Wawa/Hawk Junction

[skidooboy]

i have the in reach mini (havent used yet, sitting in the garage in Dub), have the garmin etrex vista (older tracks), and a new garmin ST64 (older and new stuff). on the 2 gps units, i have the backwoods mapping ontario updated recreational maps, which has JUST ABOUT EVERY MUD PUDDLE, AND CRICK NAME, and an accurate topo map too boot.

 

after jan 31, i have little to no fear of the hard water, after being up there enough and "knowing where to go, and WHERE NOT TO GO. wish i knew marc better, only met him a couple times, he doesnt know me from adam. 

 

i am semi retired so... i can go at a moments notice  Ski

[Ox]

Well, I looked the narrows up on the Garmin TOPO map, and you can distinctly see a narrow rocky path between the two lakes, and it is not growed up.

So - there must be some flow there routinely, or at least "flood" that channel annually.

 

I tried to save the screenshot, but it saves as a .png and won't open, so ???

The map calls it "Stony Portage Falls".

 

 

After some time looking at the map closely, it appears that Dog sits "on the top" and actually drains both ways, via small cricks in both directions.

 

 

Well heck, this is a good enough pic:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.2247615,-84.2532789,388m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

 

Actually - it looks dammed in this pic!

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.2290743,-84.2373666,297m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

 

I wonder why they would dam it?

Apparently just to keep water levels up I guess....

Never the less, it still appears to drain both directions.

Without the dam, it may only flow south?

Edited November 25, 2020 by Ox

[skidooboy]

well... now we know, waterfall with a dam. whodathunk? Ski

[Ox]

Strong:

 

 

I see that the trail east out'ta Hawk is actually "Wawa 14" and dead ends at the beach.

[AC+YA]

5 hours ago, Ox said:

If you stay @ Hawk, one ride that I highly recommend is that you take the trail east out of town, past the sub-station. That will run you out to a beach landing on the chain of lakes. 

I have some pics of 4wheelers and my truck there, but can't find them. (maybe never scanned in?)

 

I hooked up with another group for the day, and the guy running point for them took us up river, and eventually up to Ernies for burgers. 

You doo need to git off the water and take a portage between Whitefish (Manitowik?) Lake and Dog to the north. (A klick of whoops!)

 

You need to take the portage as apparently there is a "narrows" between the lakes that doesn't freeze well, or at all. I did not see this narrows as I was just following the group, and I kind'a question it's existance as that spot should be the Arctic Watershed, as Whitefish Lake flows south to Anjigami and the Michipocotin River and dumps into Lake Superior near Wawa, and Dog Lake to the north should flow north via the Missinnabi River to James/Hudson's Bay, so ... ???

 

I wish that I had pics of the ride - other than what I have. It is similar to running the Magpie, only ... "more" is prolly the best that I can describe.

Rock walls shooting up on both sides of the waterway.

 

I labeled the lake here as Manitowik in the pic, and that lake doesn't show up on the online map, but since I labeled it as that, I'm guessing that the TOPO map must have shown it better?

 

I doo highly recommend that you don't make first tracks tho! Only go if you can follow old tracks.

 

 

Ox,

these pics are at the same spot where the portage comes out looking southwest on Manitowik Lake.  Like Ski says, you can cut off part way down into a bay and grab a winding unmarked trail linking to the D trail or run all the way down to the trail which is groomed to the lake from Hawk Lake rail crossing D trail.  That trail is shown as Wawa14 on the ITG.  There is a water/creek/lake/swamp connection to Dog Lake to the north, but unfit for making it between lakes.  We sometimes make a loop from Dubreuilville to Dog Lake and then stop in Hawk Junction.  Then we take Wawa6 and jump onto Josephine Creek which hooks back onto the Magpie and back to Dub via the old Iris Lake Trail.  All these routes are best done later in the season so the ice is good.  Once water is dropped a whole new world of potential dangers can be part of these dammed river/lakes.  Very beautiful but someone like ski guiding is a good idea if you are not familiar with the unmarked. 
 

WhiteDragon and crew are with Paige and I in the picture. 

[Ox]

It appears that Google Maps has the lakes mislabeled.

 

What they have as Whitefish should be Manitowik, and Whitefish is the next one south with the power dam near the corner on 101.

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

6 hours ago, Strong Farmer said:

You ride Cochrane to wawa in one day. That is over 600 km’s plc. More like 650 ish give or take 25 km’s or so. Two day trip for most but can make from kap to dub in a day which is around 425 km’s. That’s my limit for a day. 

my mistake. I meant to say Hearst to Wawa

[catinental couch]

16 minutes ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

my mistake. I meant to say Hearst to Wawa

I was wondering. Wife and I rode Wawa to Hearst in one day. Not sure I would even carry on to Kap. That would be a long day. 

[skidooboy]

40 minutes ago, Ox said:

It appears that Google Maps has the lakes mislabeled.

 

What they have as Whitefish should be Manitowik, and Whitefish is the next one south with the power dam near the corner on 101.

same lake 2 names, really. spread out over a large area like dog. manitouwik, side is closer to hawk, whitefish side goes toward 101. Ski

Edited November 25, 2020 by skidooboy

[Strong Farmer]

27 minutes ago, catinental couch said:

I was wondering. Wife and I rode Wawa to Hearst in one day. Not sure I would even carry on to Kap. That would be a long day. 

Dub to kap is ok, if not too cold. Freezing weather forget about it. Wawa to kap would make it close to 500 km’s, no thanks. 

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

1 hour ago, Strong Farmer said:

Dub to kap is ok, if not too cold. Freezing weather forget about it. Wawa to kap would make it close to 500 km’s, no thanks. 

Wawa to Dub would be the shortest part of the ride at 63 km from the motor inn via Wawa 5.

[Strong Farmer]

1 hour ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

Wawa to Dub would be the shortest part of the ride at 63 km from the motor inn via Wawa 5.

Sounds right and another 300 to Hearst and approx 120 to Kap makes almost 500 km’s. Not doing that. 
chinesse food place in wawa on lake coming in, has really good food. Worth a back track to eat there after wawa 5. 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Strong Farmer

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

49 minutes ago, Strong Farmer said:

Sounds right and another 300 to Hearst and approx 120 to Kap makes almost 500 km’s. Not doing that. 
chinesse food place in wawa on lake coming in, has really good food. Worth a back track to eat there after wawa 5. 

I understand now. Its actually 475 km. Wawa to Kap but 413 km. is your limit.

[tricky]

On 11/24/2020 at 10:08 PM, ToSlow said:

be awesome to do a trip from Cochrane to Wawa. Any here ever do it?

 

On 11/24/2020 at 10:55 PM, skidooboy said:

Cochrane to Hearst for day one, Hearst to dub/wawa day two, dub/wawa to chapleau via halfway haven day 3,  timmins on day 4, or push on to cochrane,  and avoid day five, or add a side trip on day five to the canyon. Ski 

ToSlow, your question is like asking if the pope is catholic. Many here have done that ride many times, north to south and south to north. Great area. Times have certainly changed. In '99 a pair of us did what we and others called, 'the big loop'. Left GTA after work Thursday with the tow vehicle of that time, a 1990 Dakota V6 pickup, and drove to Iroquois Falls to stage. Our sleds were my '96 Indy 500 and Brian's '97(?) Formula 500. Our Friday day 1 route was to Chapleau, via the old 101 trail which was way tougher and slower than the current trail. Saturday took us to Hearst via the F and D trails, which I believe were also slower then. I recall almost being out of fuel twice that day (carried no spare fuel). We rolled into Hornepayne and both took 45+ litres of gas in our 45 L tanks. Very Close!  Got into Hearst and took 43+L. Just close. The  last 20 or so km into Hearst, we passed two groups traveling the same direction who had one or more sleds out of fuel. The final day, Sunday, we rode back to the motel at Iroquois Falls. Drove home Monday - a part day. Not sure of the exact total mileage, but we did the minimum the trip offered. I think we had over 1800 km. One of those days was close to 700 or more and we didn't ride in deep darkness.

Fast forward to 2020, better sleds, better fuel economy, better gear, GPS and better towing combos and my recent similar trips have taken 4 or 5 (side trip up to the canyon) days on smoother faster trails. Not sure if we are smarter now, just softer or just older. My riding mates have a name for the process that we have undergone, but I don't think I can use it here. ToSlow, for sure get up to District 13,14,15 to ride this winter. It is snowmobiling heaven, and the traffic on any open southern trails will be unbearable and unsafe this winter with all the sleds that have already been purchased this fall. There are damned few new or used sleds available to buy and prices are sky high.

Edited December 2, 2020 by tricky
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