Hopefully I spelled that lake right [it is the lake just to the NW of Mexican Hat, my maps finally came but they aren't with me]. I was wondering about the fishing on that lake. Going in late Aug, base camping,. Wondering about getting to Mexican Hat from Leanno or Onnie. Onnie route looks longer with longer portages, but longer paddle times between portages than through Leanno. The portage monkeys think it might be faster to make longer but fewer portages. Never been in Wccp before and could use some advice. We will need room for 3 two man tents and a single man tent, all of which have to be flat, level and soft, HA HA. So far I've read every post everyone has posted and would really like to thank you in advance for any and all information you can give us. I did notice on some of the narrows between the lakes there is a straight red lone with the note no portage does that mean a pull the canoe up the creek? Or what? I sort of figured we would all wetfoot this trip or could we get by with some of us not? FRED

You have a good start on the research. I and others have a lot of info at canoestories.com . quietjourney is another source of info like this piece concerning Glenn Lake http://www.quietjourney.com/community/YABB.cgi?num=1313432600

Check out the info, I will be happy to answer any other questions that arise. A lot of great options for Mexican Hat and Glenn trip.

quote Marten: "You have a good start on the research. I and others have a lot of info at canoestories.com . quietjourney is another source of info like this piece concerning Glenn Lake http://www.quietjourney.com/community/YABB.cgi?num=1313432600

Check out the info, I will be happy to answer any other questions that arise. A lot of great options for Mexican Hat and Glenn trip."

Ditto

Here is another report (solo trip from June 2010) that covers the area of your anticipated travels. Unfortunately, since the report was written, the pictures have since changed servers and consequently show as broken links.

Report

Pictures

dd

When I try to access the links from the quietjourney site given above, I am redirected to a page saying that in order to view anything I have to be a paid member.

Any other non-members having trouble with the quiet journey site?

quote Zoco: "When I try to access the links from the quietjourney site given above, I am redirected to a page saying that in order to view anything I have to be a paid member.


Any other non-members having trouble with the quiet journey site?


"

It's not just you "Zoco".

It seems you can maneuver around the site using the Links, but any attempted access to the Discussion Forums re-directs you to a registration and Log-in page.

Hans Solo

Sorry. I guess neither Marten or I realized that the free swinging door had been shut, since we are both members on QJ.

I don't know if that was an intended change or an accident the consequence of making a server change about a year ago. I'll PM the owner/operator and see what he says (but I won't know until tomorrow ... he gets around to doing site stuff about 1:00am). I do know that the site was getting pounded about a year ago by commercial posters and there may have been a change made that I was unaware of.

I'll re-post when I hear something.

In the short run ... got a question. I'm available. My knowledge base of WCPP is not as deep as Marten's but I do have some experience in the park.

dd

quote Zoco: "When I try to access the links from the quietjourney site given above, I am redirected to a page saying that in order to view anything I have to be a paid member.


Any other non-members having trouble with the quiet journey site?




"

Sorry about sending you to a site you could not open. It is not Glenn Lake specific but I do have a lot of Woodland Caribout video on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNorthwoodsman1?feature=mhee

luv those vids...

Maybe this map will help a little ... Eastern Glenn to Western Telescope. I stayed on the island campsites shown both far west (Glenn) and far east (Telescope). BTW: This is a pre-trip map ... I added some details post trip (which are in the pictures previously mentioned).



dd

I would like to know where you picked up the map you are posting of wesern telescope and Glenn Lake. I just have Black & White printed maps. Thanks.

quote gnegard: "I would like to know where you picked up the map you are posting of wesern telescope and Glenn Lake. I just have Black & White printed maps. Thanks."

DD will probably give you some humble answer but the truth is that he creates these maps and many others as he prepares for a trip. I and many others are in his debt.

Thanks, Marten. Just trying to be useful!

If you just want the base maps (without markings), that's easy. You can go to Geogratis Canada and download whatever you want for free (including the black & white stuff). What you see is based on the toporama format (the quadrant would be roughly 052L16), although those maps use a shade of green for land mass. I personally prefer yellow because it seems easier to read through a map case...so I changed mine and ramped up the blue just a little also. I found the "neon" yellow a bit much ... later versions are a bit more subdued.

If you are also talking about the notations on the map ... well that's a different story, and takes a bit of "doing."

I actually have the entire park. (Its "free" but unfortunately already connected to another canoe board so I don't feel at liberty to give it away outside that venue.)

However, I'm in the process of doing a significant upgrade ... higher resolution maps and more detail (e.g., where you might expect to find lodges, boat caches, types of fish species in each lake and so on). I'm also not very fond of the map icons available on the software I'm using to record the details, so I'm also in the process of creating new, more interesting ones. I also hope to find satellite images that are a bit tighter than what I have now, as an alternate to the topo images. I find them useful for spotting beaches and investigating river/creek channels, etc.

There is a good chance I might unveil it at next year's 'copia event available at the same price if I can find a way to distribute it at little cost, so stay tuned. Unfortunately, the present format is pushing the recording capacity of a standard DVD pretty hard.

dd

quote HansSolo: "It seems you can maneuver around the site using the Links, but any attempted access to the Discussion Forums re-directs you to a registration and Log-in page."

I did get a response from the QJ owner/operator.

While the links SHOULD work, apparently the non-navigation issue based on the fact that the links are for OLDER posts. When the QJ owner tried it, it worked fine for something that was started in the last few month.

So, I checked it with that scenario using a machine that has never been registered on the QJ site and it worked fine. Then, I tried the exact same thing using the links that Marten and I provided. That yielded the same result you are getting.

Back to the drawing boards on this one.

dd

Fred,

I went in at Leano to Mexican Hat.
The route was Leano, to Southern part of Bunny, East Lunch, Lunch Lake,Jake Lake, and then onto Mexican Hat. I REALLY liked this route.
Very Scenic, and although there are quite a few "nuisence" portages.
(that is what I call several small ones in a row) They are very short, easy walks. I am talking about the ones from Jake Lake to Mexican Hat.
SunCatcher

OK. I'm hoping this works. According the "da man," one of the reasons my trip report was not accessible is because it was posted in the QJ Trip Report forum, which is only accessible by logged on members. The "revised" version has been moved to the Woodland Caribou forum and should be accessible.

WCPP Solo Trip, June 2010

Try this and let me know how it works.

dd

Whether you come in from Onnie or Leano it's a nice trip. Been on Glenn twice and ate Walleye both times. The chute going into Hansen can be dangerous or not a problem. In 2011 we had to portage... Last year we could run it. Hansen had some nice Walleye too as does Mexican Hat. We had three two man tents and didn't have any problems finding camping spots. The campsite map is real useful, but don't count on every dot as a campsite... I'm talking about the one handed out by the park service.

dd - That link works. Thanks. I was a lurker on QJ a couple years ago, but for some reason, when they changed servers in 2011?? I lost the ability to lurk.

quote FOG51: "Hopefully I spelled that lake right [it is the lake just to the NW of Mexican Hat, my maps finally came but they aren't with me]. I was wondering about the fishing on that lake. Going in late Aug, base camping,. Wondering about getting to Mexican Hat from Leanno or Onnie. Onnie route looks longer with longer portages, but longer paddle times between portages than through Leanno. The portage monkeys think it might be faster to make longer but fewer portages. Never been in Wccp before and could use some advice. We will need room for 3 two man tents and a single man tent, all of which have to be flat, level and soft, HA HA. So far I've read every post everyone has posted and would really like to thank you in advance for any and all information you can give us. I did notice on some of the narrows between the lakes there is a straight red lone with the note no portage does that mean a pull the canoe up the creek? Or what? I sort of figured we would all wetfoot this trip or could we get by with some of us not? FRED"

FOG51-We went on our first WCPP trip last August. It was awesome! We are always excited to share our journey and the places we visited. We flew into Mexican Hat, then paddled up to Glenn our first day. The portages were not hard, but we did get wet feet frequently. We were used to BWCA portages and those being fairly dry, so we learned quickly to suck it up and get wet feet. The red lines are "chutes" in WCPP. The "chute" between Glenn and Hansen is "runnable." Not when we visited last year....the water was super high and flowing fast. We are not white water canoeing experts so we bushwacked to a point, shot out into the middle of the chute, and prayed like hell we'd make it through without swamping. It was frightening!!! But, we survived! Wish there was a portage there for us wimpy folks. :) Our campsite on Glenn hadn't been used much, small, but there was a neat old log cabin remnants at this site and our tent pad was a bed of moss, but likely only one pad per say. We found most campsites had one or two spots for tents. There was a larger campsite on Glenn that you'd find plenty of room at. We fished Glenn and had good luck. We caught northerns deep and walleyes off a point on the lake (north central side of the lake, near our campsite). It was just east of the portage out. We haven't been to Onnie Lake and only exited at Leano. We thought the portages in WCPP were more "mentally" exhausting then physically. We occasionally had issues locating them, but once we found the start, we were fine. We also learned to look for clues: rock cairns, tape in the tree, and blazes. A lot of portages were swampy in parts, then uphill all at the same time. Makes things exciting. But, it is a truly AWESOME canoe experience all should have. We are planning to return in June this summer for some more fishing. Our trip report is posted in trip reports section also if you are interested! :)
Below is picture of Chris (and Decoy) with a northern in WCPP (I think maybe Glenn Lake)


Ask more questions anytime! :)

quote dentondoc: "OK. I'm hoping this works. According the "da man," one of the reasons my trip report was not accessible is because it was posted in the QJ Trip Report forum, which is only accessible by logged on members. The "revised" version has been moved to the Woodland Caribou forum and should be accessible.


WCPP Solo Trip, June 2010


Try this and let me know how it works.


dd"

That did the trick. Thanks.

Thanks so much for your and everyone's replies. We are going in for the fishing mostly, we will be basecamping, then coming out the way we went in, so my questions are which lakes have the best fishing. I realize that's a loaded question , but any idea is better than mine. I read about these chutes and swift water you encountered and wondered are we going to have problems getting back up the creeks/rivers? The very last thing I want my portage monkeys to be turned into swimming monkeys. Is it possible to make either Glen or Mexican Hat in one and a half days, or are we looking at two days, 5 of the 8 folks are in good shape the other three are two young ladies and older ,slightly overweight, slightly slower moving guy [I was built for comfort not speed] hopefully traveling sort of light. All input is great please, be brutally honest. Thanks FRED

Fred -

I think I'd shoot to take the route from Leano to Mexican Hat. I believe the likelihood of you making it in a day and a half are pretty good. If you are well organized and don't dawdle, you can make this distance in a day even double portaging. That said, you should aim for an early start and the drive from Red Lake down to Leano is on the order of 2 hours (and you'll need to either take a vehicle with high ground clearance or arrange for a shuttle with a local outfitter).

There are quite a few portages along this route, but none are particularly difficult. The only one with any real length is that last one .. into Mexican Hat, and the good news is going in that direction it is down hill. On Mexican Hat there are three campsites that should be sufficient for your group. One is immediately across from the falls as you exit the portage on Mexican Hat. Another is on a peninsula on the opposite shore before you reach the north/south center of the lake. (Its mostly hidden over a rock ridge, but once you get to the site it opens up very nicely.) The third is north end of the lake as you head up toward Glenn. It has the benefit of a sand beach for landing.

Along the way, I'd say the best stop-off point is probably on Jake Lake. There are 2 pair of campsites on opposite shore lines has you head north. I'd stop at the first (southern) pair. The one on the west side sits a bit lower and has ample room to spread a lot of tents back in the pines. The one on the opposite shore is up on a rock shelf. Also a nice site, but the landing is a bit more of a problem.

This stretch is quite pretty and the disadvantage of having many portages is offset by several nice little falls (even before your reach Mexican Hat). This also means that the lakes are mostly small, which translates to fewer issues if the wind gets up. (Traveling from Onnie toward Glenn means you head down the long fetch of Telescope Lake ... lets just say, you'd probably prefer not to be there when it windy.

If you have a bit of water, you could also paddle into Nutria lake (lake just west Mexican Hat). That's monster pike country for sure. However, you should be well served with the all 3 species on Mexican Hat. (Note: Smallmouth are not found in any of these waters. I'll let you know how I do in June up on the Bloodvein River on the north side of the park, which is the only significant area with a smallie population.)

dd

Fred,

dd is correct, I feel you should be able to get to Jake in a day, if you get an EARLY START. The road sucks into Leano, worse if it's WET out. So an Early Start is essential.
Also, the first portage from the parking lot, and the last one into Mexican Hat are the longest ones, on the way to Mexican Hat from Leano. I like dd's idea of shacking up on Jake Lake also. On the WEST side there is a POINT that sticks out, with a gradual "Patio of Rock" that comes down to the water, with many trees and open for tents. I never stayed here, but paddled by it, with seveal folks camping there, and was a nice site. Also would put you into Mexican Hat at a fairly decent time.
Concerning Nutria Lake to the West of Mexican Hat, In low water, this can be a bitch to get into. If you have decent water, it will be fine. It is worth paddling there, just to see the lake, as it sort of sits in a "bowl" and has a lot of Granite Cliffs there.
If you go to Nutria, follow the little "Creek" that winds through the reeds and such, going west, will more than likely encounter a beaver damn, once over that you will be fine.

SunCatcher

Second that early start... My first time in with my son we got to Red Lake after noon. By the time we got permits and the time eater was the fishing lisence (don't go in the lower level of the government center)... Then the road to Leano was slow... So figure it all in and we're at the Leano parking lot at 4PM. We ended up on a spot on Leano. Then my son paddling my little old town was having trouble keeping up. Finally... much to late I gave him my yak paddle and the pace picked up. So we only made it to Jake Lake that day. we had a great site with a small island in front of us. Then it was an easy paddle up to Mexican Hat. There was some challenges there, but it was worth it. I've been on Telescope Lake twice and although there was wind, it was doable. But it could be a factor. If you go to Glenn from Mex Hat I would go out thru Telescope to Onnie... Maybe camp on Optic and then get up early to beat the wind. Chances are going that way it would be at your back. The only reason I mentioned the chute into Hansen is the fishing just below on the Hansen side is pretty awesome. There is a sort of portage on the north side more visible from the Glenn Lake side. We had to use it two years ago and it was a little tricky on the Hansen side getting in and out. Last year we went thru there before the big rain in early June and could paddle thru it. I find it interesting it still was high in August for McVasek to be anything to worry about. There is a portage although rarely used. A few days after going thru there we had the crazy rains though and ended up wading thru rivers that were normally streams. Glenn, Mex Hat and Hansen are all good Walleye Lakes... Bring lots of oil and batter. :) I'd highly recommend the Shuttle by Red Lake Outfitters... Harlan, a sponsor on this site is a good guy and knows first hand how tough the road there is on your suspension. Split between three guys it's not a bad deal at all.

Base camping on Glenn Lake would also fit what you want to do. Travel time from the Onnie entrance will vary widely with every group and what the wind is doing. Going solo and hard it took me 8 hours from Onnie access to a fantastic campsite 1 mile into Glenn. With a larger group I would plan on arriving at the campsite the second evening. There are some outpost cabins on this route following the Gammon River for fast travel into the heart of the park. I wish you could access the 2011 "Gathering" report that Harlan (solotrip) posted in various places. His fish pictures say it all. His comment was" A very nice walleye on every cast until his limit was full." He supplied us that stayed in camp a very nice fish fry that night.

Check this out for a few pics of Glenn Lake. Harlan holding walleye and Marten sitting back waiting for supper. It only shows the tip of the camp. The camp has a large open rock area and plenty of room for a tarp and tents under the trees.

http://redlakeoutfitters.com/?cat=53

Since getting easy access to the images from QuietJourney could be something of a feat, here are three maps that cover that part of my trip containing the route from Leano to Hansen via Mexican Hat and Glenn.

Since I got a late start at the put-in (around 5:00 pm if I remember), I only went to Bunny Lake on the first day. The second day I made it to Mexican Hat, doing most of that in pouring rain. I did a layover on Mexican Hat before heading to Hansen on day 4. I've included these (only) since that is the recommendation I made (Leano/Mex Hat). If you decide to go the Onnie route, let me know since that's where I headed from Hansen on the back end of my trip.

Map Day 1

Map Day 2

Map Day 4





dd

This is a list of the portages for the Onnie Access on the east side of the park to Carroll Lake on the west side. There are no nasty issues with any of these portages. I used this route in July, 2012. It is an excellent way to get deep into the park in a short time. You can then easily head to many other sections. Keeping a steady pace and double portaging it took me 8 hours to get to a campsite near the east end of Glennn Lake, about 17 miles. It took another 12 hours to get to the east side of Carroll Lake, 25 miles from the Glenn Camp. These times exclude any rest breaks or meal times.

Please understand that there could be some mistakes from entering all these numbers. Overall it should allow for easier navigation across WCPP. The NAD 27 datum matches most of the 50,000 scale topo maps for WCPP. If you enter these NAD 27 numbers in a program set for NAD83 you will be 200 meters off location in WCPP. Please notify me of any needed corrections.

Portage Nad27 UTM 15U Portage end
300 410800 5641000 410553 5641322 Parking lot for Onnie access- well signed
30 410400 5641750
625 410380 5641943 410548 5642494 Old park map marks it 365
150 410028 5643848 409919 5643944 No non-resident camping on Onnie-Green Zone
125 408454 5643654 408349 5643626 Hjalmar Lakes
150 406250 5643650 406090 5643599 Hjalmar Lakes
200 405394 5643210 405220 5643120 To Telescope
100 396601 5642805 396530 5642733 Exit Telescope
100 395646 5642861 395598 5642846 Exit Stuart
70 394045 5643184 394003 5643146 Enter Optic
275 391713 5640815 391496 5640822 Exit Optic
275 391319 5640752 391082 5640757 Enter Glenn
60 382650 5641000 382645 5641111 Exit Glenn
350 382002 5640991 381720 5641107 Enter Hansen
chute 381480 5641000 Can be wicked- I have heard of a portage
275 378514 5644437 378377 5644660 Enter Rostoul
90 372837 5648436 372788 5648511 Exit Rostoul
40 371724 5649414 Enter Hammerhead
400NEW 369531 5653986 369283 5654199 Enter Donald-replaces 70&50 on other bank
400 363671 5657162 363487 5657281 Enter Carroll
Back to top

Fred,

And just in case you do NOT make it to Jake the first day, there is also a nice Campsite on the Island in the middle of Lunch Lake.

The Island is in the MIDDLE of Lunch Lake.
The Portage is in the NE Corner of the lake, you come around a corner and there is a water fall, you will hear it roaring. Get out on YOUR RIGHT. Nice to take a picture or two.

SunCatcher

First of THANK YOU ALL. Second of all I screwed up, I should have never started this research till August first because I really NEED to go now, and by now I mean NOW NOW NOW. It will be a long winter, spring, and summer till August gets here. FRED

When comparing the Onnie EP route to the Leano EP route, there are also a couple of other things that might be of interest to you.

On the Onnie to Glenn segment, you might find a few spots where you can catch blue walleye (east of Telescope, is what I remember). There is a pictograph on Hjlarmar Lakes (2nd lake headed west, north shoreline). There are cabins on the west end of Telescope (north shore) and Optic (east end, on a point to the south as you come out of the portage around some very nice water falls). You will also spot a couple of boat caches in this area (because of the cabins). Because of the cabins and the lodge on Hansen, you would likely experience a bit more float plane traffic along this route (I was overflown twice on this section--Glenn and Telescope--at an altitude of under 200 feet).

Along the other route, I've only heard of a plane landing in Mexican Hat. I'm not sure many of the other lakes are easily suitable for putting down a float plane. But also, no cabins, no boat caches, no pictographs (that I'm aware of). So, from my perspective, it seems more like you are stepping off into wilderness when entering at Leano. You will have a few more reminders of civilization heading in via Onnie.

BTW: I'm guessing there is a significant number of pictographs that remain unreported. I found one Donald Lake on my last trip that the park staff was unaware of. I also went by one on Hansen and when I later ran into the lodge owners there, they apparently were not aware of its presence.

dd

I've seen two sets of picto's on Hansen. One on the way to Wrist... kind of lame... and one on the north end toward Roustal. We had a family fly into Roustal to fish the end of the rapids by the portage to Hansen. I've been in places you'd think you'd see nothing only to have float planes coming over quite a bit. They don't bother me too much. Never seen one on Telescope to Glenn but we could have gone in on a day there was no traffic. Both times I've been on Hansen we saw people at the "lodge" there. A bunch from Iowa own it... Same with the one on Donald my guys flew in and out of. What's with the Ioweigens up there? :)

quote FOG51: "First of THANK YOU ALL. Second of all I screwed up, I should have never started this research till August first because I really NEED to go now, and by now I mean NOW NOW NOW. It will be a long winter, spring, and summer till August gets here. FRED"

:) We know the feeling! The fishing is amazing in the park and like others mentioned, if you need a shuttle go through Harlan. He is great to work with!

FOG51,

Check your email.

Harlan