Quetico For Life wrote on Apr 14^th, 2012 at 4:32pm:

I've been going to Q every year for over thirty years. That's gotta be at least over 500 nights in the park. I thought I might have heard wolves once or twice until my very last day, last year.
db wrote on Aug 31^st, 2011 at 6:32am:


You never know and you gotta be digging it while it's happening.

Jim, that's exactly what I was telling him just last night - unnamed lakes are pretty close in (easy to get to from Bhouse), and going Wawiag seems so much more appealing - get through Greenwood, down W, and get a treat through the poet lakes then head back up to our familiar stomping ground through Lonely et al and out through Nym.

As for wolves, that makes sense about the logging areas - certainly all predators follow their prey, although I too have seen scat on many a portage throughout our trips.

Guess like it was said, you just gotta get lucky enough to be nearby when they decide to sing! I do believe dad heard them once on one of his 80's trips...one day!!

About 4 years ago we saw a small pack of 4 wolves on Quetico Lake.  It was the middle of the day.  The wolves were just playing on the shoreline.  We were probably a 100 or 200 yards away.  I have heard wolves singing about 3 times in the Beaverhouse Quetico Lake area.
Westwood

In spite of the many trips I've taken in the B-Dub and Q I have only heard wolves once, on LaCroix, while out camping.  I have a friend who goes to Basswood yearly; 2 of the past 3 years they have had wolves IN CAMP.  Once the wolves seemed to be casing the camp for left overs and once the pack chased a deer right through the camp.  When campers got thrown into the mix the wolves retreated and the deer swam away.  Other campers have also encountered the Basswood pack.
We live on the south western edge of the BWCA and have our share of wolves.  My husband used to go outside at night and howl for them...partly to drive the neighbors dogs crazy...but the wolves often answered once he got them started.  You could try "calling" them. 

Quote:


I had a discussion with Quetico Dave about this very subject. Before he went out of business, he used to offer a hunting guide service for deer/bear/moose. At the time, they were doing a lot of lumbering along the northern borders of the park. Don't know if they still are?

Dave said that while scouting for hunting areas he found that the wolves were hanging out in recently lumbered areas becasue the deer/moose found foraging there much easier in the newly lumbered areas.
Wolf follow their prey and the prey like the newly growing food base that comes after logging.

I imagine it's easier for the pack to down an animal in semi-cleared areas rather than chasing them thru overgrown old growth areas.

Dave said he had personally seen wolves in packs and their sign thru out those areas.
So I'm thinking if the logging is still continuing, the lakes that border the harvest might be just as good as the more remote areas that you would think the wolves would seek?

Not a wolf expert, but I believe easy prey/food opportunities might trump solitude in the packs eye.

Heard Wolves on Elizabeth in '99
Robin more recent ?2008?

You can see scat on almost any portage trail. So it's probably just a matter them wanting to sing and you being there to hear them. I always thought that would make a neat alarm clock sound, starting soft, then getting louder.

.02 Take your Dad down the Wawiag. Check out the unnamed lakes some other day.

Geeze, guess I need to refrain from pressing 'post message' until I complete my thoughts!

Jim, fascinating about the wolves - I actually intended to ask in my earlier post about hearing them..I never have, my dad did once in the 80's, before I began going (born in 81, unfortunately never made it up until 2005...).

Any particular areas of the park where wolves are more prevelant? I can't help but think the more remote/less travelled areas would be more prone to having them..

Oh, and Jim J - thanks for sharing! Great report, and seeing the pictures from Draper brought back great memories of our two night stay there a couple of years ago - definitely a gorgeous place..isolated, with good fishing - certainly will be going back there at some point!!

Thanks already for the advice everyone - Wally, I have indeed read about the beaver dams, and not being totally new to the Q I have had some run ins, never much of a problem. As for moose, have only seen one (with a calf none the less!) out in the park so far, and it was a real treat, and look forward to the day I see another.

Magic, we typically go through an outfitter out of Atikokan, who has served us well, and also does fly ins, but certainly are open to other options.

Water conditions are certainly always unpredictable, and I have read where the Greenwood can be brutal if the water is down. Being able to get dropped into mack lake is obviously appealing, but as you pointed out who knows if that'll be an option.

Definitely am strongly drawn to doing that route - dad is getting up there in his years, and fears he doesn't know how many trips he has left, and to be able to share special trips in deeper in areas while feasible is definitely important to the two of us. Add into this the difficulty of arranging for time away (I'm a fireman, and getting shift coverage can be tricky at times). Ideally we'd like to go in at Cache Bay and travel NW from there and traverse the park...

We do double portage, yet we pack light - he carries our food/cook pack, I our 'sleeping pack' with tent, etc first, then I return for the canoe.

The unnamed lakes do appeal to us, however those might be better saved for a later date - perhaps more of an option when something such as a Wawiag trip is no longer an option for him. We are both very drawn to wanting to get into the poet lakes as well as the Chatterton area - he was there once back in 80's with the friend who introduces him (and therefore me) to backcountry paddling (thanks Mac! rest in peace, never forgotten, spirit always will travel with me to the Singing Wilderness).

Anyways, I digress lol - thanks again, and keep the pointers coming.

Q4L, check out my www in my signature line. I wrote up a trip report about going through the unnamed lakes along Quetico Lake. Easier traveling W-E as far as finding portages. I can't say much about fishing them, it was Oct and I fish very little while traveling solo. The camp I used on the middle lake was nice but not big.
Nice remote feel for so close to main routes.