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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Group Forum: Woodland Caribou Provincial Park Bullet bit, 1 month off requested - help! |
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08/09/2022 06:13PM
So this WCPP trip has progressed and expanded. I’ve requested off last week in May and 3 weeks of June. I need help with a WCPP route. I can fly in, shuttle in or fly In or out. With this amount of time what would you do? I like to fish, don’t mind traveling or sitting at a site a couple days.
09/05/2022 09:19AM
With an entire month, I recommend all four corners of the park! Start by flying into Artery - explore the pictographs. Head East from there across to Thicketwood and Bigshell. Down into Linge, Knox, Royd, Donald etc..Bulging, Haggart, Irregular. Fish your brains out..
Eagle, The Edge route.. into the Kilburns.. make your way back up to Paull. Aegean, Wrist, Mexican Hat then continue east out via Telescope, Onnie, Johnson for the shuttle out from there..
Tons of time for rest days in there. Let us know as you plan it all out!!
Eagle, The Edge route.. into the Kilburns.. make your way back up to Paull. Aegean, Wrist, Mexican Hat then continue east out via Telescope, Onnie, Johnson for the shuttle out from there..
Tons of time for rest days in there. Let us know as you plan it all out!!
10/16/2022 06:45AM
Thanks! I thought my thread was dead. Do you know anyone who has been to WCPP this year? Trying to get a sense of how things are. I’ve been talking to Albert but it’s been a while. Probably time to
Give him a call and see what his trippers are saying. Oh and these maps were so nice looking I had to do it
Give him a call and see what his trippers are saying. Oh and these maps were so nice looking I had to do it
10/16/2022 09:09AM
Bjmd28: "Thanks! I thought my thread was dead. Do you know anyone who has been to WCPP this year? Trying to get a sense of how things are. I’ve been talking to Albert but it’s been a while. Probably time to
Give him a call and see what his trippers are saying. Oh and these maps were so nice looking I had to do it "
Trying contacting "marten" on this board. He has a lot of knowledge on WCPP.
03/04/2023 08:38AM
I'd definitely start by contacting the park office and find out what condition of the portages are in. Albert is also a great resource. Windfall and snow fall will still be affecting the portages in the burn areas for some years to come. The parks folks may not have checked all the areas out before your time frame of late May/early June. Take a good saw along. Your route should be determined by your tripping style. If you move every day and like to cover water then a longer route is ok. If you want to fish a lot (like me) you might want to consider base camping a few days in one location then move on. I personally like to fish/ explore smaller areas when I go. Fishing is easy in WCPP. Jig and white twister tail are my go to for walleye. I don't target northerns and consider them a pest. The area in the southern part of the park is mostly lake trout. The Gammon River and Bloodvein River systems (mid and northern areas of the park) are better walleye waters. The Bloodvein System from Artery to Thicketwood also contains smallmouth bass which are not native to the system nor do they want them to spread. WCPP is huge ,not to mention that it butts up to Atikaki (Manitoba) which is about the same size. Also, if you've never been to these areas the lakes are much, much larger than they appear on maps! Speaking of maps, take some good ones along. I'm still a map and compass guy but to each their own.
.........Mike
.........Mike
03/04/2023 12:00PM
We have narrowed it down a bit. We are flying into irregular. Going to base camp a few days and play with the musky while we wait for the younger guys who are coming to spend a week tripping with us. We understand it’s burnt to the rock. From there Mather to Haggart to bulging then through adventure over to haven for some walleye. I think by that point it will be close to time for the kids to fly out. That’s where our plan turns to “play it by ear”. Any suggestions ?
03/05/2023 10:13AM
I assume that you're flying out of Red Lake? If so, and decide to paddle out, you can arrange a shuttle to pick you up at Johnson Lake. Depending on your time frame you can take a few different routes. I thought Jigsaw had a lot of character with all the islands. I was there a few years after a burn sometime back and it was neat hiking up some of the hills there. Great views. The jackpine were a couple of feet tall then. Mex Hat is worth a look but you'll likely encounter some fellow paddlers. Hansen and Glenn are good walleye lakes....heck almost all of them are good walleye lakes. Or you can head north up through Rostoul and back down to Hansen then east. Possibilities are endless. Much easier to discuss in person. I'll see if I have my current gmail on file.
Full disclosure....my favorite parts of the park are north of where you'll be.
Full disclosure....my favorite parts of the park are north of where you'll be.
03/06/2023 08:38AM
With all the recent burn, thick Jack pine regeneration, winter tree damage, your entry before any portage work by park crews and that area of travel I would strongly suggest taking a chainsaw. Unless rules have changed it is ok to chainsaw the wood off blocked portage trails. Soils are so shallow that all those burned snags with no root structure keep coming down in big numbers for years. A month after a crew clears them they can be hard to find.
You have probably watched the recent videos of WCPP travel and seen how nasty some of the travel off the most used eastern routes have become.
Since you so far west you would find it a lot cheaper to fly from Bissett , Manitoba with Bluewater Aviation.
You have probably watched the recent videos of WCPP travel and seen how nasty some of the travel off the most used eastern routes have become.
Since you so far west you would find it a lot cheaper to fly from Bissett , Manitoba with Bluewater Aviation.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNorthwoodsman1
03/09/2023 11:01AM
Marten, how long would you anticipate the trip from bulging down to irregular to take? I suspect that part will be the worst portages as far as needing maintenance. We could fly to bulging instead with the chain saw. Then we could work down to irregular clearing g the trails and then send the saw back home with the plane that brings the rest of the crew.
03/09/2023 09:05PM
So many unknown variables in WCPP right now. Bulging to Irregular could be done in two days if the trails were passable. I think I would suggest you carry that chainsaw the whole trip. Depending on what was left after the fires you could have bare rock or fallen black logs on top of each other where the portage itself could be hard to spot. I spent three weeks back in 2013 traveling with chainsaws as the trails were all blocked from a fall wet storm that took so much down on the portages. I remember I could average 100 meters an hour clearing most of the portages so I could do my trip. That portage east of Bulging slowed me to 40 meters an hour for most of it. That is why I would carry the chainsaw and fuel. An extra bar and two chains would be best. You need a quart of bar oil for every 3-4 quarts of mixed chainsaw gas. I noted that last year the route to Welken was cleared but that last big portage over to Irregular could be really bad. It as never been an easy portage but maybe someone knows how much wood is still there after the reburns of the last years.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNorthwoodsman1
03/11/2023 11:27AM
It sounds like you are doing trail maintenance work marten! I understand some of the portages could be nearly impassable. I wish I had all the time in the world and could leave the trails clear for the next group, but we will just be trying to get our stuff to the other side.
I’ve watched some trip report videos and they do look rough but for 5 guys with saws it shouldn’t be too bad, the challenge is half the fun right? And we aren’t stuck to an itinerary.
I’m not discounting your chainsaw suggestion. Just running through options and gathering information.
I’ve watched some trip report videos and they do look rough but for 5 guys with saws it shouldn’t be too bad, the challenge is half the fun right? And we aren’t stuck to an itinerary.
I’m not discounting your chainsaw suggestion. Just running through options and gathering information.
03/12/2023 12:16PM
On post fire port ages it all depends on what is left standing. Most of the time you can scramble through and over the blockages. Worst case is when the area of tall dead trees come down and leave a head high tangle of 10 inch tree trunks that are too much for handsaws.. The Jackpines sprout every 3 inches after a fire and the portage is still visible for a few years. If there is good soil they can be head high in 5 years and no way to see cairns.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNorthwoodsman1
04/05/2023 01:32PM
Bjmd28: "Yes! No seeing all the snow up there I’m getting nervous that it won’t be thawed out by may 25 ! "
It will be thawed out. The sun is high in the sky and it can really go fast.
On Irregular, This is the campsite you want. (red circle) I was there in the fall of 2016 and it had not burned. That area did burn in 2022 but there is a good chance the island did not burn. It is a large site and as nice as you will find in WCPP, especially if it hasn't burned.
If going from Irregular to Haggert/Bulging I would go through Mather vs Beamish. The portage out of Irregular might be hard as it did not burn in 2016 but did in 2021. It is relatively short though. Once you get into the 2016 burn area, the area around Haggert burned really hard and then again in 2021. I wouldn't expect those portages to be hard other than maybe finding them and following them but just look for previously sawn logs logs and cairns.
You are young and ambitious, this should not be hard for 5 of you. Email me if you would like more detailed info. There are a few things along the way to check out. Fishing should be good with a late ice out for lakers, big northerns and hopefully some muskie on Irregular.
The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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