|
Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Trip Reports Trip Report - Four to Explore |
Author
Text
03/05/2011 05:47PM
New Trip Report posted by danhawk
Trip Name: Four to Explore.
Entry Point: 47
Click Here to View Trip Report
Trip Name: Four to Explore.
Entry Point: 47
Click Here to View Trip Report
Lets Roll!
Reply
Reply with Quote
Print
Top
Bottom
Previous
Next
03/05/2011 07:41PM
danhawk,
Great report and thanks for sharing. 2 years ago we entered at Lizz and base camped on Gaskin. Loved that area. We have used the bunkhouse at Rockwood each of the last 2 years. Mike and Lin are great people and I truly enjoy chatting with them. We didn't have much luck fishing when we were there either.
We had the complete opposite happen to us at the put in at Poplar on our way out. When I was coming down to the lake w/canoe and a pack a dad and his 2 young boys (around 10) had just touched land. As you stated there really is only one good place to land the canoe without having to crawl around big rocks. The dad and the boys paddled back out about 30 feet and gave me room to put the canoe in the water. My wife was right behind me with her 2 packs and we quickly loaded up and got out of their way. They didn't "have" to do that but it was greatly appreciated. It was great seeing a father modeling common courtesy for his kids.
Great report and thanks for sharing. 2 years ago we entered at Lizz and base camped on Gaskin. Loved that area. We have used the bunkhouse at Rockwood each of the last 2 years. Mike and Lin are great people and I truly enjoy chatting with them. We didn't have much luck fishing when we were there either.
We had the complete opposite happen to us at the put in at Poplar on our way out. When I was coming down to the lake w/canoe and a pack a dad and his 2 young boys (around 10) had just touched land. As you stated there really is only one good place to land the canoe without having to crawl around big rocks. The dad and the boys paddled back out about 30 feet and gave me room to put the canoe in the water. My wife was right behind me with her 2 packs and we quickly loaded up and got out of their way. They didn't "have" to do that but it was greatly appreciated. It was great seeing a father modeling common courtesy for his kids.
Ride EZ
03/09/2011 04:02PM
If you can get a spot on the east end you would have options to easily take side trips to the east and north. If you have a spot near the midpoint of the lake and there is some wind it would make travel tougher. It is such a long lake oriented east/west without many spots to shield to wind while traveling.
Lets Roll!
03/10/2011 08:43AM
Dan - Thank you for the Trip Report. I really enjoyed reading it and looking at the photos. I liked the photo you took where you held the camera over the side of the canoe at the waterline.
It was the first Trip Report where I read of anyone bringing cots. I couldn't help but think how hard they would be to portage but it doesn't sound like it was a problem. I don't sleep that well on un-level surfaces and the cots would certainly remedy that!
The uncourteous people at the landing are a good reminder that not everyone understands portage etiquette enough to wait and let others go first when possible.
I am glad you had a great trip.
Did you put more scratches than you thought in the new canoe or did it look pretty good when you brought it back?
03/10/2011 10:30AM
Thanks Zulu - the Beyer of Maine cot probably is unusual for the BWCA. It fits into my pack alongside of the tent, however, so it wasn't a big deal to carry. It is a "luxury" item but good sleep is an important factor for a successful trip! Small tents might not have enough room. We were able to fit two cots in a have space for clothes packs and essentials.
The canoe was perfect for us. I would love to buy that type. No amount of babying of that canoe would prevent some scratches. Luckily the marks were minor and we were not charged extra! After the trip we thought the comment "you own every scratch" was just Mike trying to be funny. It must be tough for outfitters to see nice equipment abused which happens a lot!
The canoe was perfect for us. I would love to buy that type. No amount of babying of that canoe would prevent some scratches. Luckily the marks were minor and we were not charged extra! After the trip we thought the comment "you own every scratch" was just Mike trying to be funny. It must be tough for outfitters to see nice equipment abused which happens a lot!
Lets Roll!
03/17/2011 07:29AM
Nice! I was pleasantly surprised to open this report and discover it's about the same area that we are going to in June. I also really liked that picture of the side of the canoe while you're paddling. I will steal that idea. ;-)
03/22/2011 02:30PM
Thanks Nojobro - I have seen photos from that angle before (your not stealing my idea!) I took some other good pics but only posted a few since they took so long to download here. Maybe I could edit my report and add more. Have fun there this summer! If you stay on Gaskin I would check out site #634 or the site we stayed at #632. They are off the main routes if you want more seclusion.
Lets Roll!
03/23/2011 03:05AM
Thanks for the report, I enjoyed reading it and taking a look at the photographs.
I've been through all of the lakes on your travel route (horsehoe, gaskin, lizz, caribou, poplar) and I've camped on gaskin, horseshoe and caribou in the past. I have personally never experienced great fishing on any of those lakes, but my effort was marginal at best. Sorry you had a similar experience.
Gaskin is a very pretty lake. I wish my girlfriend and I would have pushed on to one of the nicer campsites on the lake because there are several nice sites. The one we stayed at near the portages north toward meeds lake isn't the best site on the lake. When we paddled across gaskin the next day, we had a good look at some of the nicer sites. Very enjoyable paddle on that lake except for when I broke my fishing rod trying to yank out a snag. Tough break...
Wish I would have made it out to winchell lake just to see it, but I'll just have to do that some other time. That overlook is something I want to see.
I've been through all of the lakes on your travel route (horsehoe, gaskin, lizz, caribou, poplar) and I've camped on gaskin, horseshoe and caribou in the past. I have personally never experienced great fishing on any of those lakes, but my effort was marginal at best. Sorry you had a similar experience.
Gaskin is a very pretty lake. I wish my girlfriend and I would have pushed on to one of the nicer campsites on the lake because there are several nice sites. The one we stayed at near the portages north toward meeds lake isn't the best site on the lake. When we paddled across gaskin the next day, we had a good look at some of the nicer sites. Very enjoyable paddle on that lake except for when I broke my fishing rod trying to yank out a snag. Tough break...
Wish I would have made it out to winchell lake just to see it, but I'll just have to do that some other time. That overlook is something I want to see.
Richard "Bear" Brown
Subscribe to Thread
Become a member of the bwca.com community to subscribe to thread and get email updates when new posts are added. Sign up Here