Anyone else ever done it? I made the trip about five years ago. We parked a car at the Fall Lake entry point outside of Ely. We were then driven to Atikokan where we purchased some bait, a permit, and a shuttle to the Stanton Bay Entry on Pickerel Lake. (You can only enter on Stanton Bay if you are Canadian or use a Canadian outfitter) We paddled south into Bisk Lake then through some other lakes to Russell Lake. Paddling further we went through Shelly Lake and into a few other lakes that lead into long, beautiful Kashahpiwi Lake. Our final set of lakes lead us into North Bay of Basswood. We stayed on a small island on the Canadian side and paddled all the way out to Fall lake the following day. The entire trip took only 6 days. One day was a layover. We paddled 20 miles one day. It was a trip of the decade, not a lifetime because I'm doing it again as soon as I can. One of the best memories was when we got out and had to report to customs in Ely. The officer asked where we were coming from. We told him "Atikokan, Eh". He smiled a little but maintained his Government composure. Tom

We did that same trip in 1991 starting at Nym and going thru Dore' and Twin to Sturgeon and then down thru Kashapiwi to P.P.
Wonderful trip, we took 12 days.

I have done it a couple of times. The problem is finding someone to haul you up to the top of the Q so you can leave your vehicle in the Ely area. The shuttles are a bit too much money for me. It is a wonderful trip when you can start at the top and wind your way back down to the border and out following whatever route you decide on once you take off.
My next oldest brother is retiring in a few weeks and I think I have him convinced to drive up a group of my regular work canoeing partners to the French lake entry to drop us off.

Quite a few years ago I had friends ask me to drop them at Nym. I called the park scored a Kahshapiwi cancellation. My friends gave me their spare keys and I wrangled some days off of work. Took a tow to PP just before they closed for the day and was stuck on point facing Green Island (Bayley Bay) waiting for the wind and waves. Next morning waves and wind were worse, groups kept piling up on the point - at about 5pm wind shifted from SW to W and I was the first to leave. Camped on Isabella, then Shelley, then Pickerel Narrows to fight wind and waves on Batch and Nym in the morning. A beautiful trip. I was mobbed by butterflies on Kahshahpiwi Creek and saw a bear on the Deux Rivieres portage who made a living by lurking in the woods and waiting for the double portage. The point of this long winded tale is that the ideal situation is two groups crossing in the park and swapping keys.....