Map provided courtesy of Toporama, which contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. I have marked my route in blue and information in red.  

I woke up to sunshine, but it was cool. 

I got a fire going to warm up and make some coffee and bacon n' egg wraps. 

My plan was to camp somewhere in or near Thirty Dollar Rapids on the North Magnetawan branch that night. I still wasn't sure if I would need to take the long portage past those rapids because of the low water levels. If I did need to use that portage, which was long and purportedly difficult, I didn't want to follow it immediately with the long  1400-meter portage back into the South Branch. My preference would be to split those two ports up on different days. With Thirty Dollar Rapids only a little over 10 kilometres away, I didn't need to rush out onto the water and get distance behind me to stick to my plan; I would have plenty of time. 

I enjoyed a second leisurely mug of coffee by the fire before breaking camp and getting on the water just after 10 AM. I took a photo of my site as I departed. 

I was the only one on the water that I could see: canoe, motorboat, or otherwise. I enjoyed my paddle westward, having the river to myself. There were some fantastic cliffs on both banks of the river in the first half hour of paddling. 

I paddled leisurely downriver. As mentioned, there was no need to make a push for distance, and with a slight headwind that I didn't feel like fighting, I took my time. I was happy soaking in the scenery. 

There were a few cabins and cottages on the north shore along that stretch. This surprised me somewhat as I knew access to these properties would not be easy. There were formidable rapids up and downriver, and Noganosh Provincial Park was just to the north. I assumed the owners of these properties arrived at their cabins by a combination of logging road, ATV trail, and/or boat.  

Another trip that I would like to do in the future would be a loop trip from Wahwashkesh Lake, down the Canal Rapids of the Magnetawan, back up through Sinclair Lake to Island Lake, and then down Farm Creek back to Wahwashkesh. Apparently, there is a portage from the Mag to Sinclair Lake just upriver from Mountain Chutes. When I arrived at that approximate location, I looked for it on the north shore. I couldn't find it. If it was there, it wasn't marked or flagged that I could see. There were a couple of cottages in the vicinity; perhaps the portage from Sinclair ends at one of those properties. I probably just missed it; however, I wasn't intently searching, but rather just keeping an eye open for it. 

Within an hour of leaving my campsite, I reached the top of Mountain Chutes. I pulled ashore at the take-out on river-right for the 354-meter portage. I walked the portage first to scout both the rapids and the trail. 

The trail climbed up a large rocky knoll, obviously the mountain part of Mountain Chute. Because the trail went to the right of the "mountain", and the river was to the left of that, it was difficult to spot the chutes from the trail. It wasn't until I got to the end of the trail that I could catch a glimpse of the rapids. In the low water, Mountain Chute was a formidable ledge that looked to be unrunnable. It would be one heck of a wild ride in higher water, however, when the ledge wasn't as much of a vertical drop. 

Since running the chute was a no-go, I became more concerned with the steep descent down to the river on the portage. It was a substantial vertical drop that would not be a walk in the park with my canoe and gear. The following photo doesn't do it justice, but take my word for it, it was steep. 

Always looking for the path of least resistance (ohm...who wouldn't?), I glanced across the river to the much flatter left bank to see if there was a way around the chute on that side. Upon inspection, I felt that I could run the CI rapid above the chute, eddy out, and line or lift over the chute on the left. I walked back to my canoe to give it a go.  

Before implementing my plan, though, I took a photo upriver from the take-out of the picturesque river above Mountain Chute. 

I glided through the rapids above the chute easily and pulled ashore on the left as intended. It was very rocky there in the low water, so I lined the canoe closer to the top of the rapids. What I didn't see from my scouting mission on the opposite side was that there was a portage trail on river-left, as well! This pleased me, because lining the canoe over that drop would have been challenging. I walked the trail that was less than 100 meters in length and saw that it was unobstructed. There was only one dicey spot where I had to watch my footing carefully to avoid falling off a ledge toward the river. 

I was able to get a better shot of the chute and the 'mountain' from this trail on the left bank. 

The view to see the full height of the drop could be better seen from the put-in. 

Below the put-in, I made myself a lunch wrap to tie me over. For some reason, I was a bit lower on energy than usual. I sat for a while in the ambience of the river, feeling lethargic. I guess there are worse places to hang out and do nothing for a bit. 

After Mountain Chutes, the North Magnetawan Branch widened into a small bay. The sunshine of the morning had given way to cloud cover by early afternoon. When I had done a weather check in the morning on my ZOLEO, there wasn't a strong chance of rain predicted, but the skies were beginning to tell a different story. 

I saw on my map that this bay contained an island called Carve Island. I made a mental note of it because I found the name a little odd. After the trip, I was able to find an old Ministry of Natural Resources pamphlet of this route online. Here is what the pamphlet had to say about Carve Island: 

Westerly winds often delayed river drives. At this island over the years stranded drivers developed a tradition of carving the logged pine stumps into birds and animals. 

Darn! I wish I had stopped at the island to see if any of those carvings still existed! Oh well, if I'm ever through the area again, I will stop for a peek for sure. Most likely, those carvings would be long gone, anyway. 

Just past the bay, I spotted an upcoming drop in the river and realized that I was approaching Stovepipe Rapids, a CI rapid. 

In my research on the river, I had read that Stovepipe is "a great learner rapid", but I pulled over to the shore on the left to scout anyway; with water levels so low, I was worried about grounding out or wrapping on exposed rocks. 

I discovered that there was an easy channel from centre to right that I could run. I turned to snap a shot of the run after gliding through it. 

There was a long, flat straightaway below the rapids that went under the same powerlines that I had seen the day before. The portages into Noganosh Provincial Park supposedly start along that stretch, as well. I hadn't noticed a trail, but I believe it starts by paddling up a narrow inflow on the north bank of the river.  

It was a bit tough moving downriver at that time. The straightaway acted as a wind tunnel for the increasing gusts that were blowing in from Island Lake downriver. I plodded along against the sporadic wind gusts, finally reaching the narrows before entering the wider expanses of Island Lake. 

I found Island Lake to be quite scenic, particularly at its southern end, which is dotted with small, rocky islands. 

Once I got in the lee of some of these islands, it was much easier paddling through the lake. 

I made it to the southwestern corner of Island Lake in short order and continued down the north branch of the Magnetawan, passing more private properties on the north bank. 

It was a twenty-minute paddle to the top of Three Snye Rapids from Island Lake. Three Snye is an unrunnable, but very pretty, drop in the river. There, the Mag falls through three small channels that are separated by two treed islands.  That government pamphlet contained a 1926 quote from a person called MacArthur. According to the pamphlet, here is what he had to say about Three Syne:

Three Snye dam, a real old time structure, was built over 40 years ago (1886) without nails, wooden plugs holding the squared timbers together...Here it is that one will lie awake rolled up in his blanket while a light mist rolls up from the rapids and low-lying waters...and to the tense ear and awakened imagination will come the rattling of massive chains, the creaking turning of the windlass over the gates. 

Spooky stuff. There was no evidence of an 1886 dam that I could see, nor any rattling of chains coming from the river. Had I heard that, I might have started sprinting for the hills, like Shaggy and Scooby running from The Creeper, just praying it would really just be Mr. Henderson, the undertaker, in a ghost mask. 

The 190-meter portage trail on river-left connected with an ATV trail, so the area appeared heavily visited. There was a cache of fishing boats at the take-out. 

From the trail, I could get a good look at the left channel. There was a bunch of exposed rock and riverbed in the low water. It was pretty, nonetheless. 

When I arrived at the junction of the portage and the ATV trail, an ominous marker pointed the way to the river near a well-used campsite. Was this the work of The Creeper from the river?!? I listened for the rattling of chains, but thankfully didn't hear anything. 

I wasn't sure, but I took that as a sign of Lord Paddlesworth, the patron saint of misanthropic, vertically-challenged canoe trippers between the ages of 52 and 60, requesting a sacrifice in return for safe passage downriver. 

Whenever I need to receive a message from Lord Paddlesworth, I have to engage in a time-tested canoe-tripping ritual. I must hoist my canoe over my head and spin it in three full 360-degree turns. This is immediately followed by balancing my paddle on the bridge of my nose without using my hands for a full five seconds. Finally, I have to turn my PFD inside out, strap it around my face, and lean against a pine tree in a handstand while singing the first three verses of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald in my best Lightfootesque voice. If this is done correctly in proper sequence, Lord Paddlesworth will offer a sign. 

On this occasion, to obtain safe passage while paddling the upcoming Thirty Dollar Rapids, I performed this ritual on the portage of Three Syne Rapids next to that moose skull. Lord Paddlesworth did, indeed, reply. I was told to sacrifice a divorcee. Since I was all alone, I decided to give it a miss. 

 True story. 

I put in at the end of the portage and snapped the following photos of the drop on the left. 

I meant to get a riverwide, full-view shot of Three Snye, but a group of ATVers hummed in on the trail at that point, distracting me. I paused to take a good look at them when they got out to look at the falls. They all looked to be quite young, not a divorcee to be had among them. I just hoped Lord Paddlesworth would find it in his heart to grant me safe passage on Thirty Dollar Rapids, anyway.

Fifteen minutes of paddling downriver from Three Snye Rapids, I could see another drop in the river ahead. My trip notes for this one had it as an "edgy Class III+". Yikes. 

Arriving at the drop, I saw that I could portage past the drop on an expansive, exposed rock on the right. The smooth surface of the rock and stagnant water in the depressions told me that the entire area is normally submerged at higher water levels. 

I pulled up on the rock and walked across to get a glimpse of the ledge. 

Indeed, the verticality of the drop was increased in low water, much like Mountain Chute had been. 

Almost immediately following that ledge, the Magnetawan dropped over another ledge. This CII ledge was manageable, however. I scooted down this one slightly left of centre to avoid the hole on the right. 

At that point, it was 4:00 PM. The start of the two-kilometre-long series of rapids known as Thirty Dollar Rapids was around the corner. I knew it would be either a long grind of a portage or a slow scouting mission through the series. Either way, it would take some time. Also, the sky was getting increasingly darker with clouds. I decided to save Thirty Dollar for the following day. I just hoped I wouldn't have to portage it all. That would make a very long day to get back to my vehicle, indeed. 

Besides, on the right bank of that CII ledge was a gorgeous campsite, and I love the ambience of camping next to moving water. 

The site had two established firepits, one in the centre of the site and the other on an exposed rock facing downriver. With the skies looking gloomy, I decided to put up my tarp over the centre pit and get some dry wood under it. Within an hour, I had my site set up, some wood gathered, and was ready to enjoy my evening before any rain came. 

In the end, it only sprinkled for 10 minutes or so. The skies remained cloudy but any substantive rain held off. I ended up using the firepit facing downriver to rehydrate my pasta dish. 

The ambience was off the charts for my second night in a row. It was fantastic. The only thing about that particular site was the fact that I was only about 800 meters east of the cross-Canada CNR rail line, the same line that I had paddled by the previous day at Big Deep Bay. It is a busy line, and trains use it frequently. When they rumbled through, it made quite a din. Thankfully, there weren't any road crossings within earshot, so the trains weren't blasting their horns, as well. It would end up waking me up only once over the night. 

As darkness fell, the wind, albeit slightly weaker than it had been earlier, continued to blow, keeping the temperature cool. It was cozy sitting next to the fire. Thankfully,  the rain stayed away. By 10 PM, I felt my eyelids getting heavy, and I called it a night.