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Second trip report- Hwy 671 - Drewry lake, Morgan Lake, and Mitchell Lake overnighter

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First weekend trip with the new canoe loaded to max, 347lbs with me and gear and toys. Going to be a good test with nice weather for both Sat and Sunday.

Road side put in by the bridge off Hwy 671 into Drewry lake with a cave and drag over port, line haul past rapids with a cliff face climb included, steep up hill port x3 loads past the 20ft falls into lower Morgan lake, rapid flow into upper Morgan lake with big waves at the end, 110 pace port x3 loads into Upper Mitchell lake with rapids at the entry to the port., supper nice trail but with deer parts left on the trail, was ready for wolves after that lol, nice paddle to the lower Mitchell lake with a set of rapids dividing the two, failed the first set and got slightly wet but did not tip, tried the far left set and made it past those,got as far as Baine lake portage trail but the entry was inside the rapids, did not want to try enter a walking trail while paddling the raids flow.

Turned around and camped at Lower Mitchell lake for the night. Had a crazy beaver upset that I was in his neighborhood and he would tail slap 10' from my tent several times during the evening/night.

Next morning I ran the far left rapids out of lower Mitchell lake then went up Lunch Lake creek and went as far as there was water, back to Mitchell with the 110 pace port again with 3x loads, then into Upper Morgan with another swamp trail into nowhere for .8km each way, through to Lower Morgan and another swamp trail run that ran out, then landed at the top of the 20ft falls area and a steep downhill to the lower landing with 3x loads, had to stack stuff so it would not roll into the fast moving water.

Ran this set of rapids into Drewry instead of lining it but did not get the video of it as I did not hit the record button hard enough. This was to bad as it was a great run and came very close to rubbing the rockface on my right on the way out into the main lake. Wish I had it on video! Very fast moving water as of all the snow melt!

Back onto Drewry lake and another visit to the cave, then into the swap trail just before the bridge and dead ended at a old dam. Back to the truck to unload all the heavy stuff and then over the rapids at the bridge and to the lower falls and back to the bridge. End of trip!

As I was loading a nice lady, Debbie pulled in and unloaded a canoe for a quick paddle up Drewry Lake. Was nice to talk to another soloist about the area. Hope to see her again in the future. She had a huge 17' Kevlar ultra light canoe.

Just started to rain on the way back so good timing on leaving a day early. Time to recover and clean gear today! Going to sort a huge amount of pics and vids with these being the select "few"


Start of the weekend adventures for this year! Going to be good :)

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Big nest, little bird what the ?

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Drewry to 20ft falls needed a little lining

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Base of 20ft from rock Video



20ft falls

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Video



Morgan Lake

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Port from Morgan to Mitchell Lake


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Lots of parts around, any wolves near? This had me worried as I had pictures of the local wolf pack on Drewry lake this winter with 7 plus wolves.

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Mid point at Mitchell its way over on water levels

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Getting wet in the flow

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Port to Baine washed out and its dinner time....

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Camp time at Mitchell Lake

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Left side Flow at Mitchell lake Video


Mitchell lake
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Port back to Morgan from Mitchell

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Lunch Break at the base river opposite of the port

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Various other pics just because

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Snow load?

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20 ft falls again

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Port from top of falls to lower

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Base of falls to Drewry lake

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Drewry lake

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Video



Cave to park your little boat in, too tight for me!

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With Video of how tough the Carbon is- no marks






Swamp next to the upstream side of the bridge

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Falls downstream of Bridge

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Trim doing its job keeping the water out

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Road back, just a few drops!

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All in all a great trip and now I just need to get better at paddling and develop a bit of fitness again! Did 8km the first day and 14km the second and a total of 1km of portage, plus 3 hours of driving each day. Not bad for a rookie considering that I slept in both days and never had been past the start of Drewry before! I will laugh at my travel distances once I get my stuff sorted out but for right now I am happy with a relaxed pace.
 
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Nice looking area, I can see the water must have been booming by looking at your pics of the falls. Did you have your camera on some kind of side mount tripod for those on the water shots, or were you daredevil one handing it?
 
Nice looking area, I can see the water must have been booming by looking at your pics of the falls. Did you have your camera on some kind of side mount tripod for those on the water shots, or were you daredevil one handing it?

Thanks, I did try one handing last time and figured that a little tripod would be way better to use. Can be seen strapped to the canoe here just above the paddle on the right-->
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This one is crazy light and just long enough to stick out the side a little when strapped to the thwarts/handles--- http://www.mec.ca/product/4001-622/uco-ultrapod-ii-large-tripod/?f=10+50336 For 20 bucks its worth every dollar!
 
Nice, I liked your "around the campsite" shots, and the video's are a real nice added touch. You have a beautiful new canoe and I for one enjoyed seeing it out there being used, dirty, exploring backwaters and pulled up a rapid, great stuff this early in the season.

How often do you single blade vs using the double blade?
 
What a great "first of many more" weekenders! Thanks for sharing. That's some beautiful paddling country you have there.
 
Nice, I liked your "around the campsite" shots, and the video's are a real nice added touch. You have a beautiful new canoe and I for one enjoyed seeing it out there being used, dirty, exploring backwaters and pulled up a rapid, great stuff this early in the season.

How often do you single blade vs using the double blade?

Was nice to get out and have some real water to play in. All the ice and snow is now gone and the water is moving! I wanted to try capture everything on film but it was so hard to get the mood of it in the pictures. The water is crazy cold yet so I need to dial back my adventures till its safe to get wet. I did line the one set of rapids and got slammed on another but never went for the swim! I will try return to this spot later in the year after the flow goes down and the port trails are not mid point in the rapids. Wanted to use this area as a start to larger trips.

I noticed that I am using the single blade 100% of the time and the double is just along for the ride. I am hoping this will change soon and am looking forward to getting past the big lakes with the double. No room for even the single in some of the swamp trails as the branches are blocking the way! I still need to develop some skills as I was used to being in the back of a tandom and now need to remember that half the length is behind me still.

A great little canoe that is way better than I deserve!
 
Beautiful country. I like the rugged terrain with the granite and old growth. The canoe seems to be working out well for you. I tried the double blade and it doesn't work for me. Some love it, but to me it is silly and slow and awkward. But that is just me. No fishing this trip? Are there trout in those lakes? Nice report. I will post about my recent Manigatogan trip soon under the photography thread since that is what I mostly did.
 
What a great "first of many more" weekenders! Thanks for sharing. That's some beautiful paddling country you have there.

Thanks! I have so little time for all the adventures yet to come! I am hoping for a long list of new routes and adventures by the end of the season! I do like this area!


Beautiful country. I like the rugged terrain with the granite and old growth. The canoe seems to be working out well for you. I tried the double blade and it doesn't work for me. Some love it, but to me it is silly and slow and awkward. But that is just me. No fishing this trip? Are there trout in those lakes? Nice report. I will post about my recent Manigatogan trip soon under the photography thread since that is what I mostly did.

I need more time with the double paddle before I decide anything. I just seem more comfortable with what I know (single blade). No fishing for me on this trip. That gear has been in storage for years :(

Look forward to seeing your trip report! The pictures are always the highlights of a trip report for me!
 
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