Sakatawi - Opeepeesway: 3 Days Canoeing the Southern Fringes of the Arctic Watershed

[@Unpreeeedictable]

Love how you clean up the portages to keep the routes alive. Well done.

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Thanks David! I love to hear about others traveling these routes after us. It's a shame the burden falls upon us paddlers, but it's rewarding to retrace, reclear and share so that others may enjoy our natural heritage.

[@trishaharrison6183]

Great country side your showing us. So beautiful.♥️👍

[@nikingraham6480]

What an awesome trip! My wife and I did the gogama loop last year, and looking to do this loop this year! I heard the fishings good

[@Freeontheland2030]

Excellent ! I love the way you folks put your videos together, thanks for taking us along.

[@paultaylor3856]

Love these trips. So good to see you post another trip. Made my day 👍👍

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Glad I could!! There's plenty more in the edit suite right now.

[@PaddlingTramp]

Nice work with camera. Beatiful nature!

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Thanks!! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@billygoatfilms7531]

Awesome trip, like you said. 👍⛺️🍺

[@jacqueline7118]

Fantastic paddle, thanks for sharing! :)

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Thanks for watching!! 😃

[@FreakofNature1]

Great trip! And good job with the trail maintenance!

[@ryandeboer5346]

Good morning . Nice to see a video from you , wondered what happened to you and your lady . Looking forward to more !

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

We are really busy during the summer and my videos tend to take 3 weeks to 2 months to edit, so I tend to work on them during the shoulder season. Lot's of extra production involved in getting all the angles, sounds and graphics to flow nicely. I'm a bit picky when it comes to pacing and always strive for more of a 'made for TV' flow vs a 'RAW footage flow'. Leah and I completed a big 455km expedition in the far north this summer. That will be a lengthy video. Expect the edit to take 3 months. Hoping to have that out by the spring. Some other shorter trips to come in the meantime as well. Stay tuned!

[@easternwoods4378]

If you check out the Larder River trip you'll see her referred to as Jennings. I'll let you guess what happened to her

[@CanoehoundAdventures]

Much enjoyed this video and canoe route Brad... Thanks for sharing and caring... your work of trail maintenance goes a long way in helping to preserve these lost and forgotten Canoe Routes... Dennis

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Thanks Dennis. this is a good one to paddle too. Gotta love the GGA (Greater Gogama Area)!!

[@MySelfReliance]

Great trip. That route’s been on my bucket list for a few years now, mainly for the fishing.

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Hey Shawn, pretty awesome area, I think you'd enjoy it! Quite a few route options too. I got skunked, but heard fishing on Rice is usually really good. If you want a map or a trip companion, lemme know.

[@ifonlyseethrumyeyes8957]

That WAS an awesome trip! thx

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Oh yeah, we had fun on this one. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@zirndorfredleg7688]

Breathtaking scenery and great paddling. Another one for the paddle list. Love the second site probably great fishing.

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

I fished for 2 hours here. Canoe and shore. Got skunked. Apparently there's decent walleye fishing on that lake though.

[@heikeobermann6026]

The next year ist comming. I love it.

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Woo! Got that right! Starting to work through the edits. Videos to come from now untill spring 2021! 😁

[@lukerlaforest4039]

Absolutely love that area! Great job!!

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Oh yeah man, Gogama region never disappoints. Super lucky it's not to far from us either eh?!

[@lukerlaforest4039]

@@ExploreTheBackcountry 100%

[@lesismore5458]

Thanks for that lads , was like I was there with ye , brilliant

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Thanks 😁

[@RejeanLandschoot]

thanks beautiful video guys

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Thanks for watching!

[@jimhanson7476]

Amazing boys ... Well done...

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Thanks Jim!

[@BrianthatiscalledBrian]

That was so great. When are we going to see an Explore The Backcountry Angling Ontario trip? 👍🙂😉

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

ha, well we did a winter one last year. I'll time my release of that trip video for this winter. Haven't paddled together tho

[@happywishmi5096]

Thanks for the video ☺️ this made me want to go back canoe camping and make more videos..

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Awesome! The itch never goes away! 😁😁

[@henrymostert2125]

I'm quite excited that you guys have done this route. I've always wanted to do it but now seeing it just makes it look that much more doable. Like you said there's quite a bit of history in that area. There's a Blog I think from the canoe couple or something like that and they have a lot of history on it

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Hey yes! Scott and his wife have that blog up. Piqued my interest in the area initially. Very neat spot. Our route is best paddled in 4 days or more. The connection via Rae is reportedly in poor condition (2020 paddler report). If you go, you will face better trail conditions due to our clearing. There are a few on the Opeepeesway we did not clear or check out (no time), so that may be the only asterisk on the route. Other than that, great place to paddle. You'll love it!

[@jccapwell]

Thank you

[@paulschield2092]

Thanks for posting. I'm not familiar with this area of Ontario. Mostly hit NW Ontario, or the Quetico/BWCA.

[@inthewoodswithbigfoot3941]

Awesome!

[@johnhorth4960]

Thanks for the video. I've been on oppe a few times. Do you think a 50 yr old out of shape guy could do that exact route. Ive always wanted to do a canoe route and that is the area.

[@mattg1885]

Awesome video! I did a portion of that route last summer thinking of maybe trying the full loop sometime where did you get the map? How many km is it total? Thanks

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

made the map myself from our trip notes. I can send you some extra info if you email Brad @ explorethebackcountry.com its roughly 85km if I recall correctly.

[@CanadianSledDog]

That map right there looks like an absolute mecca 😱 whooo first comment!

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Gogama Region is quickly becoming one of my favourite places to paddle. Lots of routes. You can do a lot off the Sakatawai too. Tons of lakes and rivers with minimal portaging. There's a couple who spends several weeks up there each year and venture to side lakes and rivers Plus it connects to the Spanish or Groundhog systems for north or south travel.

[@CanadianSledDog]

@@ExploreTheBackcountry thanks for sharing. I was born out east but I'm currently stuck in the Midwest, can't wait to get back and explore the place I'm from.

[@sirlaurier5478]

Great video ! What straps do you use for strapping the hard cases to food barrel?

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Thanks! I belive that was Cams and it was Eureka! straps. However,we use North Wayer for our barrels. The quality is much better.

[@raspberrycanoe4404]

Hi guys. Great Vid. How was the road and parking at the drop in point. I have this trip all plotted out.

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

It's good. Few potholes and washouts, but overall in good shape. Cam drove an older molder Ford Focus and it was a breeze in my truck.

[@raspberrycanoe4404]

@@ExploreTheBackcountry That's great to know. Thank you.

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

@@raspberrycanoe4404 Enjoy the trip! Lemme know how you make out!

[@okeefe3905]

Beautiful video, thanks for sharing! But... where are the bugs?This is the first video of yours where you are not getting swarmed by bugs most of the time.

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Ha! A benefit of tripping later in the season. You'll see the return if the bugs in other videos 😆

[@mattsmith6297]

Love the videos Brad! I am looking at purchasing a Nova Craft canoe (My first one!) And could use some advice. It's mainly going to be solo & a couple smaller trips with my fiance. I am thinking 15 or 16' prospector. But in terms of material, would would you be choosing if money is not a concern? Any input is greatly appreciated!

[@mattsmith6297]

Oh and I want it to be durable enough to he able to handle rapids as well. Something that will last me a long time!

[@matttrimble1600]

Not a novacraft canoe this time? Looks like a great adventure!

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Cam just got this Esquiff and was eager to take it on a trip. I was intrigued with how the T-Formex would perform so we opted to take it on this one.

[@roelmattheeussen1117]

@@ExploreTheBackcountry Could you give your thoughts on the T Formex? I have a NC in RX Lite but am looking to add a smaller canoe to the collection but I'm stuck between TuffStuf and T formex ... Thanks! Maybe an idea for a next vid? :-)

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

The Tformex is similar in performance to Royalex. The hull of the TS is more responsive (likely because it is stiffer) and obviously the canoe is a bit lighter. The TFX wears similar to RX canoe and your repair process is near identical. We havent put the milage on a TFX canoe yet to see how it holds up, tho Cams is ticking up there in the milage dept. The TS wears through the gelcoat, but that can be easily resurfaced. There is abrasion on the bottom if you're lining, wading and dragging. I didnt get any major damage untill after 5000km of hard travel, and that was a skid plate that started to peel (factory install issue perhaps?) I redid some if my hull after 5k this summer and the new coat held up like new where I patched it. The hull integrity is unchanged. I have pinned one before too and was able to unpin and paddle without any issue.

[@JB50713]

Damn that looked fun. Where do you print your maps from?

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

I make and print my own. I grab sections from mytopo, then annotate them and print them off.

[@sonnyc3826]

this would be cool cant really get lost on a canoe trip like this...only one way you can go really.

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

For the most part! There are a couple of side routes one could take here. We'll definitely be back to explore some of these options in the future!

[@mikesliva4134]

Take some ladies on the next one. Good job men well done trip.

[@ExploreTheBackcountry]

Ha, funny you say that. I think the next vid will feature this crew plus the gals. Stay tuned.