear but no canoe. Several people in our group departed early w/o a canoe so that plane worked out for them.

Marten who is on the board has used Blue Water for years and has a wealth of knowledge on WCPP and Atikaki.

I would suggest that you start on Artery as everything to the east is big lakes. Enjoy the river and you can always go upstream on the Gammon when you get to it. Other small rivers to go up too if you want more miles. If you are really ambitious the Tea Pail portage at Stone house Lake is a connector to the Gammon.

As for the Bluewater pricing for the Otter. You pay so much a mile with a 40 mile one way minimum. You pay for the return miles too. Each canoe tied on is an additional $200. The Otter can carry two canoes and still carry 2000 pounds inside. If you can find another canoe party starting at Artery you share the costs. Our trip costs into Atikaki are so low because we stay for a month and have full planes coming and going as paddlers come and go to join us. We all use the same canoes so save a lot of tie on costs. Bluewater is great to work with. Northern Wings is a nice B&B in Bissett. In Pine Falls the Paper Town Inn is great too. Very good Chicken Chef style diner next door. The gas station on the corner has great chicken and other items too. Entering Bissett Ron has his food stand open early for breakfast treats and does great burgers and fries. Tell him Martin sent you.

Thanks for the great responses everyone! I had no idea that much was going on in the little town. Also recommendations for places to stay are great! Seems like going in from Bissett would be the more cost effective option if we’re doing West side of WCPP and west into Atikaki.

Question for safety and I did ask Bluewater about it. If you needed to get someone out are you able to Garmin message them or call them on a Sat phone to arrange a flight at the nearest safe location? My son got stung by 6 wasps and had an allergic skin reaction red all over the body and hives all overon the last trip. 4 Benadryl got it under control. We’ll carry epi lens in the future in case but we debated on getting picked up since we’d just gotten to a lake they could fly into.

Feeling like Larus lake out to the bridge by Bloodvein village might be a bit to far for us to enjoy in a 14 day trip. I’d like it to be over a 100 miles but not up around 150 miles. At this point I can’t get the mileage past a certain point on the river in PP the route mapping site which cannot be named on here. I contacted Ben at PP asking about that and I’m also going to be sending him some gpx data from my Wabakimi trip I just finished. Any suggestions on start point for this route for 14 days out to the bridge. Kind of seems like it’s Larus or South Artery for fly in spots.

Do any of you have any gps data or maps you’d be willing to share over this route? Good campsite locations? Portage landings? I put in serious effort on gps mapping for my trips and then share anything I do with anyone that wants it.

I did just order Hap Wilson’s book. Already downloaded the box files from PP for both areas for this trip.

Thanks Ryan

Tanya at Bluewater in Bissett can give you all the #s you need to contact her. They have a Cessna based at Bissett too that can be used for extractions. I use my InReach all the time to alter our plans once we are in Atikaki.

E-mail me and I can send you what I have for gpx files. Postage landings are easy to spot on the river. The river is pool and drop so wind is more of an issue than current. So do not expect the current to be speeding you along. Westerly winds can really slow your progress.

An option is to take the Bloodvein to the Gammon and then upstream to Aikens lake. Then two options for paddle to Wallace where Bluewater can cheaply have your vehicle waiting. Not sure where the Blooodvein turns lazy but the Gammon is a great paddle upstream.