Thanks, DD

I was aware that park staff were working on a database. My info (from Claire, in July) was that the project is still ongoing, with public consultation still to come, and an online electronic map not expected for a few years. Maybe they're looking at something like the one for the Manigotagan River in Manitoba? That would be a major undertaking, so I thought it better to get some info out in quick 'n' dirty form rather than wait for the final product to be finished.

As of July, the WCPP campsites did not have numbers yet (according to Claire). The park staff had expected to be finished their inventory this summer though, so it's possible they have added numbers between July and now. Once the official numbers are publicly available, my maps and tables are easy enough to update.

I did see that there were numbers attached to the campsites in your MemoryMap disc. Since there were many sites on the 2012 park campsite map that are not on the MM disc (all of the red circles on the Ontario side are missing from your database), I decided to go with my "definitely wrong but maybe mostly complete" numbering rather than your "possibly obsolete but definitely incomplete" data

Part of the thinking was also to avoid confusion if the eventual official campsite numbers are different from the MM site numbers but have the same format. "J066" will obviously not be an official WCPP site name (I hope), so anyone who sees a J066 site rating will know they have to cross-check. But "227" might be associated with different sites on MM and the final database, and a comment associated with MM site 227 could get misinterpreted.

I think Claire monitors this board from time to time, so if there's data in these two posts of use to the park staff, they should be able to retrieve it.

Joe -

This is an outstanding effort.  I can tell much work has gone into this material.

However, there is, in fact, a campsite database for WCPP.  Last I checked, it was being maintained/developed by the park staff, specifically Shannon Walshe, Park Biologist (name sound familiar?).  While this effort is still in development (e.g. some of the sites do not yet exist or their exact locations have not been confirmed), the ultimate goal is to exceed your expectations ... and has been suggested to include such things as photographs of the site (we'll see how this turns out, because that could be more than trivial from a database management perspective). 

The campsite locations do, in fact, have numbers.  Since you mentioned that you have the Memory Maps material I produced, you also have the numbers.  The source of all those little dots came from the park staff ... first a map from Claire and then a file (from Shannon) containing number (assigned by the park staff), and location (UTM's if I recall correctly), plus the name of the lake (as a comment).  In some cases, the file has a campsite number followed by A, B, C, etc.  when the exact location of the campsite had not been confirmed and there were multiple instances of a campsite located in that rough position.  (Some of this I edited out to minimize clutter when placing a campsite on the Memory Map disc.)

And, yes.  There are some errors in the file.  For example, a campsite on extreme eastern Telescope Lake that is shown on the southern shore line is actually located on a small island perhaps a 100 meters east of that position.  Also keep in mind that some of the campsites (like PCD), are probably "legacy" in nature.  I've stayed on one of those in Quetico and one on Hjalmar in WCPP and it was clear that both had not been an active campsite in decades.

So, I'd recommend that we transmit at least a copy of what we find on a trip to the park staff to help them develop a comprehensive database for campsites (and other things).  For example, there is now a pictograph map floating around that has general markings of where they are in the park.  But based on my last trip, I think there are still several that have yet to be "discovered."  (I say "discovered" because I'm guessing that some First Nation folks already know where they are.)

As for a portage database for WCPP, I'm aware of no similar effort by the park staff to develop a descriptive database for that purpose (although based on my knowledge of the folks there, I'd not be completely surprise to find that that material is also floating around the office somewhere ... maybe not in an electronic format.)

Oh, BTW.  I've already suggested that I could assist the park in establishing a remotely accessible database for campsites.  (I'm not retired long enough that I don't know how to do this kind of thing.)  So, far ... no takers.

dd

WCPP doesn't have a campsite database, so I propose using this thread to collect campsite descriptions and ratings.

There are no official campsite names or numbers in WCPP, and that makes it difficult to match campsites to descriptions. So I am posting maps with my own numbers attached. I have numbered most of the sites on my maps, even the ones I didn't find or visit, so that others can add descriptions without posting new maps. (But of course if you want to rate a site that is not on one of my maps - and this is encouraged - you will have to generate your own maps and give the sites your own numbers.)

I have also included a couple of campsite descriptions / ratings from DentonDoc and SunCatcher.

Campsites in Manitoba do have official numbers (1, 2, etc) but these are not unique, so I have renumbered the one site I visited on Garner Lake from "1" to "GAR1" to distinguish it from any other site "1" that might appear later in this thread.

As much as possible, I have tried to keep the star rating consistent with PCD. Everyone has their own criteria for what constitutes a "good" campsite. This is a rough description of my star rating:
   0 stars: Not significantly better than a makeshift site anywhere else in the park.
   1 star: Very basic, usually a small site with a fire ring but no good tent locations, usable in an emergency.
   2 stars: Has a fire ring, at least one flat, level tent spot, not much else.
   3 stars: Tent spot(s) are flat, level and sheltered, the site has enough size that you can walk around. This would make an ok base camp.
   4 stars: Tent spots and site size are better than the minimum. The site also has good views, overall it is significantly better than a 3 star site.
   5 stars: Even better than 4 stars, needs good sitting rocks, kitchen area, etc as well.

Island sites need to be big enough that you can build a latrine and collect firewood without leaving the island (or degrading the site), otherwise I lowered the rating one star.

Because of the granite dome topography, almost all of the sites in WCPP seem to have good canoe landings, so usually I left this out of my descriptions.

There are eight maps covering the sites on my route, plus an overview map showing how the eight smaller maps fit together.

The campsite numbers and portage lengths might be too small to read on your screen as displayed here. In that case, try opening the image link in a new browser window or tab and then increasing the view size of that window, or try saving the image to your pc and opening it in a separate viewer. The images' resolutions are good enough that one of these should work.

On the maps, the campsites are shown by red dots and red circles. The dots are sites identified on DentonDoc's MemoryMap disc, the circles are sites added from the WCPP and Nopiming park maps.

The portage lengths are in metres according to the WCPP canoe map, with "np" meaning "no portage". Refer to the portage database thread for more details.

The maps:
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The campsite data:
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