Note: This trip report is based on notes and recollection. It is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate. Read it at your leisure but use it at your own risk!

General info: We completed this trip with 10 campers during the summer of 2001. We re-outfitted at Big Trout on day 26.

Day 0 (June 29): Van ride to Stirland Lake

We were dropped off at Stirland Lake, which is north of the bridge that goes over the Pipestone on the last road in Ontario.

Day 1 (June 30): Stirland Lake to North Pipestone (1/2 day)

Paddled from the campsite by the road to first hash mark on the North Pipestone. Portaged (100 yards) over island with great campsite on it. Lined down unmarked rapid in narrows before wide part of river. Camped on SE shore in wide part.

Day 2 (July 1): North Pipestone to Sasiginaga Lake (3/4 day)

Lined down first two hash marks and portaged right around third hash mark. Portage is 100 yards and goes through a burn. Lined down the next hash mark. Lined down a small unmarked rapid in narrows before Yates Lake. Yates has a few good camping possibilities. Stand and shot the hash mark going into Sasiginaga. Bushed a site on western shore near exit from Sasiginaga.

Day 3 (July 2): Sasiginaga to Kecheokagan (1/2 day)

Next jumble of hash marks and channels looks a bit different in the real world. Shot middle channel (right of island). Good rapid for repeat use. Followed current and took far western channel. Shot both hash marks that are really close on the map, and shot the final hash mark before Kecheokagan. Bushed a nice site on southern shore in narrow section before confluence with Pipestone.

Day 4 (July 3): Kecheokagan to Pipestone (full day)

Paddled down Kecheokagan. Found old hunting camp on north shore near Frog Portage. Tried to find portage from narrow NE bay right above the ÒPÓ to avoid first double hash mark on Pipestone, but we couldnÕt locate it. First hash mark on Pipestone has a nice site on the right shore. We portaged our gear through the site, and shot the rapid empty on the extreme left. Portaged left around second hash mark. OK trail, about 500 yards. Cool whirlpool near end of portage trail. Camped in narrows directly below ÒSÓ on a nice site on the left.

Day 5 (July 4): Pipestone to Hardy ColemanÕs Playland (1/2 day)

At HCP, we attempted the center channel. Tried to shoot little curvy rapid, but ledges made it too hard. We eventually lined down left channel. Next rapid we lined down. The rapid curves to the right, and it is very rocky. It was a technical line down, and one of our canoes was damaged. We camped right after the line down on the left shore on an old Wabun bush site.

Day 6 (July 5): HCP to just after bridge on Pipestone (full day)

Next rapid is a falls. Portaged left about 100 yards. Stand and shot the remaining parts of HCP. Paddled up through Horseshoe Lake which has many good camping possibilities. Cut portage on left at first double hash mark and shot empty. Eddy hopped through all hash marks before road. Portaged right around bridge, but we walked across the bridge and loaded on the left. Eddy-hopped to next substantial rapid below bridge. Shot left and took in water. Camped at Wabun bush site on island.

Day 7 (July 6): Bridge to Portage Island (3/4 day)

Shot first two hash marks, portaged right (100 yards) around third. Portaged right about 200 yards around next double hash mark. Portaged right about 400 yards around triple hash mark. All three portages just mentioned have campsite possibilities, and the third one has a beautiful view of some falls. Took south channel and camped on island with portage trail at first hash mark. Huge t-storms made us stop early.

Day 8 (July 7): Portage Island to ÒPÓ in Pipestone (full day)

Burns along the river made this day very difficult. All portage trails and potential camp sites were affected by the burn. Portaged left 500 yards around triple hash mark and then portaged left 1000 yards around quadruple hash mark. Stand and shot unmarked rapid before confluence. Portaged right and then left around next two hash marks at bend. Portaged left around falls after long, straight and narrow part of river. Portaged right (400 yards) around next hash marks (falls). No campsite at the end. Portaged right around next hash mark. Camped on right shore in burned area after last portage. Horrible site near burn, but it was late.

Day 9 (July 8): Pipestone to Paseminan River (full day)

Portaged right 300 yards around next rapid. Portaged right 100 yards around next hash mark, a falls. Portaged left around hash mark just after Karl Lake. Paddled up Paseminan and lined up both hash marks. Bushed a site on right shore about 1/2 way up river. Not a great site; no rocks for fire place.

Day 10 (July 9): Paseminan River to Opapimiskan (full day)

Travel up the Paseminan was OK. We portaged both hash marks on right. Trails non-existent or hard to find. Many swifts and shallows. Right before u-shaped lake there is an unmarked rapid which we portaged by rock-hopping. Two portage options to small pond exist from u-shaped lake; both are easy to find and are short. Portage from small pond to Opap is about 1000 yards and is a good trail. Paddled across Opap to nice site that we bushed. It is directly west of long peninsula behind two small islands (one is marked with an X on the map). Opap has a huge and modern gold mine on it on the south shore of the first main part. The long peninsula has a graveyard on it.

Day 11 (July 10): Rest Day

Day 12 (July 11): Opapimiskan (full day)

Spent the morning trying to locate the portage that exits Opap to a triangular shaped pond. We were told that the portage started up the creek that goes directly west out of the NW corner of Opap. No portage existed anywhere. We then paddle down the lake and tried to find a route from the bay that has six crosses in it. We found a nice trail leading off the creek that exits Opap from the extreme western part of the bay. The portage took us to the moose pond at the end of the creek after it turns north. The moose pond had no exit, and it was mostly burned making bushing a portage out of it to North Caribou impossible. We retreated back to our campsite on Opap.

Day 13 (July 12): Opap to triangle-shaped moose pond (full day)

We went to the place where the portage was supposed to be on top of the lake, took a compass shot, and started clearing a trail. The terrain was swampy and very bushy. It took us the entire day to complete and portage the trail (about 1.5 miles), but we made it to the moose pond and camped on the western side on a small site that we bushed.

Day 14 (July 13): Moose pond to North Caribou (full day)

We bushed another trail to get to North Caribou. It was about a 1/2 mile. We paddled down North Caribou and camped on the big island just south of Kincaid Island. We bushed a site on the SE tip of the island. Nice site with a beach.

Day 15 (July 14): North Caribou to Seeseep Lake (3/4 day)

Paddled through North Caribou up to Cemetery Lake. Cemetery has a shallow rapid in one of its narrows. We saw some natives from Round Lake in fishing boats in Cemetery Lake. Narrows into Seeseep is a rapid with a small ledge. We shot on the right shore. We camped on the left after the rapid. OK site with huge beaver-felled poplars on the ground or teetering.

Day 16 (July 15): Seeseep Lake to De Blicquy (full day)

Paddled to Eyapamikama Lake. Portaged into western end of Stanley on portage trail that starts to the east of the hunting cabin. The trail can be found by going directly north from the narrows in Eyapamikama. It was a nice 500 yard trail. Exited Stanley through the northern creek. We broke down beaver dams and went quite a long way through it. When it got rocky and shallow, we bushed a portage on the left shore. We bushed a campsite on De Blicquy in a small eastern bay right after you enter the lake.

Day 17 (July 16): De Blicquy to Schade River (3/4 day)

The Schade is a shallow river. The rapids are very rocky. There were countless rapids that we had to line down or rock-hop around. The water level really determines your progress. We were able to shoot some small sections, but mostly we lined down. Portage trails were either non-existent or difficult to find and follow. We camped about 3km down from the double hash mark in the middle of a small rapid that we lined down.

Day 18 (July 17): Schade to right before the Terrible Tyrell (3/4 day)

The Schade grows bigger, but travel on it was the same as the day before with short portages, short shots and lining down. We reached the Terrible Tyrell at 4pm. We spent some time looking for it, but we couldnÕt locate it. We camped on the left shore on a Keewaydin bush site about 1 km before the portage.

Day 19 (July 18): Terrible Tyrell to the Nekikamog River (full day)

We scouted for about an hour before we found the portage. It was difficult to spot because of the tag alders. Its location is 53¡ 16Õ 39Ó N and 90¡ 56Õ 24Ó W. There is a big rock on the other side of the Schade that can be used as a rough landmark. Walking and clearing the trail is a must. It is old and unused, and in the middle it is impossible to follow. It is about a mile long. The Nekikamog River is small and muddy. We camped after the second hash mark on the Nekikamog River.

Day 20 (July 19): Nekikamog River to Kwinswigami Lake (3/4 day)

We paddled down the Nekikamog into Makoop. There is a fishing camp on Makoop so we saw people. Makoop was loaded with these irritating green bugs that covered us. We paddled through the narrows and headed NE for the creek which takes you to a long and narrow lake (called Kwinswigami Lake I think). The creek goes directly north, and there is a short lift over at the start. We camped at the end of the lake on the right shore of the eastern creek.

Day 21 (July 20): Kwinswigami Lake to Mishwamakan River (3/4 day)

We paddled up the creek and lifted over a beaver dam. We then portaged on the right into the crooked finger lake. There was no trail leading to the next small pond directly to the east, so we bushed a portage on the north side of the creek (600 yards). We then bushed a 400 yard portage SE to the moose pond on the Mishwamakan River. It was easy walking over dry marsh. We had a lift over out of the moose pond, and then we broke down a huge beaver dam to continue. Portaged 75 yards on left on a great trail to get to the small lake. We camped on the southern shore near the eastern end of the lake on a nice preexisting site.

Day 22 (July 21): Mishwamakan River (3/4 day)

Portaged 150 yards on left to exit small lake on a good trail. Entering the boot shaped pond was a 100 yard rock hop. Leaving the boot was another 100 yard rock hop. Going from the next small lake to the small lake with two islands on the eastern end required a few short rock hops over small rapids. The rest of the day we either lined our shot the hash marks. We camped on the river after the single hash mark which follows the part of the river where it splits and each channel has a hash mark on it.

Day 23 (July 22): Mishwamakan River to Bug Lake (3/4 day)

All of the hash marks we either shot or lined down except for the third hash mark which we portaged around on the right. We camped on the first island in Bug Lake just east of the narrows after lake ±231. We stopped short because of a thunderstorm.

Day 24 (July 23): Bug Lake to Bug River (1/2 day)

We went on the eastern side of the big island in Bug, and it required a lift over. The Bug River was cumbersome. We lined down the whole thing. With a bit less water, it would have been many portages without trails. We literally walked for a few clicks with our canoes. We paddled to the end and reached Big Trout, but we had to retreat because of a huge storm that was coming in.

Day 25 (July 24): Windbound

Day 26 (July 25): Big Trout Lake (3/4 day)

We left the campsite at around 10am after waiting since 5am for the wind to die down. Big Trout had some huge rollers on it, but gradually they disappeared as the weather broke. We paddled south of Big Island to the reserve where we re-outfitted. Big Trout is a large reserve (1200 people) with a decent store (not a Northern Store). With permission from the chief, we camped on the southern point of the oddly shaped peninsula that stretches north towards the reserve.

Day 27 (July 26): Big Trout to Fawn River (full day)

Narrows into Angling Lake has unmarked rapids. We shot the first part, and we portaged left (150 yards) around ledge on nice trail. Paddled through Angling. The reserve on Angling is smaller, but the store was much nicer that Big TroutÕs. Camped just south of the 216m elevation mark about 5 km from the reserve.

Day 28 (July 27): Fawn River (3/4 day)

Shot first hash mark (could be hazardous in low water) and portaged second hash mark on right. It could be a possible shot with high water and much scouting. Stand and shot the next hash mark. Portaged left around next hash mark (falls). Portaged left and lined last hash mark on map.  First narrows on next map is a stand and shoot unmarked rapid. Portaged next hash mark (falls) right over island. Rock hopped the next hash mark. Shot and lined next hash mark. Portage around Ashaway Falls is on right. We camped at the end.

Day 29 (July 28): Fawn River (3/4 day)

We tried to shoot the next hash mark using the left channel, but it was hard to scout, and it got a bit messy. We didnÕt flip, but it wasnÕt a clean shot. We then ferried to the eastern shore before the next unshootable part of rapid and took the portage. Best option is to stay right at top and locate portage trail at the top of the rapid. We shot Crandall Falls on the right Ñ it was only a ledge that could be avoided. Next issue is the double hash mark after Crandall. We shot the first hash mark and portaged right around the second. We shot the next slanted hash mark. We portaged around first of the double hash marks on the right. It was an old trail. We camped on an island before the second hash mark.

Day 30 (July 29): Fawn River (3/4 day)

Shot all of the way down to the final hash mark on river where the creek comes in. It was a ledge with channels on the left and right. We shot the left side loaded, unloaded, and shot the more technical right side empty. It was short and fun, but it would be a portage in low water. We bushed a site a few clicks down from the confluence with the Otter River. There is a winter hunting camp at the confluence of the Otter, but it was not pleasant. There are graves on the high bank just up the Otter.

Day 31 (July 30): Fawn River (3/4 day)

Floated, sailed and paddled 65 miles to a bush site a few km upriver from Sugar Creek. Bush site possibilities were endless along banks of river.

Day 32 (July 31): Fawn River (3/4 day)

We camped on the right shore a few km down from the big island on the Island River (53P) map. It was on the first peninsula of the ÒSÓ turns on the river.

Day 33 (August 1): Fawn River to confluence with Severn

Caribou Rapids, the stretch of fast moving water before the confluence, were just swifts. We camped on the left shore just after the confluence on an old bush site.

Day 34 (August 2): Confluence to Wapakopowistik Rapids

Dense fog limited our visibility, but we ÒshotÓ Limestone Rapids on the right side. It was not technical and only had some big standing waves. We portaged around Wapakopowistik Rapids on the left. It is an ATV track. The burn on the left shore forced us to camp on the right shore on the clay flats below the rapids. It was beautiful. We saw a seal here.

Day 35 (August 3): Wapakopowistik Rapids to Fort Severn

We paddled and sailed about 35 km to Fort Severn. We took out well after the first few building you see where the banks are not steep. Fort Severn has a Northern Store and a convenience store. We traded our canoes for use of a truck for 24 hours. We brought our stuff to the airport (about 5km away) and drove out to the Bay in the truck for dinner.

Day 36 (August 4): Fort Severn to Civilization

We flew out at 1pm the next day on a Bearskin Airways charter. We bussed it back to Temagami from Thunder Bay.

Maps used (1:250,000):

We also brought 53J (Thorne River) and 53A (Wunnummin Lake) for alternate route possibilities.