Good thoughts SD.
I have too agree with the comments about the Ely outfitters working hard for your business. I see them listed at more Outdoor Booking Shows than any of the Canadian outfits.

From posts here, I get a sense that most of the US outfitters are willing to work with you, even up to recommending other outfitters that might fit your needs better? It seems from posts that they all know each other and have a degree of co-operation working.

I remember asking Q-Dave, if he knew the guy KF and MP used on their Eastern entry adventure? Dave had advertised that he could get you into the Wawiag River, but had told me that it was above a set of rapids that he didn't think you could run, and that had no portage established? That's when I suggested he talk with KF's guy, as he was looking too establish something in that area. I was surprised that Dave said he didn't know him, but had heard the name? I would think that in a small town like Atikokan that ALL the outfitters would know each other?
Maybe that's not the Canadian way, just seems odd too me?

wally wrote on Jan 19^th, 2010 at 9:37pm:


If you do, I'm in if you need a partner!

I'm much farther away (in Ohio), but I don't recall ever seeing anyone from the BWCA side at a sport show here - could be my memory - but none are on the list for this year either.  We get lots of Canadian places -- mostly eastern Ontario, even Quebec -- but we do get Canoe Canada here every other year or so.  During one slow time I picked Jim Clark's brain about Quetico for an hour or so & he was pretty forthcoming about routes, fishing, etc.  Now granted, I'd been a paying customer in the past, so that may have helped.
Just another perspective.
-Tom

PS: one thing mentioned (lamented) was that their canoeing / park business was down, but that their cabin business (mostly north of Atikokan) was way way up -- so some of this may be the business model.  Why not invest more where you're going to make more money?

I don't think QJ can change anything up there in regards to outfitters and park rules.  I'm not advocating change either.  I'm just pointing out an underutilized resource and a mindset that virtually guarantees it will continue to be so. 

Nor do I want to go up there and compete against them (even as I'd kick some tail, of course  ) because the moment I open an outfitting business is the moment I've taken my last canoe trip between May 10 and Sept 15.  That, and Mrs. Snow_Dog has made it very clear that we live as far north as she cares to live. 

Agreed, filling cabins is one of the bigger games to be played up there.  But the potential of expanding canoeable wilderness or semi-wilderness isn't being tapped at all.

Quote:


And that's my point.  Outfitters who aren't willing to open up to potential customers (or who just don't know the area they service very well) are going to have a hard time making a go of it.  Then blaming Ely outfitters and penalizing customers for not fitting their definition of "ideal" just makes it worse.

PhantomJug wrote on Jan 19^th, 2010 at 10:32pm:

I fully concur with PJ on this!  If I didn't hold Quetico in very high esteem, I certainly wouldn't be treking all the way across the US to get there (and I'm even crazy enough to do it twice during softwater season).  And I must not be paying attention ... I've found everyone I've dealt with along the "north shore" to at least be a neutral interaction (if not absolutely positive).

But having a drive up campground on the shores of Batch is a bit of a concern.   It would be only a small step from there to making Batch a motor lake and due to is proximity/connectivity to Pickeral, it could easily be the next domino to fall.  If those events came to pass, I don't think I'd make any effort to extend my trek to Atikokan to see something similar to Basswood.  Up to now, I've made some attempt to alternate north versus south entries where possible.

dd