Brian Hess just came back tonight and he said he got to the lake and no one was there on Wednesday. No sign of anyone either.  He left the next day and still didn't see anyone.

We didn't talk for long (I was pretty busy in the store), but perhaps he'll post some about it when he gets home.


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Just for continuity's sake, here's the main Jamboree (I hate that name) thread.
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I locked the mother thread because it took too long to load 300 replies before posting.

JIMBOREE (Part One)

At the close-out of the other thread it was mentioned that it would be interesting to hear "what got left out" of the tales from Jamboree AND "what tall tales got added" to it.  I'll take a shot at documenting my perspective on some pre-Jamboree activities.  I'll leave the rest to others.  I'll be as anxious as you are to see how the tale ends.

My small "sidebar" to the whole Jamboree Adventure was something called "Jimboree".

The 2005 edition of Jimboree was held - impromptu - on an island in south central Cairn Lake.  Ben, my son, & I were the first to arrive... mid-way through 36 hours of soaking, cold nasty rain.  We had grinded our way through the beautiful (but rough) Cutty Creek area to get there.  All the portages had been wet or submerged or interesting mudslide variations.  Tripper & QP, getting in & out of Baird was all you guys said it could be!!

Anyway, I digress.

Ben & I arrived first.  We quickly erected a lean-to tarp on the head rock at the bottom of the island & somehow nursed a small fire out of soaked kindling.  We had put a couple of my "calling cards" on high ground where other hapless, misguided souls could not possibly miss them.  

Anyone want to guess what these pink items were???

The calling cards worked like a charm!  In they came!  QP & Woods Walker arrived in about a half-hour from the south, battling wind-driven rain right in their faces. Our site was plenty big & had numerous tent pads.  We welcomed the company.  About a half hour after that, the first of two kayaks was flagged in.  It was Kawishiway followed by my new friend, Intrepid Camper.  They scrambled up our rock & each found suitable spots to stake out their tents.  IC is one of the most impressive Voyageur/campers I've ever met.  She is a minimalist who exists off what Nature gives her.  After she got set up, she got back into her kayak & managed to pick her way along the shoreline to find wood that would actually burn in our struggling fire.

Just as we were all getting settled in around the tarp, we heard voices from behind the lean-to.  It was MagicPaddler & his 72 year-old brother, cold & wet after some tough travelling out the Mack Lake area.  Our "calling card" had fetched them in, too.  There was plenty of soggy space available... no, make that SATURATED space.


[To be continued]

Well I can say Pinkus Flamingus Jimboreeus made it home safe and sound, Jimbo.  Even survived that beautiful  :o of a portage called Yum Yum.  The Bush Whack did take place as 5 of us entered the creekl area from Cairn Lake ( IC, WW, MP, K and myself).  We managed to cross the first swamp over the next hill then across the next swamp.  Swamp was easy it was the last hill that was so thick we couldn't get the canoes thru.  So were retuned to camp on Cairn.  
MORE TO COME!!!
qp

[JIMBOREE, Part Two]

While MP & his brother warmed up in their bags, we finally stabilized the wet, smoky fire enough to sit around it & chat.  Our faces & fronts were warm & wet; our behinds were dry & chilled.  QP livened things up by pulling out a laminated map of the Chub Pond, ostensibly to discuss "approaches" to the Chub Pond.  HOWEVER his laminated map contained some strange verses on the reverse side. I think he called it Bushwhacker Balladeering & Voyageur Rap by some strange, demented artist.  I found myself coaxed into impromptu renditions of the same, cadenced to the tune of the pounding raindrops.  Ah, the ambience!!

Eventually MagicPaddler & his brother made it over to our pitiful fire.  We had been concerned that he & his brother were verging on hypothermia.  Ben & I had thought WE had gone through some tough places.  I don't even want to think about what THEY must have gone through.  EVERYTHING they had seemed soaked!  Anyway, I'm afraid the fire didn't provide them all that much warmth.  

Warmer, however, was the Rendezvous comraderie around those miserable flames.

Gifts were exchanged, modern-day Voyageur style.  MP presented ME with a very large, flat decorative "pink flamingo"!  Ideas about approaches to Stumpy's Pond were discussed.  The wisdom (or lack thereof) of approaching Stumpy's Pond was discussed.  We figured Stumpy & Rangeline were already in there.  Those wet cliffs looked fairly intimidating.  Jokes & stories were told.  Camping & canoeing equipment was compared.  Wet, bedraggled faces could now be put on Internet "handles" (id's).  You really couldn't see all that much more than faces... raincoats, ponchos, & weather gear covered it all up.

I think those sour conditions made our "Jimboree" all that much sweeter, though.

I was the first up & about that next morning after another long soaking night of rain.  It was strangely bright with alien sunshine, however, & I flung the tarp flap back to reap some of the welcomed, gorgeous dawn as the coffee water boiled.  Intrepid Camper rousted next & came over to join me for a cup as we contemplated the utter change to the Quetico world about us.  What an impressive lady!  She lives on an island near the BWCA & needs to paddle her way on & off it to get around in soft-water season!  We spread clothing out on the rocks to dry in the sun & freshening breeze.

As others walked up the rock to our tarp, we chatted about the day.

It was then that I told them all that MY "vision for the day" no longer included "Jamboree".  It felt very strange to say that, especially after a couple long years of talking about it.  Nevertheless, sometimes you take what the Park gives you.  THAT day, after a few days of rough travel through Cutty Creek, the soaking rain, my threatening psiatica, and the thought of what might lie ahead, well... I easily conjured up OTHER, safer, more pleasurable thoughts of what that day & our vacation could become.

Disappointing??  Yes, mildly.  Nevertheless, other than meeting with Stumpy's party & others that MIGHT make it into the Pond, we had already seen a lot, done a lot.  Staying healthy, we would have the chance to do MORE.  So, ultimately, the "choice" didn't pass my "Risks versus Rewards" analysis (ie. I wimped out).

[JIMBOREE, Part Three]

Several Jimboreers wished to "day trip" into the Chub Pond.  Even though, technically, that wasn't "playing by Stumpy's Rules", I offer them my kudos.  I'm anxious to hear if they made it safely.  [NOTE: A preliminary "post" from QP seems to have gotten in between my accounts & indicates they DID make it safely!  Congrats, all!]  I'm sure it was QUITE the challenge on those slippery rocks & wet woods!

Ben & I, richer for the experience of meeting & sharing with all these truly fine folks, exchanged farewells, wished them safe passage & waved our goodbyes.  We paddled north into a fresh, cool breeze toward the Poet Chain.  They paddled off towards Stumpy Country into who-knows-what.

Stumpy, my Cyberspace friend, maybe next time, huh???

Sometimes the tale you start to spin doesn't end exactly the way you had planned.  As it turns out, OUR tale (Ben & mine's) ended just fine.  We got home this morning safe & with some super memories of a remote area of the Park.  I am obliged to you, Stumpy, for giving us the notion that got our tale started.  Every pre-meditated trip takes its own special  twists & turns.

Stumpy, I hope YOUR trip & the trips of the others who you inspired (particularly those gathered at the Jimboree Rendezvous!) ends/ended on a healthy, happy note.  Meeting up in the Park with other folks who enjoy it as much as we do is a really cool (albeit wet) thing, even if it didn't happen in exactly the way or in exactly the WHERE it was intended to happen.  

Thanks for the motivation, Stumpy!  I hope to get the chance to meet you some day.

Jimbo   8)

PS.  Stumpy, Woods Walker's biceps are about as thick as my not-too-shabby thighs.  IF you guys DID make it to the Chub Pond to arm wrestle, I'm betting HE won the steak!!!

Well, now I wish I had talked more to Brian and found out if it was the right lake?  Or maybe he just has a really good poker face and was teasing me?

I hope someone took lots of pictures?!

Welcome back Jimbo, QP, and others.  Well, Jimbo's vignette of a report of the Jimboree certainly conjures up some great images.  You guys and gals must have been soggy!   Not to mention the soaking Pink Phlamingos.

I have to admit to being a little disappointed that there was not a big old overnight rendezvous on Stumpy Pond.  But I'm just here at home bored as hell with work, no long trip to the Q until September.  It sounds like you all got what you were looking for, and I for one would have liked to have been at the Jimboree to meet everyone there in person.  Alas, Stumpy was not there . . . .

I'm still hoping for pictures and more reports.  Most of all I'm hoping that the trip was everything each of you hoped for . . . and then some!  And that includes the unexpectied rugged trials dished up by cruel nature in the wilderess . . . it sounds like you had plenty of those.

Well, welcome back to this world we call, for some unknown reason, "civilization."

Only an event such as this one would allow such a bird to flock with the loons.  Am I color blind or is that thing really PINK?  Amazingly as it may seem, we not only found this rare bird in the Cairn Lake area but as well lashed to canoes and one even marking a campsite on Burke Lake.
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An then there's the area near the Chub Pond
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qp

Well, this is Brian Hess... er... Hex and here is my report.

First off I'd like to hearby proclaim the lake as "Sucker Lake".  Besides the six of us suckers, we managed to catch one.  It was the only fish to be pulled from those waters.

The trip "in" was not bad with a lot of high country and "easy travel", the trip out was not the same story....

Fishing the rest of the trip was good and bronze backs were plentiful, along with lakers and eyes.

Bugs... ticks not as bad as last year (I had less then 20)  Skeeters of course.  Black flies here and there.  No-see-ums were horrible, especially while fileting fish or pumping water.

Saturday, PP, to Lousia.
Sunday Lousia to McEwen (we stayed at the Hilton there)
Monday McEwent to Kawnipi.

Tuesday before the Jamboree we suffered in the rain just as any other people out there.  We were camped on Kawnipi just east of the labeled pictograph.  Tuesday we traveled west, in the wind and rain, to Rose Island.  From there we headed to the south west to the little bay (with two streams running into it).  We set up camp on the point on the southern end of the bay, then did a recon trip up the stream on the north end of the bay to find the first lake.  That night we cooked walleye and smallies in the cold wind and rain, had some sips off the platty and hit the hay.  

Wednesday we woke up around 6:30am to a bright sunny morning.  We hung all of our gear from lines to dry while prepairing breakfast.  Packed our gear and headed to the stream again.  The "portage" up the hill was painful but at the same time tolerable.  We got onto the first lake within an hour and a half.  Lake was semi dark water with lots of solid rock sometimes cliffy shoreline.  We paddled to the north end of the lake and headed due west to the southern tip of the next lake.  Lunch break.  We headed to the north end of that lake and brushcrashed along the southern end of the stream to the next lake.  A short paddle across the lake and due west again till we hit the lake directly northwest of Sucker lake.  This lake was also rock shoreline but much clearer water.  We paddled across that lake and into Sucker lake.  We reached the lake between 3 and 4pm, did a quick patrol around the lake and determined it was vacant.  We said to ourselves "first pick at a campsite", and picked the "point" on the southern end of the lake.  On top of said point can now be found a fire ring and a "bench".  Our tent pads were back from the fire ring surrounded by sweet ferns and pink lady slippers.  Once done setting up camp we attempted to catch dinner but the sucker was the only fish pulled up.  Then we waited for people to show... asking ourselves if this was some kind of joke we fell for (again with the "sucker").  We passed the plattys and hit the hay.

Thursday we got up, gave up, and brushcrashed southeast across two puddles before we turned west and hit the northern most point of Williams lake, headed south through Payne (and saw the magnificent pictos) and camped on Hurlbert....

Friday Hurlbert, Silence, Agnes for picto's, back to Silence.
Satruday hauled A$$ from Silence to PP.

Thanks to VNO for your services.

Hex

P.S.  100% positive we were on the right lake.

Congratulations Brian Hess,
I don't doubt you were there....I stood next to your canoes while you were on your recon mission. That was the route I intended to take there. We then camped up on Rose island, and I chose to go in from Cairn the next day. The next day we were met with some injury and a hesitant crew. I will elaborate further at another time....I just got home.

I owe you and your group an apology.
I felt like an awful cad, not being there to greet people on Wednesday night.
I am embarassed and humbled.
I did have a steak along for you WW...I will owe you one.

I did hike in Thursday and found no one there.
Looks like you and your crew get to pick the 2010 location, Brian. I had been figuring 1 vote per atendee...or those there would apoint someone to pick the next lake.

Brian, I am sorry.
My name is Ed Deacy.

Thank you all.

Appology not required (We still had fun), but accepted.

Thanks,
Hex

Hex -

Congratulations to you & your group on reaching the interior lake!  It seems your Kawnipi approach was best or at least more sane than the Cairn Lake approach.  

Had Ben & I gotten in a day earlier, we would have circled around to Kawnipi to try to get in that way.  Originally, we planned to reach Cairn on Monday evening & check out it, then, going in on Tuesday morning, if possible.  If not, we would move over to Kawnipi at midday.  However, we got bogged down & slowed up along Cutty Creek & didn't even arrive on Cairn until Tuesday afternoon.  Then, the sight of those wet cliffs & the rugged terrain from OUR Cairn vantage point stopped me cold, even though Wednesday morning's bright sunshine held out some promise.

Hex, I'm curious... why was your first choice the Kawnipi route?  Had you been there before?

Stumpy -

You know better than I do... you take only what current Park & group conditions allow you to take.  To go for more is sometimes not very smart.  As leader, you have to make decisions in the best interest of your overall party.  I am SURE your choice was the wise & best one possible under the circumstances.  As you know, ten years ago my wild man brother & I did something VERY stupid under MY leadership.  We went for the "glory", so to speak & got VERY lucky in that we did not suffer a major mishap.  It could have turned out QUITE different.

I play it a little more conservative these days.  This is less exciting for my son, I suppose, but "excitement" experienced while being strapped down on the inside of an emergency medical evacuation helicopter is something I wish to avoid.  As I return to my office this morning, I am hearing a horror story about 2 local canoe campers who nearly experienced a fatal mishap while paddling in another part of remote Canada last week.  One guy went unconscious for two days as a result of a bad infection & had to be moved paddled out by the other (a kid) until some help was found.

I'll pass on that kind of experience, thanks.

Peace of mind goes well with the Peace of Nature in my book.

Having said all that, however, I must confess something.  A really stubborn part of me wishes I had followed Hex into the Bush....

Later,

Jimbo   8)

Wow!  What an effort.  While everyone was gone, I kept anticipating some exciting trip reports and tall tales upon your return.  This, however, is more exciting and interesting than I could have imagined.  It is wonderful to know that the Quetico is still wilderness country.  This is why we love it so much!

Keep the stories coming.  Everyone should feel proud!!!!

Reyn

Jimbo, no, we had never been there before.  This was only our second trip into the Q (many BW trips), and first to Kawnipi.  We chose the route from Kawnipi for a couple of reasons.  Foremost, simply because we figured most people would come in from Cairn or from the north and we didn't want to follow others' paths or run into anyone on the way.  Also, last year, we went up Kahshapiwi and through Cairn and we try not to cover old tracks from year to year.  Finally, the climb and the reliance on orienteering across those hilltops, rather than follow streambeds, seemed a bit more exciting.

Orinigally, I suggested we enter from the south, via Williams, but we chose to use that as our way out into the S-chain to head back home after Hexnymph suggested coming in from the east via Kawnipi.  The way out was definitely more challenging than the way in, with longer bushwacks and bogwalking.  From Kawnipi, the climb up the hill was a real challenge, but the paddling 'breaks' and the hilltops were a nice respite from our previous bushwacking trips, which were more like the southern route - crash crash crash, slosh slosh slosh, climb, stumble, duck, curse, rejoice!

I did indeed take pictures of Stumpy/Sucker lake and will post tonight or tomorrow with more details.

Jimbo,
We did just what pghportager said in our decision making.

Stumpy (Ed),
Did you make the trek into Swartman lake?  If so, how are the pictos?

Hex

Crazy Ed, Range Line, to those that made it to Stumpy’s Pond and those who made it as far as the Soggy Jimboree.  All apologies set aside; didn’t we at least “try” to attempt something grand?

I feel I made many mistakes, but I learned.  1st of all I thought I could keep up with the likes of the adventurous spirit of QP backed by the muscle of WW, in a tandem with my solo prism.  (Plain Dumb)  I should have rode in the middle with them and gave them the day I probably robbed them of.   Second, I was cheap and didn’t have my Beans resoled though much needed.  After a hard fall on a sloped rock that could just as well broke my back I was cautious on rock peaks the rest of the trip while WW and QP walked as if carpenters walking the ridge of a wall in a newly framed home. Intrepid, of course, never showed any fear.

No doubt the outcome wasn’t all I hoped for, but I’m far from disappointed in the adventure granted.  Hat’s off Stumpers.  Whether you realize it or not you brought people with like interests together.  Now if I could just get over this concussion. Perhaps my head did hit that rock when I fell after all.      

Pics of Stumpy Lake aka Sucker Lake-

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Towards the north shore from our south shore campsite.  Up to the end of the channel and to the left/west is a bog/tamarack area that leads out towards the northern arm of the creek to Cairn.  The treeline of the creek valley was visible from the tip of the lake.  I should have taken a picture of that, but we were looking for fish with our gear back at camp.

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Towards the east shore of the lake from the south shore.  all of the lakes we went through on our way from Kawnipi to Stumpy lake had low, rounded rock/boulder shorelines.

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Same view of the eastern shore near sunset.

Nice pictures, pghportager!  Funny, somehow I pictured Stumpy Lake as dark and forbidding.  But it looks durned purty!  Now that I know how to get there and there is a fire ring with log seating . . . may just have to visit in September.

I admire all you who headed in that direction.  And Stumpy for kindling the imagination.  During the last year I have given a lot of thought to venturing into back corners of Quetico where there are no portages and look forward to giving that a try.  Thanks for that inspiration!  In my opinion (which is admittedly compromised by the fact that my ass had been firmly planted in air-conditioned boredom all month), neither apologies nor humbleness is appropriate for anyone involved.  And:  I'll be there in 2010!

In the meantime, I am literally begging everyone involved for more details, reports, and pictures.  Hey, Intrepid Camper, where is your report?

Great pictures Pghportager,
That shoreline in the second photo is where I had hoped to have the gathering...my nephew exclaimed "You could fit a lodge there!".

Make no mistake about it folks, Hex and gang took the tougher and more adventurous way in. That's the way I had planned to go in this time...thinking no one else would "back door" it. I had planned to camp Tuesday night on that first lake 200 feet up off of Kawnipi. We actually got out of our canoe and stood next to Hex's canoes late Tuesday afternoon. The weather and hoped for surprise aproach made me decide to move on.

3 years ago I carried my grumman standard to the bushwhack lake from the Cairn lake creek, and made it in about 40 minutes. That was when I saw it was a good lake for the event.
So I thought "no problem" going in that way this time.
We had packed a heavey camp....all the ussual gear, depth finder, steaks, bacon & egg breakfasts...etc...  So I thought the short route would be smarter.
We started into the forked creek at 1:00 PM Wed. heading to the north fork...but water levels were lower than 3 years ago even with all the rain (there must have been a new beaver dam upstream).
While pulling the Grumman and three packs over log after log while my crew was walking the high ground, I had a paricularly high log to drag over. That's when my lower back went "PING"....getting old !
I tried to ignore it as I was hell bent, and at that point we headed east over the ridges.
We headed in slightly south of where I had crossed 3 years before and I after the bulk of the ridges were crossed I was surprised by a few more smaller ridges which I did'nt recall. This caused uneasiness in my party...plus me in pain the whole way.
I'm sure now, we were at least 3/4 the way there when one in our party did'nt want to go further. Our water was gone and I agreed to head back to the safety of Cairn. The group must stay together !

NOBODY on this board was more let down by this than I. I still can't get over being a no-show at the BWR 2005.

I had carried the food pack and Grumman standard weight, to that point...my nephew helped me out, carrying the food pack, back to Cairn.
Young children at home, weighed heavily on our minds when we accepted turning back.
The next day, my nephew Tim and I hiked in and saw how close we had come. We built 2 rock Cairns on the east shore, took a panaramic photo, yelled out for Jimbo, QP, K, WW, said a prayer that no one was "stuck" out there and headed back.

2 days later, on Cutty lake, Rangeline sunk 2 treble hooks (4 barbed hooks total) deep in his the back of his head. I cut the lure free and poured gin (which I had brought with for the Jamboree guys...I don't touch the stuff) over it.
We broke camp on Cutty that day (Saturday) at 12:20 PM and pulled up at Prairie Portage with all our gear at 11:10 PM....33 miles and 16 portages in 10 hours and 50 minutes, all against tough wind, which did'nt even let up in the dark. The moon helped us.
We had run across scouts on North Bay who radioed ahead for us for a tow from Williams & Hall. He was in the Ely hospital by 12:30 AM, and is doing fine.

I do so hope to meet you all at a plattyfest one day.

Congratulations again to Hex and gang...and a gutsy route out of Bushwhack lake also !

Thanks again to all of you....my friends......Ed

HoHo, my report is coming, I am sorting out my notes and typing it up to post.  Thanks to all who started the plan and tried the plan, best and most interesting canoe trip I have had in a long time.  Really liked meeting everyone and they are all wonderfull guys...we need more adventurous women next time!  Great to hear the reports of all who made it and made it out...I had thought to go in from Williams, but glad to read about it instead of having to do it.  QP, WW and K all went back via YumYum portage so I also got second hand details (enough to make me glad I didn't try it) on that portage too.  IC

Hey I finally got a few pic's up from the BWJ/Jimboree.
Check them out.
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qp

My full report is on Quetico Passage, follow QP's link for photos.  IC

All -

I want to point out that Ben & I were able to capture & distribute TWO very distinct species of colorful waterfowl during our hunt along Cutty Creek en route to Jimboree.  We scrambled through the Bush & netted a dozen of them, to be exact... six of each kind.

As Jimboreers will attest, we classified & tagged these waterfowl, accordingly, before we made them "door prizes" at Jimboree.  Anyway, I thought it might be of interest to ornithologically-inclined QJer's to display the particulars found on those tags re: these rare birds.  They read as follows:



           - Pinkus Flamingus Jamboreeus –

Distant cousin to the garden-variety “Pink Flamingo” of southern United States, Pinkus Flamingus Jamboreeus is a rare northern waterfowl known primarily for its conspicuous coloration AND its quinquennial migrations to remote marshlands and ponds typical of the Canadian Shield region.  Often found in repose, Pinkus Flamingus Jamboreeus can strike suddenly and viciously at common forage food such as chubs, bullheads, and voles.  Jamboreeus is almost indistinguishable from its close cousin, “Jimboreeus”; only through close examination of its posture (neck is in upright versus lowered position) can they be told apart.  Long thought (& hoped) to be extinct, the continued existence and location of PFJ’s was first predicted by the reknown Chub Pond biologist, “Old Salt”.  PFJ’s were subsequently sought and discovered in the modern era by noted wilderness adventurer Stumpy Lake and other “seekers of the lost flock”, somewhere between Cairn and Kawnipi Lakes, in June of 2005.  Pinkus Flamingus Jamboreeus has been known to perch stone still on the bow of canoes for days at a sitting. In these instances, bow paddlers are at risk and advised to protect their fingers at all times!  





              - Pinkus Flamingus Jimboreeus –

Distant cousin to the garden-variety “Pink Flamingo” of southern United States, Pinkus Flamingus Jimboreeus is a rare northern waterfowl known primarily for its conspicuous coloration AND its quinquennial migrations to remote marshlands and ponds typical of the Canadian Shield region.  Often found in repose, Pinkus Flamingus Jimboreeus can strike suddenly and viciously at common forage food such as chubs, bullheads, and voles.  Jimboreeus is almost indistinguishable from its close cousin, “Jamboreeus”; only through close examination of its posture (neck is in lowered position versus upright) can they be told apart.  Long thought (& hoped) to be extinct, the continued existence and location of PFJ’s was first predicted by the reknown Chub Pond biologist, “Old Salt”.  PFJ’s were subsequently sought and discovered in the modern era by noted wilderness adventurer Stumpy Lake and other “seekers of the lost flock”, somewhere between Cairn and Kawnipi Lakes, in June of 2005.  Pinkus Flamingus Jimboreeus has been known to perch stone still on the bow of canoes for days at a sitting. In these instances, bow paddlers are at risk and advised to protect their fingers at all times!  

******************************************

Just doing my part to educate the ever-inquisitive public regarding the precious & diverse wildlife to be found in Quetico....

Jimbo   8)

I just added more pictures to QP's link above.

We had a great time at the Jimboree & I ended up carting 2 Pink Flamingo's one of each out of the wild's of Quetico. One was for Stumpy but we never met up  :'(

Hearing Jimbo do his Voyager Rap was worth the trip alone.... you should have seen his son, he was as red as a stop sign....LOL  :-[  We all had a good laugh.

We ended up about 1/2 way to Stumpy's pond & I know we could have walked up to it easy enough, but getting an 18-1/2 foot SR canoe through the thicket we ended up in was impossible. We would have been there if we had not lost the entire day before to the rain.

Well hears to 2010 & another attempt  ;D

Woods Walker

a few more pics.

the route in and out
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a little rest for the weary.  This was from the way out, somewhere on the way to the lake NE of Williams.  I'm on the left leaning against the tree, Hexnymph is on the right in the green shirt.   Two  others and one canoe are not pictured. Pennpaddler is taking the shot.  Not seen is Nate, who was a rookie to the northcountry this year (poor guy, we took him bushwacking :D ).  The other two in the middle are Brian (foodbag guy, aka packmule) and Chad.

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Finding these nice open sections in the middle of a bushwack is absolute bliss, if just for a moment.  Funny how we're all facing the direction we're heading - I guess once you're this far, there's no looking back.

Since no one else seems inclined to admit it I will. I'm bummed! After all the hype I expected more would make it. Lots of us who once considered it but eventually thought "I don't think so" sat here hoping we could enjoy the rendezvous vicariously... This is just plain disappointing. It's just not the same.

It's nice to know that one party made it. They certainly deserve bragging as well as naming rights. Congrats guys! I wouldn't mind holding a gunny sack in a nice looking place like that myself.

As for the Jimboree - what a great addition. Sounds like the pink flamingos were key, and a nice visible touch too I might add.

I'll admit I kind of chuckled too when I heard the early news. I held back posting while I worried about those unaccounted for. I expected a few of the uninitiated would reconsider but I'd have preferred a few more would have scouted different routes and found a doable path. What good is a lake if 4 out of 5 parties can't get to it when they want to?

On a side note: Imagine if pghportager, hexnymph... would have run into another party on that lake. What if they were people who never surfed the web and knew nothing about the BWJ. I can't begin to imagine that conversation.

Hexnymph's body language in that shot speaks volumes. Personally, I'd love to hear from Nate.

Stumpy - sorry to hear you're feeling your age but I wish you'd have given people a leg up. In fact I expected it. What good is a rendezvous if 4 out of 5 or more parties can't get to it?

db,
My hurt back was not going to keep me from that lake, and it did'nt.
There were other factors.

I really am depressed over it all....great idea (or so I thought) for over 4 years WASTED !

So ......

Who says it has to be 5 years before ANOTHER attempt is made?  Since my schedule this year was such that I couldn't make it, I'd be game to have another opportunity.  I'm sure pinkus flamingus would last at least another year.

dd

Yes, why wait another five years?  I'd like to have a better plan put together next time around. Packing lighter than I did this year which was the lightest ever (thanks FLPaddler).  I'd also like to leave the solo boat at home to help with speed and avoid Heart Attack Hill if possible and also forget about diversions such as climbing fire towers (though very cool) and to much time Jimboreeing when we perhaps should have been scouting things out despite the rain. Though I was grateful for the break..nuff said.  I've been bummed a bit my self, but can now say I've been darn near eaten alive along yum yum (is that why they named it that?).

I may regret saying this?  No I won't.  I'm willing to give it another go, just not solo.  I slowed my group down with my prism is my two cents and did not have my packing as perfected as it needs be.  The only area I excelled was my innate love for swamps and joy of frolicking in moose mud.  You couldn't be more of a wet footer than I.  I simply adore it.

All said and done, attempting the BWJ made me a better camper and I'm grateful for the experience.

It was a grand experience regardless.  Perhaps you want to get busy planning, Stumpy. It appears you’re not off the hook.  I for one am not afraid to fail.

:D

wrote on Jun 25^th, 2005 at 8:00pm:

Since no one else seems inclined to admit it I will. I'm bummed! After all the hype I expected more would make it. Lots of us who once considered it but eventually thought "I don't think so" sat here hoping we could enjoy the rendezvous vicariously... This is just plain disappointing. It's just not the same.

My first reaction, experiencing the BWJ vicariously from Our Nation's Capital, was similar to db's.  But then I also had the reaction, which someone else refered to earlier:  it's also nice to know that Quetico is a true wilderness and can defeat the most valiant voyageurs among us sometimes.

Stumpy, from the story you tell, I would be disappointed too, but it sure doesn't sound like you should be beating yourself up (no comment about others).  If I were hexnymph, pghportager et al. I would also be a tiny bit disappointed not to find others at the bushwhack lake (but also -- they have to admit it -- kinda happy to be the only ones to make it).  As for everyone else, it sounds like the pink phlamingoes sang their siren song and made them happy to forgo a real effort to get there -- who can say that wasn't for the best.  (The Jimboree looked like a blast).

Anyway, if there is another BWJ sooner than 5 years I would like to take a stab at it.  That would give me a chance before I turn 50.  I'm sure Stumpy will be there to shake my hand if I get there this time.

wrote on Jun 25^th, 2005 at 11:20pm:

I'm sick every time I think about the whole thing now.

I actually got sick on the way. I entered on Saturday at PP but needed to get out around noon on the next Friday to make a niece's wedding (which I did). I planned on getting in a day or two early, taking pictures and video, then leave an artifact or two and get back out. Probably had at most a day of float.

I took the tough Sunday Bay/Sunday Lake portage on the first day to get in shape and did the two Meadows portages the next day and got well into Agnes on day two (on schedule). The trip was going so well I wasted over an hour screwing around Louisa Falls taking pictures and video.

On the second night I woke up at about 2 AM in a completely soaked sleeping bag (night sweats) with a splitting headache. I don't like to take medicines of any kind, but occasionally will down an aspirin when I can't sleep. On this trip I packed a two pack of Advil gel caps that I had gotten as an promotion along with a newspaper. So I popped one in my mouth, dry, and started chewing (like I do with aspirin). I nearly choked to death (which would have been a better reason not to get to the pond) before I found my water bottle.

I don't give up too easily, but lost yet another day battling a strong NE wind and 1 to 1-1/2 footers on Agnes. I made a left at Silence and took and settled for an easy (double portaging) trip back.

Still was a nice trip, but in 5 years I'll be 57, so the lost chance was a stinger.

-aj

I would try another Jamboree sooner than 5 years too...but the Jimboree was (IMHO) more fun than the bushwacking.  By that time we had already felt fairly "bushwacked out" by the wet weather and long portages we chose to take to get to Cairn.  A central location deep in the Quetico is nice, not many people and still makes a challenging trip to get there.  A last mile or so of untracked woods might not be necessary to have an equally good or better time for a future event.   IC

I'd be up to a bwj again soon.  I should have plenty of time next year Stumpy just let me know soon which month your thinking I'll route my big trip next year around into it.
Might be very interesting to try it solo as I doubt I'll find anyone who's interested in doing 30 days straight next year
By the way!
Was I the only one that was looking up in the sky at all the Quetico Ranger planes flying around the Kahshahpiwi Chain on Monday thru Wed.?

qp  

You folks are all wonderful...and reading your posts is good therapy for my post-BWR-no-show-depresion ! :)

I kind of like Intrepid Camper's way of thinking.  A "get-together" somewhere in the center - or, at least, a remote - part of the Park works well for me!  

The impromptu nature of Jimboree was kind of neat.  I think Ben thought I was nuts when the first thing I told him when we hit that cold, rainy, windy island was to "place the birds in prominent high spots".  Darned things worked like a charm!  Bloody pink lighthouses!!  Brought'em in from all over!  What a blast when everybody just started "showing up", unplanned!  

Those were the first folks that Ben & I had seen in 5 days.  It was a much welcomed change of pace.  The park story-telling, the joking around, & the syncing up faces with cyberspace personalities under that smoky, wet tarp is an experience we won't soon forget!  I had the hardest time keeping a straight face when Kawishiway told me his food pack was gone (blown off the cliff & down the lake?) & I knew QP & WW had hid it by hanging it over another cliff.  

I am DEFINITELY up for doing another Jimboree.  When I get next year's route planned out, I'm hoping to post the itinerary for any & all those QJer's & QPer's who might be in that sector the Park at that time... providing, of course, that the other members of my party are OK with that.  This year, Ben had a great time w/Jimboree... despite having to endure my Voyageur Rap & Bushwhacker Balladeering renditions.

I won't rule out trying another Jamboree.  However, to do that I'd probably want to hook up with some wild man like my brother rather than with one of my sons (or somebody with any sense that I cared about).  I'd want to travel lighter (no lawn ornaments) & single-portage it.  It's like Stumpy said in one of his posts, "If you have your tent on your back at all times, you're never far from home."  I'd also want to plan Jamboree for the early to middle part of my trip in order to leave a couple days of "buffer" for the unexpected events that might keep my party from leaving the Park according to plan.  When I actually SAW what was going to be involved with the Bushwhack, I fretted over the hours needed to go in, get out, & head up to my exit point of the Park.

Look for Jimboree MUCH more often than every 5 years.  My thanks to all who rallied 'round the birds & came together to make it so memorable!

Jimbo   8)

PS.  Stumpy, I'm still holding on to a pink "short one" for you (ie. Pinkus Flamingus Jimboreeus).

wrote on Jun 25^th, 2005 at 11:20pm:

WASTE !!!!

No waste Sir, take it back! .. "The Journey is the Destination" and your  circumstances of this long planned event are the manifestation of the philosophy.  I'll throw all the cliches out,
"that which does not kill us, only makes us stronger".

Take this as proof as what we choose for leisure isn't just a walk in the park. It's an ass kicking in the park.  Cliche #3 "you guys rock".

I was at the Inland Sea Kayak symposium, and soloing touring in the A.I. Lac Superier.  Pretty boats :P, pretty girls  :o, paddling till you drop.  8) or I might have been there... trying.   I probably didn't even think of you wilderness Stumpers  ;D

"What good is a rendezvous if 4 out of 5 or more parties can't get to it?"

I have to disagree with that statement. The fact that 4 of 5 parties did not make it is exactly what made this rendezvous a great idea.

At first I was dissappointed that only one group made it, but after I thought about it--I think it really makes the trip. I don't remember Stumpy's original post, but I think it alluded to only the toughest will make it. Well---IMHO---The fact that 4 out of the 5 parties did not make it tells me the BWJ came out exactly as advertised. If more had made it I think I may have been more dissappointed.

I don't think anyone should be upset that they did not make it, but I think it gives the group that did it extra bragging rights and should be even more special to them. After all not only did all of the other groups fail---think of how many of us chose to not even try and were sitting at their computers while the others attempted to make it.

Congrats to all those that tried and my hat is off to the group that made it!

Tim

Well, OK.....

First, I for one was not disappointed that nobody else made it.  Don't get me wrong, I would have certainly enjoyed meeting some of you folks who wanted to make it.

We decided to make the bushwhack, because we have done it before, and the timing of the jamboree was near enough to when we usually go.......So, we decide what the hell, we don't have to think about exactly where to go anymore.....Agnes, Kawnipi area it is to Stumpy' pond.

For any who are interested....I think pghportager eluded to this before, but the reason we chose the west entry, and the south exit was due to the fact that we figured coming from Carin would be the most direct route and the one most would choose to come in and go out.  The common thought in our group was that nobody would come in from Kawnipi (Although I now see Stumpy pondered that route), and head out to Williams through the swamps and bogs.  My point is, even in the bushwhack, we were trying (like anyone else for the most part) to avoid people - until the party of course.

Second, Stumpy I think you may have been closer than you think - now that I hear you were toting a Grumman.  We arrived on the pond by 1530 - 1600, we set camp and went back out to fish.  Hex may want to verify this, but we were pretty damn sure we heard a Grumman banging off trees sometime around 1730 - 1800.  The sound came from the woods on the western side of the pond about half way between the north and south ends.  We did get excited for a while, but then remembered we were crazy.


We faced the rain like everyone else, and we were cold and wet Tues. night/wed morning.  We had a backpack that needed repaired 2 days in a row before entering, both shoulder straps busted off the frame.  We had 2 SR18.5's and a MNII to get through the woods (Not impossible).

Finally you don't need a Jamboree to go bushwhacking.  The woods are always there to kick your ass when you need it.  Oh yes, we did get beat up just the way we wanted.  If you folks need a party to be the focus of your trip then I would say db is right, go where you are sure all the guests can make it.  If you are looking to get off the beaten path...Take the route you are sure nobody else is going to take.

It was well worth it.  We were unsure Wed. evening why we were the only ones there, but not disappointed.  We would have liked to have met some others there.

And I think I can speak for the group when I say, yes, there is a great amount of satisfaction in the idea that we were the only ones who were willing and able to get there.

I do believe that I read earlier that Stumpy has given us (or Hex) the right to choose the next location in 2010.  I can assure you it will not be any easier to get to.  It will be a bushwhack.

I agree Penn,

WE RULE!

Also, it was thought during our evening paddle that we heard the sound of a canoe hitting trees.  I was well away from the other canoes when we heard this.  After seeing nobody come in, we figured it was just noise from one of us echoing off the hillside.

Trip Report to come... just proof reading now.

Hex

I have a few comments, and I offer them with the most humble of intentions.  (some of this will echo Penns sentiments, some will offer my own ideas).

As Pennpaddler has said, the BW Jamboree and the Jimboree are completely different entities.  They should be treated as such and planned separately.  What the JIMboree group experienced on Cairn is completely different than what we experienced in and around Sucker Lake, and the two should not be merged or discussed in the same light.  Those of you who want to meet in the middle of the Q, away from the crowds, off the beaten path, etc., have fun and enjoy, but let’s not make the next BWJ easier to get to because only a small percentage made it in this time. (This is Stumpy’s call in the end, I suppose, but I don’t think Stumpy will take it easy on any of us next time around.)

Let’s face it, bushwacking is hard work.  It’s not just following an unmaintained portage trail, or cutting your own path through a few hundred yards of bush.  It’s up and over ridges full of moss covered boulder gardens, it’s walking crotch deep through bogs and marshes hoping your next step hits semi-terra-firma so you don’t sink up to your armpits, it’s cursing at the bugs and the trees and the bushes that are pulling on your arms and hands and the canoe, and the guy in front that keeps going up hill when you want to go down.  I think perhaps some of you underestimated what the bushwack would really be like.

We’ve done the Yum Yum and the JAP to Seagull portages, if only because people said they were horrible and we should avoid them.  We enjoy the challenge.  We started adding bushwacks into our trips a few years ago because we liked the physical and mental challenge and the reward of finding a lake that others have not seen (for a while at least) and cutting our own trail to it.  If you want tough trails, there are many in the Q that will feed your hunger.  If you want to go bushwacking, then go for it and stomp through, but be prepared to take it in return.  I’m not trying to brag or gloat over those who attempted but did not make it to BWJ; I’m just trying to point out that there is no path, it is not a tough portage trail, it is not a walk in the park, it is bushwacking.  Bushwacking takes every bit of physical and mental strength (mental – “don’t kill Mike for taking us over yet another ridge and across that boulder garden, he’s doing the best he can up front”) you can muster, which gets harder and harder by the hour.

I will offer you this thought:
Perhaps those of you that did actually meet on Cairn at the Jimboree, found it easier to call it short on your attempt to make it to the JAMboree because you met on Cairn.  The dynamics of your parties, and your plans, were changed drastically once you met on Cairn.  

Take our group for example.  We weathered the wet and windy weather on Kawnipi just as you did on the other side of the ridges.  Tuesday night was a downer.  Keeping the fire going, trying to put on dry clothes and keep them dry, and trying to keep a smile on your face when all you want to do is curl up in a dry sleeping bag and call it quits until the ‘morrow is tiring.  But we prevailed and woke up early to a bright sunny day that allowed us to dry our gear, dropping maybe 8 lbs a piece in water weight and put smiles on our faces.  Then we shoved off and headed into the journey.

Perhaps, because many of you who had spent months talking about the trip in the virtual world actually met up in the real world before heading in, it was easier to subconsciously say, “well, this is just too tough, yesterday’s weather wore me out and we’ve already met most of the people we wanted to meet, so let’s just turn around and head back.” One of the primary objectives of the jamboree had been met, and so the rest of your objectives become less significant.  You don’t even have to say it out loud.  Body language and other signs will be visible by the others in your group; and if one person in the room yawns, everyone else feels the urge to yawn...



Some side information for Stumpy - It took us about 5-6 hours to get there from Kawnipi, with many breaks on the trail and lunch on one of the lakes on the way in.  And it took us slightly longer to get out via Williams.  We’ve been bushwacking before, and this was no picnic of a trip.  But it was one hell of a bushwack.  My kudos to Stumpy for picking a real winner.

To all who attempted the bushwack or was unable to make the BWJ fit your schedule this year, I hope you beat us to the next one.

My trip report can be found here:

  (You need to Login or Register


It is my personal account of the trip as seen through my eyes.
Its pretty long.

Hex in da U.P.

Nice report Hex.... well worth the read. Congrats and Kudos

I think those who made it into Sucker/Stumpy's Lake should be the ones to choose the next Bushwacker's Jamboree location, and I promise no complaining about how remote it is.  "Pink" (one of the PFJ flock) and I also will be at the next Jimboree.  IC

Great report, Hex.

I for one like the idea of separating concepts of Jamboree and Jimboree and I for one would be interested in both.

Thanks folks, I try.

Hex

HoHo, IC, and All -

The "rules" of Jamboree seem to hold that Pghportager, Hex, Pennpaddler, & the boys get to name the time & place of the next bad-ass bushwhack experience.  I couldn't agree more with those terms.  They have earned the right.  Who knows, when I see their Jamboree proposal, I might take a serious whack at it myself.

Of course, there never were any "rules" for Jimboree.  Jimboree MAY or MAY NOT correlate to Jamboree.  This year, wherever I decided to set the birds was going to be where Jimboree took place.  That pitiful wet island on Cairn just seemed to be the right place & the right time.  

For that matter, I'm not sure whether Jimboree has to follow ME around everytime OR if any old somebody can call for the next "Jimboree"??  Why can't it follow somebody else?

Should it even get called "Jimboree"?  Let's explore this idea further....

On one hand, I suppose someone could argue that, depending on the originator, it might as well be called a "db-oree", a "HoHo-oree" (doesn't that one SOUND good?), an "Old Saltoree", or even a "Kawishiwayoree".  Agree?

On the other hand, the exotic handles of some of our potential member/originators make such nomenclature somewhat aesthetically challenging for marketing purposes.  For instance, "Mk631-oree" or "PaddlerActuary-oree" just don't roll off the tongue so well.  Remember all that publicity that preceded this year's event?  Finding "rhyming" words for all that prerequisite "Bushwhacker Balladeering" could get to become a real mind-bender for me (and yes, PJ, I know... I don't have all that much more mind left to bend!).

As THIS year's originator of Jimboree (a.k.a. "The Park Pink Flamingo Festival"), I toss these (pointless) questions, as well as any others that I might dream up later, to the QJ public for their ideas, responses, ridicule, & possible resolution.

I DO have ONE request, however, re: future "Jimborees"....

EVEN if I am NOT personally in attendance at the next auspicious occasion, I hope we can insist that at least ONE honored tradition be followed: "Pinkus Flamingus Jimboreeus" (OR "Pinkus Flamingus Jamboreeus") MUST be present & prominently displayed.  Mount it high & proud!  Just like the Statue of Liberty, it can fetch in your cold, your wet, your weary, your hungry, your homeless, & your OTHER very bizarre Park personalities who just happen to be in the vicinity.

Just my 2 cents....

Jimbo  8)

Rules?
Ok here's one  ;)
I think those who are attending furture Jimboree's should have to bring their beloved Pinkus on there trip to the event.  And those who ended up getting 2 or more should be required to bring the entire flock.   :o
Yes thats right first you make a cut in the tip of the Pinkus's beak about 1/2 inch hole should work.  Then a trip to the hardware store for 2 items a cork and plastic weld. Fill Pinkus to the beak with your flavor of platy.   (mine of course would be kool aid)  Then nest this rare birdie into your pack with a strip of duck tape to secure the cork.  
Bring it to the Jimboree.  Afterwards of course all empty Pinkus's would be mandated to be attached to the front of your canoe.  Full ones must be secured to make the trip in.  
And I pormise to bring my kool ade made from this brownish muddy Ohio River :o non filtered, I'm just thinking it would ad value to our trips, or at least make us all drink from the lake to get the taste out of our mouths.
Sour Grapes might work to especially if they are allowed to age a couple years.  
See Jimbo here's how it work you bring in the empties we bring them back full.  Keeps this rare bird from flying away to other unknown part.  Plus imagine those passer byers at the Jimboree.  A gathering with everyone in camp kissing the pink birds.  Kind of gives the term tlipping the birdie a whole new meaning.  
;D
Any thought's on this Jimbo?
qp
qp

hmmmm, methinks that the plastic pinkus flamingus might not be a suitable container for firewater - might eat a hole through the old flamingo.  Do they make them in lexan?

Too Funny!
You might be right on that pghportager
But as a back up plan we could paint Stumpy's aluminum canoe PINK I'm pretty darn sure those things still float when full of liquid.  An I know for a fact that aluminum will hold up.
We could as Jimbo stated then, call it a Hairy Pinkus Party. Then you would see him for sure before hearing him at the next BWR.  
qp

Jimboree!!  C'mon Jimbo, any future Jimboree MUST include you. You've started something, and we won't let you weasel out of it. I agree with separating the events. A JIMBOree is more in keeping with the original voyaguer spirit. The voyaguers sought to AVOID portages, and certainly NEVER BUSHWACKED. But they did get together once a year to have a good time. The birds are a great idea to serve as markers.

I will agree with you Jimbo that you don't have to plan them, but you do need to be present, what a great annual tradition you have started.

BTW, congrats to all 6 who got to Sucker L. I think we passed you in Bailey bay on your way out. We were riding the tailwind in.

Oh yes,  I was wondering if that was your group.  I'm the guy who said "gotta love that tailwind" or something to that effect.  Did my prediction come true, that you would "have a headwind on the way out"  ;)

[quote author=Jimbo link=board=3;num=1119166808;start=40#45 date=06/28/05 at 15:07:33

EVEN if I am NOT personally in attendance at the next auspicious occasion, I hope we can insist that at least ONE honored tradition be followed: "Pinkus Flamingus Jimboreeus" (OR "Pinkus Flamingus Jamboreeus") MUST be present & prominently displayed.  Mount it high & proud!  Just like the Statue of Liberty, it can fetch in your cold, your wet, your weary, your hungry, your homeless, & your OTHER very bizarre Park personalities who just happen to be in the vicinity.
[/quote]

How about a special Jimboree toque?     (You need to Login or Register

wrote on Jun 29^th, 2005 at 11:56am:

Oh yes,  I was wondering if that was your group.  I'm the guy who said "gotta love that tailwind" or something to that effect.  Did my prediction come true, that you would "have a headwind on the way out"  ;)

I wish I had known that was you.  I would have loved to have taken a few minutes to meet you and to get the early scoop on the BWJ.  We were kind of watching for qp, woods, and kawish, knowing they were planning on spending that evening on Burke, but it sounds like they'd already pushed on to PP by the time we passed thru.

We did have some headwind on the way out.  Wind was blowing hard out of the west which worked out great as we traveled south on Agnes.  Once we made the turn west on the East/Jeff route it was more of a struggle, especially for the two canoes in the party with younger teenage bow paddlers.  The same wind also gave them some trouble across Bayley Bay the next morning.

Bannock -

I do not know whether to recommend that you be shot OR that you be praised as a visionary genius.

I am still digesting your incredible discovery & suggestion.

I am stunned & will have more to say after I further study the stupefying content of your contribution.

It would definitely take Jimboree to a "new level".  What I am trying to figure is: would that level be UP or DOWN???

Simply amazing!!!

Jimbo   8)

Random thoughts on the BWJ:

In hindsight, what happened might have been the 2nd best of all possible outcomes.  1st best of course would have been 2 groups making it allowing for some semblance of a Jamboree after all.  But I must say I would have been a little disappointed to hear that all who attempted it made it in.  The idea was to seperate the bushwackers of legendary proportion from those who just don't have the desire to complete an extremely tough bushwhack.  No disrespect intended to anyone who turned back, either.  You got farther than I did just by making the attempt (didn't work out for me to get that time off work and my party wouldn't have been up for it anyway).  I salute all who planned to come, regardless of whether they were successful, unsuccessful, or just changed their minds at the last minute.

Stumpy, I feel for you.  Not making your event that was 4 years in the planning had to be a bitter pill to swallow.  I don't doubt your personal ability to make it, nor your desire.  However, I would have loved to be a canoe-fly on the thwart to have seen your reaction when your party member flatly refused to continue.  I'm not sure I would have had the composure to back down like you did.  I fear I might have told that person "Here's a compass, a tent, a sleeping bag, and some trail mix.  See you on Cairn in a couple of days."  I suspect that might have caused a bit of damage to the relationship which I would have regretted later.

pghportager and hexnymph, congrats to you and your group for taking the back door into the lake and the even more adventurous exit thru Williams!  It's the stuff of legend.  You now have a great story and a great memory to carry with you the rest of your life, I'm sure.

I agree with pghportager that the Jimboree (along with the weather) probably did cause many potential Jamboree-ers to opt out before getting to the BWJ.  The goal of meeting up with other QJers in a remote area had already been achieved for them which undoubtedly reduced their will to make the extremely tough bushwhack in.

Future BWJs could well fall victim to the same Jimboree phenomenon.  No matter where it is, there will probably be one route deemed "easiest" to get in and the natural tendency will be for all to want to stage from campsites near the beginning of the bushwhack.  Thus meeting up early is almost unavoidable and might have the same effect on attendance at the actual BWJ.

Finally, I think despite it all, the BWJ was a great success.  Much friendly banter about it was exchanged pre-trip, several groups had a goal for this year's trip which was exciting to them in a different way than most trips to the park, there was a rendezvous after all (albeit at Jimboree instead), all participants seemed to enjoy the experience immensely ('cept for asmjock who was sick and Stumpy), and all the rest of us enjoyed reading everyone's trip reports when it was all done.  It most certainly was not a "waste" IMHO.

I think after all is said and done, I will try to attend the next one as long as it's not next year (already have a trip set that's been 2+ years in the planning).  I feel like I missed out on a great experience.

I got home yesterday at 4AM.  Will post some trip info when I get time.

 I too would love to see a BWJ in less than 5 years, events precluded my attending this year and I figure it was my only chance(I'm 51). Congrats to the guys that made it, I recall reading your PMA adventure from last year and was impressed then too.


 Of course I suppose there's nothing stopping anyone from attempting to make this an annual event by just announcing a date and location. It might be nice if three or four people indeed did just that since 1 specific day every five years leaves little flexibility.

wrote on Jun 29^th, 2005 at 6:32pm:

I too would love to see a BWJ in less than 5 years, events precluded my attending this year and I figure it was my only chance(I'm 51).

What does 51 have to do with it? Your only as old as you feel. Should there be a BWJ in 2 years you can count me in, I'll be well over the hump but I can still travel with the best of them.
flp

Bravo, FLP!  You're right.  51 doesn't necessarily have all that much to do with anything if you keep yourself in reasonable shape.  Its SMARTS that's going to get you over that cliff, through the woods, & to the destination.  Don't let hex & the boys fool you with their abundant youth & physical fitness... it was their smarts that got them to Sucker Lake!

If we oldsters play it a little smarter next time, at least some of us will make it to the next BWJ alright (provided it's not scheduled for the Year 2525!).  That's coming from ME, another guy who turns 51 this year!

Physical fitness I got.  Bushwhacking brains?  Well... I'm not so sure.  Remember, I'm somebody who might actually wear a Bannock Bird Hat.  

However, I'm thinking I might be able to learn a thing or two between now & the next BWJ....  

Jimbo   8)

Jimbo et al -

Well, if you plan this event for next year, I'd appreciate it if you put it in the northern half of the Quetico.  My plans for my 60-06 solo trip starts with a put in at Nym and then work south.

"60-06" translation ... my trip in 2006 to celebrate my 60th birthday!  You "young guys" need to keep up!  Temperature here just dropped below 100 here ... time to go do my 6 mile walk!

Bye for now ;)

dd

 

I will be 60 in 06 also and my brother passed 70 a couple of years ago.  Here is a url of his Bike trip report when he was 70.   (You need to Login or Register
My Brother Floyd and I made it to Jimbo’s  Jimboree.  So what’s the problem with these 50 some people? Do they need a adult to accompany them?  I think they are old enough they just need to get there confidence. It will come with age.
MagicPaddler

wrote on Jun 27^th, 2005 at 1:21pm:

Second, Stumpy I think you may have been closer than you think - now that I hear you were toting a Grumman.  We arrived on the pond by 1530 - 1600, we set camp and went back out to fish.  Hex may want to verify this, but we were pretty damn sure we heard a Grumman banging off trees sometime around 1730 - 1800.  The sound came from the woods on the western side of the pond about half way between the north and south ends.  We did get excited for a while, but then remembered we were crazy. I do believe that I read earlier that Stumpy has given us (or Hex) the right to choose the next location in 2010.  I can assure you it will not be any easier to get to.  It will be a bushwhack.

Yep,....That would've been me......ARRRRGGG !

I feel like the band and/or ring bearer that did'nt show up for the wedding.

I had lots of plans....forming a secret society (BUG-BIT Club), and such....etc, etc,......Now, I don't know if I have any say left in this thing that I started....?

But here's my advise....
Pick a lake and 2 nights for June 2010.
Don't reveal them until December 7th (easy date to remember) 2009.
See you there...........this time (honest Injun)


And to those who think they're getting too old to make it (Jimbo, DD, Natty, etc...)....Team up with me (only if you're committed), I'll be going on 50, and the Over The Hill Gang will charge into Bushwhackers Jamboree 2010* with canoes ablazing. I'll get that Grumman to any lake they pick this time !......God help me, so far I'm all talk :'(

   * Might as well go back to calling it a "Jamboree" since my fears of a BIG "party" out in the woods were obviously unfounded.

Stumps

Get off your arse?  Twas a great plan.

I'm 44 and had the tar whooped out of me by better men (and gals) this year, but I learned.  You folks keep me younger than others but with improvement required.

This is a unique thing and should be pursued more often than every five years.  I'm up for it again..even if I fail again.

See you next year?  Hex decides?  Spose that would be correct, providing time permits.

Call it something else if you meet every year....The Bushwhackers Jamboree (meeting of the BUGBIT club (which I'm not even a member of yet) ), was suposed to be every 5 years....That's how I laid it out, over 4 years ago..the wait is good.

But who the hell am I.... ???

wrote on Jul 1^st, 2005 at 4:22am:

And to those who think they're getting too old to make it (Jimbo, DD, Natty, etc...)....Team up with me (only if you're committed), I'll be going on 50, and the Over The Hill Gang will charge into Bushwhackers Jamboree 2010*

Stumpy,

I am sure you never heard ME say anything about being too old anytime this side of the year 2025.   [Even then, by that time I should have my sons trained-up well enough to "assist" with the tougher portages & bushwhacks!]

The way I look at it, it comes down to desire & know-how.  Like I've said before, pghportager, hex, pennpaddler & the boys got to Sucker Lake by virtue of their smarts, not their obvious youth.  I'll pit my daily exercise routine OR play one-on-one basketball (alas, I no longer dunk) against any of them or ANYBODY on this board on a wager (one case, beverage of choice).  Nevertheless, THOSE GUYS made it to the goal and I did not.  My assessment?  They were motivated & prepared.  I was not.

What pghportager & Snow_Dog have both said about Jimboree taking some of the "reward" out of Jamboree is quite true & very insightful... at least for me.  The "risk" somehow seemed less worth it AFTER Jimboree.  Indeed, hex & the boys were working off of a different equation.  This includes coming in with confidence gained from past orienteering experience & similar ventures.    

Their achievement is inspiring... MAYBE enough so that I will look at my equation differently next time.

Then, again, maybe NOT.  Sometimes the risks seem really daunting.  Consider....

Does anyone know if they've found the body yet of that experienced but presumably hypothermic hiker/camper whose clothes were abandoned?  Also, how about that kid who found his father unconscious (bad staff infection) and had to get him into their canoe & paddle most of a day in order to find help just in the nick of time?  Both of these events happened around the same week as Jamboree (the first in the Park & the other not so far away).

Or, suppose I'm in a party with a guy who has just hurt his back pretty bad??  Do I risk moving on?

What I do is: I look my paddling partner in the eye, I gauge what I feel from that connection, & then I decide.  It is very much a "real-time" versus a "pre-meditated" thing.  Stumpy, YOU must have gone through a very similar exercise, I'm sure.

Anyhow, this is all just "talk" (albeit fun talk) at this point.  The guys who "made it" inspire us to shoot for a goal.  Many of us will, I'm sure.   However, I, for one, won't know if I'll make it to the next Jamboree until the moment I arrive.

Later,

Jimbo   8)

Ok, Jimbo

you're on, basketball that is....

Since we get to pick the place, I guess you have to bring the ball and hoop.

I figure if a moose can get through those woods you should be able to get a backboard through......

This is what you meant, right?

Now if I can just find that lake with a fair sized flat surface for the court......we will know where jamboree 2010 will be.

wrote on Jun 29^th, 2005 at 9:40pm:

Remember, I'm somebody who might actually wear a Bannock Bird Hat.

Are you serious Jimbo?  For next year?  I thought you had a group trip in mind, but hey, maybe solo is your thing . . .

If anybody has a reason to sport one of those hats, it would be Pascannel.

And DD, you might not want to say too much about your "problem" with pink.  You have to sleep sometime you know.  It might be a humbling experience to thumb a ride out of the park vs. paddling out a pink canoe.

-YB

pennpaddler,

Why not?

This year I hauled a dozen large lawn ornaments across every godforsaken wet & ugly portage to be found on Cutty Creek. How much more trouble can it possibly be to drag around a basketball, the  backboard, a rim, & a bucket of paint (to do the foul line, sidelines & such)?  Heck, why not make it TWO of them?  That way we can run full court... you young bucks against me, Stumpy, & all the old codgers who limp their way into whatever tick-infested hole-in-the-hole that you guys pick for your next event.

We may be old but we're slow.

penn, I'm sure as heck glad I didn't challenge you to a stock car race!

************************************

YB -

Seems to me the Bannock Bird Hat would be a good "conversation piece" & sure-fire way to meet strangers out there in the Park.  

FWIW, my son agrees with me on this point (to the extent that those I meet would be very "strange" indeed... most likely "aliens", outer space aliens).

He, too, refuses to get into the canoe with me IF I wear the Bannock Bird Hat.

Party-poopers!!!

Jimbo   8)

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I just had to add this photo to this thread.  The photo is a nice shot however there appears to be something unusual within it's contents.  I think the shadow in the front of the canoe is a dead give away.  Some birds fly north in the summer then back south in the winter. But this bird is just in for the ride.   Pink is just one of those colors you just don't see that often in the northwoods.  And when you do, you know, Jimbo had something to do with it.
qp

Yah.. look closely... There is a Flamingo lurking up there...

One of the two Flamingo's (The proud one) riding along in the bow of my boat is now stuck in the dirt next to the rock garden out back at the end of Fernberg.  I double checked on my last visit last week to see if it had not flown south. It had not of yet. The other (The Shy one) rode home with me, lost one of it's eyes somehow and still hasn't ventured out of the house as of yet.  I need to fix that.  Any-one know where to find a Flamingo Eye Doctor?

I did hear a new add recently.  Something about Voo Doo DR. Jimbo Rap Cure All.  Or is this something thousand of bug bites will take care of.  Enough of those little things and the big things don't matter anymore?  

Small Tid Bit for yah.  Stumps won't wear bug dope.  Now does this bring eventual imunity or is it just plain insain?

I'm only asking.