BWCA Trip Report - WCPP: The Wind Rules the Day, But the Bears Rule the Night Boundary Waters Trip Reports
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wyopaddler
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01/26/2020 02:31PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
New Trip Report posted by wyopaddler

Trip Name: WCPP: The Wind Rules the Day, But the Bears Rule the Night.

Entry Point: Woodland Caribou

Click Here to View Trip Report
 
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01/26/2020 04:48PM  
Outstanding!!! Nice photography, great looking meals.
Marten
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01/26/2020 05:20PM  
I think your bear in camp is the first one I have heard of in WCPP. Great report on what looked to be a great trip.
01/26/2020 05:42PM  
I really enjoyed the report, what an adventure! Amazing all the bears you saw. It looks like you ate very well too.
Very well written and photographed!
01/26/2020 05:57PM  
Excellent trip report, thank you for sharing!
wyopaddler
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01/26/2020 06:25PM  
Marten: "I think your bear in camp is the first one I have heard of in WCPP. Great report on what looked to be a great trip."


Huh, well it sure was interested in camping out with us :) Never felt physically threatened but sure did lose a lot of sleep. . .
Northwoodsman
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01/26/2020 08:32PM  
I thoroughly enjoyed your report. I can't believe all of the wildlife you saw, that must have been amazing. What is your set-up for all the baking that you do?
hobbydog
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01/26/2020 08:34PM  
I really enjoyed the trip report. I have only seen one bear in WCPP. I assume the bears had moved in from all directions for the abundant berry crop. All those short rugged Garner River portages make you appreciate longer portages. All the loading and unloading at not so nice landings is hard work. That EP is a good one as it gets you into a corner of the park that does not get much use.

Surprised you did not stay at the campsite by “Mather man” on Mather Lake. It was not burned when I was there right after the 2016 fire. Nice little protected site.

The mosquitos were horrendous at Beresford Lake both times I was there but non existent in WCPP.

The amount of garbage left by fisherman is sad, I don’t mind seeing the boats as much as I do the garbage they leave behind. Some canoe people aren’t much better. I hope you reported it to the Park office. They do take action against the outfitters and are trying to reduce the number of boat caches.
Jackfish
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01/26/2020 08:56PM  
Great trip report. Love the pics. Thanks for sharing.
wyopaddler
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01/26/2020 09:51PM  
hobbydog: "I really enjoyed the trip report. I have only seen one bear in WCPP. I assume the bears had moved in from all directions for the abundant berry crop. All those short rugged Garner River portages make you appreciate longer portages. All the loading and unloading at not so nice landings is hard work. That EP is a good one as it gets you into a corner of the park that does not get much use.

Surprised you did not stay at the campsite by “Mather man” on Mather Lake. It was not burned when I was there right after the 2016 fire. Nice little protected site.


Hey HobbyDog,

Gotta agree with ya on the short rugged portages. . . The unloading and loading is what takes its toll. And yes, that corner of the park was quiet and fabulous. It was more straight forward on the way out when we knew what to expect, and the water was just enough higher to help.

I think we overshot "Mather Man," realized too late we had made a bad decision, and then the cold, wind, and rain didn't help us make a better one. I'll know better next time, I hope :) Would have missed all that fun with the bear though. . .

Thanks for all the pre-trip tips. I really appreciate it.

MG
wyopaddler
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01/26/2020 09:59PM  
Northwoodsman: "I thoroughly enjoyed your report. I can't believe all of the wildlife you saw, that must have been amazing. What is your set-up for all the baking that you do?"


It's a Banks Fry-Bake Pan, combined with a heat diffuser and a pot parka from an old Outback Oven. I think Backpacker's Pantry sells the PotParka now.
Anyway it works great. You can back anything in about 20 minutes. Heat diffuser plate keeps the contents from burning. It's quite simple, but don't tell anyone :) It really impresses people. . . Works on a stove or you can use coals from a campfire. Dutch oven concept but lighter.

Driftless
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01/27/2020 01:05PM  
Wow! What an adventure! Thanks for the report!
01/27/2020 01:14PM  
Loved the report, thanks for sharing. So many wildlife sightings!
missmolly
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01/27/2020 02:23PM  
One of my all-time favorite trip reports. It has everything: great grub and photos, adventure, critters, danger, and humor. Thanks!
jillpine
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01/28/2020 02:46AM  
missmolly: "One of my all-time favorite trip reports. It has everything: great grub and photos, adventure, critters, danger, and humor. Thanks!"

+1
Thanks for doing all this; also really appreciated your summary thoughts about Q and WCPP.
gymcoachdon
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01/28/2020 10:34PM  
I really enjoyed reading your trip report. I traveled a few of the same lakes 2 years ago, and I am sure I will go again in the future. I, too, missed having smallmouth to fish for, but the lake trout, walleye, and northern fishing was amazing!

I would like to comment on one thing. You made a comment on people flying into the middle of the wilderness. If I had 3 weeks to explore, I would have done it the same way you did. When I had to drive over 1000 miles each way, and only had 1 week of vacation, I wouldn't have gotten very deep into the wilderness before turning around to come back out. I chose to pay to be flown into the middle, and paddle my way back, and got my first seaplane ride, and experienced a lot more of the area than would have been possible without the plane ride.
Now, there was a group on Mexican Hat Lake that was flown in, and flown out, and called the outfitter on the satellite phone to fly in more beer mid week. Those people might have been the type you were referencing!
joewildlife
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02/18/2020 09:45PM  
Wow, you had a great adventure and into parts of the park my daughter and I were on in June 2019, and then some. I'm very pleased you were able to appreciate my documentation of a campsite and some portage maintenance fun. I feel good about that.

It is crazy how many bears you have seen. ALL my trips have been in June or September, there are no blueberries (I have never seen a blueberry). Must be a connection haha. In 12 or 14 trips to the north country we have never seen a bear in the parks.

I too, am completely disgusted by the trash in places. The crap you found under a rock on Wrist, was NOT under the rock when we used that site. I put the rock on top of it and packed moss all around it. Months earlier...and there it was still. It makes you think about what it takes to really leave no trace in that environment.

We stayed at the same moose antler island site you did. Pretty cool stuff.

Incredible trip report! Do you journal daily? I don't know how you manage it! I'm going to bring a voice recorder next time so I can better document my trips in the future. I'm so glad that my efforts were able to help you in a small way, and your efforts are certainly appreciated!

My thoughts and opinions of many of the aspects of WCPP match yours. You saw a LOT more people and boats than we did in our two trips to WCPP...a product of timing I'm sure...but the snobbish selfish and elitist in me thinks I like the management of Quetico better in many respects. If you want to get there, paddle! And I will try to avoid all those damn cabins and fishing boats best I can in the future. It is sad that they have to be in the park...there are millions of acres and thousands of lakes on Crown Land that they can go. I wish they weren't in the park. If WCPP was managed like Quetico...can you imagine how wonderful that would be? The only paddlers would be like-minded people that busted their ass to get IN there, and you would rarely see anybody. But you have to be careful to plan trips to avoid the popular spots, that is for sure, both to avoid the fishing boats and the float planes.

We were successful in 2019 in doing that. I have another trip planned in 2021 I guess, that we will try to get away from it all in an area between the Gammon and Bloodvein, via the Lund access point.

thanks for your trip report!
Joe
02/22/2020 12:03PM  
wyopaddler: "
Northwoodsman: "I thoroughly enjoyed your report. I can't believe all of the wildlife you saw, that must have been amazing. What is your set-up for all the baking that you do?"



It's a Banks Fry-Bake Pan, combined with a heat diffuser and a pot parka from an old Outback Oven. I think Backpacker's Pantry sells the PotParka now.
Anyway it works great. You can back anything in about 20 minutes. Heat diffuser plate keeps the contents from burning. It's quite simple, but don't tell anyone :) It really impresses people. . . Works on a stove or you can use coals from a campfire. Dutch oven concept but lighter.


"


Great trip report! I enjoyed the flow of your writing and the pictures were great to illustrate your adventure. Did you have a trip menu? I'd love to duplicate a lot of what you folks put together for meals on my trips!
ArrowheadPaddler
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03/14/2020 06:48PM  
Excellent trip report, one of the best I've read.
 
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