No, not in the NorthWoods, here on QJ?  Everyone must be out on a trip or prepping for one?  I come here to get my mind right when I can't be there.  Someone please stir up a discussion.

MB

You just did...
I'm focused on planning and prepping. 8-)

My trip isn't till late August.  I'm focused on buying just a few new pieces of gear.  I'd like a yoke with clamps from Spring Creek Outfitters to replace my too long and heavy old one. And my big purchase is going to be an underquilt to replace my pad (Hammock Sleeping).

Anybody else making new purchases?  I'm also bringing light moccasins with a rubber sole this time for around camp.  I was envious of Pine Knot as he walked around camp with dry feet while mine were in wet, cold shoes.

I'm planning & prepping for 3 trips! 

Just nailed down routing & equipment list for trip #1 in late June.  I've been "packed" for months... just need to pull a couple items out & stick another couple in, based on conversation with my nephew/newbie/paddling partner down in SC this past weekend.  Basic theme to trip: "keep-it-simple-stupid."  We only have 7 days (really 6, as we exit early on Day 7).  The guy is a conservation program manager for our federal government.  While he wants to see the park, he REALLY wants to fish, so we will emphasize that more than travel.  We'll stick around big Pickerel Lake and maybe a few lakes within a portage or two.

Trip #2 is a luxury trip and not really in the park.  I'm still going to "count it" since we'll be hitting several lakes just north of the park (& maybe fish peripheral lakes of Quetico, too).  My brother & 2 guys I haven't seen in 40 years will be joining me at The Quetico College School.  We'll day-trip from there each day for a week in search of smallmouth bass.  This trip starts 5 days after I get back from the 1st trip.  We'll be living in relative luxury, renting a house on Eva Lake at QCS.

While I'm excited about all 3 trips, Trip #3 may be the one I have the greatest hopes for.  I have no idea where I'm headed but I hope to be there (Quetico, WCCP, somewhere else in deep north woods) for @2 weeks, probably in September.  While ANY trip up north is nice, I REALLY enjoy it most when I can immerse myself in the experience.  Typically I begin to shed my mental baggage and civilized rhythms on about the fourth day.  After that, well... it's the experience I seek the most.  I really begin to hear the birds, feel the wind & move to the beat of a preferred drummer, both in sunshine & in storms.  I'll do this 3rd trip in September (as a solo, most likely) and have noted a few QJers who have also mentioned possibly doing trips at that time.  It's always nice to run across friends for a day or three up north.

Yes, planning & prepping - and daydreaming - are good things!

Jimbo   8-)

On June 9, I'm heading to Ely to present the same show Wally 13 and I co-presented at Copia, 'Planning Your Fishing-based Wilderness Canoe Trip' on June 10-11.

I am planning a trip first, the whole family (wife and two adult children).  We will be hanging around Pickerel Narrows, mostly, and fishing intensely. Due to conflicting schedules this trip will be later and shorter than normal for me. We are putting in at Nym Lake on the morning of June 19 and returning home the morning of June 24 if all goes well. We cannot afford any layover delay , because both sons have flights to catch in Detroit on the 25th.  One son arrives home from Korea on the 16th and the other from Dallas on the 15th and my wife, who is a teacher, has to work until the 16th.  We will start the drive up to Attikokan (Canoe Canada Outfitters) from my home in SE Michigan on Saturday evening the 17th.  I will rent one canoe from the outfitter and bring one of my cedar strip canoes. It’s looking like I will do all the planning and likely most of the packing. I have not started any preparation yet which is not typical for me, I usually start to prepare months in advance.

Perhaps the shorter trip duration will be a blessing since I anticipate more mosquitoes, black flies and ticks than I normally encounter. I expect I’ll forget to pack something, or my menu planning may not be fully appreciated.  I also anticipate a little family friction (pressed from the wifely/motherly direction) because my sons will want to maximize fishing time at the expense of family time, and will resist sacrificing fishing time to “inordinate” caution.

I’m remaining positive, hoping for adequate gear and supplies, fair weather, biting fish and lots of family fun time. I look forward to capturing some great photographic memories and creating some memorable, positive, family experiences.
Prepping and packing start this weekend.  :)
;) :P 8-)

We're well into planning this year's trip.  We'll be doing the Bloodvein River starting in WCPP on the Ontario side (Larus Lake put in) and going right through to Lake Winnipeg on the Manitoba side.  As usual we're taking our time - 28 days on the water - so there'll be plenty of time for photography and some fishing too.  My wife and I decided we'd better bone up a bit on our white water skills (which are currently about zero) so we signed up for a two day course next month.  Hopefully that will prepare us to  at least shoot anything Class 2 or lower.  We'll be taking our carbon kevlar Bell so even if we had the skills we'd never attempt anything above Class 2 anyway.  Right now we're starting to get our dehydrating done.  But I've got the train booked and the flights and shuttles all lined up.  We're good to go!!!

Quetico put-in on June 1.  So, I'm in the final stages of prep.  This essentially will be a base-camping trip (a couple of longer stops) over a two-week span.

dd

My son and I will be putting in at BH on May 28 for a week of base camping.  This will be his 14th trip in 15 years.  He missed a year the year his daughter was born in March.  With the early spring this year, the bugs will be out and the fish will be a little deeper.  The walleyes will be post spawn so they should be biting.  My wife and I will make a week trip in August for trout and northern pike and whatever bass want to bite.  Historically, we average a walleye every 5th day.  My wife likes to catch walleyes, but doesn't want to jig for them.

Then I hope to do a week or two in September.

then it must be time for another bear thread?

was out Turkey hunting last weekend - drove down to the camping area at the state wildlife area I hunt Friday night.  Tried to turn in early since I wake up at 3:30 to have breakfast, and finally fell asleep around 9.  9:30, something hits my truck and wakes me up - (I sleep in the back of the truck, under an aluminum topper) - I sit up and see the head of a bear go flash past the side window.  I grab my shooter and scream bloody murder at the pest, and he ran off.  Now its harder to get back to sleep, wondering if the bear would come back for a second try - but he didn't.

That's the second time I've had a bear mess with my truck while I've been asleep in back.  Don't keep any food in the back, everything stays in the front cab, and I don't have anything particularly smelly in any case.  Damn bears! 

Quote:

That's the second time I've had a bear mess with my truck while I've been asleep in back.  Don't keep any food in the back, everything stays in the front cab, and I don't have anything particularly smelly in any case.  Damn bears!

Maybe it was a LONELY she bear, looking for a little interspecies companionship, it is SPRING you know.  ;) ;D ;D

We have recently returned from a very enjoyable two-week road trip through Kentucky (think "Bourbon Trail"), Tennessee (think Jerry Vandiver and some country music), and the Carolinas (including a visit in Charlotte with a guy who sometimes posts on here named Ancient Angler).  It was a really fun time in which we took the time to relax with some special friends and family whom we see far too seldom, and also a time to lengthen the spring flowering season (think dogwood) with some careful timing.  Wonderful memories!   That was our April adventure.

In the summer we will be doing our now-traditional "grandchild vacations."  Robert's vacation this year will be in July.  The obligatory first night at the HGI in Middleton, Wisconsin, followed by a couple days/nights at Kalahari at the Wisconsin Dells.  (The kid loves water parks.)  Then we are off to spend four nights in a cabin on Ghost Lake near Hayward, Wisconsin.  One of the "quiet lakes".  Hope to do a little fishing, lots of swimming and canoeing.  Robert is 11, and he wanted to do "something different this year, but still some cabin time."  This should fit the bill.

August is Anna's vacation time, and we will follow as many traditions as possible with her.  This is the tenth anniversary of our first trip to northern Minnesota with her when she was four years old, and she is very tradition-conscious.  Because Spartan1 was ill last year and we had to cancel our trip, we are especially hoping that we can fulfill expectations this time around.  First night at Middleton, 2nd night at St. Paul with a visit to our friends there, and a week at a cabin on the Gunflint (Rockwood Lodge this time.)  Followed by two nights at Naniboujou Lodge so that she can get her "fix" of picking up rocks on the Lake Superior shore!  Lots of swimming, canoeing, relaxing, sleeping in every morning with hot chocolate as a wakeup.  Fishing on Clearwater Lake with our friend Marti Marchino.  Hard to believe our little girl can be fourteen already.

Then, if we can manage to stay healthy. . .our next adventure is a Caribbean Cruise in late December to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary.  That one includes the whole family, kids, in-law kids, and both grandchildren.  7 days in the eastern Caribbean over Christmas. 

We may not be canoe-tripping anymore, but we aren't staying home either!

Spartan2,

Sounds like a great trip.  I hope you found Tim to be doing well.  Have always wanted to meet that guy!  I may actually have crossed paths with you guys, briefly.  I was in & out of the airport in Charlotte for a wedding down in SC last week.

This aging-thing CAN be managed!  Stay active!

Jimbo   8-)

I've been busy planning, packing, repacking.
Purchases...just a few.
I needed a few maps, I use McKenzie.
I needed a GoPro 5 Hero Black, voice activated fish pictures when solo.
I needed a Zaveral flatwater Power Surge medium, helps with the shoulder injury.
I needed a Purcell trench grill, no grates in the Q.

I really did need the maps.

Tim is well.  He gave us an autographed copy of his newest book, TENTS, BOATS and THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY, and I am starting to read it now.  It is autobiographical, a collection of tales about growing up in the Midwest and learning to fish, learning to love the wild places.  It doesn't seem to be on Amazon.com yet, but I can supply the address if you want to contact Tim about purchasing a copy.

Tim is a special friend.  He contacted me after reading my "Canoeing Partner" story many years ago, and learning that I was from Parma, Michigan.  He grew up in Springport, which is not only near to Parma, but is the town where I taught school music K-12 for 13 years.  With that in common, we began to correspond on the Internet and developed an email friendship that has lasted for a couple of decades.  We have gotten together with him a couple of times and he has met our granddaughter Anna once.

Tim was a great deal of moral support to me when Neil had his transplant, including offering up my daily support scripture, Joshua 1:9, which rested on my fridge door throughout all of the difficult days as well as the triumphant ones.  And I like to think I offered support to him later on as he spent several years as a caregiver and nurse to his beloved Nancy, who struggled valiantly with ALS and died about a year ago from that terrible condition.  He is a quiet, strong, caring man, and I admire him deeply.

And that's what I can add about the man who calls himself Ancient Angler.

He's lucky to have a good friend like you too SP2  :)

Tim Mead's book Quetico Adventures was very inspirational for me. I read it on a solo a few years ago.

Tim sent me that book a few years back & I reviewed it for our "Books" forum.  It's a great read!  Would love to have tripped with the guy; we almost got something going a year or so back but - as Spartan2 has alluded - he had a lot going on at home.  Hey, maybe yet? 

Tim is an inspiration to me.  He keeps going & going & going.

I lived in NC for MANY years & had made several trips to Quetico while there. Never knew he was located there at the time!  I regret having not made his acquaintance way back when....

He's a class act!

Jimbo   8-)

If you are interested in his new book, the price is $17.95 + shipping and handling and you can order it by contacting him at:

Tim Mead
7124 Chapparall Lane
Charlotte, NC 28215

I am pretty sure he wouldn't mind the plug. 

He's a retired professor at UNC Charlotte and from what he said last month he has several trips planned for this next year.  I'm forgetting now just where, but not sure it was the Q.  Possibly north of there. 

"Quetico Adventures" is the basis for my trip this June.  Specifically "Return to McDougall Lake".  After reading that, I thought "I have got to fish that lake".  So I will put in at French Lake and head for McDougall.  What happens after that? We'll see, but I will have 8 days to figure it out.

I've had Pierna Lake on my wish list since reading that book.  I'm going to McDougal in September and need to re-read that chapter.

TomT

Tim's BWJ story on McDougall from long ago (probably the basis for the chapter in his book) was part of what enticed me to break off from the first "Bushwhacker's Jamboree" and go there for the first time back in 2005.  He touted the smallmouth fishing as superb... and was right!

By the way, TomT, speaking of books... thank you for your recent recommendation re: Ivan Doig's book, "The Sea Runners."  It was a very enjoyable read and a great way to spend the hours/days of "waiting" until I can get my own adventures going again!

I leave in 5 weeks.  Meanwhile, I get to adventure vicariously by following friends via their SPOT location messages.  Hey, maybe I'll even get lucky enough to be called in to do a "rescue!"  Surely, one of my buddies will need to be rescued?!?  Please, please, please!!!!

Hmmm... that might be a truism for the ages: "rescue" truly lies in the eye of the beholder.

Jimbo   8-)

Apparently there is enough inspiration from Tim to cover everyone.  If my memory serves me correctly there is a part in his previous book where he is speaking to a crowd and offers...... "I am 73 years old, most people who are my age are already dead.  I have no interest in being dead, I only have interest in being alive" 

I hope that was at least close.  Age might be off a bit. 

I was feeling my own age a bit  at the time when I read it, and was not planning to take a trip that year.  Without knowing it, he changed my mind and I have not missed a year since.

Regards,

MossBack

Wow! Thanks to those who said kind things about me. Particularly welcome from folks who appreciate sleeping on the ground in the rain (among other things). As Spartan2 said, been a rugged couple of years here and I have not kept up on a number of things as my attention was turned to other matters. Starting to load the truck today. Off shortly to Michigan, then to Ontario, to Minnesota, back to Quetico, Duluth then home. The Outdoor Writers Association of America is meeting in Duluth and I am taking some friends from the organization into Quetico for a brief trip before the conference (can you believe some folks have to work? Terrible!) (How's that for rubbing it in?)
Later in the year to Alaska and Montana. So, I'm getting back into the swing. And I was complimented Spartan1 and Spartan2 wanted to include me in their swing through the SE. We had a delightful day together. Nice folks. 

Glad to see you're still out there doin' it Tim.  Maybe a trip report for us?

Wow. More friends here than the week before final exams. Of course, I'm sorry folks went to some of my favorite spots (not really). I have been fortunate to have both Spartans as friends. And Jimbo and ...

Jimbo wrote on May 19^th, 2017 at 12:25pm:

TomT By the way, TomT, speaking of books... thank you for your recent recommendation re: Ivan Doig's book, "The Sea Runners."  It was a very enjoyable read and a great way to spend the hours/days of "waiting" until I can get my own adventures going again! Jimbo   8-)

Glad you enjoyed it Jimbo.  If you liked his style,
you'll surely love this one. More truth than fiction in it as well.
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Hey TomT -

I just realized I had read something else that was quite good by Ivan Doig a few years back.  It is called "The Last Bus to Wisdom."  Well worth reading!  The guy sure knows how to tell a great story.  FYI

Jimbo   8-)

:)

Doig is one of my favorite authors. I've made the trip to Wisdom and I can imagine how the road along the Big Hole was in the 1950s. I stayed four days in Wisdom in September. Only one person had not read the book. As for a report on my last trip to Quetico, I have a manuscript about to submit to BWJ.