In September of 2019, Cam and I paddled the circle via the Opeepeesway R, Woman R, Rush L, Rice L, Little Rice L, Opeepeesway L. The route is located west of Gogama in Northeastern Ontario and straddling the southern fringes of the Arctic Watershed.

Route is in great shape. Ran/lined/waded most rapids on the Opeepeesway. Did some minor clearing and signing on a few portages (upstream only on larger sets). Worked on medium handsaw blowdowns and clearing from Woman River to Rice Lake and down to Opeepeesway. All signed.

3 days ~85km. Lots of wildlife. Great variety of scenery. I'll definitely have to return to check out some of the alternative route options though the area.

Our video trip report can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQB4EJN-Nx8&lc





Trip map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1mzhAY-Y0BO1QtvOz1tf0ZJP_6hZcZkcm&usp=sharing

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My Backcountry Website: www.explorethebackcountry.com

Thanks for posting. I was just through much of this route (though passed through Rae Lake rather than the western river section) last month; nice to see so many familiar sights.

Thanks so much for posting info on this route, Stajanleafs. I'm planning to head through there in early summer.

Just wondering about the state of the road into the bridge where you put in? I have a vehicle with good clearance and have taken it on the Sultan Industrial road before without issues, but it isn't 4x4 or AWD. Would it still be manageable?

The road will likely be fine. I wasn't in last year, but was the two previous years with a 2WD VW with 4” clearance to the oil pan drain plug.

Good news! My vehicle has more clearance than that, so I should be good to go. Thanks very much, Brad. I'll be doing the loop that Stajanleafs did most likely, but probably solo. Any advice?

There are a number of threads on this site related to this route.

Most of the information is from ScottW and his Canoe Couple website. If you do a search of this site for "Opeepeesway" you'll find some information.

A couple threads are here, but there are others:

https://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewto ... 08&t=47016

https://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewto ... 6&start=30

It's a pretty decent route, but when I went through there was a fair bit of fly-in fishing going on.

Yeah, I saw Stajanleafs' map online and made some topos based on that info. I also read Scott W's site. It's impressive the amount of work they put into the area over the years. Big thanks to Scott, Stajanleafs and yourself for help keeping the routes in this area alive. If I do decide to try this one, I'll do some clearing, as well, in case others haven't been in there since you guys. I'm inclined to try the river route into Rush, as Brad J did, for the remoteness aspect. I don't mind the fly-in people as long as they don't mind me and there aren't a plethora of trashed campsites.

Thanks again for taking the time to post and share, Brad. I've read a number of your posts over the years and they've helped a lot in my route planning. My other choice for my early July trip is to try the Ranger Lake Loop, but I'm not sure time will allow for it if I have to start the trip on Ranger Lake rather than on Gong. I don't have the vehicle to get into Gong it seems.

I repaired the embed link to Brad's video.

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For he today that sheds his blood with me. Shall be my brother;

We went over the Labour day long weekend and only saw 1 fisherman on Rice Lake. The Opeepeesway-woman-rush river section is certainly the most isolated part of the trip, and I'd highly recommend tacking that on to your loop. There are some scenic little falls and rapids along the way. Campsites are fairly rugged and not trashed, with the exception of some sites on the mid to south end of Rice and nearly all on Opeepeesway (See notes when you click on campsite icon - some will say trashed, heavily used etc). Not much in the way of camping options on the Women River, but you'd definitely be able to carve out a half decent bush site by some of the rapids with a bit of work. If you're solo, it gives you a lot more to work with.

I have a few unconfirmed portages on that map, so if you do go and happen to take notes/observations I would love to update the map.

Have a great trip!

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My Backcountry Website: www.explorethebackcountry.com

Thanks for your input and the work you did on the loop 2 years ago., Brad ...and of course for your info on the map that allowed me to put a few tops together. If and when I do it, I'll post any updates or differences that I encounter.
Steve

Canoe Daddy - I'm planning on doing this route in August, so if you do end up going in July, I'd love to hear about what route you took as well as some general trip notes!

Sure thing. I usually whip up a trip report on my blog and post the link here. Still not sure if I'm heading there. I have about 4 or 5 trips in the works this summer and still working out time frames with canoe partners, etc. Either way I'll let you know if I do it or not.