SEPAQ canoe-camping circuit number 61. A 69 km counter-clockwise loop in the Chochocouane sector of Réserve faunique La Vérendrye, with 21 portages (longest is 575 m) and a single put-in and take-out near Lac Rousine.
The same SEPAQ map, overlaid on OpenStreetMap and aligned to the real geographic coordinates. Use the layer control (top right) to toggle the SEPAQ overlay on and off and see how the loop sits in the wider reserve. The georeferencing was extracted from the SEPAQ GeoPDF with GDAL, so the route lines, portages, campsite numbers and kilometre markers are pixel-accurate on the base map.
Red star marks the approximate put-in at Lac Rousine. Stan's Garmin inReach will publish the actual paddled GPS track on the tracking page once we're on the water.
The second-longest portage of the trip hits on day one, while shoulders are fresh. We carry over the 110 m put-in to Lac Rousine, paddle north through Lac Linard and Lac Obreck, then haul gear up the 480 m climb north of Lac Bivard. Camp on Lac Rivard. A swim is possible if the water has had time to warm. It probably hasn't.
The north reach of the loop, through Lac Gladu, Lac Bastude, and Lac Laspron. Wider water and longer sight-lines than day one. The plan is to be off the big lake by 11:00 to dodge the afternoon wind. Camp on Lac Laspron with a view back across the chain we just paddled.
The crux day. South through Lac Discal and Lac Sayon, then the 575 m portage on Rivière Denain. It's the longest portage of the trip, with R3 rapids on either end that we will walk rather than run with a loaded canoe. Two trips for the gear, one for the canoe overhead. We start at first light to keep the afternoon open in case anything slows us down.
South through Lac Padozel and Lac Boisrault, then west along Lac Ferrade and Lac Salival. A string of mid-length portages, none brutal individually, but they add up after three big days. Last night on the water. Bonfire and the rest of the whisky.
Final stretch back via Lac Suzie and Lac Halloy to the put-in. The longest day of the year, finished in a parking lot, then a drive south to the first cell signal in five days and somewhere we can order a burger that doesn't need rehydrating.
The official SEPAQ topo for this circuit is the Petite boucle Chochocouane n° 61, available from the Réserve faunique La Vérendrye canoe-camping page. Site numbers above (61-08, 63-03, 60-73 …) match the SEPAQ reservation system. We'll publish the real GPX track from Stan's inReach once we're home.