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LaVerendrye circuit 61

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Appleton, Maine
My son Dan and I did this circuit back in May, 1999. After a 12 hour all night drive from Connecticut, we arrived at Le Domaine where we bought our permits, fishing license, map and breakfast at Yellowcanoe's favorite restaurant north of the border:rolleyes:. Another 2 hours of driving put us at the put in, a bridge crossing over the River Canimiti below lac Elbow.

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From the put in we traveled upstream in a slow easy current toward our first portage about 10 k upstream. Before we got to the portage into Lac Gladu, we saw a small cabin on our left. It looked vacant, so we stopped to stretch our legs and have a look. I love looking at old camps like this, a quick look around, see how the other half lives and move on.
Dan in front of the First Nations Trappers camp.
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Back on the river, we soon arrived at the pool below the falls that we had to portage around. Dan tells me he sees fish rising in the pool, so we cast some lures to them. We quickly catch and release 4 nice pickerel. We should have kept one for dinner, but we figured we would catch more after the portage.
Robin with pickerel (remember, this picture was taken after a 12 hour night long drive, I'm pretty tired..)
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We entered Lac Gladu after an easy portage and troll up a nice pike for dinner. We find an island campsite clearly marked on the map of Circuit 61 that we picked up at Le Domaine (no need for topo's, the Circuit Maps are excellent for mileage, campsites and route information) We soon have our camp set up and dinner cooking over a fire.
Dan and pike
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The next morning after a breakfast of bacon and eggs, we leave Circuit 61 for an exploration of a few lakes that are part of the longer Circuit 63. We paddle up as far as Lac Ypres catching a lot of pike as we make the best of a cool wet day. We turn around and make a bee line back to the same island site we stayed at the night before, having to set up camp all over again in the same spot, only in a heavy rain.
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The next morning the rain has stopped, but it's a gray overcast day. We enter a small stream that will take up to River Chochocouane in a day and 1/2. It's a combination of river and lake travel, then a small stream.

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As one of the lakes begins to narrow, we spot a moose feeding along the shorline. This was a big moose and wary also. It saw us and we never got very close before he headed into the bush.
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We soon came upon another larger moose, he was chest deep in the river and when he spotted us he made way for the bush. The waves he created from his chest would have put a canoe over to it's gunnels, massive animal, and to quick for my camera.

Shortly after that we came upon this younger moose who let us get very close. We saw 6 moose on that stream and it was a day I will never forget.

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We camped at a falls on the stream, got up early and fished for breakfast in the pool below. No luck, so it was oatmeal instead of pickerel fillets.:(

We made our way down to the larger River Chochocouane and paddled down stream, camping at a huge river-wide rapid that provided a really nice setting that night at dinner.

Soon we arrived at River Canimiti and headed upstream towards our truck. We took our time, fished alot and enjoyed the clearing weather.
Circuit 61 is a great little trip, I would make sure the water levels are good for the trip, but this information can be found at the friendly Le Domaine base.

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Awesome story and great pics Robin. As the temps stay low and the snow continues to fall, I really enjoy reading trip reports like these. As I sit by the wood fire, a large glass of wine nearly empty, my many maps within reach and stories with pics like yours ... it helps me to get through the rest of this cold evening. I love to dream about the tomorrows I am going to have.

Bob.
 
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Hello Robin: Another great report. It's good to see a trip with you and your son. He is very fortunate to have you take him out on those trips. Congrats on the fishing and seeing six moose in one day.

Take care,
Cousin Pete
 
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