Well, I just got my BH/Quetico Lake permit for a put-in Aug 7.  (I've never been this late getting a permit, but got it easily even for a peak-season Saturday!)

I'd originally planned to go Stanton Bay thru the B-chain to Oliphaunt & somehow out Walter/Jesse, etc.  With just me & my 3 kids going, I wanted easy/medium/hard route options.  "Easy" was to bail out thru Deux Riviers -- but I hear that's a 2 hour mud-slog, so that was enough to tip me over to my other close-contender route, BH-Nym.

We'll be doing a late afternoon put-in @ BH so:
- any recommended campsites in the western end of Quetico Lake? (Goal is to make it east of Eden Island into the narrow section.)  Backup options?  This is a 1-night site, so a premium site is not needed.
- do you still need to check in at the Ranger Station on BH?  (I haven't been there since 1989.)

Other thoughts:
I think the easy/Medium/Hard options are:
Easy: Jean & backtrack to Oriana/Jesse
Medium: Burntside/Rouge/Jean Creek/Lonely Creek/Walter, etc.
Hard: Yeh-Lonely

I could be wrong about ranking these & would like to know why (creek levels / portage conditions, etc...)

This is an 7-night trip w/a short first day.  My canoe will have my strong-but-not-big 12-yr old in front (his 2nd trip, but first as a primary paddler), so I'll be doing extra work & probably be slow on the water.  The other canoe will be 20 & 16 yr old - both strong & their 4th & 3rd trips.

Any "don't miss" stuff right along the route like pictos or great cliff jumping spots?  PM's on fishing spots would be cool too!

Thanks in advance!

-Tom

PS: thanks for all the advice on the route I'm now not using too!  It'll get used another time...

MK-

Stayed on 4L on Quetico Lake a couple of years ago.  It may be further north than you want to be but is beyond Eden Island.  Plus, you can shoot the gap just north (north-northwest) of there and be on top of some of the picto's very quickly.

The site on PCD is listed as a 4 and has ample tent pad space for your crew.  Caught a few walleye off the western side of the campsite (although its pretty shallow there).  Since there is only a dead-end bay to the east, there shouldn't be a lot of traffic passing directly in front of you.

dd

You either have to check in at the Beaverhouse ranger station or the headquarters in Atikokan.  If you check in at Atikokan,  they radio to the ranger station when they expect you to arrive, color of canoes and number.  They watch you go in.  Have a great trip,  going there on the 17th of July.  Been through there many times.  Great pictographs (4 sites) all worth it.  Caribou, otter rising out of the water, hand smears etc.   If you want to see them all, head north before Eden island and you can paddle the north shore of Quetcio lake and see them all.  Kim

I put in at BH last Sept. on a Saturday in the later afternoon. The wind was up in the afternoon so crossing was a little strenuous. Once I got on to Quetico Lake I could not camp at my first, second or third choice of campsites, they were all taken. I finally found an old undocumented campsite, which turned out nice. The fullness of the parking lot when you leave may help you judge the probablility of getting your desired campsite.

You can also check in at the Dawson Trail pavilion on French Lake anytime after 2 pm on the day before your put-in. It's a half-hour drive east of Atikokan (maybe out of your way), but the Atikokan office closes in late afternoon (4 or 4:30), while the Dawson Trail info centre stays open until (I think) 7:30 pm.

You really do want to pick up your permit  in either Atikokan or at Dawson Trail the day before you go in. Not only is the Beaverhouse station a bit out of the way, but you also run the risk of arriving after a big group, and having to sit and wait while their paperwork gets done.

You can pick up your permit at Dawson trail,but you add an hour plus to your drive.  Even driving to Aitikokan adds an hour to your drive time.  I have never had a problem with getting my permit at the BH ranger station.

Westwood

Greetings, Tom.
We have been in that area many, many times.
There are at least 4 camp sites on the east end of Beaverhouse that you can use for backups. 2 of them are west facing beach sites, one is on the large Island east of the ranger and 1 is on the west facing point on the N shore near the Q river. On Q lake, there are quite a few sites in the Eden Island vicinity. Think E and W facing points. Once you get beyond the Eden Island area, there are just a couple of sites in the narrow part of Q lake, until you get towards the East end of the lake.
Another route option would be to go up into Cirrus then Kasakokwog to McAlpine to Pickerel. Sue falls would be a don't miss on this route. There are some good cliffs on Cirrus with deep water under them for jumping off of. I have graphed 300 feet of water in Cirrus Lake. (Deep enough to drown in.)( My kids used to freak out when I told them about really deep water that we were passing over. )
Fishing is great on Cirrus as well as most of the lakes in that area. Lakers in Beaverhouse, Q, Cirrus.
Port between Cirrus and Kasakokwog is fairly long and hard, good size hill. There are some nice sites on Kasakokwog. Traveling W to E, should give you tail winds on the large lakes. The nice thing about Cirrus is that it is off the main travel routes that are heading east. We spent 3 nights on the middle section of Cirrus in July 2008 and saw not one canoe.
All of the various route options that you mentioned, I have done with my wife and kids. Some of them the kids were very young and we did fine. Burntside and Lonely are a couple of our personal favorites. Good fishing, nice camps with views....
Tom, whatever route that you choose, your group will do fine.
Take your time and let the 12 year old set the pace, you will have fun.
Have a great time.
GeneM

Thanks all for your input about check-in and sites -  I have marked sites on my map.

Has anyone done more than one of the 3 route options I mentioned?

Quote:

From Jean, I think the easy/Medium/Hard options are: Easy: Jean & backtrack to Oriana/Jesse Medium: Burntside/Rouge/Jean Creek/Lonely Creek/Walter, etc. Hard: Yeh-Lonely

The only one I've done is the Yeh-Lonely challenge when I was 20 years younger, so I don't want to pick one of the others and find it's harder!

My rationale is this:
Yeh-Lonely = hard because of the killer portage.
Oriana = easy (relatively) because no killer portages & shorter on the water too.
Jean Ck/Sturgeon/Lonely = medium because long but no killer portages.

Is this reasonable or way off base?

Thanks! -Tom

Tom,
your logic works for me. I would agree with your assesment of the 3 routes. I have done them all and based on your group, you have probably ranked the routes correctly.
Have fun.
GeneM

Tom:  Need a report when you're done.  I'm doing much of the same the first full week of September, with my son, son-in-law, and stepson.  

"Need a report when you're done."

I suspect he was done last August, in 2010

Tom,

I agree with all of the above.
If you don't need to, I'd skip going to BH ranger station, especially if the wind is up. BH going from put-in to Ranger station is much shallower than you might think. A stiff wind coming East/West will put a heavy chop on the lake rather than the big rollers you get in deeper water.
More than a few paddlers have dumped taking the wind sideways from put-in to Ranger station. If you get on water really late in day, you can stay at PCD 24, which is on a point east of the BH put-in, if open.

If you must go to Ranger station, and the wind is up from either direction, I'd cut up the channel between Turtle Island ( PCD IW), and the mainland, then swing back SE to ranger station. Better to quarter into a stiff breeze or run with it, than catch it sideways ;) The ranger station has a spring in the back, you can fill water bottles if your so inclined.

If you skip station and the wind is up, you can hug the north shore and make it to Quetico River easily enough. Be aware of the outflow from Q-River. It's deceptive and more than a few paddlers have dumped there :'(
You'll see it when you paddle up. You can paddle up it, or stay to the right close to shore as possible and either paddle up, or if water is low, get out and walk the canoe up to flat water and choose which take-out you want. I prefer the one closest to outflow.

If you decide to paddle up thru riffle, I'd have everyone kneel, and start your effort well in advance of the riffle. When you hit that gap, you'll know what I'm talking about ;)  If you don't have your speed up and start too late you'll wind up going back-wards and that's when your likely to go over.

There are 4 sites close to West end of Q-Lake that I've stayed at when wind was in my face or late in day. One 38, is on SW tip of Eden Island.
The other is 3P on the SE tip of Eden on a sand beach.
There are two other sites on the island east of Eden, 44 which is a real nice site, and 4C which is on East tip of island. There is also a nice site on the tip of the mainland, east of 3P, 42 which is nice as well.

Mad_Mat wrote on Jun 15^th, 2011 at 1:41pm:

"Need a report when you're done." I suspect he was done last August, in 2010

Ahhh... I do need to do a trip report...  I'd planned to do that over the winter -- I'll shoot for sooner than next winter.

Aaaah!   You guys are really considerate; give good replies to even my out of whack postings.  Thanks.

Mountain_Paddler wrote on Jun 15^th, 2011 at 5:14am:

Tom:  Need a report when you're done.  I'm doing much of the same the first full week of September, with my son, son-in-law, and stepson.

MP, what's your route plan look like?  -Tom

[quote author=Mk631 link=1278525428/10#14 date=1308230356MP, what's your route plan look like?  -Tom[/quote]

My group of 4 did Beaverhouse to Nym via Quetico, Oriana, Jesse, Maria, Pickerel, Batch in September '09. Let me know if I can help.

J