New Trip Report posted by TomT

Trip Name: Moosecamp Solo.

Entry Point: 23

Click Here to View Trip Report wc-20071201-0945

Thanks for the report. The video was an awesome bonus!

Nice trip report with the videos. I recognize your solo boat from a BWJ cover shot, what is it?
cedarboy

Right on Cedarboy. It was on the cover in 2002. It's a Blackhawk "Starship" from 1994.

I got it in 2001 and can't find much information on it. It's very well made but I need to replace the gunnels. I've tried my best to restore them but the screws are giving away in the rotted wood.

Nice report, Tom. I like sharing trips with a friend too, so I can understand that desire, but it's also great to get out there. You sure caught the brunt of this fall's monsoon.

A trip like this is like the best wine, the memories will age and become a cherished treasure.

Nice report,brings back alot of good memories,we did that area in 2002 and had lunch on a daytrip at that site on Moosecamp.

TomT,
Enjoyed reading and viewing your trip report. You captured a lot of observations that make it a special experience. You handled the wet weather very well, considering how much rain fell, wow.
Thanks,
Boppa

Tom, EXCELLENT!!! I think that is the finest trip report I have seen.

Hey thanks a lot for the comments. I appreciate it.

Also, I found some video of my first day where I was at the Fourtown portage and it was quite a contrast to when I was leaving 4 days later. I posted the link to it on Day 6 of the report.

The integration of the videos was excellent, thanks.

Wow, great trip report! Loved the videos, great idea.

TomT,

I enjoyed your report and videos. Thanks!

Chuck

i agree with everything already said. ill add this...LOVE the sheridan st. webcam capture. nice touch! Jan

Enjoyed reading your trip report. Great pics and video. Nicely done!

Great Report and Great Video. I enjoyed both.

>i agree with everything already said. ill add this...LOVE the sheridan st. webcam capture. nice touch! Jan<

Yeah, I'd like to see more people do this.

Very Nicely Done!

Enjoyed Very Much....

Thank You for Sharing...

Great report, I'm going to try to do the same thing with creating a report and embedding videos. I know you mentioned not doing another solo for various reasons, I made the same decision and have been on 3 or 4 since then. Looking at some of your pictures, if you decide to do another, I think you could cut way down on your gear to save yourself some pack weight.

I was going to observe that when I solo, I take 1/3 that amount of gear. And that's too much.

I try to go as light as I can. I even left the hammock at home. :)

The Eureka 2 man tent and also the basecamp thermarest take up a lot of space. I had a pretty large camera case too. I think an area I could cut back on is the fishing gear. Definitely a smaller tackle box and only 1 rod and reel would be helpful.

I really didn't have any luxuries besides the cameras. Oh, and the depthfinder. Yeah, that's a perk I don't need on a solo trip. My clothes were cut down from previous trips though.

Going solo can be rough physically. If I ever do it again and I'm sure someday I will (God willing), I'll try to go with a much smaller load. Maybe a new canoe too. :)

I ceratinly would not tell anyone how to solo. It is such a personal thing. But I will say that I too noticed the load you had. I love to see how other soloist do it. I will say that when I solo I have 2 packs - a camptrails canoe pack (probably the equivilant to a #3.5) and a daypack. I still have to double portage.

But one of the nice things about soloing is that you only need to please yourself. Take the gear you like using. Take the amount of gear you want. Solo tripping -- when you truly get to have it your way. :).

I agree Bannock, when you solo all you are doing is pleasing yourself.

I wasn't really covering a lot of ground over 5 days so I could afford a few luxuries.

I only made 2 camps. My new camera and the depthfinder added a lot of weight. Other than that I would say it was pretty light packing. I don't see how I could go for 5 days with one pack without being very uncomfortable. Don't tell me you guys don't bring a tarp?

I suppose those nice sleeping hammocks would be a nice addition. No thermarest or the bulk of a tent....

I bring a tarp, but it compresses to about twice the size of a softball. My sleeping bag compresses to the size of a loaf of bread, my air matress the size of a nalgene bottle, and my tent the size of a watermelon. The list goes on. If you wanted to, and you have the money, you can get gear that packs small. My tarp, tent, sleeping bag, and air matress takes up maybe 1/3 of my big pack.

I even take a chair and sometimes a refector oven. :)

My sleeping bag is down and rated to 10 degrees. A compression sack would be a good idea. I wouldn't compromise the thermarest basecamp. I love that thing and if I don't sleep well I won't have a good trip.

I noticed one thing I didn't need to bring and that was the big sauce pan. I didn't use it and brought it along as a reflex because everything else nested inside of it.

I'd probably get a lighter/less bulky tent for my next solo and leave the depth finder at home. Oh, and as painful as it would be I would get a smaller tackle box. :(

TomT, I really enjoyed your report. I came through from Crooked through Gun, Fairy, Boot, Fourtown to Mudro with my son in 2004, and in 2006 I made my first solo in at Mudro to Horse. I've been thinking about doing a solo up to Moosecamp in May or June, so your post is of additional interest to me.

Thanks Old Gent. I would recommend Moosecamp to anyone. I saw 2 moose and had a pair of loons nearby for the two days that I was there. Along with the 5 star site it is off the path a little so you should have some solitude.

Tom, This is an awesome trip report, thanks. I'm planning my first solo this spring in these lakes so it was good to hear about moosecamp and the river/creek. I think I'll avoid that unless the water is high. Thanks for the great pictures and videos. I think I'll try the Sheridan webcam thing too. How dod you know about that anyway?

Thanks MB. You can find Ely webcams Here

Tom,
I'm planning on making the same trip this May. Thanks for the report I enjoyed it.

Enjoyed it...thx.

Very informative and entertaining. Have not had the experience of a solo trip but this gave me a good feel for the problems and pleasures a solo tripper can experience. Thanks.

tom t

awesome idea about going to moosecamp via the river-it makes it a loop in away-just got my permit for may 20-going to do your same trip -can't wait

It's funny how things work out but I never intended to take the river to Moosecamp. I met an older couple on the way to Fourtown on a portage and they had just come from the river and told me it was passable. I had thought the level would be to low at that time of year (Sept.)

So I changed my route and it was really great. Good luck with your trip!

tomt

i just watched your trip report again-yeah,this is going to be good
because i usually plan a loop on my solos,but then end up basecamping & being lazy-your route is like the "river of no return"-you can't go in without completing a loop-plus i do love those lazy slow rivers in bw-it mellows you out-the only thing is you always think the lake is right around the corner-your trip report gave me a time frame to go by so i will try to just relax & take my time,knowing the lake is going to appear eventually-i plan on camping on beartrap & gull or gun, so i can check out all the lakes in this area-we'll see how that goes-i'm fired up ready to go-of course, it's two months to go & i'm pacing back & forth in my basement watching the snow come down like it's never going to end-thanks for the great trip report,it has already been a big help-cheers

Great report, I definitely want to do a solo trip sometime in the next few years so I found your report enlightening. BTW, my boys and I and a friend and his son stayed at that Boot Lake campsite summer of `06. It is a great site. We stayed there two nights and had a pack of wolves howling both evenings straight across the lake and guessing 1/2 mile or so back in the woods. There was a big pile of wolf scat on portage landing from Boot to Fourtown on the way out. Anyway, when I do go solo I think I'll do Moosecamp.