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       Trip Report - Quetico 2011 - First solo - Beaverhouse
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Date/Time: 03/28/2024 09:33AM
Trip Report - Quetico 2011 - First solo - Beaverhouse

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Previous Messages:
Author Message Text
misqua 03/20/2012 06:53AM
Sounds like a fine trip, thank. I also have a SR Tranquility and last summer bought a yak paddle, and love it. However, you have one that is at least 180 cm, no shorter. The only place I found that sold them (not online) was Piragis in Ely. The yak paddle makes the Tranquility really fly across the water. I also still use a BB straight shaft too, since its hard to break old habits.
TeamTuna06 03/19/2012 07:34PM
Great report, congrats on the solo. I met you briefly at the Chicago wingnight, and was interested to hear about how the trip went.


Patrick
AdamXChicago 12/18/2011 11:52PM
Congrats again on your solo! As our group was in the Q at the same time, your trip report reminded me yet again what fantastic weather we had - best in the 30+ years we've been up there. Can only hope the next trip is just as good. Maybe we'll cross paths the next time...
billconner 12/11/2011 08:03PM
Maybe next year Red!
Chicagored 12/11/2011 05:14PM
The Norske Nook in Osseo has always been a favorite stop for me. Best pies in Wisconsin.


For anyone else reading this, Bill and I almost took a trip together this past summer. I can tell from reading your report we would have gotten along fine. Too bad out plans fell through.
billconner 12/10/2011 03:56PM
Thanks Rip!
ripple 12/10/2011 02:42PM
Bill- I just found your report! Amazing trip- such beautiful pictures!
billconner 11/29/2011 07:25PM
I spotted the campsite only because I saw the pole lashed between two trees. That is all it is. Didn't even have to use a pulley.
mjmkjun 11/29/2011 05:06PM
Hanging food pack pic: How did you do that? The presentation is perfect. So neat.
billconner 11/18/2011 12:37PM
Possibly but I was first time in a solo and found it quite stable - at least after I got my butt into the seat no matter how inelegantly it was or how close I came to rolling on getting in. I never felt like I was tipping - though if ordering one I'd ask for an inch or two lower seat.


The Ranger at the headquarters loves hers, has the rudder option and claims to go really fast with a kayak paddle even in rough water and high winds, though she probably weighed half what I do and gave up nearly a foot of height.


misqua 11/18/2011 11:45AM
Yep, I have a Tranquility and like it a lot, its a very fast canoe. This past fall I bought a kayak paddle and love it. I've owned kayaks before and knew what to expect. You have to get one that is at least 280cm long, anything shorter would be too short to work well. Piragis sells them for $159.00. I switch back and forth for speed it the kayak paddle, for piddling around or fishing its the BB straight shaft. I've had 8 canoes in my lifetime, and although I love the Tranquility, I wouldn't call it stable, you have to get used to it but once you do, its fine. I certainly would not put a newby in one though. I think the most stable canoe I've ever been in is the Souris River Q17, a great canoe, but a little slow for me.


billconner 11/17/2011 08:38AM
Packs are the larger CCS food pack and the CCS Pioneer. The Tranquility is pretty wide at the gunwales compared to most solos, so may distort impression of pack size.


Other than cheese and summer sausage, no fresh food. Cold cereals and Nido for breakfast and home dehydrated or grocery store like knorrs and such for dinners. I just like that pack and it was a part of my two pack plan. On tandems it's all food and only food but I had kitchen stuff and paper (maps and books, etc) in it for solo. It was also lighter than Pioneer - so I double portaged - canoe with food pack and pioneer with paddle.
Savage Voyageur 11/16/2011 05:25PM
Very nice report Bill, I liked the pictures also, thanks. Cool fog pictures.
SunCatcher 11/16/2011 04:27PM
Bill,
Great Report! I like the picture of the Steam coming off the water!
Did you take a lot of fresh food? I see you have a nice food pack, Is that a solo CCS foodpack? I have the bigger CCS foodpack for Larger groups.
Nice job and congratualtion's on a great solo.
SunCatcher
billconner 09/19/2011 06:08PM
Good. Looking forward to some else who likes the Tranquility.
OldGreyGoose 09/19/2011 05:59PM
Bill, Nice! No wind, eh? Look for a PM later with a couple questions . . . --Goose
Beemer01 09/19/2011 03:38PM
Thanks for the report and your pictures. Yeah - yokes and pads are not optional IMHO. Most of us prefer a canoe paddle over a Kayak paddle for solos, but that's a personal thing.


Old Hoosier 09/19/2011 12:17PM
Bill,


We entered BH on Sat 9/3 and enjoyed the same great weather. Only Sunday night was cool, and eventually got almost too hot by end of week.


Great report. Enjoyed your photos and was particularly interested in the BH camp sites. It is a beautiful lake that rarely gets campers - only transitional traffic into/out of Quetico and Cirrus.


Glad you had a great time.


Old Hoosier
billconner 09/18/2011 08:23AM
She seemed to do OK. Read, painted, watch movies on her laptop, gossiped with Stephanie the hotel proprietor, and walked around. They do have a trail along river in middle of town.
Ho Ho 09/17/2011 09:17PM
I enjoyed the report, and congrats on a successful and enjoyable solo. How did you wife like staying Atikokan all that time (given that it's "not Ely")?
AndySG 09/16/2011 11:22AM
Nice report and beautiful photos Bill. Now you know what a solo is like and can decide to try another if you want. It does build confidence in your tripping abilities, whether you decide to go solo or tandem. Thanks for posting this.
Spartan2 09/16/2011 07:32AM
Bill, I have been too busy writing my own report to even notice that yours was posted. I have just quickly scrolled through the photos and it looks wonderful! You figured it out just fine!


I'll read it all later. Looks like a great trip!
billconner 09/15/2011 11:35AM
Was Nido as good as fresh whole milk distributed in glass bottles? Not quite. It was much more acceptable and better tasting than any other dehydrated product I have tasted by far, and better than some milk distributed in cardboard or plastic containers. Hard to find in some regions but I'm sold on the cold cereal and milk route for speed and ease. Of course I have never been able to stomach warm wallpaper paste so I avoid oatmeals and similar like the plague.
wawasee 09/15/2011 09:59AM
I was glad to learn about the dehydrated milk you use. Did it really taste like regular milk? Nice trip report.
billconner 09/14/2011 08:30PM
Jello Mold Oven ???
PineKnot 09/14/2011 05:05PM
Congrats on completing your first solo. Nice pics...especially liked the morning shot of the fog dissipating off Kasakokog. I also used a too-short kayak paddle and now own a 9-foot which works much better. I can't imagine trying to portage a canoe without pads....just getting the canoe out of the garage and onto the car without pads is a pain...literally.


Question. You picked up two JMOs in Rice....what's a JMO?
inspector13 09/14/2011 05:04PM

I’ve only been to the southern border parts of Quetico so I enjoy reading Quetico trip reports.


"Norman’s Bait and Motel" humm. Glad you enjoyed The Northern Railcar Hotel. I drive past it a lot when headed to the shore, and have been very curious about it.


billconner 09/14/2011 03:19PM
New Trip Report posted by BillConner01

Trip Name: Quetico 2011 - First solo - Beaverhouse.

Entry Point: Quetico

Click Here to View Trip Report