First Quetico Trip... The Epic Journey
by hexnymph
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
05/28/2004
Entry & Exit Point:
Moose Lake (EP 25)
Number of Days:
8
Group Size:
8
Day 6 of 8
Thursday, June 03, 2004
McIntyre Lake, ? Lake, ? Lake, Fishhook Lake, Ted Lake, Milt Lake, Newt Lake, Little Newt Lake, Gardner Bay, Crooked Lake, Bart Lake, Craig Lake, Robinson Lake.
Day six started off excellent. I woke up and laid in the tent listening for movement in camp indicating the coffee was being made, but that wasn’t the case, the only thing I heard was the cry of an eagle from across the lake. I ended up getting out and rattling the pots and pans… I mean, getting the coffee ready. We took our time getting up and breaking down camp this morning because we had a long day ahead of us.
Day six was to be the day of unmarked portages.
After camp was broke and we were out on the water we headed to the northwest corner of McIntyre. Instead of taking the marked portage to the unnamed lake to the west, we headed south on our first unmarked portage into another unnamed lake. This portage, once we found it, was up a fairly steep incline and on an older, less used path. We attempted to keep the group within sight as we crossed the portage so nobody would get lost. I’m not sure we accomplished this but I did stop on occasion to let the person behind me catch up. I distinctly remember a couple things about this portage. The first thing I remember, and the others would most likely recall is that once we reached the rock outcropping on top of the hill we were going over… we weren’t out of the water yet. We all though it was odd that we still had to worry about knee deep mud on top the hill as much as we did down in the swamps as we walked over logs in mud. The other thing I will not forget is that, while waiting for the foodbag guy behind me to catch up, I peered down to my clothes and notice ticks. We typically reserve the “tick check” for the far end of the portage so I didn’t stop to remove them but instead, waited till I reached the lake. By the time I reached the lake, breaking trail the whole way, I had accumulated 15 “accounted for” ticks…. That set a new personal record for me… I was so excited! (insert sarcasm here)
The next unmarked portage was easy to find as were all the others. The portages where exactly where you would think they would be. The trails were in rough shape but not so bad that you had to put down the canoe to get through.
At the next portage I spotted my first buckbean flower. That might not be a big deal to many people I just happen to be into bog flora and fauna a little more than the next guy (Depending solely on who the next guy is of course). Buckbean flowers are bunched together similar to a hyacinth but white and fuzzy. I’m not sure how they smell though. The next lake was small and fishing was slow so besides waiting for the others to catch up, we didn’t spend too much time on it. Once onto “fishhook” lake we checked out a campsite on the east side for a note jar that we had heard was there to no avail then continued on our way to Ted lake. The portage into Ted Lake was kind of neat because it follows the stream from “Fishhook” to Ted lake. The stream had some nice secluded and seldomly seen rock faces and waterfalls that made the portage just a little bit easier to tolerate.
Once down onto Ted Lake, a very clear lake, we made our way over to the pictograph site. My memory of this site isn’t that vivid but I do recall there were several images that were fairly easy to make out including a drawing of a moose and possibly a bear. So far on the trip this was the most impressive of the pictograph sites. After viewing the pictographs we paddled over to a rock point and made lunch… Szechwan Veggie Noodles!
We still had a long day ahead of us so after lunch we packed up and were on the water in no time. We breezed through the portages and paddles of Milt, Newt, and Little Newt lakes till we were on Garder Bay. Once we reached Gardner bay we took a breather and did a little fishing with only one pike to show for it. We also saw our first group of other people for the day. We continued south through Gardner Bay to the portage into Crooked Lake. We knew instantly we were back on the marked portages and main travel rout. This portage was like a highway compared to the past five days portages but nobody was complaining. Once we were on Crooked Lake we sat and waited for the others to catch up and just peered around the lake. We saw at least 4 other canoes on the water but more discouraging than that was the front coming in from the west. Once the group was together we high tailed it to the portage into Bart Lake. Once across Bart Lake, Quetico threw us for another loop. The portage wasn’t where it was indicated on the map. We must have spent half an hour trudging up “possible” paths till I decided to paddle south to where the stream flows from (or to) Craig Lake. It wasn’t long till we spotted the portage. We then turned back to get the others, who were just about to start bushwhacking into the forest. Craig lake was a nice clear lake with blue-green waters and a sand/gravel beach at the portage to Robinson Lake, that I would have liked to explore a little more but the front was closing in on us, so we pushed on. As soon as we hit Robinson Lake we headed east to the first campsite we could find, which was also marked on the map.
It was a long day but some of the others still joked about pressing on… I thought I had brought them to complete delirium but with so little light left in the day… I didn’t take them up on the offer.
As we setup camp and took care of the evening chores the front shifted its direction enough that it passed us to the north leaving us dry for the night but the wind continued to threaten to bring on the rain. This night dinner wasn’t all that good, so I apologize to the foodbag guy for this (If he reads this anyway). We insisted on bringing split pea soup against his will. We did have one treat that night that was worth wow. We had packed some “southern cured” bacon that was vacuum packed. It’s a little saltier than normal bacon but it’s still bacon. That night the sky was patched with clouds that would occasionally pass in front of the still present excessively bright moon. Another picture perfect scene to end the day.
McIntyre Lake, ? Lake, ? Lake, Fishhook Lake, Ted Lake, Milt Lake, Newt Lake, Little Newt Lake, Gardner Bay, Crooked Lake, Bart Lake, Craig Lake, Robinson Lake.
Day six started off excellent. I woke up and laid in the tent listening for movement in camp indicating the coffee was being made, but that wasn’t the case, the only thing I heard was the cry of an eagle from across the lake. I ended up getting out and rattling the pots and pans… I mean, getting the coffee ready. We took our time getting up and breaking down camp this morning because we had a long day ahead of us.
Day six was to be the day of unmarked portages.
After camp was broke and we were out on the water we headed to the northwest corner of McIntyre. Instead of taking the marked portage to the unnamed lake to the west, we headed south on our first unmarked portage into another unnamed lake. This portage, once we found it, was up a fairly steep incline and on an older, less used path. We attempted to keep the group within sight as we crossed the portage so nobody would get lost. I’m not sure we accomplished this but I did stop on occasion to let the person behind me catch up. I distinctly remember a couple things about this portage. The first thing I remember, and the others would most likely recall is that once we reached the rock outcropping on top of the hill we were going over… we weren’t out of the water yet. We all though it was odd that we still had to worry about knee deep mud on top the hill as much as we did down in the swamps as we walked over logs in mud. The other thing I will not forget is that, while waiting for the foodbag guy behind me to catch up, I peered down to my clothes and notice ticks. We typically reserve the “tick check” for the far end of the portage so I didn’t stop to remove them but instead, waited till I reached the lake. By the time I reached the lake, breaking trail the whole way, I had accumulated 15 “accounted for” ticks…. That set a new personal record for me… I was so excited! (insert sarcasm here)
The next unmarked portage was easy to find as were all the others. The portages where exactly where you would think they would be. The trails were in rough shape but not so bad that you had to put down the canoe to get through.
At the next portage I spotted my first buckbean flower. That might not be a big deal to many people I just happen to be into bog flora and fauna a little more than the next guy (Depending solely on who the next guy is of course). Buckbean flowers are bunched together similar to a hyacinth but white and fuzzy. I’m not sure how they smell though. The next lake was small and fishing was slow so besides waiting for the others to catch up, we didn’t spend too much time on it. Once onto “fishhook” lake we checked out a campsite on the east side for a note jar that we had heard was there to no avail then continued on our way to Ted lake. The portage into Ted Lake was kind of neat because it follows the stream from “Fishhook” to Ted lake. The stream had some nice secluded and seldomly seen rock faces and waterfalls that made the portage just a little bit easier to tolerate.
Once down onto Ted Lake, a very clear lake, we made our way over to the pictograph site. My memory of this site isn’t that vivid but I do recall there were several images that were fairly easy to make out including a drawing of a moose and possibly a bear. So far on the trip this was the most impressive of the pictograph sites. After viewing the pictographs we paddled over to a rock point and made lunch… Szechwan Veggie Noodles!
We still had a long day ahead of us so after lunch we packed up and were on the water in no time. We breezed through the portages and paddles of Milt, Newt, and Little Newt lakes till we were on Garder Bay. Once we reached Gardner bay we took a breather and did a little fishing with only one pike to show for it. We also saw our first group of other people for the day. We continued south through Gardner Bay to the portage into Crooked Lake. We knew instantly we were back on the marked portages and main travel rout. This portage was like a highway compared to the past five days portages but nobody was complaining. Once we were on Crooked Lake we sat and waited for the others to catch up and just peered around the lake. We saw at least 4 other canoes on the water but more discouraging than that was the front coming in from the west. Once the group was together we high tailed it to the portage into Bart Lake. Once across Bart Lake, Quetico threw us for another loop. The portage wasn’t where it was indicated on the map. We must have spent half an hour trudging up “possible” paths till I decided to paddle south to where the stream flows from (or to) Craig Lake. It wasn’t long till we spotted the portage. We then turned back to get the others, who were just about to start bushwhacking into the forest. Craig lake was a nice clear lake with blue-green waters and a sand/gravel beach at the portage to Robinson Lake, that I would have liked to explore a little more but the front was closing in on us, so we pushed on. As soon as we hit Robinson Lake we headed east to the first campsite we could find, which was also marked on the map.
It was a long day but some of the others still joked about pressing on… I thought I had brought them to complete delirium but with so little light left in the day… I didn’t take them up on the offer.
As we setup camp and took care of the evening chores the front shifted its direction enough that it passed us to the north leaving us dry for the night but the wind continued to threaten to bring on the rain. This night dinner wasn’t all that good, so I apologize to the foodbag guy for this (If he reads this anyway). We insisted on bringing split pea soup against his will. We did have one treat that night that was worth wow. We had packed some “southern cured” bacon that was vacuum packed. It’s a little saltier than normal bacon but it’s still bacon. That night the sky was patched with clouds that would occasionally pass in front of the still present excessively bright moon. Another picture perfect scene to end the day.
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