Post by canyak on May 19, 2009 8:28:43 GMT -5
My family (wife and 3 teenagers) did the Cains this long weekend, putting in by the North Branch Cains off of the Bantalor Road, using O'Donnells Cottages for a shuttle service. At the put-in we met 2 teams of canoeists who started way up by Zionville that morning. They reported decent conditions but 1 beaver dam and a couple of sweepers. We camped there Friday night so we could start early Sat. morning and beat the expected crowds.
Saturday was a cool but fairly clear day, with a nice breeze blowing down the river. The river is fairly shallow in this upper section, and I sadly put several scratches in my recently finished cedar stripper, whimpering each time I touched a rock. We moved along at a good pace, and passed several "parties" who were handling beverages more than paddles. We were moving at about 5 kph, and passed the Grand Lake Rd Bridge after about 5 hours of paddling. I kept my eyes out for potential camping spots all along the river, and there certainly is no shortage of them. We easily found a nice place for our tents an hour past the bridge, and then got a good smoky fire blazing to keep the blackflies at bay.
The river became deeper a couple of clicks up-river of the Hwy123 Bridge, so Sunday was much easier on my stripper. More water in the river also meant faster speeds, so we were clipping along at 7 kph. Our original intent was to camp somewhere around Shinnickburn Sunday night and finish off at Howard on Monday morning. However it rained all day Sunday, and the girls weren't too keen on feeding the blackflies again, so we decided to push through and head for Howard. I thoroughly enjoyed this stretch of river - easy paddling, fairly deep waters and nice views. The large spruce and cedars block the clearcuts just over the river banks.
After about 8 hours of pleasant paddling we hit the Miramichi River. Of course our van wasn't there and no cell coverage, but a local kindly allowed me to use their phone to call Jack O'Donnell for a rescue. Jack showed up a half hour later and helped me rack boats. O'Donnells gave us great service, highly recommended. As is the Cains - I'll be doing it again soon.
Saturday was a cool but fairly clear day, with a nice breeze blowing down the river. The river is fairly shallow in this upper section, and I sadly put several scratches in my recently finished cedar stripper, whimpering each time I touched a rock. We moved along at a good pace, and passed several "parties" who were handling beverages more than paddles. We were moving at about 5 kph, and passed the Grand Lake Rd Bridge after about 5 hours of paddling. I kept my eyes out for potential camping spots all along the river, and there certainly is no shortage of them. We easily found a nice place for our tents an hour past the bridge, and then got a good smoky fire blazing to keep the blackflies at bay.
The river became deeper a couple of clicks up-river of the Hwy123 Bridge, so Sunday was much easier on my stripper. More water in the river also meant faster speeds, so we were clipping along at 7 kph. Our original intent was to camp somewhere around Shinnickburn Sunday night and finish off at Howard on Monday morning. However it rained all day Sunday, and the girls weren't too keen on feeding the blackflies again, so we decided to push through and head for Howard. I thoroughly enjoyed this stretch of river - easy paddling, fairly deep waters and nice views. The large spruce and cedars block the clearcuts just over the river banks.
After about 8 hours of pleasant paddling we hit the Miramichi River. Of course our van wasn't there and no cell coverage, but a local kindly allowed me to use their phone to call Jack O'Donnell for a rescue. Jack showed up a half hour later and helped me rack boats. O'Donnells gave us great service, highly recommended. As is the Cains - I'll be doing it again soon.