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PostPosted: September 13th, 2021, 12:50 pm 
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Joined: June 9th, 2016, 9:53 am
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Anyone travel the Lady Evelyn river (south branch past Cabin falls, Bridal Veil, etc) late this season? We're flying into Katherine Lake on the 24th and am hoping that water levels are good enough to run some of the less challenging rapids to avoid lining. Water levels in Lady Evelyn Lake look normal per Environment Canada reports, but figured I'd ask if anyone has had a recent trip down.


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PostPosted: September 14th, 2021, 6:13 am 
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Joined: December 19th, 2011, 4:44 pm
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Location: Waterloo, ON
Just got back from there - 18 days starting from the Montreal River off the Beauty Lake Rd., and eventually down the LER south channel. Water is low, but certainly not the lowest I’ve experienced there. Levels are probably average for this time of year. Also, lots of rain in the past two weeks, which should help.

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PostPosted: September 14th, 2021, 1:37 pm 
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There really aren't that many runnable rapids in the south channel and I wonder how many can be done without lining in late September. The rain that Mike mentions may help a bit but at the best of times, it is a portage-heavy route with the occasional rocky ride.

If you are starting from Katherine you have the following to deal with -

1. the set just as you leave Katharine - bouldery but do-able #13 in the Wilson count
2. the next set - a definite 240-meter portage on river left
3. Cabin Falls - a river left portage
4. Bridal Veil Falls - a 410-meter portage
5. a sequence of 3 sets of rapids which Wilson labels "Temptation Alley". He notes that it is “a classic boulder bash with three separate runs”. and that “all can be lined in the summer”. Last September around this time we decided to forego the 900-meter portage and go down the "alley". We spent an hour and a half lining and hauling our canoe through this section. Bad choice!
6. Fatman's Falls - another 120-meter portage
7. set of rapids just below Fatman's - #16 in Wilson's book - we lined the top ledge and lined and ran the rest in shallow water.
8. two final CI bouldery sets of rapids that we floated our way through. Your hope for "some of the less challenging rapids to avoid lining" may come down to these two. See the following Ottertooth page for notes on the south channel.

http://www.ottertooth.com/Temagami/Wils ... hannel.htm

Good luck with your late September run down the South Channel. You still have a week and a half for more rain to up the water levels a titch more!

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PostPosted: September 15th, 2021, 9:28 am 
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Joined: June 9th, 2016, 9:53 am
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Thanks folks! true_north, Temptation Alley was the one I was kind of hoping we'd have enough water to do at least part of with all the rain recently, but I think we might heed your advice and avoid the trouble you had! ;)

I have been reading Hap's book all summer to try to commit at least a few of the rapids to memory, but it's been over 20 years since I've "done" that section of the river (I was a a kid then, so I mostly watched it being done). Needless to say, the book will accompany us in the map case for on river reference!

Our route will take us out to the truck at Sandy Inlet, so we're only on the river for a short stretch. The guys may yet convince me to go the north channel (which I've not done before) to trade off fewer portages for more flatwater. We'll see. :)


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