Opasquia 2014

[Robin]

Good link for those of us headed to Ontario, Thanks

 

[Marten]

There are 3 paddlers up there right now but their route was not near the fire. That center fire is only a morning paddle from BIg Hook Wilderness Camps Central Lake main camp. This summer there will be canoes on the water most days so more information should be available. For a non-maintained park it is very easy to get around in.

 

[Guest]

There are 3 paddlers up there right now but their route was not near the fire. That center fire is only a morning paddle from BIg Hook Wilderness Camps Central Lake main camp. This summer there will be canoes on the water most days so more information should be available. For a non-maintained park it is very easy to get around in.

I was one of the 3 paddlers in the park that Marten referred to. We exited the park last weekend. We did smell smoke from the fires the last couple of days of our trip. The last paddling day (July 4th), it was apparent that the fires were active as there was a low haze that limited visibility, as well as the smell of smoke. (At one point, we had a Bald Eagle winging its way down the channel we were traversing and I thought it was a fitting image for Independence Day ... just needed a few rockets to set a perfect tone.) The previous night, there was a lightening strike not too distant from us and we could see smoke rising a couple of miles distant. But it must have been a small fire and due to the damp conditions, it likely burned itself out. There was a slight delay in our flight out of Central Lake due to smoky conditions further west, which produced some issues for the extraction of fishing camp guests out that way ... resulting in all subsequent flights being pushed back a bit.

The issue with fires in OPP is that many of the waterways are narrow, so there is no way to skirt the flank of a fire as there might be on larger bodies of water. In addition, there are few "developed" routes. Consequently, it would be difficult to re-route to navigate around a fire danger. So, if you get a fire in the wrong place, you are pretty much stuck. Given the remoteness of the area, there is little in the way of outside support to fight fires this far north.

But all that notwithstanding, we had a wonderful couple of weeks in OPP ... but I could have enjoyed it a lot more with a few less mosquitoes. (The operator of Big Hook Wilderness Camps, our outfitter, labeled it the worst he'd seen in 25 years of operation.)

dd

 

[red langford]

I read you post intently waiting for mention of the little blood suckers, and you did not disappoint. I have never in my life seen mosquitos this bad. Lots of rain this year is creating a mosquito haven. At dusk and dawn they don't buzz around you, it's more like a cloud of them descends onto you. Arrrgh!

OPP is a "natural wilderness" park and as such the MNR's policy on fires is "they're natural, let 'em burn". I think if it came close to what they call assets then they act. I am pretty sure Big Hook would fall under that category.

I would love to hear more of your trip dd.

 

[Guest]

No Title

I traveled to OPP with 2 others (one from St. Paul and the other from Chicago). We spent 14 days, beginning at Central (Big Hook) Lake and heading north and west until we reached Joint Lake (near the Manitoba border). We then headed south to Cocos Lake before turning back east to re-connect to our entry route. We then re-traced our steps back to Central Lake.

The logistics of getting there (and back) involve a 50 minute flight from Red Lake to Sandy Lake via a 9-passenger Cessna Caravan operated by Wasaya Airways. Upon reaching Sandy Lake, we transferred from the landing strip to the float plane base where we boarded a 3-passenger Cessna float plane for the remaining 25 minute flight to Central Lake. Our flight out to Central Lake departed Red Lake at 5:39 am and we were on the water paddling off into the wilderness by 9:30 am.