BWCA Trip Report - Southeast Quetico Loop Boundary Waters Trip Reports
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dango
member (8)member
  
08/08/2017 01:47PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
New Trip Report posted by dango

Trip Name: Southeast Quetico Loop.

Entry Point: 25

Click Here to View Trip Report
 
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08/08/2017 03:19PM  
Looks like an extensive loop. Did you pick up your Quetico permit en route at the Prairie Portage station? Presumably you just needed day-use permits for the BWCA portion on each side, but did you have any issues with the border crossings? Did you get a lot of solitude on this loop?
dango
member (8)member
  
08/08/2017 04:21PM  
>Did you pick up your Quetico permit en route at the Prairie Portage station?

Yes; made the reservation online in early Spring, and paid for camping permits/whatever at PP (over $1000 for the whole group).

>Presumably you just needed day-use permits for the BWCA portion on each side, but did you have any issues with the border crossings?

Yep, day-use permits for BWCA. We actually got stopped in Newfound Lake by a BWCA ranger to check our permit. He noted that we needed one for the return trip too, which I neglected, and he let me fill one out right there in the middle of the lake. Nice guy.

Per usual, didn't run into any Canadian Customs & Border Control folks. Painless stop at Customs & Border Control in Ely. Probably took all of 120 seconds for 8 passports to be scanned.

>Did you get a lot of solitude on this loop?
Not as much as I'd of liked - "go figure" this time of year. We saw people every day but usually only one other group per day when paddling or looking for a campsite.
08/08/2017 07:45PM  
Wow, that's quite a loop. I haven't paddle the creek from Cullen down to Kelly Lake yet, but it's on my list. Did you see any moose on the Wawiag?
dango
member (8)member
  
08/09/2017 08:23AM  
>Did you see any moose on the Wawiag?

No moose (or bear) spotted on Wawiag nor anywhere else on the trip. I guess my crew was too loud or not up early enough in the morning.
08/11/2017 06:41AM  
Got any pics? I have never done a trip with more than 2 canoes and can't imagine the congestion at the landings. That's quite an impressive loop. Is everybody in the group experienced?

dango
member (8)member
  
08/14/2017 08:16AM  
>Got any pics?

Yep, but I'm not inclined to post any. I just like keeping photos private.

>can't imagine the congestion at the landings
>Is everybody in the group experienced?

We had a good crew with the majority being experienced. Before we launched, I explained and demonstrated the proper, efficient way to wet portage, and everybody took instruction well. We had 4 packs in total, and thus, each person either carried a pack or a canoe over each portage (single portage). Our crew operated like a finely-tuned Italian motorcycle by the end of the trip. With little exaggeration, each canoe team probably averaged around 100 seconds from the bowman's foot down at a portage til the canoe carrier was following the pack carrier on the portage.
 
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