BWCA Quetico-Kasakokwog-Cirrus Loop - Seeking info Boundary Waters Quetico Forum
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07/22/2019 03:20PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Hi all, we have a Quetico Lake permit for mid-August and are considering doing what looks like a fairly easy Quetico - Kasakokwog - Cirrus loop with 7 nights out. Our group consists of two guys in their mid- to late 50s, one woman in her mid 60s, and one woman in her mid 70s. Not surprisingly, our oldest group member is past her portaging years - us guys will be picking up the extra load either with heavier packs or triple portaging. Even without a load, our oldest group member could be challenged by particularly long rough portages. Hence our choice of routes with relatively few portages - but a few longish ones.

With that background, I'm looking for info about the portages on this route, as well as anything else (great campsites, points of interest, etc) you might want to share. If you'd rather not post the info, please feel free to email me.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Bill "Ho Ho" Hohengarten
 
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Sconniepaddler
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07/22/2019 04:50PM  
Hi Bill, I took that route a few years ago with a couple of my kids. The paddling was relatively easy, though it can be a long paddle on Cirrus if you do it in one day from Kasakokwog. On Kasakokwog, I seem to remember a site on the south side, about midway down the main part of the lake. It was a nice site with an easy entry/exit from what I recall. The portage from Kasakokwog to Cirrus had all the trappings of a typical Quetico portage and wasn't an easy walk. Good luck! I wish you good weather and safe travels.
dentondoc
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07/22/2019 08:55PM  
I did that exact route the last half of June this year.

The portages into and out of Beaverhouse are easy. B'house to Quetico is a short up and over. I'd recommend the one back in the channel just a bit over the one adjacent to the falls.

Quetico to Kas is longish with some sloped rock a bit beyond the half way mark (slippery when wet). There are also a couple of false trails to the left drawing you toward the water. Just keep bearing right until you reach the very obvious landing.

Kas to Cirrus will be a bit of a challenge. It's just shy of 200 rods (1000 meters) and has a little of everything. You'll find the beginning of the portage in a small bay with visible exposed rocks across the opening. Go to the very back of the bay and bear RIGHT. Don't get drawn to the left side where moose have trampled a nice entrance to the lake through tall grass. The trip across will likely take your older folks 25-30 minutes. That was about my speed carrying a load (I'm 70+). But even the Boy Scout group ahead of us wasn't going much faster. But following them and after two days of rain made it a sloppy mess.

The Cirrus to B'house portages are easy. The second one is long, but generally flat to down hill on the B'house end. You'll come out adjacent to a bunch of pilings that you'll pass on your left shortly after leaving the B'house put in.

If there are other things you have questions about, email me or post here.

dd
old_salt
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07/22/2019 09:01PM  
The portage between Kasa and Cirrus is a pretty big hill. It will challenge anyone who has difficulty with portages. The rest are pretty easy as I recall.
billconner
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07/23/2019 05:52AM  
That was my first solo route, opposite direction. It's about a three day trip for me (at 67). IIRC there are some open areas at the apex of that long portage Kasakokwog to Cirrus. Consider splitting portage in two and lunch there.

A lot of great sites on those lakes. One near K end of that long portage is reported as very nice. For me, 1V on BH was fantastic. 7P at east end of Q was pleasant. 3F on mid Cirrus island was good but sheltered. If you like sand beach, the cove to south just entering Q lake.

Enjoy!
07/23/2019 07:31AM  
Lots of pictos on that route. Look at Sue falls. Lots of LT also.
07/23/2019 12:32PM  
Thanks all! If anyone has more to add, please don't hesitate.

Ho Ho
Jackfish
Moderator
  
07/23/2019 01:16PM  
Bill, maybe this is "old news" as I can't remember if you guys have entered at Beaverhouse before or not, but the outflow of the Quetico River waterfall (between BH and Q Lake) makes you paddle sort of "upstream" for maybe 20-25 yards. Depending on the water levels, there can be varying levels of moving water, from nearly flat water to a pretty decent riffle. When the riffle is stronger, one can get sideways pretty fast. It's also a little challenge to get out of the water and onto the solid ground of the portage trail due to the big step up.

I say this, not because of you and David, but for your paddling partners. It might be worth reversing your route and going from the put-in on BH and paddling right around the corner to portage into Cirrus first. That way, when you loop around and come through that area, it will be a little easier for your trip mates.

Are you picking up your permit in Atikokan? If you do choose to reverse your route, that would be my suggestion. Then you don't have to paddle across Beaverhouse and come virtually all the way back to the portage into Cirrus.
dentondoc
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07/24/2019 03:01PM  
Jackfish:"... the outflow of the Quetico River waterfall (between BH and Q Lake) makes you paddle sort of "upstream" for maybe 20-25 yards. Depending on the water levels, there can be varying levels of moving water, from nearly flat water to a pretty decent riffle. When the riffle is stronger, one can get sideways pretty fast. It's also a little challenge to get out of the water and onto the solid ground of the portage trail due to the big step up.""

This is more detail about why I think you'd be well served to make the slightly longer portage that begins BEFORE the last 20-25 yards. You'll see it on the right before the final narrowing of the channel. It might be muddy, but you have a bit of "flatish" ground at the landing before you walk up a gentler slope than is by the falls.

I purposefully selected to do my loop starting with the Beaverhouse to Quetico portage. I think it is easier going in this direction (and I've exited Beaverhouse by both routes in the past 3 years). You'll be loaded heavier at the beginning of your trip. This makes the Quetico choice a no-brainer. Entering to Cirrus, the portages are easy, but the carry is a bit long (and starts with a gentle up-hill section) from Bhouse to the nonamer. I literally felt like I was flying on my exit on this portage this year, with flat and downhill sections and a near empty food pack.

We did hit 8 different pictographs along the north shore of Quetico as we worked eastward to camp on the first night on 7P. (If you need GPS coordinates of the pictos, I can get you pretty close.) This site is OK ... probably 3*. It was adequate for 2 tents and the landing was one of the better ones on our trip. We did make a lunch stop on site 38 shortly after leaving the Bhouse to Quetico portage. If it hadn't been so early in the day, we would likely have stayed there. It was a surprisingly nice campsite not to be rated on PP. Another site somewhat along your line of march that I've used is 4L. (If you left 38 and went due east, you'd go by 4L, but this would put you past the first of the pictographs.) This is a large, somewhat open site with so-so landing. It is a bit more protected toward the back edge of the site.

Something I failed to mention on the Quetico to Kas portage earlier. You will encounter several partially completed beaver dams along this route. You should be able to push through all of these. However, there is a fully functional one fairly close to the portage take-out (Quetico end) where you'll have to do a pull-over. I had no problem with footing here.

On Kas, we stayed on BJ ... island site near the middle of the lake. The landing used most frequently is on the east side in a notch ... well protected from wind from any direction other than easterly. Unfortunately, the take out has sloped rock on both sides, so it can be challenging if wet or with easterly wind. We did a layover here and we had easterly wind the entire time, so I did used a landing on the WEST side of the campsite. It is protected from easterly wind, comes up to a flat rock, and then the path quickly opens up onto the backside of the campsite.

We did check out AC on the north side (east of BJ). I've camped there before and it is (was) a nice campsite with a lot of flat rock for landing/lounging. I say "was" because upon inspecting the campsite, we found a large (too large for hand tools) pine tree laying across the campsite and directly on top of the fire ring.

Just a personal note on the Kas to Cirrus portage ... I've traveled this portage on three trips. My first was a day trip from Kas to see Sue Falls and a pictograph just east of campsite A2. So only canoe, lunch and a bit of fishing gear were transported. It was dry, with only a few deadfall to deal with (mostly "under" with canoe going over). I thought it was easy. Unfortunately that was on the OLD route. Both of my experiences with the new route were done under wet to extremely wet conditions. One of this was done from Kas to Cirrus (the last one) and the other in the opposite direction. To me, going from Kas to Cirrus felt easier (or maybe I should say less difficult). There is no deadfall you have to contend with, with one exception. About mid-way across the portage there is a large pine tree spanning the portage. The tree is immediately beside the portage and snapped off at maybe 7-8 feet above the ground, with the top of the tree slanted downward across the path. I'm 6' tall and I'd estimate the clearance above my head was maybe 6" standing immediately under the tree. I found this on a scouting trek across the portage the day before we did the portage. I was convinced that I'd have to squat slightly (with canoe overhead) to clear the obstruction or otherwise come to an abrupt halt. As I happily marched along, I began to wonder when I would arrive at this spot. After a few minutes, I realized that I'd walked right under the challenge without even noticing it. It didn't so much a make a scratching sound as I was gleefully ignorant of my passing.

The "OLD" route and the NEW route have the same starting point on the Kas side. The "OLD" route swings east of a small lake nearer the Cirrus side. The NEW route swings west of the small lake and all you can really detect is a large lush meadow to to your right as you head toward Cirrus. The "OLD" route ends in a small indention on the shore line of Cirrus and was easy to spot. The NEW route ends on a non-descript section of shore line and the landing is slightly angled to the right as you face it from the waters on the Cirrus side (a few hundred yards west of the OLD landing).

Crossing into Cirrus, I'd say the best campsite in the Sue Falls area would be BS. You can clearly hear the falls from there. There are campsites on either side of the narrows you pass through there. B4 is a minimal site surrounded by thick growth. You can get a couple of tents on it, but there are no substantial trees if you are a tree hanger. I'd call this an emergency site (which we were unfortunately called on to use for one night during my last trip.) Its bare and open. BD is a larger site, with trees and a "penthouse" area for additional tents. However, it seems WAY overused to me. I've eaten lunch there, but have always opted to camp elsewhere.

Other campsites I used on the most recent trips include 5G on the middle-tier back in a dead-end bay and 2Z a.k.a. "The Hilton" located on the south shore of the bottom tier. If you are seeking solitude for a layover day, I'd suggest that 5G would be an excellent choice. It's probably a little too much of a paddle just for an overnight (or maybe it was that we paddled into a stiff wind to get there this year). 2Z (I've been lucky enough to stay here on 2 trips) is a large site with a large number of possible tent pads. Unfortunately, since my first visit, there is now a fairly large pine tree laying over one side of the campsite. It is hung up in other trees and is high enough in most areas to walk under ... just wouldn't want to do that when it decides to come crashing to the ground. At least the 60+ mph wind gust that ripped through camp on our last night didn't dislodge it, so it is really pinned. Landing is OK, but straight in (I paddle solo, so its a wet-footer). Also, you'll get the opportunity to feed multiple snapping turtles that daily arrive near dinner time to beg for scraps. Just about due east of the site, in a smallish bay, is a nice beach, if you need a refreshing dip in the water and don't want to content with slippery rocks.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment ... hope this helps.

dd
Jackfish
Moderator
  
07/24/2019 10:47PM  
Wayne, you always amaze me with the detail in your reports. Love the portage and campsite references and reviews. Thanks for posting them. I want to do a solo trip on this route sometime in the future so I will be printing this information for planning purposes.
07/25/2019 08:28AM  
I too want to do this route again some day. Has anyone stayed on Soho, Smudge or the no names east of Smudge?
MichiganMan
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07/25/2019 09:55PM  
Never stayed on Soho but did day trip in there a couple of times. Caught lakers and smallies. I recall one pretty nice campsite on the south shore of Soho about midway up the lake. There is also a really interesting old settlement area on the north shore of Soho. Pretty little lake with crystal clear water. Did the portage over to Smudge but didn't go any further.
07/26/2019 04:58PM  
Thanks for the additional info guys! I'll get out the map and mark some of the details before the trip.

Everyone going on the trip has entered at Quetico Lake before and is familiar with that fast water at the Beaverhouse end of the portage. I admit its force surprised me the first time we did it. Our friends are strong paddlers (and the younger one will still be portaging her Spirit II at 67 years old) but I'll want to exercise caution approaching the portage and will look for the lower landing.

Ho Ho
08/11/2019 02:42PM  
I'm rereading the comments and marking my map with potential campsites now. Reading the description of the access to the alternative landings to portage from BH to Quetico, I'm uncertain if the earlier landing recommended by DD is before any of the riffles from the Quetico outflow. David and I have just started one trip going this way (the other time we went through we were ending the trip so going downstream from the portage). I recall having to work to get beyond some fast current that seemed more treacherous than I would have guessed beforehand, then getting out on a flat very clayey area. It was mid-September that time. Just not sure if that's where DD is recommending or somewhere further downstream that I have not noticed. Thanks, Bill Ho Ho
dentondoc
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08/11/2019 03:29PM  
Ho Ho: "Just not sure if that's where DD is recommending or somewhere further downstream that I have not noticed."

Check the lower-left corner of the map sample I posted on the "Quetico Maps" thread. I believe the location marking for the alternate portage is reasonably accurate. (In case you are interested in picto hunting, the Thunderbird icons along the north shore line provides the approximate location of many of the pictographs on Quetico.)

dd
08/11/2019 06:50PM  
thanks Doc!
 
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