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Ottertooth Forums * Temagami canoe routes & backcountry travel * Archive through February 3, 2011 * Yorston to Pinetorch Info Please < Previous Next >

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tomcat
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Post Number: 1
Registered: 09-2010
Posted on Monday, January 3, 2011 - 10:21 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

Hi ... I have canoed much of Temagami a number of years back and I am planning on returning 3rd week of June 2011. I am familiar with most of my route, but I have some question concerning one area.....Blue Sucker, South on the Yorston River then crossover heading east through the small creek and through the 5 unnamed lakes to Pinetorch (is this little creek passable).....OR.....alternate further south on the Yorston River and go through Bull Lake, Seagram Lake, an then north to Lake #5 just east of Pinetorch?
And also, if you take the portages from west from Pinetorch Lake via the steep portage into Nasmith Creek, can one go down on the Nasmith Creek to Lahay Lake, portage and canoe upriver to Obabika Lake?
Comments Please.
Thanks
Tom
Comments Please?

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canoehead
Member

Post Number: 11
Registered: 09-2008
Posted on Monday, January 3, 2011 - 11:03 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

Hey Tomcat..get in touch with Curly for answers !!
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curly
Member

Post Number: 241
Registered: 03-2006


Posted on Monday, January 3, 2011 - 11:26 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

Not really my area of expertise. Ed or alscool are better placed to answer intelligently.

I think you mean the portages north out of Pinetorch, then east toward Nasmith and Lahay.
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ed
Moderator

Post Number: 915
Registered: 03-2004


Posted on Monday, January 3, 2011 - 12:10 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Tomcat:
As I understand your route you want come south from Bluesucker on the Yorston to a bit south of Mudchannel, then travel east through the chain of lakes to Pinetorch Lake.The Crossover route through this section is all doable, but the Creek travelling east is very narrow and twisty.You will need to portage along its bank.No big deal. The portage is on the south side, but the north side will work just as well.
The remainder of the route to Pinetorch was clear and open 2 seasons ago.

The route further south from Mudchannel along the Yorston to Talking Falls etc. is also useable, but the crossover route from Seagram going north to Pine Lake in the Pinetorch CR through a small chain of lakes is not useable as far as I know.

From Pine Lake you can travel north and then east to Nasmith Creek. You can then travel Nasmith south past Dorothy Lake to Lahay. There are some blockages on the creek that you will have to portage around, but they are no big deal.The scenic trip through the Cascades was all open and useable 3 seasons ago, in the Fall, when I was last through there.The ports needed some work on them but they were all easily passable.
The Crossover route fom Lahay south to Obabika River via the chain of 2 lakes was useable. The portage from the second lake to the river was not useable. Travel a bit south of the portage start point, to the creek and cross over the beaver dam and travel down the creek as far as possible then Portage along the edge of the creek to the Obabika River.As you approach the river, while walking the creek, you will need to go a bit left up an embankment and then travel the last little bit along the old portage trail to the river.
Alternatively, continue on down Nasmith Creek going south from Lahay to the Obabika River.I have not done that little section so I don't know what condition it might be in.
Travelling upstream in June on the Obabika should be ok.
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tomcat
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Post Number: 2
Registered: 09-2010
Posted on Monday, January 3, 2011 - 7:14 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

You have answered my needs, and I thank you very much. I actually planning on flying into Florence Lake, travel down through Blue Sucker, Mud Channel, then east to the lake just short of Pinetorch Lake; then traveling up the Ames Creek to Florance; and down the river through Duff Lake and Katherine. Not yet sure if I will then go down the South Branch or North Branch of the Lady Evelyn River tino Willow Island Lake. I then plan on crossing southeast accross the few small lakes to enter the southern part of Lady Evelyn Lake, and get picked up by the plane on Diamond Lake.

The reason I asked about Pinetorch Lake east to the Nasmith Creek and out was I also considered this area, because I have not been there before.

Thank You Very Much for your assistance.
Tom
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brian
Moderator

Post Number: 1270
Registered: 02-2004


Posted on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - 10:20 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

Tomcat, all the portages on these online maps are open.

http://www.ottertooth.com/Temagami/Maps/heartland0 1.htm
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curly
Member

Post Number: 242
Registered: 03-2006


Posted on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - 5:05 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Check out Lewbert Lake if you get the chance. It's one of the highest altitude large lakes in Temagami!
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tomcat
Member

Post Number: 3
Registered: 09-2010
Posted on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - 7:59 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Thanks Guys...........
Many years ago I did the Ames Creek Route from Pinetorch Lake north to Florence Lake. I remember it being very pretty, and interesting.
I have not done the Pinetorch, Upper Pinetorch route throu Beaver and Lewbert Lakes into the Ames Creek Route.
Pros or cons to either??

I am looking for solitude, scenery, and wildlife.
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curly
Member

Post Number: 243
Registered: 03-2006


Posted on Friday, January 7, 2011 - 9:53 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Both are nice routes and neither avoids the mudbath that is Skooztawgan Lake (Nishnabekwe for "shortcut" if you can believe it!). Lewbert wins for scenery, Ames for wildlife (really, it's a wash wherever you go nowadays), and solitude likely the same at either.
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curly
Member

Post Number: 244
Registered: 03-2006


Posted on Friday, January 7, 2011 - 9:57 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Lewbert Lake sunset

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grncnu
Member

Post Number: 28
Registered: 08-2010
Posted on Friday, January 7, 2011 - 11:42 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

nice photograph. i didn't even know that route existed though i've been to pinetorch lake twice, both from nasmith creek on the way to bluesucker and from florence via ames creek. guess i'll have to do this next year! i've said this before but many thanks are due to the authors of these new route maps.
for the record the stretch down nasmith to the obabika river via lahay is very beautiful.
the thread also stirs memories of chapin lake, which we call lake 13 after h. wilson. last time we were there, out in the canoe after dusk, we saw hundreds of bats flying just over the surface of the water, which led us to speculate there may be a substantial cave nearby.
also the campsite at the bottom of ames lake, the fiendishly vague and ambiguous trail to the pinetorch fire tower, etc. etc.
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brian
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Post Number: 1272
Registered: 02-2004


Posted on Saturday, January 8, 2011 - 11:23 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

Interesting observation about the bats.

You are welcome for the maps. Should be another batch coming out before summer to extend the coverage eastward.
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grncnu
Member

Post Number: 29
Registered: 08-2010
Posted on Saturday, January 8, 2011 - 10:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

well all of us who are still using a 1987 edition of wilson's guide salute you, sir!
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brian
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Post Number: 1274
Registered: 02-2004


Posted on Sunday, January 9, 2011 - 11:15 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

Is it held together with duct tape?
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irishfield
Member

Post Number: 278
Registered: 11-2004


Posted on Sunday, January 9, 2011 - 3:30 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Check out the cabin on Florence.. but please don't use the 1978 Trade-a-plane on the table as fire starter. It adds history to the place..

http://www.irishfield.on.ca/gallery/augp.jpg







(Message edited by irishfield on January 9, 2011)
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grncnu
Member

Post Number: 30
Registered: 08-2010
Posted on Sunday, January 9, 2011 - 11:06 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

brian- no, that was my old canoe.
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fireman
Member

Post Number: 133
Registered: 08-2009
Posted on Monday, January 10, 2011 - 7:33 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Tom,
that is a tough route. Getting down into Mudchannel is a bit of a haul, and then to go back up Ames Creek and back into Florence. I've done both, Ames Creek more recently and in the fall of a non-drought year, there is one nasty mucky section. I think it is mentioned above.
Like Ed said, the crossover into PineTorch is do-able, although not on the creek. I found the unnamed lakes to be very beautiful if a little lean on the campsite side. Dorothy has a nice site, but you are not going that way.
If you are still considering options, you could keep going east out of Pinetorch all the way to wakimika then up into Diamond and up the Lady Evelyn. The section on Florence River connecting to the South Lady Evelyn River is one of the prettiest bits of paddling around. Lilies everywhere. I have never bumped into anyone up there, but I go in the fall. Good luck.
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ed
Moderator

Post Number: 917
Registered: 03-2004


Posted on Monday, January 10, 2011 - 7:47 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Fireman:
Good to see you posting.
I was thinking about you the other day. You must not have been involved in the recent Toronto fire.How are your injured colleagues all doing?
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tomcat
Member

Post Number: 4
Registered: 09-2010
Posted on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - 9:18 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Thanks for all the interesting input.
I am planning on flying into Florence Lake, travel down through Bluesucker and Mud Channel.
Thought I would ago about a mile past the south end of Mud Channel and camp by the falls, then back track the mile and cross toward Pinetorch via the little creek, and unnamed lakes.
The big decision is to go north on Ames Creek route or up the unnamed lakes through Lewbert and over to Florence.
I have done the Ames Creek route many years ago (something like 17 +/- years ago)and I recall it being very pretty.
Now from Florence, the plan is to go down the Florence River, South Lady Evelyn, camp a Katherine, down and back to Helen Falls on the north branch, then back to Katherine and travel down the South Branch of the Lady Evelyn.
We would then fly out of the southern end of Willow Island back to Temagami.
TomCat
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ed
Moderator

Post Number: 918
Registered: 03-2004


Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - 10:01 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

tomcat:
I think that travelling from east to west via Lewbert would not be too bad. Going the other way means climbing up several closely spaced contours out of the Ames Creek Valley.
The problem is that the crossover seems to start/end where the portage along the west side of Ames Creek crosses the creek coming from Skooztagan.
So if you took the crossover, you would still have to travel north to Florence via Skooztagan.
Last year Skooztagan was a huge mud hole from end to end with only a little bit of water in it. Somewhere here on ottertooth there are some descriptions of this nasty mess. This next year may be different... but we will have to wait and see how the Spring water conditions turn out and hopefully someone here will be through Skooztagan early and report on it before you leave on your trip.
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alscool
Moderator

Post Number: 278
Registered: 02-2004


Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - 5:55 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Florence Lake to Talking Falls (end of the mud Channel)is a decent day's travel and a fine destination.

The un-named creek out of the mud channel towards Pinetorch can be traversed in your canoe, it will depend on how dry it is.

I would take the Lewbert extention if you have the time. The consideration would be where you plan to camp on this leg of the trip. The Lewbert campsite is a long sloped rock, limited tenting.
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fireman
Member

Post Number: 134
Registered: 08-2009
Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - 9:17 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Hey Ed.
Last week's fire was my last call before starting a block of vacation. We were the first crew on scene as our station is just a few blocks away. It was quite a scene. When the two firefighters fell in, it was a very long and unpleasant silence until they were confirmed rescued. Quite a job by the Rapid Intervention Team. Everyone else was pretty occupied trying to get the fire out. The water was just making it angrier. Every horizontal surface became iced so just moving around was risky. I was there for four hours and came home and have been coughing since. i wrote a post but it disappeared.
I am off winter camping in Algonquin with students on Monday. Craig MacDonald has made us a third tupik trappers tent with woodstove. 30 folks in three groups all around the Sunday Lake area of dog sledding trails.
I even managed a final canoe trip on Massassauga at the very end of November, just as a snow storm hit. Eight guys and 200 cans of beer!!
Anyway, enjoying the winter in spite of the cough. Hope you are well.
A friend is planning a voyageur paddle to Ottawa. 29 foot canoe, a dozen paddlers. I must brush up on my French Canadian paddling songs. Cheers.
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ed
Moderator

Post Number: 919
Registered: 03-2004


Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 11:03 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

Fireman;
Good to hear you are OK. I thought maybe you would be there. I think it called out quite a few Stations.Lucky your buds got out OK. Soaking them with the aerial monitors and dropping hoses down and pulling them up was quick thinking.

A better outcome than yesterdays event with the stolen snow plow.

The only French Canadian paddling songs I know are all in english and they are not too respectable... I think they came from the North Atlantic Squadron, so maybe they were not paddling songs after all.
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tomcat
Member

Post Number: 5
Registered: 09-2010
Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 7:37 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

I sure appreciate the conversation and information. For a lot of years I went canoe tripping every year, then because of a neck issue I quit, and started flying in on outpost camp fishing trips. My X son in law usually goes with me. He has really wanted to do a canoe trip. I am up to everything except carrying the canoe on my neck/shoulders (back pack is ok). He offered to carry the canoe all the time, so I took him up on it. (I have a 40lb Wenonah 17' Jensen designed kevlar canoe).

Now, another question please. You comment well take for campsites on Lewbert Lake. Thinking about going from Upper Pinetorch up to Ojidawanmo Lake then backtrace one lake to head to Lewbert Lake. Any comments on the Ojudawanmo Lake campsite?

Thank You
Tomcat
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ed
Moderator

Post Number: 922
Registered: 03-2004


Posted on Friday, January 14, 2011 - 9:16 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

I don't think anyone has been in there for a while, unless it was one of the Canoe Camps such as Keewaydin or Wabun.

There is a campsite on Beaver that is useable.

Camping on a rock is not bad when there are flat spots. The major downside is the extra time it takes to rock out your tent. Sometimes these very old, little used campsites, such as one might find on these seldom used lakes need a bit of tender loving care to make them liveable, by removing treefalls, branches or encroaching brush.
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doublebend
Member

Post Number: 31
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 10:33 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

I checked out the Oji campsite a few years back and it didn't appear to have been used much. It's got a scenic view but was rather exposed to a nasty NW wind so I backtracked and stayed at the smaller but more sheltered site on Beaver.

DoubleBend
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fireman
Member

Post Number: 135
Registered: 08-2009
Posted on Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 11:33 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

Tomcat, good luck. especially with the neck. I broke mine skiing five years ago and, miraculously, canoeing and portaging DOES NOT cause a problem. Driving does, though, which is tough with a 100 mile commute to work.
I think anywhere or anyway you go will work out.
I used to obsess about seeing all new territory on every trip and then realized how the familiar is never the same and yet, paradoxically, recognizing spots along the route gives a great sense of comfort and serenity. Anyway, sounds like a Big Trip. Nothing better than planning while the snow flies.
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tomcat
Member

Post Number: 6
Registered: 09-2010
Posted on Sunday, January 16, 2011 - 12:37 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post

Fireman....After some of the things we do, one wishes he would have taken better care of themselves when they were younger.
You do pay for all those injuries latter in life.
Although not that it has anything to do with present neck issue which I have put up with for 12 or so years, one deals with it. Doctors can't really do anything for it.
Sounds like your car accident wasn't minor.
Two years this coming March I had a really bad one at home. Has put a new perspective on how as we get older we are not as stable as we once were.
I was trimming Crype Myrtles (Similar to the north's Lilac). I was on a ladder, with my head at 11 ft above the ground. Because of my neck problem I needed to rotate about 45 degrees to finish trimming the one I was on. I didn't want just rotate the top of my body because of neck; so I rotated by whole body. Just to steady myself (not pulling on it) I held the ladder with my right hand and a 2" diameter branch with my left hand. The branch peeled off the tree like nothing, causing me to lose my balance. As I am falling backward 180 degrees now with head down I am looking at the branch in my hand and thinking "oh this is going to hurt". Well it hurt far worse than i thought because I forgot where I was at. I am thinking I am going to land head first in the yard. I forgot that I was at the edge of the lake. The water level was low from winter. I hit left top front of my face/head straight in to the rip rap rocks. Knocked me out, bounced 7' down the bank over the rocks, hit the water which woke me up just before I drove my head in to stairs that I have from my pier down into the lake...This stopped my fall.
I had a 12" gash from my forehead above my left eye up across my forehead and back the side of my scalp. Punctured a corner of a rock into the outside corner of my eye socket, broke my nose, broke all the bones in both sides of my face, broke my upper jaw several places, broke two teeth off, cracked three teeth, broke the roof of my mouth front to back, and bit the front two inches off the front of my tongue.
It wasn't pretty. Lucky my wife saw it happen or I would have died for sure. As it was, they weren't sure they were going to get me to the tramua center alive.
Now a little humor to all this. I have been married to my wife for 40 years this March. She knows me well. (This was two days before our anniversary). I was sitting up in the lake on my knees. She comes down and helps me back up and sit on a stone. I can't talk at all, and not all that sure I new everything was really thinking. Anyhow, she said "you stay put and don't you move, I know you think I don't need to call 911, but I am going to and I will be right back, Don't You Move".
Now I am sitting there thinking oh I don't really need 911 if I can get the bleeding to stop, but I can't relay this to her because I can't talk at all. Before she got back in about 3 minutes I decided I probably did need them.
Now after all this I there was four really good things came out of this.....1) I am still alive; 2) I have about 15 degrees more motion in my neck than I have had for 10 plus years (without breaking my neck I broke something loose); 3) I lost weight that I need to take off (and have kept it off because it changed my eating habits); and 4) I now realize (admit) a 59 years old I am not a limber or stable as I used to be.
That's why my ex-son inlaw is carrying the canoe, and I will be much slower and more careful on portages.
So next time you are on a ladder, or carrying a canoe down over a steep rocky portage always think of this.....and take extra care.
Tomcat
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fireman
Member

Post Number: 137
Registered: 08-2009
Posted on Friday, January 21, 2011 - 8:56 am:   Edit Post Delete Post

Wow! that was quite a moving and honest story. I am amazed. And I agree with you with everything you say. I will say that, like you, breaking my neck (it was skiing, not a car accident) did cure twenty years of lower back pain. So there is that on the positive. As to ladders, I use them at work when I must, other than that, I try to avoid them. Portage trails are probably the single greatest danger out there. All other risks while canoeing can be avoided by simply saying to myself, "I have a family that I love and if being out here canoeing is not good enough for me WITHOUT shooting the Class IV Rapids, well, then I am a fool!!"
My close friend died mountain climbing in Alaska last spring for no good reason. He left a wife and three kids, one with a disability, and no life insurance. All this just to get a little closer to the thrill of ice climbing in avalanche country. Pointless. I am still angry at him.
everything you wrote was very true. You must bless OHIP every day after all those injuries.
My daughter's boyfriend is a 6'5" Varsity Rower, bent on proving to me he is stronger, tougher and more adept. I simply tell him he probably can't do something and next thing I know, my canoe and half the packs are already on the other side of the portage. I quickly got over any guilt. Better to be a sly old fox than a crippled old fool, I guess. anyway, good luck with the trip, let us know how it goes. I will be up there come September. Cheers

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