My Volume 5 of the Wabakimi Project maps was printed in 2017. Unless there is a second edition of this map set, it does not include the work that FOW teams have done since then in the Raymond area.

Here is a Friends of Wabakimi Trip Report of a 2018 project which took them from Scallop Lake up the Raymond to Raymond lake. They cleared portage trails and established campsites on the way.

Week #1, May 19 – 26, 2018;   Week #2, May 26 – June 2, 2018

From Scallop L. you could continue down the Raymond and head south on the Annette Lakes (so-called - but no names on the topo maps) which will take you over the height of land to Butland and on to Cliff. The following post has some info and maps showing the portages on the way to Cliff from the Raymond River:

Up the Raymond River To Cliff Lake

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http://albinger.me/canoe-tripping/

Don Elliot also named the lake between Hurst Lake and Guerin Lake on the Attwood River for his son Austin and the lake between Guerin and Logie Bay on Penninsular Lake for his daughter Yolanda.

I have to smile every time I think of the Annette Lakes!

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http://albinger.me/canoe-tripping/

Wonderful, thank you both very much!

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YouTube Channel - Lost Lakes

Hey Jonathon:

Thanks for the idea(s) of an alternate route to Cliff Lake. It has been four years since circumstances have allowed me to be able to do any kind of a trip. I have tripped in Wabakimi twice - Allenwater bridge to Whitewater Lake and Magotte lake through Whitewater and Whiteclay down to Cliff lake and down to a pickup at the bear camp on the Pikitigushi Rd. I have also done the Kopka River.

I loved the Cliff Lake area and am strongly considering returning there.

I have been considering a flight into the east end of Brennan Lake where I can take in Brennan Falls before heading towards Little Wabakimi lake through McWade Lake. The McWade part and Little Wabakimi Lake would be new to me. From there I have thought I may go through the top half of SmoothRock Lake (which my memory tells me is a beautiful section) over to Lonebreast Bay from where I would make my way to Whitewater and on to Whiteclay finally making my way to Cliff Lake and down to the the Pikitigushi Rd.

Your thought of taking Caribou L to Hollingsworth -eventually making it Scallop L would be all new territory to me which I would love.

As a recently renewed member of FOW I am wondering if you have received your guidebook yet and if there is any information in there regarding the Caribou - Hollingsworth -Scallop L route.

I plan to take my flight in on August 4. Most likely I will be alone. I have left a message at the Wabakimi park office seeking to try to get some current information.

Just opened the guidebook and it speaks to the route through Scallop but not in detail. It mentions, which I heard elsewhere, that there will be a couple sections on the river that are tangled in alder.

I've been deterred from trying to make a loop from Caribou though, and accepted that a pickup at the camp down the Pik will be well worth the money to see Cliff Lake and have a pleasant trip, as opposed to ugly travel on the Big River and surrounding lakes to get back to Caribou.

Ray Tallent with FOW may have some good info for you if you're able to connect with him somehow. He was planning to do that section this month.

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YouTube Channel - Lost Lakes

Just back from a 7 night trip from Kellar Bay on Caribou up through Hollingsworth and the Raymond R from Raymond L to Scallop and over and down through to Cliff. Four guys, two tandem kevlar canoes. We were shooting for a vehicle shuttle from the former bear camp but opted for a flight out of Cliff, in order to spend more time on Cliff. In hindsight, we would have made it at least 8 or 9 nights, for the road shuttle. Our access to the Campbell Creek portage on Kellar Bay was provided by a boat shuttle by Clement Quenville (his skiff can carry two canoes at a time on overhead rack). Our pretrip lodging and flight out of Cliff was provided by Don and Annette Elliot of Mattice Lake Outfitters.
Yes, a road (via Little Caribou, would be my recommendation, if you are not using a boat shuttle; give yourself at least a long day to get up to Kellar Bay area) in and road-out option are workable for a Cliff Lake loop. I enjoyed the route, but would put in a caveat that it could be a real slog in low water. We had high water conditions and still had issues working through extensive alder alley between Raymond L and the lakes west of Scallop. It is not all like that, but there are lengthy sections of 'river' that are little more than a couple meters wide, with alder growing all the way across... my bowman was busy breaking branches and pulling along. We wondered why we didn't see more beaver sign in there (it is Crown land in that section). We did not take time to do cutting, but it could use it. We did do some portage clearing along the way from Scallop over to North Annette, but not comprehensively. I can provide more info; just getting caught up at work. Ray Tallent (ray-tallent@uiowa.edu)

I have to take issue with Jonathan Kelly's assessment of the "ugly travel on the Big River and surrounding lakes to get back to Caribou."
I spent 3 weeks in that area clearing and mapping portages, campsites and the general routes. The canoe country in there is beautiful. Just as nice as the park proper.
The cover photo on the FOW Canoe Routes Guide was taken from the second last portage into Upper Pashowconk Lake on the Big River. The route is challenging but the scenery is idyllic. There are petroglyphs on Upper Pashowconk and a gorgeous set of cliffs ( as visible in the pic). Great fishing in there and Linklater Creek has Brook Trout if you care to find them.
It's too bad that some people are so set on getting somewhere that they cannot find the beauty in where they are.

P.S. That's John Sinclair in the stern while I provide the power up front on the cover photo.

Thanks a lot for the update Ray. I think your recommendation in your email of using Whiteclay in lower water is wise, and going through Scallop could be worth a try in higher water (despite the alders).

@Wabakimi Guy, I'm not sure who "some people" are but I'm not one of them. I meant physically ugly...I don't think any wilderness could be ugly. I'm sure it would be a very nice route with sufficient time. But for most people on a 7-10 day schedule it sounds like there wouldn't be enough time to smell the flowers if making a loop of it.

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YouTube Channel - Lost Lakes

I could also add that Vern Fish (with Friends of Wabakimi) and a crew just made a trip into the Big Lake area by access from the road south of Big Lake in late May, coming out. They had along a person from Ontario Nature who is very good at bird id's and they documented a stunning diversity of bird life. I think Vern may be putting out a trip report in the FOW newsletter, if he has not, already. Vern could probably provide some updates on portage conditions around Big Lake that Wabakimi Guy and others had worked on earlier. So, Big Lake also provides a road access to Cliff, coming up from the south; you would have the joy of taking Bad Medicine portage twice, if coming out at the former Bear Camp Some advisories about Big River in low water might apply... Crew in May had very high water conditions. I have not been in this area, so cannot say more. Ray T

[quote="I spent 3 weeks in that area clearing and mapping portages, campsites and the general routes. The canoe country in there is beautiful."

Wabakimi Guy:

Based on a reading of the contents it appears the portages and campsites of this route (which I thank you for working on) are documented in the FOW guidebook. Is that correct?

Also, would you agree that this route from Caribou to the Pikitigushi River can be paddled either direction?

Sorry lpaddle, I don't know what's in the guide so I cannot comment on the contents. I do not own a copy of it, and I had only a small amount of input into its contents... mostly comments on revisions and corrections.