after being diverted from a July trip due to wildfires closing the park we tried at the end of August.. There was just one fire still puttering in the Park on Isaac Lake but they were just monitoring it. It was high up and the snow is the only thing that will put it out. But a massive ( biggest in BC history ) fire that was just west of Quesnel that is about an hour away on some days pushed a lot of smoke into the park.
We dropped the dog off at a kennel outside of Quesnel and had an orientation at 12 noon but were early.. I didn't get any pix of the weigh ins as we were juggling gear to make the 60 lbs cartable limit as close as possible. The normal method of a couple of big packs has some drawbacks for adjusting weight.. We were then issued a tag indicating what packs should be in the boat. Nothing else save safety stuff should be in the boat. We did see some people cheat as soon as they left. The first portage is 2400 m mostly uphill . Its not very wide but nicely laid with gravel.. how deceiving.. It leaves right from the parking lot and goes to Kibbee Lake. An odd way to start a trip.
Soon it becomes apparent that carting isnt all that easy.. to pull or push to have one person on each end requires synchronization so not to throw the other person off the trail.Beckers rents wide tired large diameter tired but heavy carts that might better navigate the deep potholes occasionally found but we just did with our Swedish Cart..
We stopped after one portage. Camp with some other newly found friends fellow old people who were sympathetic to our groaning after one portage! The other folks had a Go Pro mounted to their canoe to record the good bad and ugly of potholes.. Its a very short paddle across Kibbee Lake and off to the next 2.0 km portage again mostly up but this one is laden wit potholes. Two foot deep potholes. Very slow going.. This port is in deep ugly shape. It ends at Indianpoint Lake. The only lake where we had a whiff of wind...
The best is yet to come
We dropped the dog off at a kennel outside of Quesnel and had an orientation at 12 noon but were early.. I didn't get any pix of the weigh ins as we were juggling gear to make the 60 lbs cartable limit as close as possible. The normal method of a couple of big packs has some drawbacks for adjusting weight.. We were then issued a tag indicating what packs should be in the boat. Nothing else save safety stuff should be in the boat. We did see some people cheat as soon as they left. The first portage is 2400 m mostly uphill . Its not very wide but nicely laid with gravel.. how deceiving.. It leaves right from the parking lot and goes to Kibbee Lake. An odd way to start a trip.
Soon it becomes apparent that carting isnt all that easy.. to pull or push to have one person on each end requires synchronization so not to throw the other person off the trail.Beckers rents wide tired large diameter tired but heavy carts that might better navigate the deep potholes occasionally found but we just did with our Swedish Cart..
We stopped after one portage. Camp with some other newly found friends fellow old people who were sympathetic to our groaning after one portage! The other folks had a Go Pro mounted to their canoe to record the good bad and ugly of potholes.. Its a very short paddle across Kibbee Lake and off to the next 2.0 km portage again mostly up but this one is laden wit potholes. Two foot deep potholes. Very slow going.. This port is in deep ugly shape. It ends at Indianpoint Lake. The only lake where we had a whiff of wind...
The best is yet to come