Always nice to see who is going to be in which park at what times. 

I don't have my trip totally nailed down yet but it looks like I will be in for a 9-10 day solo prior to July 4th...exiting on July 3rd most likely.

Route is still up in the air but most likely a Basswood entry with a tow up the Moose chain to PP.  Looking at either heading down the Basswood River to Crooked and then back into the Ted Lake area and back out through Sarah to North Bay or else heading up the Man chain and looping back through Louisa.

Nym Lake / Batch entry May 19-27.  From there . .  . ?

ours is going to be late june, orianna and jesse coming in through nym. we will be bringing a first timer, our cousin, keeping the trip a family thing. 3 brothers, 3 cousins, and an "adopted" brother. 7 days.

Going to Lac La Croix-Snowbay area July 6th, swim and catch walleyes in the same spot from shore.
So far only 4 happy campers ;D

Man Chain with college roomate (32 years later) to Quetico.
WCPP Solo...Dates unclear
SunCatcher

In (and likely out) at Bottle Portage of LLC at the end of May (exit about 2 weeks later).   Swinging up thru Rolands, Argo, Darkwater and maybe meander east thru William, Conmee, Suz, then back thru Brent to Darkwater (otherwise basing at Darkwater and day tripping in several directions).  This is slated to be a "kick back" trip with lots of fishing and leisure time.

Any site I'm on for more than a day, I'll likely hang out the "welcome mat" (flamingo beach party banner) so feel free to drop in for a cup of coffee (or maybe something a wee bit stronger if its the right time of day).

dd

Gonna take another stab at LOW...this time with a tow up to big narrows, out of the angle

8 days on Beaverhouse and Quetico in early September. Going in and out at BH, of course.

A couple short BWCA trips in May and July.

A 21 day Woodland Caribou trip in June... The last week solo.

A short little 40 day trip in the BW in late August, going through the month of September... Solo. Well, a couple times friends will meet for some resupply and a nice steak.

Juneau, AK, sometime in late July-early August, to welcome our 3rd grandkid. Knocked me out of a long-planned WCPP trip. Guess I'll 'settle' for a little halibut fishing, since they don't have waldos. Just one of the 'sacrifices' we make for our kids. ;)

I'm planning much the same route as DentonDoc, except we'll be going about six weeks later.  My oldest son will be just returning from Korea after 2.5 years there; he has me taking him to Quetico virtually the next day!

I expect to hit some of the smaller lakes (Ted, some No Names) then McIntyre, Burt, Suzanette, Brent, & Wicksteed... just to name a few.  I also plan to revisit the site of an infamous Flamingo Jimboree of yesteryear.  I intend to check out a report that remnants of the "pink stew" Old Salt fixed for our large party have coalesced into a sedimentary sub-strata on that rocky island where that large, motley QJ flock once celebrated.  If true, this will represent quite a puzzle for future generations of geologists.

I suspect my group size may grow some but, so far, it's just my son & me for what I expect will run about 11 days on the water.  I always manage to add some new water to each trip & this will be no exception.  Anybody planning to be in this sector of the park during the mid-July timeframe should feel free to contact me (or see me at Copia); I thoroughly enjoy hooking up with other QJ'ers in the park.  Stand advised that, just like DD, my camp will sport the Flamingo Flag!  Also, if I haven't managed to con anybody into buying my WindPaddle sail before then, we may be "sailing" pink, too.  Believe me, you WON'T miss us!

Finally, there is the likelihood of a fall trip ("couples" trip?), either back to the Q or even up to Woodland Caribou Park.  Don't have that one entirely figured out just yet.

Later,

Jimbo   8-)

Looks like Northcountry Ben wins, for length of time on the water! I'm a little envious ;)   Here: some hiking on the Sioux Hustler (western BW) in early July; a ten-dayer with California canoe buddy in second half of July up to Mugwump PMA in the BW; a week camping on the North Shore (Cascade State Park) with the wife, in August.

June 4-15 following DentonDoc. 2 guys flyfishing in a red SR canoe.

Just got my permit for July 21st entering the Quetico through Cache bay, then up the Falls chain to Kawnipi. Up to the top of Kawnipi then to Heronshaw and Camel on the way to Veron and Delahey. Then the Death March to Conmee eventually working our way south to North bay and the Man chain back to Saganagons and Cache. Two 51 year old men, 4 college age women, only one of which has been to Quetico and she insists we go to the olive jar. 2 big Minnesota III's. I can't wait for these 11 days to arrive.
Jon Bratt Bird Island

August 24-Sept 3, in and out at PP, plan to go up to Sarah and that area, no real agenda, just some loose plans and the search of fish. We fly the jolly roger at our camp if you're in the area.

Jimbo wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2012 at 8:51pm:

I intend to check out a report that remnants of the "pink stew" Old Salt fixed for our large party have coalesced into a sedimentary sub-strata on that rocky island where that large, motley QJ flock once celebrated. Later, Jimbo   8-)

As I clearly recall, you licked the pot clean. You and QP did the 'rock, paper, scissors' thing, and you won the third tiebreaker.  :D

jeroldharter wrote on Feb 24^th, 2012 at 2:29am:

June 4-15 following DentonDoc. 2 guys flyfishing in a red SR canoe.

I'll be traveling with one other person.  We both drive skin/kevlar colored Prisms.  Mine is the one with QJ Logos on the bow.

dd

June: QP from Beaverhouse, looping down to Poobah, and then out at Nym

July: WCPP.  Taking a route suggested by Marten, can't think of all the lakes and don't have my notes! 

August: Nothing planned, yet.

September: Little Indian Sioux up to LLC, east, then out via Nina Moose.

DentonDoc wrote on Feb 26^th, 2012 at 12:26am:

jeroldharter wrote on Feb 24th, 2012 at 2:29am: June 4-15 following DentonDoc. 2 guys flyfishing in a red SR canoe. I'll be traveling with one other person.  We both drive skin/kevlar colored Prisms.  Mine is the one with QJ Logos on the bow. dd

I assume that you won't catch much and we will clean up your mess! Just do your best to tease the smallies.

Gonna try something new this year - WabPP in first part of August.  I'm interested to see how accurate the low usage numbers really are.  If true, I don't expect to see hardly a soul outside our crew for 10 days.  Paddle in from Armstrong and train out at Schultz's.  Not a real remote route for WPP, but I don't want to scare off my crew with something overwhelming. We'll do a couple layover days and maybe add some side trips.  According to some trip reviews I've seen, the catching is just as awesome as the fishing, but no smallies.  It's going to be a long drive up after flying into MSP and we should be on the water the next morning. 

pd

portage dog wrote on Feb 26^th, 2012 at 9:03pm:

Gonna try something new this year - WabPP in first part of August.  I'm interested to see how accurate the low usage numbers really are.

I've giving some thought to doing a Wabakimi trip in 2013.  I'd be interested in your take on traffic levels.  Seems to be a significant number of fly-in lakes and cabins (not to mention motor boats and caches).  I'd also like to hear your experience in your east to west movement with respect to predominant wind direction. 

The east side route I've been looking at would likely start just east of Collins and head north to Sliderock and maybe as far north as Whitewater before turning south toward Caribou.  However, given the current train schedule, doing it east to west (like you) does make more sense.

dd

PD & DD,
I did a 3 week trip into Wabakimi last summer (August 11 - September 1.)  The park is a place of extraordinary beauty.  Being that it is boreal forest it is quite different from Quetico.  The fishing, for me at least, was phenomenal.  It is wally heaven but, as PD pointed out, too far north for smallies.  In the first 19 days we were out we saw a grand total of 2 other canoes neither of which were close enough to actually talk to.  That being said, the park is infested with fishing lodges.  In fact, in some ways the park is more geared towards fly-in fishing than canoe tripping.  In that regard I found the park very disappointing.  I really don't want to paddle for days only to find myself surrounded by the buzz of motor boars hauling fishermen around looking for the perfect place to drop their line.  I have to say, however, that because of the forest fires last summer, our trip had to be rerouted from the northern portion of the park to the southern - we went from Allan Water Bridge up through Brennan and Lower Wabakimi to Smoothrock and out through Little Caribou - so it might be that in the northern portions of the park there are less lodges and therefore less power boat traffic.  Still, I found it a long way to go only to feel like I was in Muskoka - okay I'm exaggerating a bit.  This year we're trying WCPP (August 9 - 31) which I'm hoping has all the beauty and low canoe traffic of Wabakimi without the lodge traffic.  Harlan tells me that the lodges, such as they are in WCPP, are located north of the Bloodvein so I'm expecting we'll be clear of all that based on a long loop we plan to do starting down at Leano Lake.  Plus, whereas Wabakimi fishing is restricted to Walleye and Pike, WCPP also has Lakers and even bass in a few of the southern lakes.  Last year we took the train instead of driving and boy was that fantastic.  We'll be doing that again this summer - an adventure within an adventure.

Kerry -

My notes say that you should have been able to find lakers in Wabakimi in lakes like Wabakimi, Smoothrock and Whitewater.

I've made trips for Woodland Caribou for the past three years.  The first two used Leano as an EP (first trip returned to Leano after a east-west loop; other exited a Onnie after a jog north).  Last year I went in via Garner (Manitoba side).  What you may find is that while pike is almost everywhere, there is frequently an either/or with lakers and walleye.  But from my experience, the size you'll find could easily be a step up from Quetico.  I suspect the boreal forest will look familiar in Woodland Caribou.  As for contact with other humans, it might just be the luck of the draw.  On my first trip (which also included Jimbo, Kingfisher, Magicpaddler, Quentin and a few others ... in two parties), I actually put an eyeball on 2 other canoes of a 2 week trip outside the EP lake.  The follow year (a solo), I stopped counting after 18 people on a 10 day trip.  Last year, it was kind of in between and in lumps.  (Actually spent 2 nights on a campsite with a group out of Winnipeg ... I'd been sharing e-mails with its leader pre-trip.)  On my solo trip, it seemed like I was only hitting "lodge lakes" after a while ... Hansen, Glenn, Telescope, and Optic on my out-bound journey.

If you need other info (Harlan is an excellent resource), let me know.  I don't know everything there is to know about the park after 3 trips, but I think I have a pretty descent feel for the area.

dd

In WCPP it is easy to avoid motor traffic. Most of the commercial outposts are on the Gammon and Bloodvein River. Even when you are near the outposts they are not much of an issue. Those people are there to fish and that is what they do, usually very quietly. Check this guide for a map showing the commercial outposts. You can plan to avoid them but also know that in case of dire emergency you may be glad there are some out there.  Donald Lake on the Gammon River has commercial outposts but none show up on the map in this guide.     (You need to Login or Register

Hmmm...current plan is late June/early July; Stanton Bay; B-chain; Ram; Antoine; Lonely; Walter; Eliz; Jesse; Oriana; Batch; Nym.  Just me & my 18 yr old son for his graduation present.  Might get some Hennesy's as a bonus.
:)
-Tom

Two trips again this year (as I've been doing since 2009).

May 23-June 6 (2 weeks): In at Little Indian Sioux, up through LLC, across to Iron Lake, back down through Gun-Boot-Fourtown-Horse-Mudro.  Total about 65 miles.  Solo.

Early September (10 days): In and out at Sea Gull, via Red Rock, Kekekabic and points in between.  Total about 45 miles, possibly with company, otherwise solo.

BWCA EP32 toward the end of August for about a week.  Took my adult son for the first time last year and he's now hooked.  We will go tandem!

Jess

My son and I are going for a week beginning the 4th of July. In at Black Robe then Minn, the Darky River, Darky, Argo, the Roland chain, Crooked, Iron and out at Bottle.

Pat

dd,

I will let you know how the trip turns out.  We're outfitting through Wildwaters for boats and misc., otherwise bringing our own gear.  We definitely chose east to west because of the train and travel involved.  Westbound means you're leaving in the dark.  If we were close enough to drive and get there at a decent hour, we might have gone that route. 

kerry,

Thanks for you input.  I might pick your brain for a few more details and advice if you don't mind.  Like dd mentioned, the outfitter tells me there are some laker lakes.  I'm hoping for that.  I'm happy to hear the fishing is that good - we're expecting they'll just jump in the boat! 

pd

Sorry, Portage Dog, I actually mis-spoke.  There are a few Laker lakes - Wabakimi and Smoothrock being two of them.  But they're big lakes and I don't travel with a depth finder so I had no idea where to look (especially late in the summer when I was there.)  But anyway, for me Walleye are easier to find and there was never a shortage.  If you let me know your route and what lakes you plan to be on (if it overlaps with where we were) I'd be happy to pass on whatever I know.

On Wabakimi PP travel also: Phil Cotton's project, the Wabakimi Project, has generated very good route maps for the park, although it is a work in progress (they verify portages and campsites on the ground).  They will have a booth at Canoecopia, and can also be found on line at the Wabakimi Project.

Going up north the first week of September.  As it will be the first foray into the BW with my 2 year old and possibly my mother, we plan on hanging around Ely and doing mostly day trips and a single over-nighter.  Having never even  considered a 1 night trip, I'm going to spend a ton of time with my maps and find something we typically would never do.

Goin in through stanton or french end of may early june with my brother and a couple buddies from highschool. Plan to only fish and travel from pickeral down to sturgeon and russel. 10 days of relaxation and fishing should be a great time!

A recent rumor has it I will land in Minneapolis/St Paul the first week in August. That puts WCPP back on my radar screen..........

I haven't worked out all winter, been to busy workin. Put 20 of the 30 lbs of fat I lost last winter back on. So yea, I'm fat and out of shape. I think the word is "soft". Getting on the bike today. Gotta watch what I eat.......We'll see. SAT phone is on the docket this time.

On a completely unrelated topic the new book "understanding women" is out. (just kidding ladies...... ;) )
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xcskibum1 wrote on Mar 11^th, 2012 at 4:21pm:

Goin in through stanton or french end of may early june with my brother and a couple buddies from highschool. Plan to only fish and travel from pickeral down to sturgeon and russel. 10 days of relaxation and fishing should be a great time!

You are heading into some of the best lakes in the QP.  Have fun!

prouboy

Put in PP Aug 22, heading up to Sarah and surrounding lakes for exploratory fishing for 10 days.

8/10 thru 8/21

Put in at PP up to Poets Chain, Hoare, then out through the Death March, end back up at PP.

Nym Lake / Batch entry June 3 - June 9 - Same trip as 2 years ago this time with the other twin son. Hoping for some big Pike again. To Sturgeon through, Jesse, Maria, Eiz. Walter, etc. Same cedar strip canoe ....or hopefully the new asymetrical hull design I'm building now.

4 of us will be traveling through Bottle, Roland, Argo, Darky, Wicksteed, Minn, Blackrobe. entering 6/16, exiting 6/23.   

Due to scheduling conflicts, we're entering the park later this year than we've ever entered in the past.  I'm interested to see the differences in weather, bugs, fishing, which should be more pronounced given the mild winter and warm spring.  It'll be a great experience.  Can't wait!