Thanks for the reply Spartan2. Yes, I misremembered which campsites I was thinking of when I wrote that post. (Reminder to Self: Multi-tasking is NOT a good idea! Especially when the map isn't next to me.) Caribou. Definitely Caribou. Glad to know it is as nice as I thought it might be. I was in that area (little to the east and north) in the winter (Feb) of 2001 with Arleigh Jorgenson's dogs for a week. Realized I hadn't canoed there in waaaaay too long. There was a lot of snow on the ground and lots of wind in some places, so I was making guesses as to how it would look in the summer. It was also, lucky us!, a cold snap and I wasn't pulling the compass out at every lake to help me picture light at the other side of the seasons. I do hope to get in early in the day, both for avoiding wind and general campsite reasons.

I haven't talked with any outfitters yet, so I haven't arranged for a dropoff/pickup. I need to do more planning about where to leave the car, etc., etc. I was completely unclear in my post -- I didn't mean change my mind once we were in, but just closer to the time when my son and I've gone over more scenarios and I have a better idea of how the weather is behaving (and, yeah, I'm very experienced in how weather can change...in my biz we say "Mother Nature bats last.") I definitely wasn't firing on all cylinders last Friday.

I will need an outfitter to rent a canoe from, at the least. I also need to contact the Gunflint Station, confirm opening times, get more maps than just the McKenzie (which I already have), and figure out which stuff I'm bringing with me and which I'll get there. I've already ruled out flying. Dealing with all the baggage through the TSA and at least one plane change wasn't appealing.

Any particular recommendations for the outfitter for a canoe?