Kimmers,
The Q is not necessarily out of your plans.

I sympathize with your desire to stay off big water, but consider a Carp Lake or Basswood Lake (after a motor tow to Washington Island) trip. You can hide behind many shorelines on your way out and back, travel mornings and evenings if wind is bad, etc. Short paddles during these times are very possible on a 10 day trip. Start back to your pick-up severals days early and camp on sites you scouted on your way in. Carp has only 1 portage (1/4 mile at most) that's relatively flat. There are many options to hide if necessary, and the fishing is pretty good. Solitude can be found if you avoid the travel lanes. Basswood has no portages if you choose to stay on North Bay.

Both of these entries are via Prairie Portage. You can reach decent campsites on either route in a matter of hours, not days. Both offer portage lakes in reach of your basecamp. Be careful when travelling or fishing in "empty" canoes when you're accustomed to fully loaded boats.

Can your youngest tolerate 10 days if the fishing is bad? Have plans to satisfy young'uns boredom on bad fishing or windbound days.

Seating arrangements are determined by weight as well as paddling skills. Be sure your boats are balanced with people and packs. I would strongly recommend using (renting) heavier boats (NOT Kevlar) with no rocker and relatively flat bottoms. The amount of tumblehome depends on how long the paddlers' arms are.
You'll work a bit harder, but the stability is great peace of mind.

Ask your outfitter to allow a short practice paddle b4 you head to the bush. You can "test" skills and learn the behavior of the boats you're using in a relatively safe environment.

A PFD is mandatory on the water - you can drown in a puddle as well as in a canyon. Mind flowing water in windy conditions, especially if you have light boats (I speak from experience here - that's the only time I ever dumped a boat in my life).

Posted by Skip Guyer on December 31, 2000 at 13:26