Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Reports :: Trip Report - Quetico 2010
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Zulu |
I really liked the descriptions and photos of how rugged some of the portages were. I am glad the wind, rain and cooler weather didn't dampen your spirits during the trip. The maps are great also. Congratulations on your semi-retirement and relocation to Ely. I look forward to more of your Trip Reports. |
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NDpaddler |
Seriously, no one, and I mean NO ONE, writes a trip report like Ho Ho. Well done! |
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GraniteCliffs |
Perhaps someday I will run into you on a Quetico portage. |
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UncleMoose |
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bear bait |
great report and pics. |
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fishguts |
;-) fishguts |
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Ho Ho |
And thanks for the comments guys. GC - As you will see in today's episode, we didn't camp on Kett - an omission that will be remedied in the future. Did you do a report of your trip? Zulu - That was the ID from botanyguy on the CCBB too. He used a different common name, but the same scientific name. I wonder what it looks like when flowering? |
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bojibob |
We took the same way home in 1980. Todays report brought back alot of memories of the "Mile High Lake" and the two Kett "Super Highway" portages. I thought I would share two of my photos that I took of my crew crossing. |
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Beemer01 |
Thanks for taking the time and effort to create this report! |
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GraniteCliffs |
No, I have not advanced to doing trip reports. Heck, I do not even take pictures on trips----leaving that task to others. Besides, any effort I might make would pale in comparison to the Ho Ho reports. |
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Ho Ho |
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billgkna11 |
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TomT |
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BigZig |
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GraniteCliffs |
I read your Side to Sarah portage and thought you had missed the direct shot to Sarah. I had done the same a number of years ago. The direct shot is much easier. Your campsite on Brent has been referred to as the "Brent Hilton" by some folks. The burned out little island on Brent brought back a memory for me. We paddled by the island when the fire was just about out. We stopped and talked to a crew of 3 or 4 Quetico Park staff that had been dropped off by helicopter to fight the smoldering flames. It seemed odd to us that they actually flew someone in to put out the fire since the island is so very small. Apparently they were concerned over it jumping to the mainland. About 20 minutes after we left them we saw the helicopter return to pick them up. Again, love the report. |
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Ho Ho |
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TomT |
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TomT |
quote Ho Ho: TomT, I use the public-domain maps provided by azalea " Thanks! I saved some on my drive and played with them in my paint and digital image suite programs. I think I can make it work with my very limited knowledge. Splicing maps together might give me the most difficulty but I'll cross that bridge when the time comes. :) |
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TomT |
Nothing better than watching the sun rise with a hot cup of Jo. :) |
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Ho Ho |
And thanks for the comments on Day 9. I love your old pictures, bojibob. I assume the beaver pond was not there 30 years ago. Over on the CCBB someone posted that it flooded the path earlier this decade. TomT, I use the public-domain maps provided by azalea at this link. The ones I use are under the heading "The Individual Canadian Topos" at that page. (Azalea also has various public domain BWCA maps at this link.) The Canadian topos are big files so you need an decent computer to work with them. For each day of the report, I copy and crop the appropriate map (stitching components from two or more maps together if needed). Then I draw in the route, add the labels, and export a copy suitable for web posting on Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, which I got free somewhere. It's a little labor intensive, and someone more tech-savvy than me might have an easier solution, but that's what I do. |
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wawasee |
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TomT |
Curious why you don't opt for a tow to PP? I hate to admit it, but I just don't have the patience for the moose chain on day one. I hate seeing boats whiz by when I am canoeing. I took this route on solo trips in 1988 and 2001 so this is gonna be great to see how it pans out for you. I remember doing the tough up and down portages around Side and Sarah Lake in sunny 85 degree heat in 2001 and seriously thinking I was having a heart attack at the top of the hill. :( |
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Ho Ho |
TomT, in terms of a tow to Prairie Portage, we sometimes do it and sometimes don't. I kind of like the fact that we are under our own power from beginning to end without a tow. Plus, it provides greater flexibility on the first and last day to go at your schedule rather than what you set up with the tow driver. And of course you save a little money, though that is not the main determinant. The downside of no tow is you spend more time and effort paddling on the motorized lakes, which takes away from time in the Quetico interior. If you prefer a tow for a route like this one, getting towed to PP at the start, and picked up at Lincoln Island on Basswood on the way back would be optimal. |
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Ho Ho |
Granite Cliffs - I like the idea of a 30-day trip, I may have to do that! So I learned something new over on Quiet Journey where there's been a discussion about the Side-Sarah portage. It turns out that there is a completely different portage starting just a little further south on Side. The Fisher map shows two portages, but I always thought they were just two versions of the same thing, one where you portage all the way through (like we did in 2005), and one where you break it up with paddling (like we did this year). Turns out I was wrong. From the description, though, I'm not sure we would have wanted to do the other single portage this year, because it's steep and slippery when wet. (Of course, so was the route we took.) Something more to explore in the future! The discussion on QJ begins lower on the page at this link, and continues on the next page. |
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RatherBePaddling |
Thanks. |
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Ho Ho |
I use photobucket.com to host my pictures. I have a paid ("pro") Photobucket account so there are no limits on the size of photofiles or bandwidth, but there are also free accounts that I suggest trying first if you want to do this. Edit and resize your pictures before uploading to Photobucket. You may need to experiment a little. Then you just paste the link into your report and the picture shows up here full sized. Photobucket offers you several links for use in different kinds of websites. The one you want for bwca.com is is the one with "img" in brackets at the beginning and end. Let me know if that works for you. Ho Ho |
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whitecedar |
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boonie |
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bojibob |
Thanks for taking me along on another wonderful ride. It was nice to see you guys actually eat something other than pancakes or freeze dried junk and the big shocker is you actually made a fire! Congratulation on the semi-retirement and I hope we can connect in August. p.s. Time to get to work on the book :-) |
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Ho Ho |
I've added Day 6. Direct link to that episode here. And thanks for the positive feedback, guys! I enjoy putting the report together, it helps me relive the trip, and I like it when others enjoy it too. |
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GraniteCliffs |
I have noticed the reference to Darkwater but never knew it was actually Darky---or why the name had been changed. One of several things I learned in your reports. Thanks, keep it up. |
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GraniteCliffs |
I stayed at your campsite on Elk within a week or so after you did, coming in from the east. A couple of the guys I was with caught a ton of fish there. Two of us were not that fond of the site so portaged to Cone to look for a campsite without success. We did not even see the old site you mentioned but the lake itself is beautiful. |
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Ho Ho |
Very interesting about the moose skeleton, Granite Cliffs. I would have liked to have seen that. Do you think it might have been from a wolf kill on the ice during the winter? |
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jbartstanley |
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Ho Ho |
Not sure about the trip distance, I may calculate it later. 75 miles seems like a good guestimate. |
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GraniteCliffs |
It is so odd that our paths were so close just days apart. We wanted the campsite on Robinson you stayed on, but it was taken by a solo guy. We found the northern island site empty and stayed there instead. We actually talked to the portage crew you mentioned. We heard the chainsaw before we saw them. Now I see you are headed through Kett. I am looking forward to your campsite selection if you stayed there. |
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Zulu |
The photography is great. I believe the plant with the red berries from Day 8 is False Lily-of-the-Valley (Maianthemum canadense). I am really curious what kind of mushroom that gold one that looked like a rising weather balloon is. It is great looking at flora that close to the ground that sometimes goes unnoticed. Looking forward to Monday's installment. |
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Ho Ho |
Uncle Moose - hang in there. soft water is only two months or so away. :-) |
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sterngirl |
Thanks so much for sharing. You are a trip report master. :-) |
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jbartstanley |
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Ho Ho |
Trip Name: Quetico 2010. Entry Point: Quetico Click Here to View Trip Report Note - I'm posting this one day at a time. Day 1 is up now. I'll put a message up when I post additional days (basically I plan to post a day of the report each weekday). |
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Spartan2 |
As always, I am already caught up in the adventure. You are the master of trip reports, Bill. |
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lars54 |
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GraniteCliffs |
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GraniteCliffs |
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Ho Ho |
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TomT |
With all the free time you will be having you might consider doing a presentation of your trips at Canoecopia or even putting out a book. I do have a query though - why don't we ever hear from David? Is he the Teller to your Penn? :) Best of luck in your new adventure as a Minnesotian. |
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mirth |
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TomT |
Being solo when I go, I want to conserve my energy the first day to get in as far as possible. |
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PineKnot |
Re tows, for my last several trips starting/returning to PP I've used the tow both ways. We usually camp the last night on North Bay, Little Merriam, or Birch, so the paddle to PP is never more than 3 hours. Usually have a pick up time either 1:00 or 2:00 pm and La Tourell's has always been there early. The last three trips have seen big winds from the S or SW. Even getting to Wind Bay and back to Moose would have been a struggle. The tows were a blessing. |
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GraniteCliffs |
I love that area, never knew there was a campsite on Side. I had seen it marked on a map but always seem to miss it when I paddle by. I am looking forward to the next installment of your trip. Great stuff. |
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arctic |
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