Looking for a few suggestions for Quetico canoe loops. Dawson trail entry and exit points.

have always had good time through the B chain, then olifant over to sturgeon then down and west to lonely , then north walter and jesse, to the narrows, then back west through pickeral

quote Oneofmanyblessings: "have always had good time through the B chain, then olifant over to sturgeon then down and west to lonely , then north walter and jesse, to the narrows, then back west through pickeral "

I will follow the route on the maps, sounds like you done this one a few times? Beginner or intermediate?

quote : "

quote Oneofmanyblessings: "have always had good time through the B chain, then olifant over to sturgeon then down and west to lonely , then north walter and jesse, to the narrows, then back west through pickeral "

I will follow the route on the maps, sounds like you done this one a few times? Beginner or intermediate?"

This is a good route, plus going that direction, you are headed down stream on the B-Chain. You might hit one area (before you reach Fern) where you might want to line your canoe (shallow water to your left) rather than run the riffles, depending on your skill level. Don't worry too much about the (approx.) mile long portage between Fern and Olifaunt. It undulates some, but it is somewhat downhill headed in that direction. If it wasn't for the length, I'd classify it as a pleasant walk. If you are looking to exit Olifaunt in haste, go to the portage on the west side ... relatively flat with maybe a could of wet spots. Going down the Pickerel River to Sturgeon is more scenic, but due to the number of portages, takes longer. (If you are fishing your way along, it a good idea to drop a line after each portage ... some good spots through there; as is the spot beyond the small riffle as you enter Olifaunt.)

If you get hung-up in your progress, you also have a "bail-out" option on Sturgeon by heading north to the Deux Rivieres (river) to Twin and Dore to put you back on Pickerel east of the Narrows. (You'll have to top a few smaller beaver dams going up the Deux.)

The B-Chain will give you a more intimate feel than the big waters of Pickerel and Surgeon. You will also be in smaller waters when you do the leg between Lonely and Jesse/Maria (but some of the lakes along this stretch are somewhat larger than the B-Chain lakes ... I don't consider Olifaunt as a part of the chain). Coming out of Sturgeon in the direction of Lonely, you will encounter a rather substantial beaver dam, unless that has changed since I was there last. Otherwise, as long as your are using decent maps, finding your way along this route should not be difficult.

There is nothing along this route, feature wise, that I'd classify beyond moderate skill level. The only difficulty you might encounter is wind. As I've said, Pickerel and Sturgeon are large lakes and they can make for a difficult paddle if the conditions are wrong.

dd

quote Oneofmanyblessings: "have always had good time through the B chain, then olifant over to sturgeon then down and west to lonely , then north walter and jesse, to the narrows, then back west through pickeral "

Do you have any trip reports on your route Oneofmanyblessings? Looks like quite a route, thought maybe a trip report on distances of portages and campsites would be cool. What kind of time did this take? How much food?

We did the B chain loop last year and 3 years ago did a loop where we started at Nym and went down thru Maria, Jessie. Elizabeth. Walter and Lonely. Then down to Sturgeon and over to Russell. Came back out via Sturgeon to Twin and Dore and back thru Pickerel to Nym .
As for the Fern Olifaunt portage, Yes it is long, although I disagree on it going down hill as basically you are going up hill no matter what direction you are going on it. As for the other portages on the B chain route they are all very easy. The ones over on the other part involving Jessie and the other lakes were very muddy, longer and did involve some hills.

quote OldFingers57: "Came back out via Sturgeon to Twin and Dore and back thru Pickerel to Nym .
As for the Fern Olifaunt portage, Yes it is long, although I disagree on it going down hill as basically you are going up hill no matter what direction you are going on it. "

It is sometimes very funny how our perceptions of things can sometimes be very different than what others view or maybe even what you remember from personal experience.

An example: If you'd ask me about the Dore to Pickerel portage 5 years ago, I probably would have said "basically flat." I was re-acquainted with this portage about 2 years ago and I kept asking myself as I'm trudging along "how did I not remember the elevation change." Although the portage starts and ends at roughly the same elevation, there is about a 50 foot climb in the middle.

I checked the elevation data on my GPS software. There is a 50 foot elevation difference between Fern and Olifaunt. That along with the direction of waterflow and the presence of a couple of waterfalls nearer the Olifaunt end, kind of all points in the same direction. Olifaunt is lower than Fern. I must admit that due to the ups and downs near the Olifaunt end, it can be deceiving. But I probably had the advantage of walking over this same ground 5 times since I decided to triple portage it ... I wasn't in any hurry and the scenery wasn't bad either.

dd