Sultan to Gogama: A Saga of Seven Rivers

Here is an extensive trip report on a connecting series of lost canoe routes in Northern Ontario. It was a train-in, train-out affair. I hope you enjoy it. The link to this report in my canoe-tripping blog is below.

Fantastic trip report! I really enjoyed it, started reading it last night, finished it this morning with my coffee. I should have kept a list of the comments I wanted to make, there was just so much info, lol.

I'm wondering if you ever contemplated taking a small chainsaw? Most of our trips in my area are very similar, and even if you don't want to clear an entire port, the chainsaw sure comes in handy for removing the big trees.

Cramping- after my first major cramp episode on a canoe trip, similar to yours, I found that it became a regular feature. I'm very careful now to put electrolites and stuff in my water bottle all day long, and sometimes that doesn't even work.

We call those *&$% flies ankle biters, and they are an extreme pain in the rear. This spring and summer were also probably the worst mosquito season in years. The bug tent you have is a real game changer, I picked one up a couple of years ago too.

We have a very large open pit mine that has been developed in our town in the last few years. It certainly does change the nature of life in the area. Noise is constant, and never stops. The lake that we are on will never be the same, I'm certainly not going to eat fish from it anymore.

In any case, I really appreciate the effort that goes into writing a long and extensive trip report. One of the best I have read in a long time, so thanks very much for that!

I started reading it last night too, Thanks for the effort, very interesting and the maps are excellent. While my days of trips like that are over, I really enjoy reading trip reports like yours, Thanks again.

Memaquay and Robin, thank you for the kind words. With all the work you have done to keep routes alive in the Greestone Area, it means a lot, memaquay. (I still need to do the Steel River btw. Been on my bucket list for years! I think next year, for sure!)

I have a buddy that brings a little battery-powered chain saw on some local trips here in the Kawartha Highlands. We use it to cut firewood at camp, but the power doesn't last very long. On bigger logs it would be useless. On these trips, I find I'm weighed down enough without a larger and heavier saw. One definitely would have come in handy a few times on this trip though!

Yep, I have never had cramps like that in my life, nor would I want to again! I learned my lesson, though. A week after returning from the Sultan trip, I did a ten-day solo trip in Quetico and brought along electrolyte powder. No cramps.

These past two canoe seasons have been the worst I have experienced for mosquitoes. Dad and I ran the Coulonge River in the third week of August, and we still had clouds of mossies around us at dusk. With climate change, is this what we have to look forward to every year? Yikes.

I'm so sorry to hear about your local lake, especially if you live on it. What a shame! Our family summer cottage is on a lake near Sudbury. At the south end of the lake is an abandoned gold mine that stopped operations in 1939. To this day, there are elevated levels of arsenic on the lake and drinking advisories. There are over 1000 residents on the lake...


I sincerely hope your lake is being treated better.

Anyway, thanks again for the encouraging words. The reports do take a long time to write, but I quite enjoy it. Despite the hardships we faced on the trip, there were also some incredible highs. I hope the report didn't come across as focussing on the negative aspects too much. I would like other adventurers to give it a go! That's one of the reasons I write the reports.

Steve

Still working my way through the TR but I have to recommend that you do the Steel River loop. Mem can advise on the state of the roads now that the pulp mill closed but you may have to start at Santoy. Question is: Diablo or go around?

I also worry about complaining too much during TRs and sometimes regret focusing so much on the bug problem this year. Maybe it's type 2 fun but that's only the portaging part. Portaging isn't supposed to be easy any way.

Currently on day 4 but, so far, a great read (as always).

Thanks Gamma. Yep, portaging is what separates the paddler from littered campsites, poor fishing, noise, and intrusion.

Re Steel, if I start on Santoy, probably Diablo. If I put in on Eaglecrest, probably the go around. Depends on wind, energy levels, etc. Part of me feels that Diablo is a canoeist's rite of passage, in some respect...

If the road does not improve, starting at Santoy might be the norm. I'll know more in the spring.

Good plan as per Diablo. Although it was the right decision at the time, part of me regrets not tackling that portage (just once). Probably also makes a difference what time of year... By Fall, (from what I hear) the ferns are huge and risk of falling on holes is much higher. I may return some Spring just so I can say I did it. (Marshall Lake loop gets another visit first though)

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed trip report. I hope it serves others well in the future.

Alan

Much appreciated, Mem. I would most likely prefer to start from Eaglecrest, so any info would be extremely helpful.

Thanks, Alan. I hope others will try it, especially right from the town of Sultan which was my original plan.

@CanoeDaddy - Haven't gotten to your trip report yet but after reading the comments, I wish you all the best with your cramps. I started with that issue two summers ago while on an overnight. My legs locked up and I was in incredible pain. Luckily for me, the friend I was with is an athletic trainer and the college's swim coach. She massaged & kneaded my legs for about 15 minutes before the pain subsided. Over the last two years I've had a couple more experiences but, thankfully, not quite as bad. I now pack "Liquid IV" packets and drink it throughout the day. I also skip the coffee I used to consume while driving to the put-in and have replaced it with 20-24 oz. of Liquid IV so I'm topped off before I even start. So far, this seems to be working so I'll keep with it until it doesn't or my doctor comes up with something better. Nothing more horrible than to be awakened out of a sound sleep with cramps. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Good luck going forward.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

Great TR. Entertaining and I think it will be very helpful for anyone doing a trip in that area.

On that day 6 portage when you were near the end in that muck, couldn't you have dragged or pushed the boat instead of carrying it? I haven't done much deep muck work and I'm not one to drag my boat, but it seems like a good idea in that situation.

snapper said:

@CanoeDaddy - Haven't gotten to your trip report yet but after reading the comments, I wish you all the best with your cramps. I started with that issue two summers ago while on an overnight. My legs locked up and I was in incredible pain. Luckily for me, the friend I was with is an athletic trainer and the college's swim coach. She massaged & kneaded my legs for about 15 minutes before the pain subsided. Over the last two years I've had a couple more experiences but, thankfully, not quite as bad. I now pack "Liquid IV" packets and drink it throughout the day. I also skip the coffee I used to consume while driving to the put-in and have replaced it with 20-24 oz. of Liquid IV so I'm topped off before I even start. So far, this seems to be working so I'll keep with it until it doesn't or my doctor comes up with something better. Nothing more horrible than to be awakened out of a sound sleep with cramps. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Good luck going forward.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

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That's sounds rough but it seems you've made some lifestyle adjusts to fix it. In my case, it was a one-off, me thinks. Hasn't happened since and I went on an intense 10-day solo romp through Quetico afterward, covering some big distances without issue. On the day in question, the cramps came from doing a 1600-meter bushwhack portage on an incredibly humid day in early July without access to water for a good chunk of it. It was poor planning on my part. I guess that is how we learn!

lowangle al said:

Great TR. Entertaining and I think it will be very helpful for anyone doing a trip in that area.

On that day 6 portage when you were near the end in that muck, couldn't you have dragged or pushed the boat instead of carrying it? I haven't done much deep muck work and I'm not one to drag my boat, but it seems like a good idea in that situation.

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Thanks for taking interest in the report! The muck bit was very short and at the time, I didn't think it warranted dropping the boat and dragging. I thought I could just slog through it, but as is often the case with muck, you don't realize you're going to be knee-deep in it until you are actually knee-deep in it. It terms of causing the cramps, I was so depleted of electrolytes at that stage, that I only took about two steps in the loons&!t when the cramps hit me.

Yeah, I guess if you were already carrying the boat it would be natural to keep on going.

I think it's great that you and your dad are doing big trips like this, keep it going.

Nice write up. Thanks!

Thanks low. My father is 73 years old. We enjoy these trips a lot despite the hard work involved. I hope he's got a few more years in him to do some more. I'm 53 and they're very tough for me, so the fact that he's doing trips like this at his age inspires me to stay in shape. If I'm still tripping like this 20 years from now, I'll be very happy!

Thanks, Scott, I enjoy writing up my canoe trips and I hope it helps others get out there to try the routes. It also helps me relive and remember the experience.