Any suggestions for a seasoned paddler (BWCA mostly but some Woodland Caribou paddling) for a 6 or 7 day trip into the Quetico from the Atikokan area?  I am looking for solitude and scenery.  Long portages not a problem and though I'd like to do some fishing, it's not necessary that I actually catch fish.  Planned trip time is the end of June through the beginning of July in 2010.

I'd go out of Beaverhouse into the Bentpine L, Badwater L. area.  You start with a mile portage, which should give some additional solitude.  Check it out.

I'm heading in that area in May, and looking for much the same.

prouboy

Prouboy's suggestion is an excellent one.  

Do you want to move every day?  If so, you can easily do a loop from Beaverhouse thru Quetico Lake to Jean, then down Burntside to Sturgeon, around the lower end of Sturgeon and up Bentpine Creek into March, Trail, Little Pine, Snow, Your, Fair, Badwater, and then back into Quetico Lake to finish the loop.

Your better off to go this way than the reverse because you'll have the prevailing winds at your back down the length of Quetico Lake and you'll finish off with the mile long portage from Badwater to Quetico instead of starting with it.  

Worthy side trips would be to Bentpine Lake from March Lake as well as from Badwater to Omeme, West Cub, and Bearpelt.  Another side trip that you might take if you have time is from Your Lake to Eyelet and Wild Goose Lakes.  

All of the mentioned side trip lakes offer good walleye fishing (or so I've heard...haven't stopped to sample it yet, but it's on my list to do so someday).  Omeme/West Cub/Bearpelt see very little traffic as does Eyelet and Wildgoose.  Heck, once you get off Sturgeon Lake you might not see another soul until you get to Badwater, even on your main travel route.

If you are interested in more info on this area, send me a PM.  Jim J. Solo or Yellowbird are a couple of others who come quickly to mind that have travelled the area between Sturgeon and Badwater.

Just watch out for the Badwater spook!

Thanks much to both of you - this gives me a starting spot.  It's greatly appreciated.  I'll do some more research and follow up with additional questions if I have some.  I promise pix to website after my trip.  

Great message board. [smiley=dankk2.gif]

Ditto on the route Snow_Dog suggests AND in the direction he suggests.  By the time you reach the mile long sloppy portage, your food pack will be next to nothing.  Also, if you're looking for REAL solitude (such as you no doubt found in Woodland Caribou Park), just get off the beaten path by a lake or too in that Badwater/Your area.  You'll have it to yourself.

Welcome to QJ!

Jimbo   8-)

P.S.  He's right about the spooks, too.

I've always advocated a Lerome entry for solitude and scenery.  Seems the 8 mile paddle and the Sue Falls portage just to get to the park deters many from getting to Cirrus.  From there Soho and Kasa will give you great fishing, solitude and depending on what you define as "scenery" -I think that area has it.  Soho is a dead-end for the most part but the park is wide open from Kasa and Cirrus for you.

Yes, the Jean-Bentpine loop is a good one.

When I did it in July '04, the only real solitude was the stretch from Bentpine Creek through Sturgeon. Still "busy" by Q standards isn't that busy at all. A very scenic route.

The Cirrus suggestion is also good. In August '06, I think I saw one other canoe for the length of the north shore of that lake. The Lerome entry does force you to go through a couple of powerboat-infested lakes to get to the park, so an alternative is to go into Cirrus via Beaverhouse (Entry point 31). But that's close to 1.5 hours drive from Atikokan. If you like big lakes, I'd suggest Cirrus, if you prefer smaller lakes, then Jean-Bentpine.

A third alternative might be to go in via Baptism Creek. That area is supposed to see little traffic, but I have no personal experience to offer here.

A good book for route planning is Robert Beymer's "A Paddler's Guide to Quetico Provincial Park". It list all of the above routes plus others. It is no so good on the side trips, but I suspect that any dead-end lake that is reasonably far from the entry stations will offer solitude.