looking for a good ww canoe/kayak river in canada north of MI, MN or WI.
have done the Missinaibi, Bloodvein and Harricanaw.
would like similar.
currently considerinig the Pipestone, ONT and Gunisao, MB.
any others that we might consider?
fly in OK, about 100-150 miles distance
try this link too…
…http://boatertalk.com/forum/BoaterTalk
that’s a board frequented by a lot of WW paddlers
from all over the world.
It’s a different type of board, however!
Spanish River
While I’ve never paddled this river myself, I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.
Look here for more information.
http://www.bushwhackeronline.com/spanishriver.html
Jack
spanish river
thanks, Jack. I have some info on it, will take a 2nd look at it.
I Thought That
It was a bit out of the area you were looking at, but options are good, especially for what you are looking for.
Whitewater rivers for tripping aren’t all that common where you are looking as many of the rivers are the typical “drop & pool.”
One method of finding rivers that don’t get a lot of use is to contact outfitters that run fishing camps. Some have small rivers in their area that aren’t widely known, and that they don’t advertise, but offer some interesting options.
This has worked well for me in the past, but I would recommend contacting them by phone as opposed to email.
They are more likely to talk to you that way as they know that they won’t make much money off of paddlers, especially since we bring our own food & accomodations so it’s only the flight in, out, or both that they’ll make any money on.
Definitely not on the scale of a group of fisherman renting a cottage for a week that’s for sure.
I’ve even done trips where they wouldn’t tell me where I was going, only that it was what I was looking for and that they would have all the maps I needed when I got there.
They were afraid that I would find out where this river was, then make other arrangements for the air taxi. I had done other trips with this particular outfitter, so I trusted him.
It worked out great with lot’s of good speckled trout fishing, which is what I was after.
This trip was taken back in the late 1970’s and that area was clear cut not too long after with roads going back to the river so I was glad that I got while the gettin was good on that one…
Be forewarned though, the portages on trips found this way might be a little rougher than the ones found on routes that get used more often.
Speaking of found, I was lucky to find the portages on a few occasions, which can get interesting as the roar the of rapids or falls gets louder & louder and you keep saying to yourself, it’s gotta be here somewhere!
I’m outta here, it’s off to the Ozark’s for us!
Later!!
Jack
Ontario Rivers
If you have done the Missinaibi you are familliar with how those northern rivers flatten out after the drop off the shield. I don’t know about the Pipestone but would suspect it is the same. The Winisk River is in the general area and does the same. Very good WW for the first third. Canoe Frontier runs trips and flights to most big rivers in NW Ontario. Check out their web site:
http://www.canoefrontier.com/index.wild
The Spanish is a great river but is not as isolated or as long (180 KM) as some others.
For route descriptions on the Winisk, Spanish and more, check out Canadian Canoe routes at:
http://www.myccr.com/Routes.htm
or email me.
Paul