Nothing like a couple's trip with an old high school-era friend and his lovely wife, and what better place to do it than in the Chiniguchi region of Temagami?

A beautiful trip in the heat of summer. For a flat-water trip, this one has it all...and we didn't find the Laura Portage all that scary. Maybe we got lucky, after all, we were paddling in a heat wave. It was busy up to Wolf Lake, but north of that we saw only one other party of canoeists the entire way. Highly recommended and I hope you enjoy the read. Here's the link:

https://www.canoedaddy.com/home/trip-re ... -lake-loop

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“A day without canoeing probably wouldn’t kill me, but why risk it?”

A nice read Canoe Daddy, but some of the pics you posted were not available.

Let us know when the pics are available. I was really enjoying the trip report until then.

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I don't know how to act my age. I've never been this old before.

Hmmm. Thanks Tripper. Weird. It was all uploaded at once on my website. Maybe try a browser reload? If anyone else is having the same issue, kindly let me know and I'll do some trouble shooting. Thanks!

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“A day without canoeing probably wouldn’t kill me, but why risk it?”

We found the portage difficult. I ended up having to go pretty wide to find solid ground with the canoe after getting stuck in the mud trying a more direct route. I thought I was going to tear my knee actually. Wife was okay except for all the trees. Boat took a beating. Next time I think I’d probably try hand over handing it with a partner instead of going quite so wide.

The night 3 spots had a nice crop of blueberries when we past through a few years ago. The powers that be seem to continually drop logs into the Laura portage(much like the Monty Python castle that burns and falls and gets rebuilt into the swamp) I wonder if it was a drier year there than usual. Sometimes a foot or twos all the difference with that particular stretch. Cheers

I think we got lucky after a few hot, sunny days that probably dried it out somewhat.

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“A day without canoeing probably wouldn’t kill me, but why risk it?”

Thanks for the report! Looks like you got lucky more than ones - a low water year usually makes for difficult landings but easier bog crossings. And having McConnell beach all for yourself doesn't happen too often, especially in August. I'd rather avoid it altogether than have the experience you had, these beautiful sites being even more overused than Wolf lake. But Laura creek travel makes it up for crowded way north on this loop... and if you travel just a short portage north from Chiniguchi lake towards Dougherty you can do a week without seeing anyone. As for the narrows on the south end of Laura lake, the ones on your photo, it's good to know that an ATV bridge over them, that was removed few years ago, hasn't been rebuilt.

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"A man's got to know his limitations"

Nice write up. Can confirm that the island site on Laura Lake is a wonderful place to stay, and the fishing in the area has always been good to me.

@Eddy Turn, I ventured up to Dougherty based on some of your trip reports/reccomendation a few years back and was not disappointed.

Ahhhh. That lift over at the bottom of Laura was an ATV bridge, eh? Glad it's gone. That explains the state of the campsite next to it.

Yep, my next foray into the area will be up through Dougherty and Stouffer into the Sturgeon and ride it back down to Maskinonge.

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“A day without canoeing probably wouldn’t kill me, but why risk it?”

FYI the worst of the Laura Creek portage was rerouted in July 2021. So while some wet sections are still present at times, the waist deep sections are now no longer.

See the Ottertooth site : http://www.ottertooth.com/discus/messages/3/163816.html?1628700244

@Darl-h, I can't understand what's an issue with the portage between Flume and Matagamasi. I traveled it few times between 2012 and 2019 and I'd rate it one of the easiest in Chiniguchi. In 2018 we hiked this portage with my 3 year old kid - it was a nice walk in the woods. Wonder, how and when did it acquire "waist deep sections"? And Canoe Daddy, as far as I can see, didn't say anything about the state of this portage, the bog he mentioned is between McConnell bay and Laura lake.

@MKR - it's good to know that my blather was of any help!

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"A man's got to know his limitations"

In Sept 2020, the port between Flume and Matagamasi had a deep, water filled trench running through it bout 6 feet wide. Didn't see any ATV tracks as I recall, and it was a high water season. There were side trails to get around most of it, and I actually floated my canoe down a stretch to give my shoulders a break.

On the same trip, the Laura Lake port may have been at its worst with the high water. Every side trail or log bridge was completely flooded. Nice to hear it's been re-routed.

Thanks for the update! I won't expect ATV in this area, but portages change for many reasons. 2020 summer was extremely wet. The Sturgeon flow, according to hydrometrcis, all summer long was 2, may be 3 times higher than on average. Interesting that these puddles stayed there for the next season.

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"A man's got to know his limitations"

Yep, Eddy, think you straightened it out. The Portage from Flume to Matagamasi was a piece of cake thanks to the reroute last year. The infamous McConnell to Laura was not a piece of cake. It wasn't that bad though, as I mentioned in the report. Perhaps, I was just lucky enough to do it in August after many sunny days of drying up.

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“A day without canoeing probably wouldn’t kill me, but why risk it?”