Any recommendations for a route from west to east?
And how did you handle food for the possible 2 to 3 week trip?

Regarding food for a 2-3 week trip, you should be able easily carry all you need. I buddy and I did a 3 week trip in Canada with 2-60L food barrels which held 22 days of food. We did this trip in a 16’ Wenonah Aurora RX. We actually had 4-5 days food left over because we did better fishing than we expected.

What kinda trip are you looking to do for 2 to 3 weeks? Wander and explore as much as possible? Avoid crowds? Hit as many known great fishing spots? Or claim you paddeled from one end of the BWCA to the other? With three weeks to go around the BWCA, you can see quite a bit. If I were to spend 3 weeks in the BWCA, I would probably enter at Entry Point 38 Sawbill and just wander in a big circle by going all the way north to Sea Gull Lake and west to Knife, eventually meandering back down to Sawbill.

For food, that depends on how much "real" food verses dehydrated food you bring. I regularly go on 2 week backpacking trips, carry all my own food, and don't have to resupply. But that means I am eating all dehydrated food, most of which I have made at home beforehand. "Real" food will take up more space and weight, as opposed to dehydrated.

Canoe4U2: "Any recommendations for a route from west to east? "

I personally like the most historically significant route- the Border Route. Paddle from Crane Lake on the west side to Lake Superior on the east along the US/Canadian border. Also known as the Voyageurs Route since this was the fur trade highway. This is the most direct route, though, so it could take the least amount of time. Or, since you have so much time allocated, start in International Falls and go all the way across Voyageurs National Park, too.

Thanks! Kind of what we were thinking….the three weeks plan is to give us leeway.

I did a trans-Quetico trip North to South several years ago from French Lake to Cache Bay. We took 2 weeks and had many layovers and lots of fishing. Best Trip Ever!

At Hook Island, our remaining food was 2 ketchup packets and a sleeve of saltines.

Thanks!

The Voyageur Highway is a great trip. The paddle/portage ratio is marvelous. That said, it is almost entirely big lake paddling and if you start on Rainy it is really big water. Plan for times that it will be too rough to travel.

The best strategy is to have simple, quick breakfasts and get on the water very early. It is rarely windy early in the morning. No bacon and pancakes! We learned this the hard way. Some days will keep you windbound and then ease up in the evening. We traveled on those evenings, but finding a campsite can be dicey.

Logistics of planning designated campsites in Voyageurs NP is tough. My advice would be to select sites that are only a half day paddle and get those early starts or use those calm evenings if you get windbound for a day.

Getting your BWCA permit ahead of time if you start on Rainy is possible. Contact the Superior NF Supervisors Office and they will help you out.

Great! Thanks

We did one month many years ago. My suggestion is to use bear vaults or plan on 2 hanging packs. We learned the hard way; way too much weight to hang during the early part of the trip, even with my pulley system. We did not re-supply and did not buy any pre-made meals. Made our own, with ideas / recipes out of Simple Food for the Pack, and similar books. We also had our large dog, so with dog food probably more food weight than would be typical.

Thanks! Good input.

bobbernumber3: "I did a trans-Quetico trip North to South several years ago from French Lake to Cache Bay. We took 2 weeks and had many layovers and lots of fishing. Best Trip Ever!


At Hook Island, our remaining food was 2 ketchup packets and a sleeve of saltines."

I did this trip with my spring group about 15 years ago. I know you’re looking for a longer trip, but we did this in a week moving every day. We had two groups, one starting from French Lk and the other from Cache Bay. We met in the middle and traded van keys.

With your longer time frame you could take a more leisurely trip with more exploring.

Great suggestion! Thank you.

For a trip of that length, I'd recommend dehydrated/freeze dried meals for weight/packability & also for fuel requirement (it also helps with cleanup if they are 'eat out of bag' variety as then no pot is made dirty with food). For lunch, I tend to go with a few 'granola bars' & packaged beef jerky+cheese sticks. Apples also keep pretty well & are nice to have for the first few days. If having steaks Day 1, I'd recommend getting them without bone (so that the stinky bone doesn't need to be carried for the remainder of the trip) & that they be repackaged if they are packaged with the foam tray + juice absorption pad. It may also be a decent idea to bring along some 'baby wipes' to freshen up. Paper towels are also handy to have for post-meal cleanup if all that is dirtied is silverware. Hope you have a fun & successful voyage!

Good information. Appreciate it. We usually do freeze dried or dehydrated but we were concerned that we could actually do,the trip without someone resupplying us half way. Thanks again.