New Trip Report posted by JLockard

Trip Name: Isabella - Kahshahpiwi - Trant - Silence - Agnes - Sunday Loop.

Entry Point: Quetico

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Very thorough report....thx for taking the time. Interesting you thought the Meadows portages were not that bad. Wonder if that's because you'd already been "portage hardened" with some of the somewhat rugged portages getting into Kahs and then over to Trant and Silence.

It's quite possible that it was because we were battle hardened, but I've since found out that the "avoid at all cost" portage is called "Heard Attack Hill" and we found that portage to be an enjoyable portage yet we hit that before Side-Kahshahpiwi.

Maybe it's because the whole group does a lot of rock climbing and we're use to carrying 50+ pound packs to reach our climbing destinations, some trails which are rather nice and some which are bushwhacks or have been nicknamed things like "The Stairmaster".

Packs? Socks? Ha-ha. Also like your line: "We paddle quicker as if we'd just heard banjo music." (I have the t-shirt!) Nice report. Just wondered 1) if your outfitter marked up maps for you, since you got off course a couple times; and 2) how did you like the "triple," -- was it pretty crowded with 3 persons and gear? Fun read. Thanks.
--Goose

The outfitter looked at my maps and saw they were already marked up, made several suggestions (avoid this, avoid that) and in the end we went the route I'd originally marked up. The only time we really felt off course was when we were on Isabella Creek. This was really more an issue of us not paying close enough attention to the map and the compass. If we'd looked at the marshy area on the map we'd have realized we could never possibly be where we thought we were because we'd never traveled the distance which was obvious on the map.

Our triple was a 20' triple ordered as a double with a removable middle seat. I would absolutely NOT recommend going the option of the drop in removable seat. It never seemed to stay in the right place. You had to carry it on every portage, wasn't nearly as comfortable as the other seats in the canoe.

Okay, that's the negatives... For a group of 3, the triple was fantastic, paddling was "interesting" from the backseat as I had to really fight my middle seater and many times had to tell her to not paddle so hard, no amount of corrective strokes could compensate the turn she'd put the canoe into. The length, 20', wasn't all that bad portaging. There were a couple portages where I had to go backward, turn a little, go forward, turn, backward, turn, forward, turn, backward, turn, forward... whew, but that only happened a couple times.

As far as gear and people, yes it was a little cramped, but as I've already said, we way over packed. My wife had one of the duffels in front of her and Amy had a duffel wedged under the yoke, behind the barrels. Timi liked having the duffel there, gave her something to brace her feet against while paddling (she's 5'2"). Amy was probably cramped, but honestly I only ever heard a complaint on the whole trip was when Jen did in her ankle and we were discussing our options as to what the best way to get out would be if we figured out she'd broken her ankle. I suggested that the absolute quickest way out was to do the Kahshahpiwi portage again and there was a fair amount of swearing so we went to Trant instead. :-)

If you have a weak paddler going along and it'a a decision between a triple and a tandem, I'd say go for the triple.

I should clarify...

If you're thinking the triple, get a triple with a built-in middle seat, not the drop-in. Or, if your middle isn't going to paddle, they'll probably be okay with the drop-in. Paddling from the drop-in sucks, because the brackets which go over the gunnels isn't good on the fingers and knuckles.