Wabakimi & Beyond

[Guest]

Hi Y'all!

As founder and lead organizer of The Wabakimi Project, I'm pleased to discover and join this board. Any members requiring information about canoeing opportunities in the Wabakimi area are welcome to contact me ("Uncle" Phil). Information is free--no strings attached! Whatever information we have we're willing to share. As Barry Simon, our intrepid map-maker so often says, "It's what we do!".

If any members are already planning a self-directed trip to the Wabakimi area this coming summer, we invite you to help us update our canoe route information in a couple of ways:

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1. We encourage paddlers planning to visit the Wabakimi area in 2013 to become one of our ‘contributors’. In return for complementary assistance in trip planning and/or route orientation, we welcome detailed trip reports that help us keep abreast of the condition of canoe routes we’ve explored and opened and the accuracy of the maps we’ve published. The routes followed by next summer’s ‘contributors’ will be included on the 2013 Route Map posted next Fall on the Trip Summaries page of our website. Participation in this aspect of our canoe route conservancy initiative helps us update route information, draws attention to those routes that require maintenance and increases the scope of our coverage of the Wabakimi area.

2. We’ve already identified 81 access points that provide access to Wabakimi Provincial Park many of which are located on remote forest access roads. We need accurate mileages to these locations from definable points such as the junction of a forest access road with a paved secondary highway. We also need accurate GPS waypoints of identified launch points with descriptions of available parking and/or camping opportunities. We will publish this information on our website to help future visitors plan their trips.

If you’re planning your own self-directed trip to the Wabakimi area this summer, we invite your to help us update our canoe route information and/or in build our launch points data base. Or, if you're interested in joining one of The Wabakimi Project reconnaissance expeditions, contact me (“Uncle” Phil) for more information.[/TD]
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[yellowcanoe]

Hi Uncle Phil!

Welcome! Might I give some background to the Wabakimi Project? It is week or two week long work parties who are dedicated to identifying canoe portages and campsites in the Wabakimi Provincial Park area. Phil made this a project of his when he retired from his teaching position. There are charges and believe me Phil makes nothing off of it, rather he operates at a loss financially. At a plus emotionally.

I have participated in seven WP trips. It's really rewarding. I do find it physically challenging and more than I can do from now on but until the age of 65 for me a woman it was fine.

The days can be long and the schedule seemingly out of kilter. Mornings start slow and sometimes work goes late till 7 or 8. But light is not a problem that far north. The fishing is not to be beat and the supplied food quite good. BYOB..Its OK.

Work has entailed finding old blazes ( that is SO much fun finding a 200 year old axe blaze on a cedar tree)..and clearing to historical paths. The portages range from historical sublime (August Creek) to a nightmare ( somewhere on the Little Savant River and 450 logs between S and N Annette Lakes).

The flights on a Beaver are awesome; bring your camera. Its incredible how short the takeoffs and landings can be.

 

[Robin]

Welcome Uncle Phil, Glad to have you here. Your work is well appreciated by many, including me. I read all the trip reports I can on Wabakimi and have yet to get out there.
I for one am looking forward to your updates and reports on how the project is going. I recently read your post on CCR's about folks giving back information on routes they travel to help you keep an up to date base, as you have here now. I hope you get some good info from CT's folks too.
Thanks for what You do.
Robin