JChief wrote on Jul 25^th, 2009 at 2:19am:


Enjoy!  Will look forward to hearing about your trip. 

Part of our "challenge" was that we were out for ~ 14 days each time, so the forecasts weren't very useful.

Sure wish I'd brought those gloves and my cold weather sleeping bag!   

Only problem I see with the 14 day trend is that is only shows the high for the day, not the low. Combined with the 10 day forecast which shows highs, low, and precip chance, I think you have the most information you can find. Any other suggestions/sources? I also plan to call my outfitter (CC) the day before I leave but they will probably be looking at the same sources.

 I use the 10-14 day guide as well. I agree, its not written in stone, merely a "average". Still when planning a camp day or a "hard" day, it doesn't hurt to have the "average" on your side.
 I would say that in the 5+ years I've brought the 14 day scale, it's been pretty accurate maybe 75% of the time.
 The biggest discrepancy I notice is in the amount of rainfall?
Light showers might be Thunderstorms or vice versa. Occasional showers might be all day. Temps seem too be pretty spot on.

Traveller:
Great advice. My plan is to review weather forecasts until the day we fly out and use the 10-14 day outlook as a guide. I am well aware of the previous posts about reliability of forecasts and agree but will have nothing better to go by. Will use what info I can gather and pack away some items "just in case".

J

We've visited Quetico in May through September and have had both good and bad experiences weather wise any time .  May can be great, but it's hitting the right slot after spring storms/rain and before the bugs hatch.  June can be pretty buggy.  July and August seem (for us at least) to have the most reliably good weather, though in a week trip you can count on at least a day or two of high wind and/or thunderstorms.  September seems to be anything from soup to nuts -- I've had a week of glorious sunshine with highs in the 70's, lows in the 40's and I've had a week with 45 degrees and rain every day....  Guess there's no right answer...........

Traveller wrote on Jul 24^th, 2009 at 1:54pm:


That's good advice and in the spring you should pack for earlier than your trip date IMHO
 I'd rather have to unzip a warm bag, than shiver and shake in a cold one

Longtime "summer tripper" who made the switch to September a few years back.

Next year:  back to summer tripping. 

Why?

Prolonged stretches of cold, ugly weather on both September trips.  Endured a hard freeze, plus plenty of cold wind and rain--for days on end.

No swimming.  Fishing sporadic (I'm no expert, but usually do well in summer).

My gear is summer-weight stuff--warm enough to keep me alive in 25 degrees, but not sufficient to let me ENJOY 25 degrees. 

Love the "no people, no bugs" of early fall, but will take a pass on the "I'm freezing my a** off, and where are all the fish?". 

Warning to new fall trippers:  take the average temps with a grain of salt.  Pack for weather 1 month later than your actual trip date.

Tell ma about it! The weather has been horrible. Mostly overcast and cool without a drop of rain. I am heading to Q on Friday and if the forcast holds, we will be greeted by a week of rain.

I like the August lazy trips to lay around and swim. If I am planning a trip that is based on seeing alot of new water, I go for the spring or fall when temperatures are cooler and it is a little less punishing being on the water all day.

Can't beat the Fall up in this neck of the woods.

Park

This year you can go in July and get October weather.  Too bad it's not the good kind of October weather...

Seriously, there has been no summer as of yet up there.  Wild strawberries are still producing and blueberries just started to get going good the past couple days.

Nothing can beat the warm afternoons and crisp air of autum......1st week of Oct is my time.  Only thing that can ruin it is 2 days of rain and 40 degrees.  More often than not, I luck out with any prolonged wettness.