Last trip, I noticed a cord running into the water from a rock at an unoccupied campsite. The other end held a mesh bag filled with origionally packaged cooler type food; cheese, packaged meat... All of the store packaging had been compromised and therefore also contained water.

The other thing odd this year was a framed double hung window with the glass in tact. Near it was a dozen or so empty motor oil bottles and an uninsulated ~8 gage wire between insulators on trees. I consider the window and wire to be artifacts. (Never did find the cabin darn it.)

All remain as found.

Anybody else find anything unexpectedly interesting last year?

db,

We found a Tilley floating in Chatterton one time ... a rod case washed up on a remote island on Pickerel (with a faded address label we were able to read and send to its rightful owner) ... various pieces of fishing tackle attached to stumps ... a canoe twisted and torqued and beaten half to death in Russell at the base of the falls (but no bodies).

But all that seems downright mundane compared to a framed double-hung window (and you did specify "unexpectedly interesting").

What would be fun is to speculate on your treasure trove's origins:

Was the wire part of an elaborate battery and telephone crank fishing outfit? (OK, maybe a radio antenna).

Was the window intended for a greenhouse to early-grow some illicits?

Did the oil bottles contain oil residue, or some sour mash?

Hmmm, I must ponder.

Anyone else?

-- kypaddler

by the way, your stash would seem more interesting if you said you found it in some remote area of the park reachable only by paddling, as opposed to, say, Basswood where it could have been hauled by motor. but then you didn't say.

We found a concrete block at a Cirrus campsite one time. We joked about someone sneaking it into his buddy's pack before the trip. I guess it was probably left by one of the fly-in or first nation power boaters.

We spotted a pile of decaying moderm building materials - plywood, sheet insulation - and thought someone must have intended to build a cabin some years before that.  That was on Jean Lake, 1989.  We never found out the real story behind it.
-Tom

PS: Perhaps more surprising was to find a real, occupied rental cabin in Batchewaung Lake! (2005)  

Since you said "last year" I'll limit to that time frame.

Found hanging from a tree at a campsite on Paull Lake Woodland Caribou Provincial Park (Ontario)

Compass with lanyard and emergency whistle attached.  (I hope this was a spared ... several lakes and lots of portages from here to any exit.)

dd

Other interesting finds from previous trips:

Fanny pack with wallet, meds, camera (returned to owner)
Paddles: Started one trip with 3 paddles; ended with 5 (left spares with outfitter).
Weather balloon(s):  2, each on different years, both on McDougal.

DentonDoc wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 5:11pm:

Since you said "last year" I'll limit to that time frame.

:P Oh, I thought it said last 20 years!  Once again I am reminded that it always helps to read the original post   :-/

Also found a similar uninsulated steel (?) wire.  Most of it was on the ground, but in places was strung in trees with ceramic insulators.  Found this on the eastern shore of Yeh, and ran into likely the other end of it along the Yeh/Lonely portage.  telegraph wire perhaps?

The occasional logging-era artifact.  

A few years back, we found an old stashed canoe in one of the BWCA PMA areas.  We pointed it out to a ranger on our return - he asked why we didn't bring it out, then we showed him its location on the map - in the middle of a 3 mile PMA bushwack.

Amazing inner peace - but I guess that's not all that unusual, is it ?

mk631...interesting about the supplies....about 10 yrs ago on Robinson....there was a Canadian research team....for some time...it sounded as if they might have even had permission to build  (my speculation)

EDITED..addendum...the more I consider this, the less sense it makes

The wire (cable) was at the NW end of Little Jean so I wouldn't be more surprised if it ran all the way to Yeh as it was headed in that direction. It was just big fat wire, 10 feet off the ground at best. Aluminum perhaps, didn't notice any rust as I followed it around. The oil cans were floating (hidden) in a small pool under a huge rock maybe 2-3 rods from shore. The window was standing up, not leaning on anything and a lot nearer to shore as I recall. I wish I could have investigated further but it was time foe me to head for home so I didn't even take a camera with me.

A few days earlier, I found some plastic bins full of nets and floats near a boat at the mother of all campsites. That was interesting until I realized....

I had a borrowed tent and canoe saving me ~15 pounds to pull around and portage plus a good portion of my trip was new territory. That was unusual too. I may even go that way again to get to know some places better. It's all good.

db,

The window was standing up, not leaning on anything and a lot nearer to shore as I recall

Does that mean in the water?

Weird indeed.

- kypaddler

I'm still hoping to find an open-minded mermaid on a rock, but alas.

It was on land. In my mental image it was just standing in a relatively open area unlike where someone might lean it if they didn't want it to fall and break. I didn't walk over to inspect it. I was just amazed the glass was intact.

Picked up someones lost bag of weed on a portage into Loon Lake pipe and all, I could only imagine the party who lost it was  really bumded for it was a lot of weed to lose :-[

finders keepers losers wipers 8-) ;)

//windsailer

Found a green cone can from the Fitger's Brewery in Duluth on an island campsite on Sunday Lake.  I think it dates back to the 40's (when Fitger's last packaged beer in that type of can).  In case you were wondering, it was empty and of course a bit rusted.  Could still read most of the label though.

kypaddler wrote on Nov 24^th, 2009 at 12:20pm:

I'm still hoping to find an open-minded mermaid on a rock, but alas.

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---

THAT'S just WRONG :o ;D

How I wish I had not re-visited this thread. ... Suddenly I feel a need to pressure-wash my retinas with bleach.

-- kypaddler

found a dismantled cast iron stove under a bush near boundary point a couple years back... I assume it was from a hunting group that came up in the winter and pitched a tent there to hunt. I left it there... because I wasn't about to pack out cast iron and ...I would be pretty upset to get to the island in the winter and find that somebody stole my stove...

I discovered an old dump in a cedar swamp behind a campsite on Elk Lake in Quetico a few years ago whilst excavating a cathole after my AM coffee.  Mostly old half-buried Mason jars and rusty tin cans, but did unearth an intact Virginia Dare wine bottle with embossed writing in the glass.  From what I can determine from on-line research it was probably made in the 1940's or early 50's.  Must have been a long-term camp or cabin there.  Also found a very old and rusty steel trap wired to a cedar overhanging the water in a remote bay on Hurn Lake.  Since the two lakes are next to each other maybe there was a trapper's cabin on Elk.  I have read that there was a trapper's cabin on Cone Lake just to the north of Elk, but looked and could find no evidence of it, or even a decent place to set up a tent.

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It is made with square nails

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WOW! now I really wished I had bleached my eyes in Coyote Gulch, UT. That is the same image less a navel jewell on that camera I found down there, which was delivered to the BLM office in Escalante. I wonder if the map case, map, and attached compass found on Knife this summer past was the navigation aide. In any case that is one long swim, must have been good eatin' on the way; where is the bleach. BLEACH! Oh yah then there is the broke legged 6' 250# critter too. Wow, I have lived in 2009! A LOT!

Stumpy

Care to give a description of that event!

Just found this thread, so I'll chime in.  So far the most unusual things I've found in the BW/Quet are:

-10 cylinder engine block
-Buick from the 1940s
-Glass insulator for electric power pole
-55 gal. drums

As most were along the border route, I have no doubt they are there because of the various resorts, camps, etc. that were in use before the wilderness designation.

Kawishiway wrote on Jan 10^th, 2010 at 5:45pm:

Stumpy

marlin55388 wrote on Jan 10^th, 2010 at 7:27pm:

Care to give a description of that event!

Now that's funny!  

I promised Stumpy upon finding him that the events and information that unfolded would not be shared.  Please except my humble attempt to honor our friend who shares his hard won knowledge with us on the QJ.  Though beleive me... it would make for an interesting tale... not to be told.

k

Never hurts to ask....oh wait dont ask dont tell! Me knows stumpy is an enigma.

A flester on McNiece

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And a Buick on Crooked
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chaga wrote on Jan 21^st, 2010 at 1:08pm:

And a Buick on Crooked

That car keeps getting smaller and smaller.  A decade ago it still had some of the wood trim, along with a couple of the wheels.

We found this old car on a portage. Not sure exactly what it is, smaller car of sorts. model A? model T? Somewhere in Western Quetico.

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btw, how do i post an image inline with my post instead of as an attachment?

Since this is the start of a new page:

wrote on Jan 26^th, 2010 at 3:51am:

btw, how do i post an image inline with my post instead of as an attachment?

See:
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But to be inline it needs to reside on a web accessible server

What you did was good but FWIW

Code (][img):

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would display it inline. What you did was good though!
Where is that car anyway? Anyone know for sure?

Thanks for the info on the pics.

I pulled up our journal from the trip, I'm pretty sure the car must be somewhere along the portage from Beaverhouse to Quetico.

That's what I was thinking but I didn't see it my last trip through there. It use to look like a real car in a lot better shape than the one displayed on the previous page. Rust must have a tipping point too.

I know 4 years ago it was easily recognizable as a car, but last fall when I went through I noticed it had deteriorated so much it was hard to recognize.