Wabakimi Canoe Trip, June 2023

Rick and Bill continue their canoeing adventures, this time in Wabakimi Provincial Park, Ontario. They paddled from Burntrock Lake to Outlet Bay over a two-week period in June 2023.
Thanks to Don Elliot and his friendly, courteous staff at Mattice Lake Outfitters for flying us in and out on this trip, and for advice on good campsites.
Music by The Mountain from Pixabay.
0:52 General Map of the Route.
07:44 Trampoline style tumpline: plans available in Cliff Jacobson's "Expedition Canoeing: A Guide to Canoeing Wild Rivers in North America," third edition.
01:28 Campsite 1 on Burntrock Lake (N50.845005 W89.804841)
02:43 Campsite 2 on Palisade River (N50.823676 W89.754738)
04:09 Campsite 3 on Palisade River (N50.854071 W89.688348)
06:13 Campsite 4 on Slim Lake (N50.807861 W89.623331)
09:02 Campsite 5 on Grayson River(N50.840328 W89.538875)
Campsite 6 on Grayson River (N50.843138 W89.409270)
09:58 Campsite 7 on Whitewater Lake (N50.848600 W89.356635)
12:55 Campsite 8 on Ogoki River (N50.750001 W89.383220)
16:22 Campsite 9 on Berg River (N50.690993 W89.418025)
Campsite 10 on Outlet Bay (N50.660030 W89.418990)
17:43 Campsite 11 on Outlet Bay (N50.631051 W89.454481)

[@EzeAdventurer]

What a trip guys, amazing!!! Looking to go there myself hopefully this year! Your buddy is definitely more dangerous than the bear LOL!

[@sherrierifenberg2199]

Awesome trip! TY!

[@BorealWanderer]

I’m doing this route and then all the way to Little Caribou next month. Loved watching your video. Thanks for sharing.

[@williamleopold507]

Thanks for sharing .

[@andrewross4565]

I enjoyed your video very much. Partly because I did the same route in reverse in September: Redhead Lake to Burntrock Lake in 17 days. I recognized some of your portages and campsites. I envy your higher water levels. The Grayson River was a challenge.

[@davidcook7008]

Nice video, I was in the area just after you. Did solo on the Kopka. Love the area, potentially taking the wife next year. Your route looks good!

[@calliepieters3446]

Jolly good show. I'm 66 years old, and I go out camping a lot !! kayak, boat, motorcycle, truck. I love it !! thanks

[@MeAndMyRoyalEnfield]

Thought you might enjoy this from Rest Day Rider - Santa Baby, Slip something Bike related under the tree, for me ! Would love to see a Christmas Day video 🎅

[@MeAndMyRoyalEnfield]

Just watched again. Sure do love this. You do such great work looking forward to your next one. Studied your intro to hopefully improve my videos?

[@MeAndMyRoyalEnfield]

What, the moose didn't get get credit? Did you name him? How about, Rocky. haha Beautiful video and great editing. A bit jealous. Thank you.

[@jimcornell2504]

Lovely video - great job pacing, story telling. Brought back many memories of my canoe tripping days long, long ago. 😊❤

[@21Swayzee]

This just popped up in my feed, glad it did, what a magical place. Keep on rocking it!

[@debbierussell2830]

Beautiful video! So well done, and such fun to experience your adventure vicariously!

[@worldpeacelover]

Just amazing documentary of a beautiful trip and even a few good laughs along the way 😂❤

[@AnIrishmansStory]

Great trip , you guys made a good team. Nothing like a bear to get your heart racing. I was in Wabakimi last August and one crossed my path in front of me near Tamarack lake, will never forget it. Thanks for sharing your video, very enjoyable.

[@wbrussell19]

Thanks. I very much enjoyed your Wabakimi video as well.

[@wallyklw5]

Love the video-fix you color balance and temp and it would be spectacular

[@carolynburger2565]

Looks like a wonderful trip! Enjoyed watching your great video. The moose part was my favorite 😊.

[@wbrussell19]

I agree. That was so lucky. We were just sitting there and along he came. Thanks.

[@robintheoutside]

New Sub! This video came up in my feed this morning and I'm glad it did. Very much enjoyed it. I love the "trampoline style tumpline" (my canoe is 72lbs) Wabakimi is on my "to do list" as I've never been and your route looks like it would a perfect fit! Thank you for sharing. Cheers, Rob.

[@wbrussell19]

Thanks Rob. We did this trip in June when water levels were up. Expect some bumps and challenges in low water on this route.

[@ryanhines2857]

Nice trip! Awesome the moose just walking by camp! My son and I leave tomorrow morning for Wabakimi. Fly into Allenwater bridge doing a big classic loop up to Whitewater lake and out at Little Caribou lake. 14 day trip! Enjoyed watching yours. My son was in Quetico for 16 days about the same time you were in Wabakimi.

[@wbrussell19]

Cool that you are going with your son. He is certainly having a good canoe season. Have fun.

[@Kelangthang1509]

Wao very good❤❤❤❤

[@TURBOINTEGRATYPER]

What did you use for video. It's crystal clear.!

[@wbrussell19]

I used a Sony RX100 vii and a GoPro 9, in 4k at 30p.

[@user-gv1to2vj1i]

Great video. Thanks for putting it together. Question for you, how do you protect your food at night?

[@wbrussell19]

Our attitudes about food protection have changed over the years. We used to canoe in high traffic parks like Algonquin and Quetico, where we would hang our food. We would even bring bear cannisters and cache them away from camp at night, like we do on backpack trips. But lately we tend to canoe in parks with lower human visitation rates, like Woodland Caribou and Wabakimi, where bears are less likely to be habituated. Here we just use blue plastic barrels or heavy duty nylon portage packs lined with 6 mil plastic bags. Everything is double or triple sealed in zip locks for odor reduction. There is a risk in this approach but so far it's worked out.

[@NikonF5user]

Are the sites marked similarly to how they are marked in Algonquin and Temagami?

[@wbrussell19]

No, campsites are not marked. To locate them you must rely on your maps and the data you have assembled before beginning your trip. Friends of Wabakimi and Paddle Planner are good places to start. I created my own set of maps using Toporama as the base, which I then annotated with locations of campsites and portages based on data gathered from various sources. If you are planning a trip that overlaps with ours, we give campsite locations in the description box above. We especially like liked campsites 1,2,3,4 and 7. Avoid campsites 5 and 6.