BWCA Trip Report - Base Camp on Caribou Boundary Waters Trip Reports
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chadobmn
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08/07/2013 12:06PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
New Trip Report posted by chadobmn

Trip Name: Base Camp on Caribou .

Entry Point: 47

Click Here to View Trip Report
 
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ozarkpaddler
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08/07/2013 01:03PM  
Nice trip report and smallie there! Have camped there and the campsite opposite you (where the noisy group was across from Horseshoe portage) on the last night of a couple of trips. I've done very well with walleye on Caribou. If you want to stay on Caribou in the future, you might check out a few of the sites away from the two portages? I've eaten lunch at one on the north shore years ago that seemed nice.
08/07/2013 02:47PM  
nice report and good to hear you caught fish. sad to hear about all the parties you saw.
chadobmn
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08/07/2013 04:10PM  
Thanks, we caught about 3 or 4 Smallie's all about that size, it was fun. Fishing was better than I had expected for this time of year. Cool weather and cloudy skies helped for sure. I read back through my report, and I did seem awfully focused on all the groups we saw...not sure why, I don't look back on it now and think negatively about seeing too many people. I think mostly it was just the permit violators that got under my skin a little. It really WAS a beautiful trip.
08/07/2013 04:47PM  
Great Report and thanks for sharing. Mike and Lin are great aren't they! At the end of June this year when I entered at Meeds my friend that I brought up commented that it seemed like Mike and Lin were more like old friends I was catching up with than outfitters I've used before. I also like the convenience of pushing off right from their beach.

Last year the last week of July I stayed at the same site as you with my 7 year old daughter. I love that site other than it being so close to the portage. It was entertaining at times watching people though. I told Mike I should have video taped it for him to show his customers what "not" to do. He laughed and said it was probably better if he didn't know :) We were lucky as the 3 sites closest to us were all empty so it was very quiet.
ozarkpaddler
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08/07/2013 04:51PM  
quote chadobmn: "Thanks, we caught about 3 or 4 Smallie's all about that size, it was fun. Fishing was better than I had expected for this time of year. Cool weather and cloudy skies helped for sure. I read back through my report, and I did seem awfully focused on all the groups we saw...not sure why, I don't look back on it now and think negatively about seeing too many people. I think mostly it was just the permit violators that got under my skin a little. It really WAS a beautiful trip."


Perfectly understandable. When you know people are violating the rules it DOES get under a person's skin.
chadobmn
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08/07/2013 05:04PM  
Yes, the site is very nice. Exposed to wind, which kept the bugs down. But as soon as you get much behind the site it gets pretty swampy and the bugs are there in force. I was thinking it would be a good site to take my son too someday (he's 6) for his first trip. Other than being close to the portage, which as you said, at times was very entertaining. Lot's of conversations for us started with "What are they doing now......?" :). The trail to the latrine is a mess though. Not sure if that's just because of the high water, but it wouldn't be great for kids right now, as there is a 10 x 5 "pond" in the middle of the trail. Rockwoods was great, nice to do a loop and not have to worry about my car parked at an entry point in the middle of nowhere.
08/07/2013 09:30PM  
Thanks for the report. I enjoyed it and it brought back memories of my trip last fall when I stayed at Rockwood. I had them shuttle me to EP #50, Cross Bay, a paddled back out through Lizz. There was a lot of gold on the hills around Caribou, but not many people in early Oct. :).
ozarkpaddler
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08/08/2013 10:49AM  
If you want to stay that close when you take your son, you may check out the one where the noisy group stayed, behind you. We actually have stayed at both on the last night of the trip. It's less noisy because it's a bit further from the portage and, as I recall, is a better landing. That little bay used to be full of Northerns, too.
Here's the only scanned pic I have of it:
08/08/2013 12:10PM  
Very nice trip report. I've stayed at that campsite on Caribou - and recall it being very nice. It was large and had room for tarps and hammocks. It also had some nice blueberry bushes. The only downside was all the traffic at the portage.

We have tripped in this area quite a few times. Our permits were checked twice by Forest Service personnel. Once was on the portage into Caribou and the other time our permits were checked while we were paddling Caribou (different trips - different years).

I hope you enjoyed your time in this area as much as we did. It seems like you did ok with fishing too!
canoemomkim
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08/16/2013 04:32PM  
Nice trip report. Our family would have been one of the groups your friend saw leaving on Monday morning. We were actually hoping for your site for our last night (Sunday) but ended up at another site on Caribou. I'll have to get my own trip report in.
plainspaddler
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08/16/2013 06:52PM  
Nice report. I stayed at the same campsite the 10th-14th. We had some noisy neighbors 2 of the nights at the campsite to the NW. The site is a nice one...would be nicer if it wasn't right across from the portage.

Mike
08/17/2013 12:42PM  
thanks for the report!
missmolly
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08/17/2013 03:41PM  
Big bass!
paddlefamily
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09/01/2013 09:13PM  
We were one of the groups exiting Caribou on Monday. Saw some of your group sitting on the rock, enjoying the mid-morning sun peeking through the clouds. I recall thinking that we should be especially quiet and disembark and move on quicky as your site must hear/see the full effects of canoists all day long. My husband and I had done a loop starting at the Portage/Skipper EP. Sounds like you had a nice time. We really enjoyed the mild weather and had a great trip ourselves.

robest182
member (31)member
  
09/13/2013 12:29PM  
Thanks for the report. I'm looking at this area for a trip in '14 and your report help.

 
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