Old Lakes, New Lakes, and Great Weather in Quetico
by TrailZen
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
08/30/2024
Entry & Exit Point:
Moose Lake (EP 25)
Number of Days:
10
Group Size:
2
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (1 messages)
Day 3 of 10
Sunday, September 01, 2024: How Do You Pronounce 'Dumas'? 10.0 miles (8.7c, 1.3p), 9 portages (360, 40, 80, 40, 70, 30, 50, 50, and 110m), 1 beaver dam. Fauquier, Dumas, Rod, Edge, no name, Turn, no name, Glacier, no name, and McEwen Creek into McEwen Lake.
We woke to a beautiful morning around 6:00, and our down puffy jackets felt nice with the 48 degree temperature. The sun was on us around 7:00, and quickly warmed us but couldn't dry the tent before we packed gear and loaded the canoe. Today's portages (7 before lunch) were all challenging, with rough landings, rough footing, downed trees, or big steps up or down. I don't think the trail was ever wider than 14”, so we were happy to meet no one along a portage—passing would have been tough. The portage from Turn into a no name was beautiful, following a cascading stream down a gorge. Wind was often an issue again, and at several portage landings I had to move the canoe into the shelter of trees so it didn't try to sail away as I popped it onto my shoulders.
Today's lakes were lovely and lonely. As we paddled through a clear, shallow creek a beaver swam under the bow of the canoe, then popped up about 10 feet away to stare us down. We only saw one canoe today, a solo paddler on Rod Lake who said he'd been fighting wind for three days. We could have moved through Glacier Lake quickly, but wanted to visit a campsite about a half mile down the lake. We'd used the site for a weather layover day several years ago. It was, and still is, a sweet site. We turned back north and stopped at a second campsite for lunch. It, too, is a nice site and we added it to Tia's data map for future reference.
A pair of Trumpeter Swans were at the McEwen Creek's exit into the lake. We expected wind on McEwen and planned to stop at a campsite on the south end of the lake, but didn't see it as we were fighting the wind. The next site was about a mile up McEwen on the tip of an island. We reached the site at 3:45, and appreciated the sandy landing after having so many rocky portage landings today. We pitched the wet tent on a point with a northwest view in hopes of another light show, then used our rain tarp to set up a bathtub away from the shore to wash bodies and rinse clothes. I set up the bear bag hang and fixed dinner, after which we watched for sunset color, played Farkle, and read more from McManus.
We woke to a beautiful morning around 6:00, and our down puffy jackets felt nice with the 48 degree temperature. The sun was on us around 7:00, and quickly warmed us but couldn't dry the tent before we packed gear and loaded the canoe. Today's portages (7 before lunch) were all challenging, with rough landings, rough footing, downed trees, or big steps up or down. I don't think the trail was ever wider than 14”, so we were happy to meet no one along a portage—passing would have been tough. The portage from Turn into a no name was beautiful, following a cascading stream down a gorge. Wind was often an issue again, and at several portage landings I had to move the canoe into the shelter of trees so it didn't try to sail away as I popped it onto my shoulders.
Today's lakes were lovely and lonely. As we paddled through a clear, shallow creek a beaver swam under the bow of the canoe, then popped up about 10 feet away to stare us down. We only saw one canoe today, a solo paddler on Rod Lake who said he'd been fighting wind for three days. We could have moved through Glacier Lake quickly, but wanted to visit a campsite about a half mile down the lake. We'd used the site for a weather layover day several years ago. It was, and still is, a sweet site. We turned back north and stopped at a second campsite for lunch. It, too, is a nice site and we added it to Tia's data map for future reference.
A pair of Trumpeter Swans were at the McEwen Creek's exit into the lake. We expected wind on McEwen and planned to stop at a campsite on the south end of the lake, but didn't see it as we were fighting the wind. The next site was about a mile up McEwen on the tip of an island. We reached the site at 3:45, and appreciated the sandy landing after having so many rocky portage landings today. We pitched the wet tent on a point with a northwest view in hopes of another light show, then used our rain tarp to set up a bathtub away from the shore to wash bodies and rinse clothes. I set up the bear bag hang and fixed dinner, after which we watched for sunset color, played Farkle, and read more from McManus.
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