The Art of the Portage

Summer 2008

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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The Sayward Canoe Route

by Adam Stewart

In the late 17th century, in the remote forests of New France, troops of frontiersmen risked their lives transporting fur pelts down the narrow and rocky rivers of Quebec. The voyageurs, or coureurs des bois, battled churning rapids and potent winter storms to trade goods and supplies for the prized furs that were sent to Europe. Life was harsh and dangerous. Day after day, these men endured the gruelling task of portaging with a canoe full of goods. Voyageur canoes were usually about 24 feet long and 250 pounds, with eight men sometimes bearing a payload of up to 2½ tons. It’s no surprise that the most common injury was a strangulated hernia.

The art of the portage is as variable as each portage itself. No one technique is enough; rather, the paddler becomes a climber, laborer, engineer, dancer, comedian, and most of all, frustrated madman. A taste of the voyageur spirit is available on the Sayward Canoe Route, a twelve-lake circuit on North Vancouver Island.

In the presence of the island’s natural oceanic beauty, the fresh water pursuit is often forgotten. No need to either put the kayak away for the season or brave the havoc of the winter Pacific. The sheltered lakes of the island make for a splendid winter paddle. The Sayward Canoe Route, despite its name, offers a wonderful option for a moderate kayak excursion through the scenic Sayward Forest.

Devastated by the Great Campbell Lake Fire of 1938, the Sayward Forest was nearly wiped out by the month-long blaze. Over 30,000 hectares of old growth was destroyed. Fortunately, the devastation stirred a massive replantation effort the following year, and 800,000 Douglas firs were planted in only one month. The firs dominate the view from the lakes, although the odd hemlock, cedar and pine dot the shoreline.

One of the most popular routes for canoes, this circuit covers 48 kilometres of both paddling and portaging over three to four days. While the paddles are often short and easy on calm, glassy lakes, several of the portages pose a hurdle with a fully-loaded kayak. Thus, wheels are advisable.

Most of the twelve lakes are accessible via logging roads, making for easy put-ins at almost any section of the circuit. Menzies Main logging road runs west off Highway 19 north of Campbell River, just past the Catalyst Sawmill. Access to the lakes is on arteries from Menzies Main. Many of the lakes have forestry-serviced Recreation Sites, making them excellent put-in spots, the main ones being Gosling, Campbell and Mohun Lakes.

After launching at Gosling, our group enjoyed a leisurely 1.8 kilometre paddle across this calm, isolated lake. As easy as the paddle was, we quickly found out the adventurous nature to this lake circuit—the portage.

BC Forest Service maintains trails between the twelve lakes, which range in length from 100 metres to 2.2 kilometres. Most trails are smooth and wheel-ready, but the odd portage is undeniably challenging. The portage between Lawier and Mohun Lakes, although only 300 metres, snakes over slippery rock and dodgy root sections. The rough terrain makes wheeling impossible, so prepare for some team laboring early on.

Mohun Lake sports a beautiful wooded island, ideal for a lunching or camping site, at the start of a 9.2 kilometre paddle. Terminating at the end of a long arm at the north end of the lake, the paddling section then leads to a long uphill portage. This 1.6 kilometre section is fairly steep in some sections and sporting some washed out areas riddled with gnarly root systems and slick rocks. Prepare for a bit of effort and group cooperation to get fully loaded kayaks through.

However, this particularly challenging portage is not without its reward. The trail leads to a low-lying marsh area, with shallow canals twisting through reeds and other wetland foliage. The canals can be disorienting, so be prepared to navigate.

The swamp channels lead to Amor Lake, where there are several small islands that are ideal for camping, being just big enough for two or three tents and accompanying gear. Following two more short portages and more wetland channels, the route exits onto Brewster Lake, a 5.2 km paddle on possibly the most scenic lake of the route.

Past Brewster Lake is a logjam that requires a short logging-road portage to short paddles on Gray, Whymper and Fry Lakes, terminating back at Campbell Lake. A moderate 8.3 km paddle on more exposed waters returns to the popular put-in at Gosling Bay.

Although we’ve traded pelts for Gore-Tex and polar fleece, a taste of the frontier spirit is still accessible today. Provided one is ready to put out some effort navigating a kayak through the forest, the Sayward Canoe Route offers an exciting and practical excursion through one of the island’s overlooked paddling gems. Just be glad there are no pelts to carry.

Adam Stewart is an outdoorsman, writer and native Vancouver Islander.