I started from Bentshoe Lake, passing through Poker L., Ooze L., Quirt L. before reaching Cinder Lake. Here I navigated the marsh on the West side, getting to Cinder Lake Road.
I was hoping to canoe the Cinder Creek, but that's not possible. So I took the road, portaging to Black River bridge on Cinder Lake Road.
Black River has a pretty good flow, some gravel swifts, making for an easy paddle down river. I only had to portage around Sliderock Falls.
Sliderock Falls
It looks like nobody portaged the trail for quite some time. I didn't like the campsites on Black River (one reason being mosquitoes), so instead of a 2 days trip it became a day trip.
Once getting to the bridge on Hwy118 I left the canoe and most of my gear in the bush and I walked back to the Poker Lakes parking lot to retrieve my car.
It surely was an interesting trip.
The Poker Lake loop was my first canoe loop trip. This was back when it was still just general use Crown land. I learned of it through one of Kevin Callan's paddling guide books. I still have fond memories of that little system.
ReplyDeleteCheers to you.