Planning a trip June 07  for one week. Drive up Saturday hit the water Sunday back in Friday, drive home Saturday, any suggestions. Ideas for outfitter(partial) to arrange transportation etc. would be appreciated.

TBD, I have read about WCPP a few times, most recently inthe Boundary Waters Journal. Have heard it is like Quetico was 30 years ago, only 2000-3000 people a year.  I think one of the web sites was Canoe Stories. I talked with an outfitter a year ago at a Canoe  Event at Midwest Mountineering here in the TwinCities. What would you suggest????

cedarboy

Thanks Old Salt !!

Cedarboy

I made the Woodland Caribou trip a few years ago, and wrote an article in the BWJ about it.  I highly recommend Albert Rogalinski out of Red Lake as an outfitter who will help with route planning and any options for transport into the park from Red Lake (we flew...a wonderful and not so expensive option, again, arranged by Albert.)

Woodland Caribou will give you a true sense of wilderness.  Portages are sketchy and hard to find, campsites are sometimes not where they're supposed to be.  We bushwacked a few campsites after giving up on trying to find the ones marked.  It's an amazing place.  Not for everyone.  Some might freak by the notion of being ALONE.  We never saw a person or canoe in 9 days.  By the way, if possible, I'd give yourself more time...

Gulls haven't even figured out that canoes generally mean a free meal of fish guts....the fact that they weren't habituated told me a lot about the few people who go there.

It's an unregulated park, so you have to be careful on trip planning if you don't want to see power boats and cabins.  But it's doable.  When we went, floatplanes could go anywhere...I think they're a bit more restricted now. 

It's a fantastic place. Fishing is ridiculuous.  Actually too easy. 

I'm going back next year.  Have fun. 

prouboy

[quote author=prouboy link=1150601984/0#6 date=1239839834]I made the Woodland Caribou trip a few years ago, and wrote an article in the BWJ about it.  I highly recommend Albert Rogalinski out of Red Lake as an outfitter who will help with route planning and any options for transport into the park from Red Lake (we flew...a wonderful and not so expensive option, again, arranged by Albert.)

Albert is no longer the proprieter of goldseekers.  He sold it two years ago to someone on his staff.  We were halfway into planning our '07 trip when this happened.  I'm sure by now the new guy Keith has got it figured out.  nice enough guy, just not the veteran outfitter that we heard Albert was.

will the present flock migrate to woodland and build a new nest ,leaving what they've left behind :question  what will 30 years in the future tell of these "new" finds" [/quote]

I hope the WCP NEVER gets that kind of use!!   (QP gets about 22,000 people each year, and the BWCA gets about 230,000 visits/year.)   The ecosystem of WCP, so much further north, is much, much more fragile than the QP.  It's very dry and cold.  The lichen and moss that now grow up there in large thick patches would be gone in short order.  The fragile system is why the WCP Superintendent, much to his credit, has convinced his staff - and hopefully the poobahs in the bureaucracy - that they should not compete with other Parks like QP for MORE people!  (There is this feeling among some that more visitors means more "success.")  This superintendent understands that his park's carrying capacity is much less than others like QP and Wabikimi, and too many visitors, (I think his upper limit is about 5,000/year) would result in ecological degradation. 

I hope everyone practices light-on-the-land camping when they visit.  It's really a special place.

But "progress" inevitably marches on.  And so it goes...

prouboy

albert did try to get out of the bussiness including his BC based eco adventure operation. he ran into problems on both "sales" and is back running the show.

Great Info!! The park is definitely on the " 2do"list.

marlin55388 wrote on Apr 18^th, 2009 at 3:56am:


Marlin55388,

Would that have been "Claire"?

That individual has been extremely helpful to our group's preparation for this year's trip.

Also... Prouboy's words-to-the-wise re: treading lightly on the fragile ecosystem of WCP are much appreciated & will be heeded as much as possible by our group.

We are excited at the prospect of coming to appreciate the differences between the ecosystems.  I have already ordered the books that Supt. Doug flagged for me in his QJ thread.  I figure I have at least another 10-12 years left (physically) to tackle challenging new places.  I plan to make the most of those.

Jimbo  

INteresting people watching too, the muni is accross the street right...Yep, it is Claire....she is a sweetheart Super helpful. I totally want to cover a garage wall will that map collage behind their counter...at the park station in Red Lake. Hey, has anyone done a fly in to the Haugherty River area? I think I spelled that right. Heard that is a hot spot for the caribou. I figure that is wear we will go when the boy finishs elementary school-psuedo graduation....then maybe the coppermine or the eskerlands @ graduation-if he still likes hangin' with me that is......The vultures and ravens were excellent too.....

more

Jim J Solo --  This last shot reminds me of a site I once stayed on in Wabikimi Park...  Great shot, thanks. 

At that particular site, my buddy went off in the bush to attend to nature's business, unfortunately he practiced really bad site selection....right over a ground nest of bees.  I've never seen a 65-year old man move so fast, and the bees were right after him.  We counted over 20 bites -- from his legs to his head.  Lucky for him, and me, he wasn't allergic to the bee stings.  Ever since that trip I carry an Epi-pen.

prouboy

Jimbo wrote on Apr 18^th, 2009 at 1:12pm:


I used to be nearly impossible to get find a place to stay in Red Lake, but this year is different. Should have no troubles finding a good place.

If the Norseman Inn is booked try the Natures Inn in Balmertown.

Places to eat are limited but the few places there is are pretty good. I personally like eating at the Lakeview, basic food at a fair price and good service. The Howey Bay Motel has decent food, service is sometimes slow but that is the north.

There are a few hidden gems too. Left at the lights is a spot called Antonio's. Best food in town, but a little pricey.