Wednesday, September 07, 2022
Plan A for the day was to paddle down Kasakogwog and continue down McAlpine Creek as it exited the lake into Quetico Lake. Jordan at the park office in Atikokan had told us that this section of the creek often had lower water levels than the section we did the day before. If the water levels were really low in this section, we did have a plan B. About halfway down Kasakogwog there is a portage north into Cirrus Lake and that could get us where we were going without having to wade long stretches of creek. We were encouraged by the high water levels the day before and opted for plan A, the creek.

We soon discovered the some wading would be necessary to get through this section of the creek.

However, we were able to paddle most of the creek. The water wasn't deep, and we did have to hop out a few more times. We probably paddled 80% to 85% of the creek and waded the rest.

For anyone in the future reading this to try and predict water levels, you should know that the rangers in Atikokan and Dawson trail were saying that the water this year was normal to maybe a little higher than normal for the first week of September.

Once we negotiated the creek and entered the north arm of Quetico Lake, we paddled around a bit looking for a campsite and then camped. Even though we hadn't traveled far, we were still well ahead of schedule and were just taking it easy.

As we were looking for a campsite, we came across some Trumpeter Swans and managed to get a picture. The swans were not a species that one saw in the area during my younger days. They had been driven to the brink of extinction in the area. However after decades of effort by the Minnesota DNR to reintroduce them, there is now a healthy population breeding in the wild. Good to see!