Wabakimi info

[memaquay]

The more interesting trip would be to put in at the Ogoki Bridge, paddle upstream to the reservoir and make your way down to Cliff lake, which is one of the biggest pictograph sites in Ontario. Then make your way down Mud River, and either take the train back to Nakina, or carry on to Lake Nipigon and arrange to be picked up by one of the commercial fisherman. If any of you are familiar with Ramblin Boy's trip reports, he has a bunch of variations of the trip. I have documentation of the ports getting you out of the Reservoir. Here is a link to one of Ramblin Boy's reports, be warned, if you go down the wormhole of this guy's reports, you won't surface for a few days.

Down The Pikitigushi From Cliff Lake To Lake Nipigon: Logistics. Maps and Day 1 – Cliff Lake

Last revised on February 26, 2024. Table of Contents: Introduction, Logistics, and Maps Why A Return Visit To Cliff Lake? What We Did For Maps A Toast To (Uncle) Phil Cotton (1940-2018) Getting To …

albinger.me

 

[Robin]

Here is a link to one of Ramblin Boy's reports, be warned, if you go down the wormhole of this guy's reports, you won't surface for a few days.

Thanks for the link.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Another tip when using the train that I like is put something distinctive on your packs and gear going in the baggage car - we have used flagging tape in 2 different colors on each item. That way you ask for any gear that didn’t come off the train.

Also, try to get off the train as quickly as you can at your stop. Uncle Phil had a canoe dropped on the gravel trackbed which cracked it. It spent the entire season slowly leaking patched with Gorilla tape. The baggage car attendant pushed the canoe out before anyone was outside to take it.

 

[memaquay]

Well, I just surfaced, I have been reading Ramblin Boy's extensive post about the connection between Selwyn Dewdney and Norval Morrisseau. For those unfamiliar with either, Selwyn was responsible for documenting many of the rock paintings in Ontario and Manitoba in the early 60's, and it was during this time that Norval became one of his informants as to the interpretation of the paintings. That was probably one of the most comprehensive and informative articles I have ever read on the subject.

My apologies for the thread drift.

 

[Robin]

Bump

 

[bstrege]

Friends of Wabakimi has maps, campsite and portage info and Paddleplanner has the same info (as in: literally the same info- I'm pretty sure most of the mapping was done by FOW regardless of who provides the maps). PP also allows you to save your route and download it.

You are correct that they have mostly the same info. Paddle Planner (which I run) worked with FOW to get all the Wabakimi maps on Paddle Planner. Since then, I have changed a few things that members have corrected, but it is still mostly the same.

 

[Gamma1214]

Thanks Ben. If I can successfully make it to Chivelston Lake this summer, I'll drop waypoints at portage entries & exits as well as any campsites that I see (I tend to check them all out as I'm rarely in a hurry) and then send all of that info to PP as well as FOW.

Might as well make it easier for anyone coming along later, right?

 

[PortageW/Cerberus]

Thanks Ben. If I can successfully make it to Chivelston Lake this summer, I'll drop waypoints at portage entries & exits as well as any campsites that I see (I tend to check them all out as I'm rarely in a hurry) and then send all of that info to PP as well as FOW.

Might as well make it easier for anyone coming along later, right?

Where is Chivelston Lake?

 

[jdeerfoot]

Chivelston Lk is just north of the railroad and due east of the village of Savant Lake (on Hwy 599).

 

[PortageW/Cerberus]

Chivelston Lk is just north of the railroad and due east of the village of Savant Lake (on Hwy 599).

Nice. Looks like a short stroll down the tracks and you have a private lake...

 

[Gamma1214]

Where is Chivelston Lake?

Chivelston is 76.5 miles West of Armstrong and the lake appears to almost touch the rail line. From online research, it is reported to be the traditional starting point for an Albany River trip.

I've been detailing what information I can collect in this thread and I'll continue to add to it as additional info becomes available. I've found very little info online for the start & end of my planned route which, to me, is a strong plus.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Nice. Looks like a short stroll down the tracks and you have a private lake..

Yes, it's not far but probably more easily accessed off Hwy 702 going east from Hwy 599. Next year gamma may be able to clarify this for us since he might be hopping off the train at Chilvelston.

Gamma - starting an Albany Rv trip at Chilivelston must have been before Hwy 599 went in - quite the trek getting up to today's starting point at Osnaburgh Lk off 599 near the headwaters of the Albany which is Lake St. Joseph.

 

[recped]

Gamma - starting an Albany Rv trip at Chilivelston must have been before Hwy 599 went in - quite the trek getting up to today's starting point at Osnaburgh Lk off 599 near the headwaters of the Albany which Lake St. Joseph.

I started my Albany River trip from Harris Lake which is the next lake north of Chivelston. To get to Harris you need to get off the train at the Savant Lake train stop (hwy 599) and get a vehicle shuttle to Harris Lake. This route avoids the portage from Chivelston to Harris. Hwy 599 was completed in the mid-1960's but even after that many people (using rail access) did start at the train drop at Chivelston to access Savant Lake, Savant River to Osnaburgh Lake and then down the Albany.

For my 2017 trip, starting at Osnaburgh would have been a 5 week trip but I wanted to extend that so I started at Harris to add another 10 days. The total distance for my trip was 976km. The route from the rail line to Osnaburgh is actually very nice once you complete the portages into Savant Lake.

There have been a few groups that started their Albany trips from Sioux Lookout, do the long upstream slog to Lake St Joseph. One can also do the Sioux Lookout to Lake St Joseph and then upstream on the Cat River to Cat Lake and then portage into the Otoskwin watershed and from there continue east to the Attawapiskat and continue from there to James Bay. You can also use that route to access the Pipestone-Winisk route to Hudson Bay.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Recped, thanks for your detailed summary of getting from the railroad to the Albany. I did the Albany with the Wabakimi Project over a few years but never made it to Hudson Bay. The year we planned to do that was the extremely rainy season of 2009. We could not get beyond Achapi Lk due to the high water levels. I would still like to complete that trip but at age 78 it seems unlikely. And none of my paddling partners are interested in this anymore - we are all aging out of those types of trips. Just talked with my main paddling buddy this afternoon and it looks like we will doing a 2 week base camping trip in Manitoba. My trips on the Albany were some of my most enjoyable Wabakimi Project trips. I have always enjoyed river trips over lake paddling.

 

[recped]

We could not get beyond Achapi Lk due to the high water levels.

I wish I'd had high water! The Savant River section was fine, the first day or two from Osnaburgh was ok and then it was all downhill from there. The last section from The Albany Forks confluence with the Kenogami to Fort Albany was 250km of endless gravel bars, 7 days of grinding back and forth trying to find water deep enough to paddle (actually mostly pushing rather than paddling). I spoke with an older gentleman at Fort Albany, he had lived there for 60+ years and had never seen water levels so low.

On the graph below the yellow blob is when I was on that last section, the blue line is the historical low level, the orange line is the historical median. the red line is what I had to deal with.

 

[jdeerfoot]

What I remember is while 2009 was an extremely rainy, high water year on the Albany, 2010 was a low water year. Uncle Phil’s SR boats really took a beating. As I recall, he had Souris River pick them up that fall and rebuild/refinish them over the winter.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Having read Ramlin Boy’s TR on his visit to Cliff Lk and toast to Uncle Phil, reminded me that I was there with Phil on my first WP in September 2007. Uncle Phil’s ashes reside there and if you want to toast him consider using Drambuie, his drink of choice in the early years of the WP or rum and Coke which he preferred in his last years.

 

[Gamma1214]

Cliff is on my planned exit route so I'll lift a glass for him (maybe 2... one for me & one for him).

I'm not much of a scotch drinker though so brandy may have to suffice. I didn't know him but I doubt that he'll mind.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Any alcoholic beverage will do and I am sure he would appreciate it.

 

[recped]

What I remember is while 2009 was an extremely rainy, high water year on the Albany, 2010 was a low water year. Uncle Phil’s SR boats really took a beating. As I recall, he had Souris River pick them up that fall and rebuild/refinish them over the winter.

Yeah 2009 shows that for the same time period flow rates were about 10 times what I experienced in 2017. 2010 was a low year but still 3 times higher flow rate than 2017.