| Author |
Message |
rossclan
Member
Post Number: 17
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Saturday, September 1, 2012 - 8:30 pm: | 
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Wondering if anyone had been upstream on the Lower Yorkston River connecting Sturgeon River to Linger Lake this year and what the water levels were like. Working on mapping out a loop from Diamond to Wakimika down the Obabika River to Sturgeon and back up the Yorkston to Linger and then up to Pinetorch and through the Upper Nasmith lakes to Wakimika and back to Diaamond. (Dont mind a bit of hauling through the mud etc.) |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 1468
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, September 2, 2012 - 10:20 am: |
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Water is extremely low everywhere. Expect tough conditions on the Yorston below Linger. |
rossclan
Member
Post Number: 19
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Monday, September 3, 2012 - 7:20 pm: |
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Thanks Brian. Not sure if I will tackle this stretch of the Lower Yorkston.( Last fall I did the Lady E River from Whitemud to Florence which was a tough canoe man haul with little if any water).Trying to configure a loop so I can go through the Pinetorch connecting lakes between Florence and Wakimika that I havent seen yet. |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 1470
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 4, 2012 - 8:13 am: |
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Instead of going up the Yorston, have you considered going up the Sturgeon to the Witch's Crossover, then up the upper Yorston? The Sturgeon will be low, but it might be doable. Maybe someone who has been on it recently can comment. |
rossclan
Member
Post Number: 20
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 4, 2012 - 6:48 pm: |
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Worth considering. Came down that stretch a few years ago in the fall and there are a number of C1 that were low and had to be lined but at least there will be some water to line upstream as opposed to the Lower Yorkston which could be pretty much dry. Its about a 10 km stretch between the junction and the mouth of the Obabika.
Thanks Brian |
pierre19
Member
Post Number: 34
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 4, 2012 - 10:12 pm: |
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Is the Witch's crossover the trail between The Pilgrim Triangle and through Witch lake and onto Yorston Lake? If so, we passed through there on August 27th. We got through ok going downstream was a bit of a bump and grind from the Triangle down to Upper Goose. Just a bit of wading going downstream. Lining upstream on the Sturgeon would be easy enough. The trails from the Triangle were quite overgrown but were blazed here and there through to Yorston. I used the Topo Canada APP on my iPhone to reassure myself now and again where we were. |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 1472
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 5, 2012 - 9:07 am: |
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Yes, Pierre, that is the Witch's crossover. |
pierre19
Member
Post Number: 35
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 5, 2012 - 7:03 pm: |
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The Yorston river sure is nice from Bluesucker on down to Seagram. All that craggy rock. |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 1474
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, September 6, 2012 - 10:43 am: |
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One of my favourite areas of Temagami. |
rossclan
Member
Post Number: 21
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Friday, September 7, 2012 - 9:27 pm: |
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Thanks everyone. Did a modification in the end as was short one or two days i think to be comfortable on that loop i planned. worked out a different loop via a Gamble Lake entry at the north end and down Florence, Ames Creek, PIne over to Yorston and down only as far as Yorkston Lake and then buck up through the Twinkle lake route to Pinetorch through to LEwbert and back up Florence. Leave tomorrow so will post a report on my return. Happy paddling. |
rossclan
Member
Post Number: 23
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Sunday, September 16, 2012 - 10:56 pm: |
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Had a great trip as above. Accessed via the Liskerd Lumber Road to Chance Lake-Down the Lady E and up the South Lady E staying on a river site first night-bear cub seen downstream at dusk but no sign of mum. Florence the second. Down the Ames Creek route out of Florence. Due to low water the portages are longer than usual. For Skooztawgan best to portage to the west side all the way down to the bay running west before putting the canoe in. The access on the east side doesnt go far enough due to a rock face to reach and water(we tried it on the way back and almost got stuck for good). Regardless an interesting push to the end of the lake where we put up 2 sandhill cranes. I havent seen then this far east so assumed they stopped in on migration from NW Ont or Man-except there was a juvenile who was not yet in flight and ran down the creek ahead of us for a distance including on the portage-wierd site. Lots of water after that due to beavers keeping the levels up. Spent night 3 on Pine Lake and then west through the 4 small lakes to Whitemud and downstream on the Yorston through Long Lake and Asabi-visited the pictographs and ended up on Seagram for the night, NExt day over to Linger and up through the Pintorch creek route that I believe I read was cleared by some good folks recently. Not well travelled but just the way I like it. We cleared branches and re-hung flag tape as we went and ended up in a beautiful site on Pinetorch for the night. Creeks were low and narrow in spots and my 18 footer had some challenges so ended up hoofing it in spots where one might have enough water in the spring. Then north to Lewbert for a night-climbed the high hill at the north end above a face of loose shale rock for a view. Some faded red markings high up on the rock face that I imagined were faded pictographs but my brother felt were natural veins of red-I will live with my more romantic version. Then up back through mucky Skooz lake through florence and stayed on a nice sheltered site on the South Lady Evalyn for the last night. On way out we saw 2 bear cubs this time swim accross river in front of us with no sign of a sow.
Beautiful country, rugged topography, not well travelled and a fantastic trip. Thanks for the maps and info they are always very useful and a great source of info.
Safe paddling. |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 1477
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Monday, September 17, 2012 - 8:57 am: |
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Glad to hear you made it through some of those smaller creeks in this drought. What do you mean by the "portage-wierd site" on Ames? |
rossclan
Member
Post Number: 24
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Monday, September 17, 2012 - 8:33 pm: |
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Meant that the sight of a 3 foot tall sandhill crane running ahead of us on the portage was "weird". Appeared to be a juvenile that wasnt able to fly. So they may have nested there at the south end of Skooz. I wasnt aware that they came this far east as I have seen them in NW Ontario and they are common in Manitoba.
I see my reference to Whitemud Lake above should be Mudchannel Lake. (Came through Whitemud last fall in a similar drought and down the South Lady E to Florence-now that was a long 10 hour day of slogging, hauling and moving rocks to find an extra inch of water) |
rossclan
Member
Post Number: 25
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Monday, September 17, 2012 - 8:51 pm: |
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Also noted that many of the small lakes in the Pinetorch area still appear to be feeling the impacts of acid precipitation. Besides the classic blue/green water many have a heavy coating of algae covering every square inch of the lake bottom-periphytic algae I believe its called. |
grncnu
Member
Post Number: 249
Registered: 08-2010
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - 12:39 am: |
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we've seen sandhill cranes once in temagami, flying low over the northeast part of lady evelyn lake- obviously in migration, it was early sept. 1999. four of them.
your route sounds great, i have done most of it and damn right i'm jealous. |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 1478
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - 8:27 am: |
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There have been periodic crane sightings during the summer over the past two decades, which suggests a small nesting cluster. |
rossclan
Member
Post Number: 26
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - 9:06 pm: |
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Thanks. They were an amazing sight. |
jackpine2
Member
Post Number: 3
Registered: 01-2012
| | Posted on Sunday, December 9, 2012 - 5:38 pm: |
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While camped on Pinetorch Lake, did you try to reach the firetower? |
scottb
Member
Post Number: 1
Registered: 01-2013
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2013 - 2:01 pm: |
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The water levels were very high around the Linger-Seagram area this past October. It was nice to see the levels come up in the fall this year, as 2010, and 2011 were so dreadfully dry and low. |
Temagami canoe routes & backcountry travel