Trip Summaries
Since its inception, The Wabakimi Project has grown at a phenomenal rate. From the initial two trips led by "Uncle" Phil in 2004 that involved a single participant on each, it has expanded to the fifteen trips planned for 2008 involving 45 participants led by him and two other leaders. Below is a brief summary of each year's trips supported by annual route maps created by Barry Simon.
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2004
The Wabakimi Project had its genesis in an early Spring fly-in/fly-out trip when Phil and his friend, Wes McCoy, undertook an exploration of Corky Creek. In 22 days, starting from Winn Lake, they explored the entire extent of this waterway and discovered no less than four abandoned links to other routes. In August, Phil and his son, John, conducted a 10-day reconnaissance of Webster Creek to establish three of the connecting links to Corky Creek.
2004 Route Map (PDF - 5.2MB)
2005
The initial trips in 2004 convinced Phil that, without better organization, more people and a more ambitious schedule, reconnaissance of all the lost/abandoned routes of Wabakimi would never be completed. Two 'series' of trips each involving 3-person 'teams' of volunteers led by Phil were designed. Trips varying in duration from eight to fifteen days were blocked into two 'series' involved 21 participants over a total of 76 days.
The focus of these trips was to complete work begun in 2004 and extend the scope of reconnaissance to other northern tributaries of the Ogoki River. The Ogoki-Albany Height of Land was crossed twice--once from Colehouse Lake into Rockcliff Lake and again from Davies Lake into Muskiga Lake.
2005 Route Map (PDF - 5.2MB)
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2006
Trips were standardized into two six-week blocks with a 4-week hiatus in July for Phil to rest and re-pack. Nine 8-day trips and one 15-day trip involved 30 different participants over a total of 87 days.
The summer's routes included reconnaissance of the entire length of the Flindt River from the railhead to Wabakimi Lake as well as initial exploration of the western approache to the park from Greenbush Lake via the Misehkow River to Rockcliff Lake.
2006 Route Map (PDF - 5.2MB)
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2007
The same schedule was continued but with no 2-week trips, 33 different participants were involved two of whom returned for a second trip.
The first 6-week series of trips were spent exploring the Crown land canoe routes between the western boundary of Wabakimi Provincial Park and Highway 599 in an area known as the Caribou Forest. The second 6-week series involved crossing the entire width of the park from Rockcliff Lake to the Pikitigushi River.
2007 Route Map (PDF - 5.2MB)
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2008
Fifteen trips involving 44 participants ran continuously for 17 weeks (121 days) and, for the first time, involved leaders other than "Uncle" Phil. Barry Simon led an 8-day trip in early July to give Phil a break and Doug Blount led a 2-week trip in mid-August while Phil attended his daughter's wedding in Thunder Bay.
All of the canoe routes in the Caribou Forest from Savant Lake to Pashkokogan Lake were completed including the Little Pashkokogan River that runs through St. Raphael Provincial Park on the west side of Highway 599. Doug's trip crossed the entire width of the park all the way to the Ogoki Reservoir.
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