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Savage Voyageur
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quote Frenchy19: "quote Savage Voyageur: "It would be firewood if I were there. "
Really? Historic relics mean nothing to you? That is a very cool find!"
Yah the sled is cool to look at but if it Was truly historic someone would had hauled it out and put it on display. This is not the first time someone has found this stuff. The window frames are just junk, nothing historic there. When this area and the BWCA was taken over everything in sight was burnt to the ground. Rangers wanted everything manmade gone. Cabins burnt, foundations and chimneys broken up. I hike the woods for fun on down days, there is so much junk in the woods it's sad. I have found many pot belly stoves, lanterns, cathode ray tubes from an old radio, pipes, bails of wire. I have found mining equipment from 100 year old abandoned gold mines just rusting away. Cool? I say this is discarded junk from lazy people of the past.
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stevedug
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we stopped at that exact spot a couple weeks ago to stretch our legs and saw the sled and window frame. they weren't together like in your pick, but a bit spread out on that open rock area. the sled is obviously pretty old, but the window was weirder I thought, since it still had remnants of bug screening on the edges.
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aholmgren
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thanks for picturing and posting. neat find. looks like it has sheet metal on the runners. it doesn't look to be a sled a dog team towed. old and weather but with some rope still it.
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Ho Ho
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thebotanyguy's point that it looks like something that would be towed by a snowmobile got me thinking, aren't there some traplines still run in the winter in Quetico (or at least, weren't there until recently), and weren't the trappers allowed to used snowmobiles to run the lines - especially in the western part of the park (including Jean) that has been administered by the LLC First Nation? Maybe it's connected with that activity.
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Frenchy19
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quote Ho Ho: "thebotanyguy's point that it looks like something that would be towed by a snowmobile got me thinking, aren't there some traplines still run in the winter in Quetico (or at least, weren't there until recently), and weren't the trappers allowed to used snowmobiles to run the lines - especially in the western part of the park (including Jean) that has been administered by the LLC First Nation? Maybe it's connected with that activity.
"
No way is that a recent "trapline still run in the winter." That sled is old, dude.
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missmolly
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Agreed. That's an old sled design. Maybe the windows were used as drying racks.
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Pinetree
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old mining attempt?
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Yellowbird
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There is an old camp behind the campsite at the entrance of Little Jean (site H3). Maybe there is a connection with these items.
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Savage Voyageur
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It would be firewood if I were there.
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Frenchy19
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quote Savage Voyageur: "It would be firewood if I were there. "
Really? Historic relics mean nothing to you? That is a very cool find!
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Pinetree
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Looking at that sled it looks like it would be unstable behind a snowmobile.
I would be curious what kind of bottom it had?
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MichiganMan
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quote Mocha: "was the stuff just laying right there on the rock by the lake? "
Yes it was. In full view of anyone paddling by. It was a pretty open spot, at first we thought it might be a campsite. There is a fire ring there, but that's all. We thought maybe it was a shore lunch spot for the First Nation folks. We didn't go too far back into the woods, but we didn't really see signs of former habitation or a cabin, or anything like that.
I agree that the sled looks like it could be pulled behind a snowmobile. Maybe someone in there ice fishing or trapping, as HoHo suggested?
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Mocha
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was the stuff just laying right there on the rock by the lake? if so, chances are someone found it back in the woods and drug it out, maybe intending to pack it out or maybe leaving it hoping someone else would. Cool stuff!
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GeoFisher
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quote MichiganMan: "Found this weird sled at a shore lunch spot on Jean Lake, near the entrance to Little Jean. There were also several wooden window frames laying there. Anyone know the story behind this stuff? "
Did you walk back in the woods .......lots of interesting stuff on that spot.......LOTS.
Later,
Geo
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GeoFisher
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quote MichiganMan: "quote Mocha: "was the stuff just laying right there on the rock by the lake? "
Yes it was. In full view of anyone paddling by. It was a pretty open spot, at first we thought it might be a campsite. There is a fire ring there, but that's all. We thought maybe it was a shore lunch spot for the First Nation folks. We didn't go too far back into the woods, but we didn't really see signs of former habitation or a cabin, or anything like that.
I agree that the sled looks like it could be pulled behind a snowmobile. Maybe someone in there ice fishing or trapping, as HoHo suggested? "
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GeoFisher
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quote MichiganMan: "quote Mocha: "was the stuff just laying right there on the rock by the lake? "
Yes it was. In full view of anyone paddling by. It was a pretty open spot, at first we thought it might be a campsite. There is a fire ring there, but that's all. We thought maybe it was a shore lunch spot for the First Nation folks. We didn't go too far back into the woods, but we didn't really see signs of former habitation or a cabin, or anything like that.
I agree that the sled looks like it could be pulled behind a snowmobile. Maybe someone in there ice fishing or trapping, as HoHo suggested? "
You should have went further back......that is DEFINITELY a cabin site, and lots of interesting stuff.
Don't post specific details :) . But that is a cool site.
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QueticoMike
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That is an interesting find.
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Pinetree
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That is one heavy duty metal bar on that sled.
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thebotanyguy
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The sled and hitch look like something that would be towed behind a snowmobile. The window frames, I have no clue what they might be for.
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Pinetree
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does the island big enough maybe a cabin was present once?
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MichiganMan
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Found this weird sled at a shore lunch spot on Jean Lake, near the entrance to Little Jean. There were also several wooden window frames laying there. Anyone know the story behind this stuff?
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Minnesotian
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quote Savage Voyageur: I say this is discarded junk from lazy people of the past. "
At what point does discarded junk from lazy people become artifacts?
For example, here is an excerpt from a book published in 1960 where the author and traveling companions find broken pipes and other debris left behind by voyageurs at a well used campsite. Portage into the Past
Trash when the voyageurs went by? Yes. Trash by 1960 or when the trip was taken? No.
Here's a whole thread of artifacts/trash: BWCA artifacts
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Savage Voyageur
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quote timatkn: "quote Savage Voyageur: "quote Frenchy19: "quote Savage Voyageur: "It would be firewood if I were there. "
Really? Historic relics mean nothing to you? That is a very cool find!"
Yah the sled is cool to look at but if it Was truly historic someone would had hauled it out and put it on display. This is not the first time someone has found this stuff. The window frames are just junk, nothing historic there. When this area and the BWCA was taken over everything in sight was burnt to the ground. Rangers wanted everything manmade gone. Cabins burnt, foundations and chimneys broken up. I hike the woods for fun on down days, there is so much junk in the woods it's sad. I have found many pot belly stoves, lanterns, cathode ray tubes from an old radio, pipes, bails of wire. I have found mining equipment from 100 year old abandoned gold mines just rusting away. Cool? I say this is discarded junk from lazy people of the past. "
I get your point and agree with some of it, but this was found in The Quetico in Canada...not the BWCAW in the United States. Although managed similarly they are definitely not the same. The Canadians often left old camps/buildings behind and ask they not be messed with as they consider them historical unlike the BWCAW who had a policy of complete removal although now they (the BWCAW) say leave anything alone. In this case someone hauled them away from what the Canadians would call a historical site. The proper thing to do would have been to not remove items in the first place but finding them I have been told to either put them back or leave them alone. The Park Officals would prefer to make the decision on what is historical and what should be burned instead of campers making that decision as you seem to advocate above.
T"
Look at the nails in the sled, they are not old they are just common nails found at any hardware store. If they were old they would be square not round.
Look at the window frame corner joinery, these are not old joints. They are common lap joints.
Look at the nylon rope, nylon was invented around WW2 and this stuff looks new.
To sum it up, yah leave these "Old Historic Relics" for everyone to enjoy.
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timatkn
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Maybe you are right? Why don't ya email the Park Superintendent to find out for sure? I just prefer for the professionals to handle enforcing the Park policy and make decisions, I mean I don't pull people over for speeding :)
An example would be message caches' in Quetico. Park employees contribute to the caches, heck I read a message from the Park Superintendent himself on Ted...yet some people have self appointed themselves park employees and destroyed them---obviously not following what the Park wants.
T
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AmarilloJim
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We always thought it was an old logging camp.
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timatkn
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quote Savage Voyageur: "quote Frenchy19: "quote Savage Voyageur: "It would be firewood if I were there. "
Really? Historic relics mean nothing to you? That is a very cool find!"
Yah the sled is cool to look at but if it Was truly historic someone would had hauled it out and put it on display. This is not the first time someone has found this stuff. The window frames are just junk, nothing historic there. When this area and the BWCA was taken over everything in sight was burnt to the ground. Rangers wanted everything manmade gone. Cabins burnt, foundations and chimneys broken up. I hike the woods for fun on down days, there is so much junk in the woods it's sad. I have found many pot belly stoves, lanterns, cathode ray tubes from an old radio, pipes, bails of wire. I have found mining equipment from 100 year old abandoned gold mines just rusting away. Cool? I say this is discarded junk from lazy people of the past. "
I get your point and agree with some of it, but this was found in The Quetico in Canada...not the BWCAW in the United States. Although managed similarly they are definitely not the same. The Canadians often left old camps/buildings behind and ask they not be messed with as they consider them historical unlike the BWCAW who had a policy of complete removal although now they (the BWCAW) say leave anything alone. In this case someone hauled them away from what the Canadians would call a historical site. The proper thing to do would have been to not remove items in the first place but finding them I have been told to either put them back or leave them alone. The Park Officals would prefer to make the decision on what is historical and what should be burned instead of campers making that decision as you seem to advocate above.
T
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mastertangler
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quote AmarilloJim: "We always thought it was an old logging camp."
That was my thinking. Perhaps the sled was loaded with firewood and manually pulled a short distance to the cabin/ camp?
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MichiganMan
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Interesting! Thanks everyone for the responses. Apparently I need to be a little less obsessed with trying to catch every fish in Jean/Little Jean and take some time to explore a little more!
Mark
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