I posted this also in the private "Quetico Aficionados" forum.

I entered Prairie Portage on Sept 4th to a couple of rainy days so I took a shortcut up McIntyre to my old favorite site on the island in the north end. I had stayed here in '88 and 2001 and it's in my top 5 favorite Q sites. I had planned to layover on Earl (Fish Hook) but packs were heavy and I suddenly had someone to meet up with on the 10th.

"Pine knot" from this board emailed me and was doing 14 nights also but entering at Agnes on the 7th. We agreed to meet on Woodside Lake on the 10th. After a layover at "Jon's Site" on Marge Lake and then a night on the north end of Kahshapiwi I struggled into Woodside late in the day and saw a lone figure walking around the campsite on Woodside. Turns out Rich (Pine Knot) beat me there by 15 minutes. Long story short we spent three nights, had great smallmouth fishing with some walleyes thrown in and one little 4 inch perch was also caught. No northerns surprised both of us. More details in an upcoming proper report.

It short, we had a great time then went opposite ways to finish our trips. I took the small numerous sucky landing portages through Reid down to Silence and camped there by the portage to Agnes. I then fought a headwind down Agnes, doubled down on the Meadows portages and camped with a layover on a nice site in the north end of Sunday Lake.

On the way out on Friday morning as I'm paddling Bayley Bay I see two tandems and one guys yells to me "Where's your dog?" I think, what?? Then my dog pop up from laying down and the fellow says "Oh, there she is. Hi Tom!" Turns out it is Banksiana from this board and someone I had gotten a lot of advice for this trip through email. I had assumed he was coming in on the 16th as a solo and it didn't occur to me that he would be with a group. (We had never met in person). So that was really cool. We chatted briefly as our boats tossed a bit then were on our way.

Overall I loved the trip. I didn't see much wildlife and even only a few eagles. I did see a swimming red squirrel and also what I think were otters splashing around. No beavers but ran into quite a few dams. The weather was a bit of everything but only one really windy day. It rained probably every other day but never a washout. My dog did great and even spent a night under a big evergreen tree. Also, Pine Knot I'm sure will share an amazing pic from our fishing adventures. Something you have to see to believe. :)

BTW, if Ho Ho can get a lake named after himself I'm naming a site on Marge after Banksiana, AKA Jon. :)

One last note - I lost my watch on the first day somewhere between North Bay and the no name east of Side Lake. Pretty sure a tree branch caught it and ripped it off without me realizing it while carrying the canoe. My yoke sticks out about 4 inches on each side and catches branches so I thought that's what it was. Anyway, I now had no way of knowing or keeping time (for the french press or pouch dinners). Very interesting to go 2 weeks without a time piece.

Glad to hear it went well and you returned safely, TomT.

I just got out yesterday and was up in McIntyre. As a matter of fact we may have been at the same campsite. The island with 2 campsites on it that is like a cork in the bottle of the throat of the lake. I stayed at the "5" on the East end--and loved the rock cliff overlooking the lake to the South. My trip was 9 days, but I had a decent time. I should have a trip report out and some pictures this week.

quote veggykurt: "I just got out yesterday and was up in McIntyre. As a matter of fact we may have been at the same campsite. The island with 2 campsites on it that is like a cork in the bottle of the throat of the lake. I stayed at the "5" on the East end--and loved the rock cliff overlooking the lake to the South. My trip was 9 days, but I had a decent time. I should have a trip report out and some pictures this week."

Yeah, that site is pretty cool. That rock sitting area is one of the best in the park that I've seen. I walked over to the other site on the island but wouldn't want to stay there. I was there on the 5th and 6th. Did you take the Isabella Creek into Isabella? It wasn't too bad, just a few lift overs.

Sounds like things went well. I would like to trip with a dog someday but I know its never going to happen. If I stayed with Pineknot for 3 days I would have to hide everything sharp especially if we started talking politics ( I'm kidding > he seems like a good dude )

quote mastertangler: "Sounds like things went well. I would like to trip with a dog someday but I know its never going to happen. If I stayed with Pineknot for 3 days I would have to hide everything sharp especially if we started talking politics ( I'm kidding > he seems like a good dude )"

He's a very good dude. Nothing wrong with fish sandwiches, homemade pizza, and director chairs.

Glad you had a good trip and had fun.

Thanks Boonie and housty. It is an accomplishment to just come out without any injuries. I took a couple tumbles with my big pack on but lucked out this time.

TomT,
Any pics of your pup on the trip. I feel shorted when I read a thread about solo with a puppy and there are no pics included. ;-)

quote LindenTree3: "TomT,
Any pics of your pup on the trip. I feel shorted when I read a thread about solo with a puppy and there are no pics included. ;-)"

Yeah, I took hundreds of pics and some video but I'm swamped with work right now and will do a prper trip report probably around Christmas. I run a seasonal business and right now is my season. Id post a few here but switched from a PC to a Mac and the photo thing has me baffled and not able to figure out a quick solution to uploading them here.

Is a "solo" with a dog really a solo? :-)

quote OBX2Kayak: "Is a "solo" with a dog really a solo? :-)"

No it really isn't. I never get that alone feeling when I go with my dog. Ultimately I'm responsible for everything including my dog's well being. But, she's a great companion to lessen any loneliness I might run into.

Me and my girl. This was on a 10 second timer and she doesn't quite know the meaning of "look at the camera!" And you can see how awesome the fishing is on Woodside Lake.

Geez, TomT....I can't believe you divulged the secret of the monster fish in Woodside!! LOL!!

quote PineKnot: "Geez, TomT....I can't believe you divulged the secret of the monster fish in Woodside!! LOL!!"

Yeah, I actually snagged it while vertical jigging. I'm thinking it was a school of walleye fry. Quetico is amazing. How many other lakes are in there like Woodside? I'm totally spoiled and don't even want to fish here in Illinois.