i'm considering long range trips starting in both of these parks for 2009. i know it's still 2008 and the ice is barely out, but the planning for this years trips is essentially complete and it's time to start thinking about other places to go.

i'll post updates as the possible destinations are selected and serious planning starts.

adventure, never ends.

i am very interested in getting to woodland caribou in 2009, i talked to the park superintendant at the midwest mountaineering expo (didn't have a chance to get to his talk on sunday). he said last year woodland had <1000 visitors (more like 700 i think) compared to something like 20K in quetico (comparable square mileage). i picked up a park map from him for dreaming:)

tg

i have a ten day solo in WC this may/june, but for 2009 i'm thinking of a bigger trip.

hard to get good numbers on usage, but on a percentage basis, US use decreasing, while canadian use increasing. park management is doing everything they can to get people up there.

i know the talk on sunday highlighted their development plan for the park, the super stated that their goal would be a cap at 5-6K visitors as they don't think WC park can support the numbers visiting quetico, and still maintain the habitat for critters like WC.

tg

i don't think he expects 5000 paddlers, but might be talking about total visitors. there may be more fly in fishermen now than paddlers.

that may be right jd-i wish i had made it to the talk (then i might know the answer) but i got my priorities all mixed up and went brookie fishing instead:) besides i spent so much time at the expo on Friday and Saturday they prolly thought i was casing the place.
tg

might have to park the souris and get a different boat to paddle to the coast on that route. i'm shopping now.

from pickle lake to the coast there are 100+ fast water sections, some with portages, some without. most going through will run everything up to CII at least. tough on kevlar. rx is the preferred bottom, unless you have a boat with a custom kevlar layup. secondly, on these northern rivers you are always faced with possibility of having to abandon your boat because of emergency or the need to fly out...or maybe both.

i wouldn't want to leave a q18.5 behind.

the route is very doable and people go through every season. your choice of equipment is critical. this is not exactly pristine wilderness because of the first nation motorized traffic on the river, but a great trip none the less.

or there's the winisk. then you'll bring your shotgun.

you should plan on being on at least part of the albany next year. test the water.

just in from red lake where i came back in from my 10 day solo on friday (in a gale). 1600 miles down to a pit stop in winchester, va on the way home. what a great trip in this park. other than seeing harry stimsom, the eureka rep for manitoba and western ontario noon the first day (we stopped for lunch on opposite sides of the same point), i didn't see anyone for a week until running into some guys from minnesota on the way in-another strange story from that encounter. except for some tracks through portages on the few close in lakes, i broke trail out and back to the western turn around on my route-there had not been a single person through this season prior to me. 54 portages and a couple dozen pull overs, including one portage where a figure i walked 4000m before i got the packs and canoe across. was able to double all but 5 portages. q16 tandem worked well as my solo boat and saved my butt in a big north wind one day. 6 out of 9 fire rings i used i judged not to have been used for some time. one fire ring had some melted pull tab beer cans in it which would put it decades old.

pete, plenty of axe work on this route with blowdowns and sweepers.

mark, my "pure luck" fishing skills prevailed once again and i caught a boat load of lake trout and pike-on blue this time. you couldn't paddle anywhere with a line in the water-too time consuming unhooking fish. also took too much time catching one small enough to eat.

albert and kelly rogalinski (goldseekers) are still there in red lake although the canoe world largely thought he quit the business. he was not at midwest mountaineering or copia this year. very helpful and friendly people. met claire (asst. park supr.)-she was getting set to go out with the portage crew. i have been in woodland caribou, quetico, and wabakimi in the past 9 months, and i rate WC by far the best managed.

i'm going back for sure.

Dave - I'm happy you had another successful trip!

Welcome back. Sounds like it was a good trip. Hope to WC in 2010

a quick note on my unlikely encounter with some guys from minnesota on the inbound leg of my WC solo-

one of the guys in this great 4 man group was ken storm from cook, mn.
it turned out ken is also a member of the wabakimi project and the float plane delivering myself and mapping crew 8/2/08 to grayson lake will also pick up ken and his crew on the same trip. so ken will meet my plane in the wabakimi-how is that for evidence of the very small world we live in?