The original plan called for a route out of Leano Lake, but instead of going west or north, we would dip south. Sometimes this is referred to as “The Edge Route”. We’ve done many canoe trips out of Leano Lake over the years (2009, 2011, 2014, 2022) but we’ve never dipped along the southern border of the park before. The closest we’ve come is a trip in 2006 where we managed to get into Eagle Lake before wildfire chased us back. Ironically we would find very similar weather patterns to the ones we had back then, but thankfully no wildfires this year. In a change from other years, there would only be 4 of us on this trip, Harold (my brother-in-law) and his son Levi in his canoe and Bill (Harold’s brother) and myself in my canoe. I was super excited to finally be trying the Edge Route and was looking forward to a new section of the park. Everyone else seemed pretty psyched as well and there was no indication that we wouldn’t be able to tackle this challenge. Things were looking great as we finalized gear preparations and plans in the weeks leading up to the event.
Day 1 - Monday July 29 2024 – Leano Lake to Middle Kilburn Lake (18.5 kms, 7 portages)
We decided once again to leave from my parents house in Carman, MB early on Monday morning and make the lengthy almost 9 hour drive to Leano from there. After picking up Bill at Vermilion Crossing, we continued to the town of Red Lake and from there up the Suffel Lake road in deteriorating conditions. We were all in Harold’s Ford F350 so there was no chance of getting stuck, but the road was in rough condition compared to previous years. In 2022 we were shocked at how much wider the road was, past the Black Bear Lodge turnoff thanks to the fire fighting efforts of 2021. Despite this widening, the roads were so rough this year, that we drove most of it at 30kph or less. It takes a long time to drive 70+ kilometers at less than 30kph! By the time we finally drove into an empty Leano Lake parking lot, we were feeling a little tired from over 9 hours in the truck. The weather was forecast to be brutally hot and humid for at least the first few days and it proved to be exactly that. As usual the bugs were absolutely fierce in the parking lot and we quickly loaded up our gear and started the 375 meter portage into Leano Lake. This was Bill and my first trip as canoe partners. Instead of sharing gear, we decided beforehand that other than the boat and my Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid II pyramid tent, we would each use and carry our own lightweight gear. This included meals, which we would carry and cook ourselves on light Isopropyl stoves with lightweight pots. Notice a theme? It was all about going lightweight. Bill isn’t getting any younger in his mid-60’s and I am a huge proponent of lightweight and ultra-lightweight camping styles from my 25 years of climbing and trekking in the Canadian Rockies. I find trips are much more pleasant when carrying my gear is relatively easy.
The first carry went well and soon we were paddling down Leano Lake towards the first portage on Leano Creek towards Kilburn Lake, happy to be here again. It had only been 2 years since our last trip out of Leano but with our plans to travel new terrain along the Edge Route, we were pumped. The first few carries down Leano Creek went OK while we ironed out the process for each team member. Bill and I very quickly settled into a familiar pattern of docking, loading up, shuttling gear and getting back into the boat. The weather was holding and water levels and portage trails were very reasonable. One thing we noticed right away was how easy the portages were. Compared to my experience up the Wanipigow River and through the western side of WCPP a month and a half earlier, this was very welcome. The Leano Lake area is one of the most popular sections of the park, and it shows. Campsites are well used and maintained, as are the trails. It helps immensely that the landscape around Leano and Kilburn Lake hasn’t burned recently. Bill and I slowed down a little bit, hoping that Harold and Levi would catch up, and enjoyed a very relaxed pace in the heat of the afternoon. It was getting later in the day as we finally entered the last section of Leano Creek as it cascades towards Kilburn Lake. Originally we were planning to paddle all the way down the immense Kilburn Lake before heading back up into Middle Kilburn for the first night. With tstorms building all around, we decided that we’d be better off portaging the 1000 meters into Upper Kilburn Lake and proceeding from there into Middle Kilburn. Better to be caught in a storm while carrying gear through the bush than on open water. The 1000 meter portage went very easily despite the distance – as usual for this one. Because the forest is unburned, the trail remains open. By the time we completed the portage into Upper Kilburn, the sky to the west was not only looking severe, it was sounding it too. Peels of thunder echoed over the boreal landscape on either side as we dug the paddles deep and proceeded to the 110 meter portage into Middle Kilburn, located just east of the devastating damage from previous forest fires along the south shores. Once again, the portage was easy to find and follow. Unfortunately in our hurry to get across Upper Kilburn and avoid the tstorms, Bill forgot his fishing rod at the put-in and didn’t realize it until the next portage. We decided to go back the next morning rather than tackle the extra paddling with tstorms all around. Bill and I were slightly ahead of the other team, so we quickly paddled south to find a viable site on Middle Kilburn. The weather seemed to be missing us, but we didn’t want to take unnecessary chances. The first site we paddled to didn’t look very promising. I got out of the boat to check it out but it wasn’t ideal. We kept paddling (thunder was quite close at this point) and I’m glad we did! Site “PB” is the premier camp on Middle Kilburn and we quickly set up our tents and a tarp only to have the weather clear off. It was a hot, humid evening and we were all pretty exhausted after a very long day of driving, paddling and portaging. This was by far the furthest we’ve travelled on a Monday before and some of us were feeling it! Levi seemed to enjoy the experience so far – it was far more chill than his usual field exercises. We had a cheerful fire before the bugs chased us to bed.