BWCA How busy out of Prairie Portage in August? Boundary Waters Quetico Forum
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carmike
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06/30/2016 01:28AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Hello all,

Just found out the wife and I can swing an August trip this summer, and after six trips out of Beaverhouse and Nym, we're thinking of heading out from PP. We love the solitude on the northern side of the park, and in reading a bunch of trip reports, I'm a bit worried that areas near PP are somewhat busy come August. Our experience "up north" is that halfway down Quetico Lake or Cirrus or even into southern Pickerel, it's pretty empty.

Our initial plan is to head up through Burke and North Bay into Shade/Grey/Yum Yum. Then into Shan Walsh and McNeice into Kahs, up into Trant and Hurlburt, through Williams and Keewatin, and down Agnes til we hit Silence and the rest of the S Chain. Or maybe only a side trip to Silence to see the petros, and then down Agnes 'til Sunday, and back out via Bayley.

What can we expect in this area in terms of people? Any worries about finding campsites? Lots of folks paddling by? I'm just not sure what "busy" means in relation to this part of the park. A group a day? Five?

Thanks for any info!!

Carmike
 
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billconner
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06/30/2016 05:58AM  
I'd guess past North Bay, maybe 2 other groups per day on average. It does drop off in August so maybe one more earlier and maybe less later. I did that general route over labor day a few years ago and saw no one for several days.
Eyedocron
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06/30/2016 06:38AM  
Nice route. I have been through these areas several times. You will find the lakes much emptier once you are beyond North Bay and beyond the Louisa Falls area of Agnes. You have a couple of significant portages at Yum Yum and the one from K to Trant.
marsonite
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06/30/2016 07:47AM  
Funny, I've done about 10 trips out of PP in recent years, and one out of Beaverhouse, and the busiest trip I have been on was out of the Beaverhouse entry. Saw multiple groups a day, including listening to two guys yak as they fished ALL DAY in front of our campsite on Burntside.

So yes, you will see people on Basswood and southern Agnes, but beyond that it's pretty darn empty.
GraniteCliffs
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06/30/2016 11:39AM  
Odds are good not too many people.
On the other hand last year we went from PP to Sarah on day one. We saw 4-5 groups on the way to Sarah after Burke and then found Sarah was covered with folks on the portage in from Side and on most campsites. Actually had a hard time finding a campsite. Not normal, but can happen.
carmike
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06/30/2016 12:50PM  
Funny how things work out, Marsonite. There have been multiple five-day stretches for us out of Beaverhouse where we've never seen a soul. It's usually been busy for us near the portages into Cirrus and Quetico, but past that, it's been empty.

I hope we don't run into that kind of a situation, GC. If it's going to be that busy, we might just go slummin' in the BWCA. :)
marsonite
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06/30/2016 02:16PM  
quote carmike: "Funny how things work out, Marsonite. There have been multiple five-day stretches for us out of Beaverhouse where we've never seen a soul. It's usually been busy for us near the portages into Cirrus and Quetico, but past that, it's been empty.


I hope we don't run into that kind of a situation, GC. If it's going to be that busy, we might just go slummin' in the BWCA. :) "


Yeah, funny how luck can influence the number of people you run into. On that BH trip, Quetico wasn't bad going out, but we ran into two different groups on Conk, then a noisy boy scout troop on the first point on Jean. So we headed to Burntside only to have to watch people fish. We might as well have been in the BW that trip!
07/02/2016 08:01AM  

I agree with what the others said - not many people beyond North Bay and the south end of Agnes. We just went up to Kahshahpiwi via the Side Lake route and saw no one beyond North Bay on our way in, just one solo paddler on Kahsh, and a couple groups on the way back to North Bay. (Of course, one of those groups we saw on the way out was hoping to get the campsite we were already on in pouring rain, so you can always have bad luck and encounter people when you least want to, as happened to them.)

Even in comparatively busy areas like North Bay, you can escape the "crowds" by ducking off the beaten track. I love camping on Lost Bay, which is like its own little lake just a short channel from North Bay, but I've never seen anyone else in there.

GraniteCliffs
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07/02/2016 12:03PM  
quote Ho Ho: "
I agree with what the others said - not many people beyond North Bay and the south end of Agnes. We just went up to Kahshahpiwi via the Side Lake route and saw no one beyond North Bay on our way in, just one solo paddler on Kahsh, and a couple groups on the way back to North Bay. (Of course, one of those groups we saw on the way out was hoping to get the campsite we were already on in pouring rain, so you can always have bad luck and encounter people when you least want to, as happened to them.)

Even in comparatively busy areas like North Bay, you can escape the "crowds" by ducking off the beaten track. I love camping on Lost Bay, which is like its own little lake just a short channel from North Bay, but I've never seen anyone else in there.


"
Where did you end up camping on the way to Piwi?
07/02/2016 06:05PM  
quote GraniteCliffs:

"Where did you end up camping on the way to Piwi?"


We actually paddled into Kahshahpiwi in one day, via the Isabella/Side route. First time we have done that! Our dates changed and our plans changed with them. Unfortunately I did something to my wrist along the way so had to take it easier after that, and instead of a big adventure exiting through Mudro, we backtracked to PP taking three days for what we did in one day on the way in. Dell Lake will have to wait . . .

 
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