Hello everyone. I have been an avid hiker for over 30 years mostly in Southern Ontario, but I have hiked in NS, NH, VT, ME, SC, NC, VA, NY, IL, MI, IN, MN, MD as well amassing over 20,000 km of experience. On most of my trips, I took only a few images of scenery that did not tell much of a story of the trip. This channel represents my often feeble effort to begin to tell the story of a given adventure using primarily video. It has taken some time to figure out how I want to do this and not disrupt the flow of the hike too often. I hope to post many more videos here this year and beyond. I have also done a fair bit of canoeing and I am including my canoe trips as well on this channel for added content. I hope this is to your liking.
I am planning my first canoe trip to Temagami. It will probably be next year unless we have some warm weather later this year. What would you recommend? I assume that you are quite familiar with Temagami? Thank you
Hello and thank you for watching my channel. Temagami is a vast area with large and small lakes and clear waters. To the north is the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park that adds 100’s of square km to the recreational choices. For me, when I come to a new area, I generally like to do some type of a circuit to get the feel of the place and a sense of what areas I might want to explore further. Temagami is currently free to use, there are not even any parking fees at the end of the access road. However, if you get to Diamond Lake or west to Obabika Lake these are provincial parklands and then there are $30/night camping fees (It was a recent ‘innovation’ at some of these parks to charge a fixed fee instead of a per person charge. This is great news for larger groups, but it was pretty tough on solo trippers). Even if you have a mapping GPS, I would still obtain a decent paper map of the area as it helps with trip planning. Jeff’s map, I am told, is decent and there are some paddling websites. The Backroad Map Books are decent, but the campsite and portages given in them are unreliable in my recent experience. There are the ‘Adventure Map’ series that has 5 different maps covering the Temagami area. They are slightly smaller in scale than topographical maps, but I think they are more current and are printed on Tyvek (waterproof). Regardless, in Temagami campsites and trails are maintained by volunteers and all are unsigned and are first come, first served. So, the condition/existence of a campsite is subjective. If essential, I would use a satellite image (even Google Maps) to zoom in on a suspected campsite to see if there is any evidence of recent use (ie bare spots while not definitive does help). Portages in Temagami can be very rocky compared to say Algonquin Park as there is less soil here. So, these can be tricky if the rocks are wet. However, for the most part the hills are lower, and the trails are shorter. On this trip we hardly portaged at all and yet it felt far more than just going around a lake. The passage into Cross Lake and the lake itself is really nice and you don’t have to portage at all if you prefer. Kokoko Bay is nice, but you might want to portage into Kokoko Lake and then again into the North Arm of Lake Temagami near the mouth of Ferguson Bay. There are some decent campsites there. I have yet to go there, but at the north end of Obabika Lake is apparently a stand of old-growth forest. You might be able to campsite outside the park and go in for the day. I am not sure. It is called the Wakimika Triangle Trails. Certainly a place I intend to visit! The larger lakes can get windy with swells reaching 1m or more in extreme conditions. On our recent trip 25-30 km winds produced 60cm waves, but you can manage it. While being on bigger water to cross over is one thing, I prefer the narrower passages when canoeing as it is more interesting to me. Have a great trip and be safe. Henri.
Also instructive to your viewers is that the diversion to the Loon Lodge Cafe was fortuitous, as we were unaware of the tragedy which was to unfold the next day - they were going to be CLOSED !
That was a damn fine burger & fries - made even more delicious by the work done to get there. I think you misunderstood the role of a trip leader. A trip leader is one who lays out the plan for the excursion and provides general oversight. They also, when it is possible, provide an opportunity for the subordinates to show their appreciation by buying him or her a nice lunch. You're welcome for the clarification.
Thank you for posting this! I've been on Nine Mile so many times and haven't ever found that portage at the end. Going to try again this fall (once all the bugs are dead)!
Have a great trip!! The lower part of the portage (ie south of the swamp) is a snowmobile trail and is wide enough to drive at least an ATV, but probably more. The swamp is tougher as the water levels will probably be lower when you go. The portage does go further alongside the swamp in lower water, in our case it was flooded and we had to paddle. The trail at the north end is also quite wide, but more overgrown at the lake so it is harder to find. Use my maps to mark it on your GPS and then go for a walk and find it and then mark it when you are there and you'll be good. Wolf and Marsh Lakes are very nice as well. VERY quiet. Thanks for watching. All the best.
@@cjyaeger6663 Sorry, I meant graphic I put at the end of the video. These are my actual tracks so if you go to same location, the portage should be there. Hope that helps!
This was another one of our great trips. Canoeists with moderate experience can do this quite easily. Moderate rating is only because there is one larger portage, and some of the open bodies of water that need to be crossed are quite large, requiring some experience in windy conditions. This circuit is a great way to experience the hub area of the Temagami region.
Thank you. It was great to share it with you. There were so many passages and interesting places to canoe on this trip even though it is often interconnected with a larger lake. It reminds me of the Dogtooth Wilderness east of Rushing River PP or of Massasauga PP. Here is to more trips before winter!
I was in that same area at about the same time around 5 years ago, but extended the trip up into Spectacle Lake and back around through Round Lake, et cetera. Bug were bad in June! Nice video.
Thanks for sharing. Another trip that I did in the 80's and 90's with my dad. Loved it, though we left our new fishing rods at the portage out of Grand Lake. We were just looking for them as we set up camp, when a big group of youths came through. They would have been very happy.to discover our gear. We had a very nice shower in the cascading river too, but the noise made it harder to sleep.
Thanks for sharing Henri, I've done multiple trips between Naiscoot and HWY 522 and there are some trips to be done there😊. Also i thought i recognized canoeman1961, he has posted some great routes in the Parry Sound area! Thanks again Henri❤
One of the most informative videos that I have seen on Noganosh. Well done Henri. That camping spot looked super. Was the fishing as bad as it looked? Great exploring too. It must have been the portage to Kelsey that you gave up on when you visited John Lake. I would have enjoyed seeing some more of the camp sites. The cliffs looked great too. Were any of them good for jumping? Thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much for your generous comments. I regretted that so much of this was stills and I now have better equipment and hope to have a very active 2024! My friend only tried in the morning for fish. He's pretty good at it and came up empty. However, given the portages and cached boats on these lakes they've been a destination for for sportsmen for a long time. Hard to say with the cliffs as we did not go ashore. I guess one would check the depth below them carefully, but as you know, there is often a drop off below them. Frank was working the maps on this portage hunt, but part of me thinks we were in Mud Bay, but I think we did that on Day 1. So, I'm guessing (7 years ago ...) that he wanted to nip down through Deep, Finney and Crow. That probably would have been a slog though. Thank you for watching.
Great video! What was your method for looking for this new, lighter equipment? It seems like you were very successful, and in some cases, found something that now serves you even better than your previous gear did. I'm thinking of going on a short trip to Algonquin with a few friends, so I've been watching your videos to learn more. Great to see that you've been continuing to live a full life enriched with doing the things that you love. Best wishes from a former student. - Hannah, AP20 SEM
Hello Hannah, so nice to hear from you. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I realize I am not the most dynamic presence. Frankly, I started with the objective of cutting my pack weight including food to less than 35 lbs for a 2-day 1 night trip figuring that I carried a similar weight while training without much discomfort. So, this seemed like a reasonable starting point. I then looked at the items I was using and tried to reduce the weight of each item. The tent, stove, and sleeping pad were the obvious ones to start with, but the other items help as well. Sometimes I hear about items from other trippers or search on the net and find new items that I did not know about like the camera mount for my canoe I showed in Day 5 of my Kiosk trip. I was able to get the pack on sale. I buy my stuff, with the exception of the stove, from MEC or a hiking/outdoor store up here called Lefevre's in North Bay. The quality is better than Canadian Tire and the staff know a lot more, especially at MEC. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any specific questions and I will do what I can. If you don't have it my new email is on my web page. For years, I wanted to be the one at the centre of things, who was consulted, who had 20 pressing emails a day, etc. I have had my fill of self-induced obligations. I comparatively get no pressing emails any longer and it is just great. I've never had so much personal discretion time before in my life and it is really wonderful. I hope to have a number of trips this year and hopefully you will get something out of any videos I am able to make out of them. I hope you are well and things are going your way. Remarkably, it is now 5 years since I ran an Algonquin expedition. Time moves on. HvB
I was pleasantly surprised at 6:54 of your video…. That rock has created amazing memories over 30 years as each of my children and then grandchildren tried valiantly to push it over!!! Northwest of that rock about 1000 feet is our island. You have picked an amazing lake to explore…. 7:03
Thank you very much. After moving into this region, I thought this lake would be a very interesting area to explore with its islands and bays. It did not disappoint! In addition, my next paddle, a few days later had me going southwest to the mouth of the Temagami River. A lot to explore and a great place for a day trip or short over night. Thanks again for watching. Henri
Thank you so much Mr van Bemmel! This is very informative and extremly helpful (especially for hiking starters like me). You are still an excellent educator even after you happily retired. Looking forward for more videos to come!
I've now hiked for 20+ years with poles. I won't go back. Once you get used to hiking with poles you'll be the same. Buy good quality poles. I've had the same poles for most of that 20+ years. Thanks for the video Henri
We did a short version of this hike with Henri earlier in July. It was a great little hike and you would never know you were in the middle of North Bay. I highly suggest it if you're in the area.
Hey buddy. Nice review of a potential escape for visitors to Marten River Provincial Park. Like a lot of similar places, it gets overgrown and disused. At least it gives a heads up to would be paddlers ... but I do not think you should expect a flood of participants making their way up north to try this one, but it sure is a convenient option for campers of this park.
Enjoy, but we still have between 0 and 12" of snow. I would also consider cleats if the trails are icy due to folks walking on them in the winter. The northeast loop will be in the best shape I'm guessing. Have a nice day. HwH
I'm glad we are still able to do this, now that we've turned sixty. That was a very nice campsite on Maggie. To all those able to, do things like you see my friend and I doing, as you will cherish these moments for the rest of your lives. Start with small excursions, and gradually expand your range. Always prepare with some physical exertion prior to a hike like this one, as there is no UBER service at km 12.0.
