MK-

Stayed on 4L on Quetico Lake a couple of years ago.  It may be further north than you want to be but is beyond Eden Island.  Plus, you can shoot the gap just north (north-northwest) of there and be on top of some of the picto's very quickly.

The site on PCD is listed as a 4 and has ample tent pad space for your crew.  Caught a few walleye off the western side of the campsite (although its pretty shallow there).  Since there is only a dead-end bay to the east, there shouldn't be a lot of traffic passing directly in front of you.

dd

I put in at BH last Sept. on a Saturday in the later afternoon. The wind was up in the afternoon so crossing was a little strenuous. Once I got on to Quetico Lake I could not camp at my first, second or third choice of campsites, they were all taken. I finally found an old undocumented campsite, which turned out nice. The fullness of the parking lot when you leave may help you judge the probablility of getting your desired campsite.

You can pick up your permit at Dawson trail,but you add an hour plus to your drive.  Even driving to Aitikokan adds an hour to your drive time.  I have never had a problem with getting my permit at the BH ranger station.

Westwood

Thanks all for your input about check-in and sites -  I have marked sites on my map.

Has anyone done more than one of the 3 route options I mentioned?
Quote:

The only one I've done is the Yeh-Lonely challenge when I was 20 years younger, so I don't want to pick one of the others and find it's harder!

My rationale is this:
Yeh-Lonely = hard because of the killer portage.
Oriana = easy (relatively) because no killer portages & shorter on the water too.
Jean Ck/Sturgeon/Lonely = medium because long but no killer portages.

Is this reasonable or way off base?

Thanks! -Tom

Tom:  Need a report when you're done.  I'm doing much of the same the first full week of September, with my son, son-in-law, and stepson.

Tom,

I agree with all of the above.
If you don't need to, I'd skip going to BH ranger station, especially if the wind is up. BH going from put-in to Ranger station is much shallower than you might think. A stiff wind coming East/West will put a heavy chop on the lake rather than the big rollers you get in deeper water.
More than a few paddlers have dumped taking the wind sideways from put-in to Ranger station. If you get on water really late in day, you can stay at PCD 24, which is on a point east of the BH put-in, if open.

If you must go to Ranger station, and the wind is up from either direction, I'd cut up the channel between Turtle Island ( PCD IW), and the mainland, then swing back SE to ranger station. Better to quarter into a stiff breeze or run with it, than catch it sideways The ranger station has a spring in the back, you can fill water bottles if your so inclined.

If you skip station and the wind is up, you can hug the north shore and make it to Quetico River easily enough. Be aware of the outflow from Q-River. It's deceptive and more than a few paddlers have dumped there
You'll see it when you paddle up. You can paddle up it, or stay to the right close to shore as possible and either paddle up, or if water is low, get out and walk the canoe up to flat water and choose which take-out you want. I prefer the one closest to outflow.

If you decide to paddle up thru riffle, I'd have everyone kneel, and start your effort well in advance of the riffle. When you hit that gap, you'll know what I'm talking about  If you don't have your speed up and start too late you'll wind up going back-wards and that's when your likely to go over.

There are 4 sites close to West end of Q-Lake that I've stayed at when wind was in my face or late in day. One 38, is on SW tip of Eden Island.
The other is 3P on the SE tip of Eden on a sand beach.
There are two other sites on the island east of Eden, 44 which is a real nice site, and 4C which is on East tip of island. There is also a nice site on the tip of the mainland, east of 3P, 42 which is nice as well.

Aaaah!   You guys are really considerate; give good replies to even my out of whack postings.  Thanks.

[quote author=Mk631 link=1278525428/10#14 date=1308230356MP, what's your route plan look like?  -Tom [/quote]

My group of 4 did Beaverhouse to Nym via Quetico, Oriana, Jesse, Maria, Pickerel, Batch in September '09. Let me know if I can help.

J