After paddling against the wind all day I arrived at Long Island lake around four in the afternoon. I’m paddling my canvas canoe solo, it paddles fast but portages heavy. I’ve come through some remote lakes and haven’t seen another person all day. Long Island lake is a zoo. For some reason people are flying flags at their campsites.
I notice a single aluminum canoe headed to the portage to muskeg lake. It’s a young family with two children. They got skunked for campsites and were heading to muskeg lake hoping for a campsite there. It was now also my destination. I’m way faster than they are. I arrive at the campsite way before they finished the portage. The next campsite is on kiskadinna lake, the portage is difficult, especially as I am tired and running out of daytime. There is also no guarantee that the next lake will have open campsites.
I’ll add that I’m fifth generation Minnesotan, the nice thing can be real. Also as a last resort I have Bush camped when necessary. I can offer to share the camp, send the family on their miserable way or do the portage.
I know what I did.

Share the camp. You're tired, light is fading, and the portage is tough, which could lead to injury. Keep everyone safe by sharing the camp.

Share. It will make for a better memory than the other choices.

I have been host to late comers to the area with full camps. Was a very worth while time for them and us as well. I would do it again if this presented itself.

What everyone else said. Offer to share the camp. I've done it before and will do it again.

Easy, Share. Muskeg has only one site and beyond that is a portage that's very challenging if that site is taken

Offer up your location, make up some excuse about how you weren't planning on camping there anyway, and bush camp somewhere off the beaten path, especially if you are using a hammock. No fire that night, of course.

However, if you have been out for a bit and are in need of company, then stick around and share the site.

I wouldn't even land at the site. I'd wait for them, strike up a conversation and discuss sharing. If they're uncomfortable with it - I'd move on to Kiskidinna...and yes, I answer that question having previously taken the muskeg to kiskidinna portage and I know it's top 10 in the BW.

We had that happen on our second trip with our son out of Sawbill. He was probably 4 at the time and rode in the center of the canoe in a small kid sized lawn chair. We were loaded full in the canoe, which at the time was an Old Town Tripper, and not moving fast. We we're headed to a site on Alton, when I saw another canoe that was behind us on the portage go into race mode straight at the same site we were headed to. They were two dudes in thier 30's in a rented Kevlar. I dug in and gave it all I had, but they overtook us and beat us to the site. We were probably 300 feet out. The situation and thier awkward glances pissed me off...but the day was young. I bit my tongue and we moved on. Alton has a lot of sites and we found a suitable one.

I wouldn't even wait for them to ask. I would just offer it up to share, especially to a family. Let them have the best pad and the kitchen area. I would keep off to the side. If they declined I would let them know about the portage ahead. I would also at that point give up the site and find an alternative spot. That portage SUCKS!

In the scenario you described; I've showed up for a challenge and am now provided one. I'd confirm the family needs/wants the site (if there was any question), and once I had confirmed I'd keep moving along.

"Mi camping es tu camping!" My campsite is your campsite! :)

I would gladly give up, or share a site in this situation. Whichever they prefer. I would defer the option to them.


JW

I like this discussion. I don't know what I would do. I would either talk about splitting the site or take off for Kiskadinna as I am never one to avoid late BW evenings and I wasn't all that fond of the Muskeg campsite anyways from what I saw of it last year. That said, you are really putting yourself in a tough spot if you voluntarily pass an empty campsite on Muskeg. There are two campsites on Kiskadinna, neither are awesome but, at that point, anyone would be getting desperate. Those three sites (Muskeg and the two Kiskadinna ones) should be remote enough to be empty, but that's a big "SHOULD." If Long Island is full, odds say that the Poplar EPs are busy too likely filling Caribou, Horseshoe, Gaskin, Henson, and Winchell. If it's a crazy year like 2020 (and 2021 is shaping up to be) that may impact lakes like Omega too, but it's highly unlikely Omega would ever totally fill up. Either way, Omega would be the next stop if Kiskadinna was full and would likely be the "worst case scenario" for passing on Muskeg since Davis is probably too rediculous to be considered. I guess then that's the question. Would I be upset if I let the family have Muskeg even if it meant I ended up heading all the way to Omega? Probably not. Would I be upset if I ended up bushcamping and hadn't even asked the family to share? Probably yes. That area has enough obscure campsite options around that you're bound to find something.

If they were way back at a portage when I was at the campsite I probably wouldn't just up and leave just because they showed up on the lake. I'd be willing to share if they asked though, but it's a little hard and awkward to find the opportunity to offer.

If I'd been talking to them though, I'd feel more comfortable and obligated to either offer to share or give them the site. 4 is late to be moving on to the next lake and looking for a campsite but not too late, I've done it before. That said, it's not fun to set up camp in the dark. Depending on when sunset is would make a difference here.

I guess I'm not too familiar with that area though so it's hard to know how extreme the other options are.

Offer to share. Their choice.

An alternative option...

It sounds like you spoke to these people while you were still on Long Island. You said you came from some remote lakes...and if you were near the portage to Muskeg, maybe you are talking about Cave/Sebeka/Ross, from Banadad, which means you had not left the eastern portion of Long Island at all.

I'm not sure I would take their word that ALL the campsites were actually full on LI. I'm fairly skeptical that they really paddled to all of them - likely just the ones they could see as they made a line through the lake, possibly diverting a bit to get a peek at more sites, but it's tough to make it around to all of them.

So if I've laid this out correctly, I'd be tempted to let them go to Muskeg (at this point you didn't know if that site was available anyway) and go explore the western side of LI & maybe Karl...which if it truly was full, you have options south to Gordon or even Frost. Which is still probably less time/work than getting to Kiskadinna.

Just a thought...kinda depends where your head is at as a solo. If you are there truly seeking that solo experience, it would maybe not be fun to share a site. But, if you're solo and feeling a little lonely and possibly craving a little conversation with someone other than your own thoughts, sharing a site might be welcome.

In the end though, once on that Muskeg site, it would be tough to watch them paddle by knowing what they are up against without inviting them up to stay.

Twice I have offered to share a campsite on solo trips. Both times it was girl groups out of menogyn, both times they declined.
I ended up giving them the site and took the brutal portage to kiskadinna. I was fine with that but that portage is a real character builder

I agree with many who have suggested to share the site if they are comfortable and if not move on to Kiskadinna. I've done that portage with canoe and pack in the daytime and as mentioned it is not easy - 187' rise from Muskeg, and Kiska is not a particularly nice lake with 2 marginal sites, but I guess it's in my nature to defer to someone else's needs.

I've invited others to share before under similar circumstances - 6:00 in the evening and a river with 2 portages prior to the next possible site.

See... if you’d have taken the job offer you’d not be in that position, haha! ( referring to wwyd#1)
Were they nice people to camp with?

Share the camp.

What time of year is this? You arrived on Long Island at 4 pm...

This would give you or the family about another 5.5 hours of daylight in summer to find camp. I am assuming it is summer season since all the camps are full...

I'd probably still be a sucker and offer the sight to them and just move on myself to give them their solitude I am assuming they came for. Assuming they wanted the site.

To be honest there isn't a bad answer. You would of been well within your rights to just take the site. It would have also been very nice of you to offer to share as well.

T

Sharing is caring!

I would share the camp. It might be fun if they are not weird. If they are, that might be more fun.

Share the site. I wish someone would have done that for us 2 years ago.

jwartman59: "Twice I have offered to share a campsite on solo trips. Both times it was girl groups out of menogyn, both times they declined.
I ended up giving them the site and took the brutal portage to kiskadinna. I was fine with that but that portage is a real character builder"

That was kind of you, Jwartman59. I like to think that’s what I would have done too, though it’s easy to say sitting here on my comfy couch at home. Knowing that portage pretty well, I also might have just camped there on the portage landing setting up my tent just before dark and dropping it at first light.

That particular site makes the idea of sharing more difficult. It’s not a standard site with 3-4 tent pads spaced around. It’s an elevated point, with one good large pad that could fit 2 tents or maybe 3 if packed next to eachother, and one spot that might be able to handle a solo tent - just barely - by the water on the point. But that would mean having to walk past the big tent pad to get to the latrine. Not much room for two groups, and a young family might not be comfortable sharing with a stranger. Not an easy site to share, so double good on you for moving on.

Share for sure, especially for a family with kid(s)

I have shared sites backpacking and canoe camping in busy areas late in the day several times. He'll, met some people that are now lifelong friends that way on a backpacking trip when they came through late and would have had 6 more miles to the next approved campsite.

Reach out. Share. This was done to us in similar circumstances and it remains one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in the BWCA. Perfect time to bump up that trip report: Sharing to those in need