Duration: 13 days

Paddling companions:  Jimbo, Ben, Matunik and myself (Group #1)
Kingfisher, Dede, Cheryl, MagicPaddler, Quentin (Group #2)

Entry/Exist Point:  Leano Lake (two hour shuttle, each way, from Red Lake, Ontario)

Route for Group #1:
Leano, no-name, Kilburn, Middle Kilburn, Upper Kilburn, series of no-names, Paull, no-name, South Aegean, Aegean, Streak, Wrist, Streak, Amber, Nutria, Mexican Hat, no-names, Jake, Lunch, East Lunch, no-name, Bunny, Leano

Portages:  Generally short.  Some at the beginning of the trip were very overgrown.  Few were rock gardens.  Many were over forest duff, but with frequent wet/boggy spots.  Put-in's and take-out's were often "one-at-a-time."  A few has space for two canoes, but 3 canoes slots were rare.

Solitude:  Other than our own group members, I only spotted other people twice (S. Aegean and Mexican Hat) other than the put-in/take-out lake.  However, we were visited by a portage clearing crew on Jake Lake (who stayed the night on an adjacent point, the only time we could see anyone camped from our own campsite, except for other members of our group).

Fire Ban: none

Weather:  Generally warm and sunny, sometimes breezy.  Days 1, 2 and 12 rain, wind and cool.

Fishing:  Good to outstanding.  All lakes have Pike, many had Lake Trout (but not eyes), and a few had Walleye (not but trout).  Only a couple of lakes have all species.  This area of the park only has one lake known to contain smallies, but we caught none.  Fish seemed to run somewhat larger than in Quetico.

Bugs:  Mosquitoes most mornings and evenings, black flies were an occasional problem, a few gnats.  Ticks don't exist this far north.

A sample set of photos are in the   (You need to Login or Register (some of the blurry slots will be replace with other, clearer shots as I get a chance)

I'll come back and do a full report as time permits.

dd

Can't wait to hear more about the fishing/see more pics. Looks like an interesting trip.

Excellent photos DD  :D

You'll find a description of this trip in the current issue of BWJ (pp 37-48), which also includes some photos (not mine) from the trip.  The article is written by Jim Carrier (Jimbo) with a section added to the end by Darrel Brauer (Kingfisher).

I find the read most interesting ... seeing the trip through the eyes of others.  Someday the "true story" of our Wrist Lake campsite will emerge.

dd

dd,

Um, I might have left out a few details here & there.  

One such detail would be how Matunik, my son Ben, & I came crawling back to your island stronghold on Wrist Lake after we "failed" in our attempt to rescue Kingfisher, Magic Paddler & company from their passage through Hell.  Truly, you graciously granted us space in our hour of need.  

During a nasty storm, we left dd in peace & tried getting through all those charred matchstick-like downed trees that obliterated the (alleged) portage over to the lakes where we thought Darrel & Co might be.  Try as we might, my crew eventually gave up, returned to Wrist Lake.  Once back there, still in the pouring rain, we checked out every lousy excuse for a crappy campsite on Wrist Lake before we returned, hat in hand, to interrupt your peaceful (& much deserved) solitude & beg for tent space.  

The next day, when Darrel & Co finally DID crash through that horrible mess - looking like refugees from the great Chicago Fire or some bombed-out building in Beirut - THEY ended up on one of those miserable lousy excuses for a crappy campsite on Wrist Lake.  VERY nice lake.  VERY crappy campsites (due to all the blowdowns).

Anyway, dd's generous hospitality eliminated a mounting mutiny amongst my small crew that day.  I think he may have slipped them some cocktails, too (every little bit helps when trying to calm down a riot).  As I recall, we had the opportunity to return the favor over on Bunny Lake during that mega-storm on our next-to-last day (the one which produced those killer tornadoes nearby).

I don't recall if we still had any cocktails left to offer you when you arrived, however, dd.  Seems to me we had already drained the "phantom jug" I had produced a little earlier on the trip over on Mexican Hat Lake.

Is this version closer to the truth?

Jimbo   8-)

Jimbo
Thanks for not mentioning that I fell out of my canoe at your second camp sight.
After the last two trips with Darrel I’m afraid he is going to associate tripping with me with bad portages.  Darrel and the ladies could make that barge they were paddling get up and go.  They could pull away from Quentin and I with ease.  When it came to portaging Cheryl referred to Darrel as goat boy because of how much he could carry.  Both of the ladies carried there own and helped me along.
One morning Quentin and I were wanting a walleye to eat.  We had been fishing for several hours and had each caught about 10 lakers.  As Quentin pulled another laker into the boat he said something about not being able to catch walleyes because these pesky lakers keep getting on your hook.  
Thanks Jim and Darrel for the story.  I enjoyed reliving the trip.
MagicPaddler
Lawrence

Jimbo wrote on Dec 30^th, 2009 at 10:49pm:

Is this version closer to the truth?

Jim -

Close enough!   ;D

... and my late arrival at the campsite on Kilburn had more to do with my checking out the portage to Upper Kilburn than being slow.  I'd actually PASSED Magic & Quinton entering Kilburn, but because I failed to ask "Which way did they go?" I decided the safer option was to make SURE you hadn't headed west over that 1000 meter portage.

Yes, I think you had drained the jug by the time I pulled into the Bunny Lake campsite.  At least I arrived at our campsite BEFORE the absolute downpour experience by Darrel and crew.  Unfortunately, my initial tent set-up didn't fair as well.  But at least I had time to bail it out and dry it out before turning in for the night.

Oh.  And as you read the menu ... I guess I should mention that I generally prepared my meals independently.  I seemed to remember your being a little surprised that almost all my stuff actually came from a grocery store.

BTW:  I'd be happy to prepare waldo's with my "special seasoning" anytime you care to drop by in the future.

dd

dd,

For a guy whose ticker wasn't operating at 100%, you sure made excellent time on the water!  You had no trouble keeping up with the flock's migration.  

Frankly, I was far too focused on keeping my butt from being drowned in those high winds & waves (as a result of my improperly loading my Prism) to be worried about anybody else.  I had REALLY screwed up loading my canoe back on Leano Lake... the last time I saw you before we met up at that 1st camp on Kilburn.  Admittedly, at camp, I got a bit concerned re: your whereabouts.  However, for all I knew, you had already bypassed us entirely, possibly following Darrel & Co.  We truly didn't know if you were behind us or ahead of us.  We were trusting the Flamingo Flag to lure you in but weren't sure you would take the bait.

Re: cooking, I don't think anyone in my party would dispute that you ate better than the rest of us.  Matunik would add that statement is particularly true re: breakfasts... being as fond of my freeze-dried scrambled eggs as he is. :P

Lawrence is another one who eats well on his trips.  He reaches into his small bag & manages to pull far more delicacies out of it than I ever do out of my gigantic bottomless blue barrel.

Matunik would jump ship out of my canoe in a heartbeat if either of you gave him hopes of eating out of your larder!

Jimbo   8-)

Here is a collection of photos from this trip.

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Fish of a lifetime indeed!

Very nice indeed!
Your 2 "Portage Monkeys" ;) are proof positive why the Native Peoples would never consider a arduous wilderness trip without their Better Halves!

Nice pictures from both of you guys, one heck of walleye also. BWJ late as usual getting to the bookstore.

What a great winter read!!!!

Ok you shamed me into it.  There is not very many. Somehow they got out of order but here is what Ive got.
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Ditto:     (You need to Login or Register

Jimbo   8-)