This is more than one portage.
You start at the portage at the Mr Canoehead forest rec site to cover the 100 metres from Amor Lake to Surprise Lake. The Amor Lake side is a small beach. The Surprise Lake end is a dock, though the dock is coming to the end of its life.
You paddle 1.1 km across Surprise Lake to get to the start of the portage to Brewster Lake. You can not see the start of the portage start from any distance at all. The portage is the only location on the southern shore that does not have logs covering the shore.
The start of the portage has an area where you can camp. This is the longest portage on the route, but not a hard one.
The portage starts with a zig zag up for about 70 metres and then levels off into a nice trail. There is a swampy area about 800 metres in where the trail may be flooded. Shortly after that there is a bridge missing for an intermittent stream crossing.
The trail comes close to the logging road after about 1.2 km - even though you are not supposed to follow the logging road, everyone seems to do so. You make really good time here because the logging road has a gentle downhill grade. The official trail did not have the fallen trees from the winter cleared off it which is at odds with everything else we saw.
The return to the portage trail is very obvious, you can not miss it.
The portage brings you a slough that takes you into Brewster Lake. It can be shallow in low water and pushing with paddles may be needed. There is also a log across the slough at the end.
While I did not check it out to be certain, it looks like you can access Brewster directly from the road about 400 metres after where the portage goes off the road. There seemed to be some launch points we could see from the lake that came right from the Long Lake Mainline FSR.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Amor Lake
All I can say is WOW about this lake. This is the jewel of the tour. Do not just canoe through, stop and enjoy this lake. Camp here. Do not rush.
Amor Lake, named for Amor de Cosmos the second premier or BC, is 362 hectares in size with arms of several kilometers long in various direction.
We had better than wonderful weather when we hit the lake. The water was mirrorlike.
On the arm you enter on from the Twin Lake portage you have a nice beach on the north side where you can camp about 1.1 km along.
The main body of the lake has a number of locations you can camp on beaches. One is at the northern end, off of the beaten path for the canoe route, another is on the west side across from a small island campsite.
The small island you can camp on in the island is heavenly. It is only about 500 sq metres in area but has enough space on it so that all nine of us could camp on it. The site has an outhouse there put in by the Comox Paddlers (trap screen door courtesy of 3rd Douglas). There is a fire pit with some benches around, a work bench for cooking on with shelves. The central camping area is shrouded from the lake by a thin screen of trees.
You can swim here from this island to others nearby.
There is only one road access point onto this lake and it is from a road that is not in the best condition. This means the lake tends to have almost no one on it. The night we were there we shared it with only six other people. Motorized boats are rare on this lake.
The south end of the lake has a large camping area called Mr Canoehead forest rec site. The campsite is on the 100 metre portage to Surprise Lake. There are also camping spots on the Surprise Lake end of the portage. I found this campsite not nearly as nice as the other options on the lake.
Amor Lake, named for Amor de Cosmos the second premier or BC, is 362 hectares in size with arms of several kilometers long in various direction.
We had better than wonderful weather when we hit the lake. The water was mirrorlike.
On the arm you enter on from the Twin Lake portage you have a nice beach on the north side where you can camp about 1.1 km along.
The main body of the lake has a number of locations you can camp on beaches. One is at the northern end, off of the beaten path for the canoe route, another is on the west side across from a small island campsite.
The small island you can camp on in the island is heavenly. It is only about 500 sq metres in area but has enough space on it so that all nine of us could camp on it. The site has an outhouse there put in by the Comox Paddlers (trap screen door courtesy of 3rd Douglas). There is a fire pit with some benches around, a work bench for cooking on with shelves. The central camping area is shrouded from the lake by a thin screen of trees.
You can swim here from this island to others nearby.
There is only one road access point onto this lake and it is from a road that is not in the best condition. This means the lake tends to have almost no one on it. The night we were there we shared it with only six other people. Motorized boats are rare on this lake.
The south end of the lake has a large camping area called Mr Canoehead forest rec site. The campsite is on the 100 metre portage to Surprise Lake. There are also camping spots on the Surprise Lake end of the portage. I found this campsite not nearly as nice as the other options on the lake.
Twin Lake to Amor Lake Portage
This portage is only 800 metres long, but it goes steeply down from Twin Lake to Amor Lake - you lose 52 metres in about 500 metres of the trail making this a 10% grade. This grade is a very good reason why you want to do the circuit counter clockwise.
The trail starts across the road from the Twin Lake forest rec site and goes along the left side of the creek so you need to turn left over the road bridge to get to the trailhead.
The trail is in good condition but when I walked on the May long weekend, I found a number of fallen trees across the trail By the time we went through at the start of August, someone had cut away the fallen trees.
The launch point only has space to have one canoe in the water at a time.
The trail starts across the road from the Twin Lake forest rec site and goes along the left side of the creek so you need to turn left over the road bridge to get to the trailhead.
The trail is in good condition but when I walked on the May long weekend, I found a number of fallen trees across the trail By the time we went through at the start of August, someone had cut away the fallen trees.
The launch point only has space to have one canoe in the water at a time.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Whymper Lake Report from April 2008
This is a report from Richard Powell on Whymper Lake from April 2008.
Report about Amor and Surprise Lake from May 2008
Richard Powell posted this report on Amor and Surprise lakes from early May of 2008.
3rd Douglas Sea Scouts Sayward Forest Canoe Route Trip August 2008
3rd Douglas Sea Scouts are based out of Scouthouse in Victoria BC and we have been around since 1938. This summer we chose to canoe the Sayward Forest Canoe Route. In planning the trip I had trouble finding good information about the route and decent maps. As a Scout Leader I have to make sure that where I take youth is appropriate to their skill level.
I found almost nothing online about the Sayward Forest Canoe Route. On the May long weekend I went up to Campbell River and took a look at what I could from the shore. This was not really enough and so therefore I have decided to post much more detailed information about the route on this site.
We were on the route from Sunday August 3rd to Thursday August 7th. We had four canoes with five youth aged 10 to 13 and four adults. We did over pack, we were over prepared and this added to the difficulty of the portages for the youth.
We did 2/3s of the route, leaving at Brewster Lake. We called it there because the route was on the edge of what the youth could, especially the youngest two. We are likely to go back and do it again sometime in the next few years. I may also choose to do it with my brother in law and oldest two boys next summer. It is an amazing and wonderful paddle.
My estimate is that only about 1000 people use the route in any given year. We were out there on part of the BC Day weekend and still there was very few people on the route. We had Amor Lake almost completely to ourselves the one night.
I found almost nothing online about the Sayward Forest Canoe Route. On the May long weekend I went up to Campbell River and took a look at what I could from the shore. This was not really enough and so therefore I have decided to post much more detailed information about the route on this site.
We were on the route from Sunday August 3rd to Thursday August 7th. We had four canoes with five youth aged 10 to 13 and four adults. We did over pack, we were over prepared and this added to the difficulty of the portages for the youth.
We did 2/3s of the route, leaving at Brewster Lake. We called it there because the route was on the edge of what the youth could, especially the youngest two. We are likely to go back and do it again sometime in the next few years. I may also choose to do it with my brother in law and oldest two boys next summer. It is an amazing and wonderful paddle.
My estimate is that only about 1000 people use the route in any given year. We were out there on part of the BC Day weekend and still there was very few people on the route. We had Amor Lake almost completely to ourselves the one night.
Mohun Lake to Twin Lake Portage
This portage is 1.6 km long and is the second longest one on the route. I will deal with more than the 1.6 km but extent all the way to floating in Twin Lake. The portage is in effect longer and in several parts.
One you start this protage, you will have to continue on through to the Twin Lake forest service rec site to find a place to camp.
The first part from Mohun Lake is not bad, go left when you hit what looks like the end of a road about 100 metres from the water. About 400 to 500 metres in we ran into some problems. The portage goes uphill and the section that was steepest was in rougher condition than most of what we saw on the route. We sweated our way through this section. Once we reached the top the trail was in decent condition and we made a good time to the of the portage.
Twin Lake is 60 metres higher than Mohun Lake, and the trail rises up another seven or more metres above that meaning you gain 67 metres on this portage,
Clearly there had been some trees that fallen on the route over the winter. We saw evidence that someone had come along and cut through the fallen trees to keep the the route clear. I do not know who it was, but I thank them for maintaining the trail.
As a rule of thumb, if you have wheels for your canoe and you are not super fit, count on being able to do one to one and half kilometres of portage per hour.
The far end of the portage does not bring you to Twin Lake, but a someone what swampy 300 metre long beaver pond. The end of the trail does not have a lot of space for gear and people and we felt very cramped with nine of us and four canoes.
There is a short portage at the end of this narrow 300 metre lake/pond. Depending on time of year and conditions, you need to make some decisions at this point. 20 metres away over a small rocky portage there is access to what is shown on some maps as part of Twin Lake. You need to see how deep the water is. The water levels are controlled by a beaver and may be too low to float your canoe.
If the water is low at this point, you need consider portaging an extra 100 metres to your right and find a spot to put there. If not you are going to be punting through mud or swimming through mud and pulling your canoe.
After you get through this you may wonder where the hell the route is. Do not worry, the only choice available is the one you need to follow. That choice involves going over a number of beaver dams when the water is low, also lifting over logs and similar things. Depending on water levels and the work of the beaver, you might also ground out on mud. Our biggest canoe had the heaviest load and had to be pulled through a section of this area. The Scout that had to pull was up to his arm pits in peaty mud.
The channel has few markers, but it really is the only water course, so follow it.
At the other end of this channel you pass the beaver lodge and then hit the properly open water of Twin Lake. Earlier in the year you will have higher water and less problems.
In low water, getting from the end of Mohun lake to the Twin Lake forest rec site takes quite awhile. We took 5.5 hours, but we had to do a double trip on the portage because we only had 2 sets of wheels for four canoes and we had five youth on the trip aged 10 to 13. Others I spoke took 2.5 to 3.5 hours to complete this stretch.
One you start this protage, you will have to continue on through to the Twin Lake forest service rec site to find a place to camp.
The first part from Mohun Lake is not bad, go left when you hit what looks like the end of a road about 100 metres from the water. About 400 to 500 metres in we ran into some problems. The portage goes uphill and the section that was steepest was in rougher condition than most of what we saw on the route. We sweated our way through this section. Once we reached the top the trail was in decent condition and we made a good time to the of the portage.
Twin Lake is 60 metres higher than Mohun Lake, and the trail rises up another seven or more metres above that meaning you gain 67 metres on this portage,
Clearly there had been some trees that fallen on the route over the winter. We saw evidence that someone had come along and cut through the fallen trees to keep the the route clear. I do not know who it was, but I thank them for maintaining the trail.
As a rule of thumb, if you have wheels for your canoe and you are not super fit, count on being able to do one to one and half kilometres of portage per hour.
The far end of the portage does not bring you to Twin Lake, but a someone what swampy 300 metre long beaver pond. The end of the trail does not have a lot of space for gear and people and we felt very cramped with nine of us and four canoes.
There is a short portage at the end of this narrow 300 metre lake/pond. Depending on time of year and conditions, you need to make some decisions at this point. 20 metres away over a small rocky portage there is access to what is shown on some maps as part of Twin Lake. You need to see how deep the water is. The water levels are controlled by a beaver and may be too low to float your canoe.
If the water is low at this point, you need consider portaging an extra 100 metres to your right and find a spot to put there. If not you are going to be punting through mud or swimming through mud and pulling your canoe.
After you get through this you may wonder where the hell the route is. Do not worry, the only choice available is the one you need to follow. That choice involves going over a number of beaver dams when the water is low, also lifting over logs and similar things. Depending on water levels and the work of the beaver, you might also ground out on mud. Our biggest canoe had the heaviest load and had to be pulled through a section of this area. The Scout that had to pull was up to his arm pits in peaty mud.
The channel has few markers, but it really is the only water course, so follow it.
At the other end of this channel you pass the beaver lodge and then hit the properly open water of Twin Lake. Earlier in the year you will have higher water and less problems.
In low water, getting from the end of Mohun lake to the Twin Lake forest rec site takes quite awhile. We took 5.5 hours, but we had to do a double trip on the portage because we only had 2 sets of wheels for four canoes and we had five youth on the trip aged 10 to 13. Others I spoke took 2.5 to 3.5 hours to complete this stretch.
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