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 Post subject: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: September 22nd, 2021, 8:31 am 
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Planning my annual fall solo trip and heading from Wallace into woodland caribou. Going to do the obukowin portage on the start or end of my trip. Has anyone been on the portage in the past year or so, haven’t been able to find anything recent. I have found all the coordinates, YouTube videos and read through all the forums which is super helpful, just looking for some recent intel it doesn’t take much for the landscape to change! Thanks all


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: September 22nd, 2021, 1:40 pm 
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If you have Martin's information you should be fine. Are you paddling up the Wanipigow? May not be any water. Whatever your route, can you report back with water levels and portage conditions?

If you're getting tired on your way back, there should be a campsite at the end (beginning, if you're heading from Siderock to Obukowin) of the middle three portages, below the stoneman. I camped there in 2014.


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: September 22nd, 2021, 1:42 pm 
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I hate to suggest this because I personally far prefer traditional forms like CCR over Facebook, but... you could try asking on the Facebook group for "Manitoba Canoeists"? (Though in either place your best responses might still come from Neil!)

P.

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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: September 22nd, 2021, 4:20 pm 
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Neil Fitzpatrick wrote:
If you have Martin's information you should be fine. Are you paddling up the Wanipigow? May not be any water. Whatever your route, can you report back with water levels and portage conditions?

If you're getting tired on your way back, there should be a campsite at the end (beginning, if you're heading from Siderock to Obukowin) of the middle three portages, below the stoneman. I camped there in 2014.


Thanks for your thoughts and will for sure report back! Planned to make a video of the trip to share. I was planning to take wanipigow, assume it is low but hoping with my solo canoe and light pack weight I would be okay. Is it bouldery or mainly sand/mud? I have Martin’s coordinates but have to convert them and map everything out. moose hunting is open, maybe I will get lucky and people have been down the portage recently.


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: September 22nd, 2021, 4:23 pm 
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yarnellboat wrote:
I hate to suggest this because I personally far prefer traditional forms like CCR over Facebook, but... you could try asking on the Facebook group for "Manitoba Canoeists"? (Though in either place your best responses might still come from Neil!)

P.


Thanks, I just requested to join the FB group and will ask the question!

Mike


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: October 4th, 2021, 4:11 pm 
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[quote="Neil Fitzpatrick"]If you have Martin's information you should be fine. Are you paddling up the Wanipigow? May not be any water. Whatever your route, can you report back with water levels and portage conditions?

Hi Neil,

Got back yesterday and still need to go through all my coordinates and videos but can speak at a highlevel. Below are some comments on conditions, over all very good.

1- Wanipigow from wallace to siderock: Good depth the entire way for paddling, although narrow at times (width of canoe). Pulled over 1-2 dams.

2.Obukowin Portage 1: Easy to navigate, creek crossing completely dry. First small pond at the end was dry but there was 70-80m path around to some water and then 50-60 m of pull over bog to get onto the pond.

3.Obukowin Portage 2: 70m pull over bog to get to start of portage, mostly dry in bogging areas near end of trail but still needed to watch foot placement as there are a few soft spots that are knee deep.

4.Obukowin Portage 3- Same as portage 2, but the put in at the end was muddy, lost my shoe twice.

5. Lots of moose hunters in the area (5-6 groups) and you may want a blaze orange hat/vest. I had both as I was grouse hunting.

6. I went to donald lake to haggart river south and then west and up back to Wanipigow that flows into the east end of siderock. Some portages brutal from blowdown, new growth and burn.....so lots of bushwhacking at times.

7.Last 3-4 km of the wanipigo river at east end of siderock (where I came out) was horrible, only a few inches of water and I walked and dragged the canoe through the river for at least 2km total. Some hard bottom but mostly mud. Was only able to paddle the last portion about 400-500m from mouth of siderock.

Hope this helps, hope to get a video together soon and also share all my coordinates and notes that I have for this loop.

Mike


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: October 4th, 2021, 7:54 pm 
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Sounds like your muscles will feel that! Lots of bushwacking and pulling/dragging.

When you get the chance, I'd love more detail on your route from Haggart back to Manitoba.

Not sure this is very good form, but... before you started the Obukowin portages, you should've visited the east end of the lake and built yourself a dam for the return trip on the upper Wanipigow!

I've heard that little lake east of Siderock is quite nice. Hope to get there someday.

P.

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Learning to paddle is like learning a language:
It's easy to learn the basics, but will you be understood in a strong wind?


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: October 6th, 2021, 12:17 pm 
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Thanks for posting your portage experience!


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: October 14th, 2021, 11:52 am 
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Thanks for the update on conditions. Very glad my reports on the Obukowin are still valid. OH, the struggle many had when they followed Jim's winter trapline trail instead of up past the Stoneman on the second portage.

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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: October 15th, 2021, 10:07 am 
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yarnellboat wrote:
Sounds like your muscles will feel that! Lots of bushwacking and pulling/dragging.

When you get the chance, I'd love more detail on your route from Haggart back to Manitoba.

Not sure this is very good form, but... before you started the Obukowin portages, you should've visited the east end of the lake and built yourself a dam for the return trip on the upper Wanipigow!

I've heard that little lake east of Siderock is quite nice. Hope to get there someday.

P.


Well it took just over a week for the swelling in my legs to go down! No kidding on the dam, would have been nice!

I just started going through my videos, coordinates, etc.. and filling in the gaps. let me know if there is anything specific on the Haggart portion that you like to know. All in all a very beautiful paddle, from my camp near the mouth of the Haggart on Donald Lake (according to my GPS, thought it was part of carroll) there were 23 or so portages back to siderock. Everything was fairly smooth on the Ontario side except for the one portage I couldn't find (and blazed a new trail) and one where I had to bushwack the last 100m or so. There was a beaver dam around the border which kept the water high on the ontario side. It wasn't until after the small lake east of siderock where the last 2-3 portages plus river dragging along on the wanipigow wasn't fun due to low water.

I planned for a 5-day trip, which ended up being 6. If I did this loop again it would be 8-10 day to allow for some down time, fishing, trail maintenance etc.... When I get around to making a video it should give you a good idea of the route.

Mike


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: October 15th, 2021, 10:16 am 
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Marten wrote:
Thanks for the update on conditions. Very glad my reports on the Obukowin are still valid. OH, the struggle many had when they followed Jim's winter trapline trail instead of up past the Stoneman on the second portage.


thank you for the information! It was very helpful in planning the trip and seeing the difference from when the water is higher. For example, there was very little water in the pond at the end of the first portage and had to walk 100m or so around to find some water. All in all I was spoiled from the dry conditions and can see how those low spots on the portages can be a handful when wet. Also, Jim was out hunting and stopped by my camp on Obukowin to chat...


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: January 2nd, 2022, 12:01 pm 
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I think the first time Christine and I walked the Obukowin portages the water was up to our knees once past the little creek going around the beaver pond. It was a wet year. The following year when we did the ports both ways in one week it was quite a bit drier but still quite boggy in areas. I clearly remember the landing at Obukowin with the mud going up almost to my waist, then lay logs down to be able to load the canoe.
On the way in we took two days, spent a night at the big berry patch in the middle of the second port, then spent 5 days on Obukowin exploring and fishing, then on the way back, did the whole thing in one day back to Siderock. Nice to have those done.

The portage from Kostech into Aikens was nice back when we did it as well.

Karin


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: January 3rd, 2022, 11:33 am 
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Mihun09 wrote:
I think the first time Christine and I walked the Obukowin portages the water was up to our knees once past the little creek going around the beaver pond. It was a wet year. The following year when we did the ports both ways in one week it was quite a bit drier but still quite boggy in areas. I clearly remember the landing at Obukowin with the mud going up almost to my waist, then lay logs down to be able to load the canoe.
On the way in we took two days, spent a night at the big berry patch in the middle of the second port, then spent 5 days on Obukowin exploring and fishing, then on the way back, did the whole thing in one day back to Siderock. Nice to have those done.

The portage from Kostech into Aikens was nice back when we did it as well.

Karin


Thanks for the info! Taking two days would have been a good idea as I had to move at a fast pace with the shorter daylight in fall, if it was wet and boggy I for sure would have had no choice but to camp. Didn't do much fishing on Obukowin, would like to return and spend a couple days.

When did you go to Aikens, would like to go there this year or next?

Mike


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: January 4th, 2022, 1:33 pm 
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Location: Winnipeg, MB
The portage from Kosteck to Aikens can also be tough. After doing the three mothers, I figured the Broadeaf Route would be easy. We were there in such heat, I ended up with heat exhaustion. We stupidly tried to plan how much water we would need. We realized at the start of the port, we were short. It starts in floating bog so instead of filtering then, we figured we'd push through the portage quickly; then filter water, swim and eat lunch at Aikens.

It was a rough afternoon and the couple days after that weren't great either!


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 Post subject: Re: Obukowin Portages
PostPosted: January 8th, 2022, 8:09 am 
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Neil, when we did the Aiken's portage from the Broadleaf it was a perfect day. We bunny hopped it as usual but I don't remember how long it took. When we arrived at Aikens the beach was flooded as the water was really high. We did it both ways in a week as we have never done the loop. That was 2010 I think, haven't been up the Broadleaf since 2015 as we started going in late May early June but both 2013 and 2015 we ran out of water just above Leaf Lake.

Ah the good old days.


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