Is vandalism at the entry points if I leave a car an isssue to worry about?  (I do understand about not leaving things that would attract bears.)  At Copia, this was mentioned as an issue at Wabakimi, but not sure if it's real or an outfitter promotion.

Thanks.

Left my vehicle at Onnie for 10 days without issue.  At this EP there is a berm that you can park behind to be out of sight of the roadway if you wish.  The parking lot is right along side the roadway ... the berm is just beyond and on the opposite side of the road.

I've always seen several vehicles parked at the Leano lot, but its a bit of a hike off the main roadway compared to Onnie and Johnson EP's.

dd

I saw a couple cars parked at Onnie last year on my way to Leano. And several cars parked at Leano. I plan to park my car at Johnson the ten days I'm there in june. In August I'm using a shuttle (with MT in fact) and having my truck "delivered" to Johnson just before I come out. I guess I too would be more concerned about bears than people. There was notices on cars at Leano telling people they should take better precautions from bears. So the park does monitor vehicals and do have a presence out there.

One of my concerns is coming out after 3 or 4 weeks to a dead battery. I intend to disconnect my battery as well as have a power pack (which I generally carry anyway) to jump start if need be.

mastertangler wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2011 at 2:49am:

One of my concerns is coming out after 3 or 4 weeks to a dead battery. I intend to disconnect my battery as well as have a power pack (which I generally carry anyway) to jump start if need be.

Ever try a trickle charge solar panel?  Put the panel on your dash and the wire leads should be long enough to run around the side of the door panel to under the hood where the battery is mounted.  The one I have has battery clips at the ends of the leads.

dd

Indeed the thought did occur to me. I figure the power pack will be my ace in the hole.

I am, as always, suspicious of weather.

Thanks.  One of thse things that is hard to find out, but when  the outfitter at Copia was quoting $140 for shuttle times 2 I thought it was worth finding out about.

BillConner wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2011 at 12:10pm:

Thanks.  One of thse things that is hard to find out, but when  the outfitter at Copia was quoting $140 for shuttle times 2 I thought it was worth finding out about.

On my trip last year, I took a shuttle to Leano (a 2 hour drive, more or less) and dropped my vehicle at Onnie on the way in.  That allowed me to do something of a loop, yet not come back to the same place.  But I also enjoyed the fact that I wasn't having to push any "deadlines" for my arrival at the take-out by not having a shuttle on my return.

If I recall, the $140 is for 1 or 2 paddlers (not so bad if you are not running solo.)  Not that I'm planning a shuttle this year, but Harlan (Red Lake Outfitters) and I did talk about the cost of a shuttle to Leano at 'copia.  When you factor in the cost of fuel and the amount of time required (2 hours each way), the outfitters are not getting rich running a shuttle service.  (Wear and tear on equipment is not minimal either.)

As for other locations, I know that Jimbo parked at the Lund Lake EP last year without incident.  I'll be parking at Beresford Lake (the Garner Lake EP) this year which, in my opinion, has a better chance of vandalism issues since the lake also serves motor traffic and has a campground ... consequently more people hanging around.

dd

We left my van for two weeks at Lund with no issues whatsoever.  There must be close to zero pass-through traffic (of cars/trucks, that is).  Bears would be a bigger concern so best to leave no food in the vehicle.

Jimbo   8-)

To the Red Lake area's credit I have never been told a human vandalism story from the area. We parked at Garner for 10 days and except for a dead mouse in an open cooler had no problems. Lem Pelley at the Wallace Lake campground always went out of his way to make sure canoeist vehicles were secure but I heard he is no longer there.

For a long trip in WCPP I choose to give the outfitters the business and have the piece of mind while on my trip. I do not know if it is outfitter hype but I have heard warnings about the Wabakimi area.

I have come out to two dead batteries on group trips. Once a domelight was left on and once a fuel pump relay was soaked with water and grounded out. If you try the tiny solar panel, test it first with a digital voltmeter. It may charge a little but if not made correctly it will discharge all night long. IMO it is much easier to remove a battery cable.

mastertangler wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2011 at 2:49am:

One of my concerns is coming out after 3 or 4 weeks to a dead battery. I intend to disconnect my battery as well as have a power pack (which I generally carry anyway) to jump start if need be.

If you carry your fully charged battery with you, it can power your fish finder, GPS, running lights, etc for the whole trip, and you won't have to count and carry all those pesky AAs. Additionally, you'll have the piece of mind in knowing that no one will steal your battery while you are tripping. Just strap it to a thwart, and it will hang from the canoe on the portages. It's amazing how many of life's little problems can be solved with a little ingenuity. ;D Since you'll have the power pack, it won't matter if the battery is dead when you return. ;)

wrote on Apr 4^th, 2011 at 11:55pm:

IMO it is much easier to remove a battery cable.

Anyone who wants to do this could be helped by this little tip. BEFORE you disconnect the negative battery cable connect a 9 volt battery between the negative and positive cables - heed the polarity. Leave the 9 volt battery connected while the ground cable is disconnected and while you are on your trip. This will preserve all of the electronic memory in modern cars. Things like radio presets and fuel injector air/fuel ratio etc. I don't know for sure if the nine volt can make it as long as a month but it would be worth a try. This is a good tip to use anytime you want to do work on your car and need (should) disconnect the battery.

You could also use an 8 AA battery pack rather than a 9 volt battery. I've used both with good results. I suspect the 8AA's would last considerably longer.

KF's tip is a good one.
I'd try the 9 volt/ 8AA pack and unbolt the ground rather than take a battery lead loose at the battery terminal. A battery ground assuming you can reach it easily is easier to deal with than a battery clamp that is secure and clean with as mine are, coated with a thin layer of di-electric grease to inhibit corrosion.
I've done this while working on vehicles for short term and it works great. It bad enough to re-set radio stations/time, but on the newer cars you have so much electronics it can be a major hassle.

Biggest reason to my thinking is that as KF mentioned is the fuel injector air/fuel ratio. Lose your electronic memory, the computer has to " relearn" the proper mix as you drive, which may or may not be best for fuel consumption and vehicle performance. At the steep cost of gas, who needs that? You also might trigger some computer engine codes that would need clearing or they could cause problems?
I'm thinking one of those dashboard roll-up solar panels that deliver a trickle charge to battery might be the way to go here.
Park so your getting the sun from East to West and I think you could eliminate the worry?
Hard to imagine the battery would go completely dead with that set-up and with your back-up Power Pak, I think you have the bases covered.

Not a car guy but couldn't you do this backwards through the cigarette lighter (or whatever is the politically correct name for it today)?

BillConner wrote on Apr 5^th, 2011 at 7:17pm:

Not a car guy but couldn't you do this backwards through the cigarette lighter (or whatever is the politically correct name for it today)?

I think you may be on to something :-/
We have some electrical engineers here, maybe they could give their expertise? If you could it would beat messing around under the hood ;)

A quick Google check answered our questions.
There is a myriad of solar panels with adapters that charge 12v battery from the cigarette lighter. The better have a diode that prevents reveres drain. Some fold, some roll up. Not cheap, but since you can use them for marine/camping applications, might be worth it in the long run if you worried about dealing wiht a dead battery in a remote area.