Lady Evelyn River Loop
Total Distance: 119 km
Duration: 7 days
No. of Portages: 24 (Some can be avoided if running rapids)
Total Port. Distance: 9.8 km
Level of Difficulty: Moderate (portages along the Lady Evelyn River can be difficult in wet conditions, wind on Lady Evelyn Lake)
Maps provided courtesy of Toporama which contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. I have marked my route in blue.
Before the pandemic hit in March of 2020, my father and I had discussed paddling the Spanish River for our yearly August outing. We ordered maps and were debating on whether we should contact Agnes Lake Lodge to shuttle us up to the put-in on the East Branch or load our canoes on a train to try the West Branch.
Well, Covid-19 hit us and the shuttles for either section of the Spanish River just weren't economically feasible. The outfitters were asking that two vehicles be involved so that the drivers wouldn't have to drive in a car with the passengers. This meant paying for two drivers and an extra vehicle to go both ways. So, we looked into another route that would be as scenic, challenging and was a loop that wouldn't involve any third-party transportation. The Lady Evelyn Loop in northeastern Temagami seemed to check all of these boxes. The Spanish River would just have to wait until after the plague.
Here are some quick highlights from the trip.