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 8 of 10
Friday, September 06, 2024: Down the S Chain. 8.4 miles (7.7c, 0.7p), 7 portages (350, 190, 75, 115, 65, 120, and 45 meters). Silence, Sultry, Summer, Noon, Shade, West, and South Lakes.
I woke up around 2:00 am and saw stars in a clear sky. Sure enough, we woke to a mostly clear sky and 44 degrees. Had coffee and breakfast, then started down the S Chain in a slight breeze. We were both wearing our rain jackets as windbreakers. Today's portages were all spoilers; nearly every landing was gravel, and footing across most portages was good. Some had an obstacle or two, like the log shown below on the portage out of Silence.
While stopped for lunch at a campsite on Shade we saw our first canoes in 48 hours. When we portaged into West Lake, we paddled past three canoes/six anglers who said they were camping on North Bay. We had considered camping on North Bay tonight, but remembered that it's usually hosting more paddlers than some of the smaller lakes, so we stopped on South Lake instead. The site near the portage into North Bay is another premium site: plenty of pine needle-covered tent pads, a nice takeout, a great cooking rock, an easy bear hang, and no hazard trees. It's home for the night, even though we arrived at 2:00 pm. The early stops have spoiled us, too.
We had afternoon coffee/tea, then I found a “Sasquatch” bear hang setup (not even Sasquatch could reach it!). Dinner was Jamaican Jerk Chicken with black beans & rice followed by a dessert of chocolate cheesecake. The cool evening temperature after dinner pushed us into the tent for Farkle, McManus, and toasty sleeping bags.
After last year's Quetico trip, we met with a personal trainer and started regular workouts at a local gym. We both feel that our endurance has greatly improved, but both need some more leg strength for the occasional tall step-ups on a portage with our 60+ pound loads, and I need better lifting strength for loading the canoe when it's windy. We'll be working with the trainer again to meet those conditioning goals, and we're certain only our love for Quetico and our desire to keep visiting Canoe Country could get us into a gym!
I woke up around 2:00 am and saw stars in a clear sky. Sure enough, we woke to a mostly clear sky and 44 degrees. Had coffee and breakfast, then started down the S Chain in a slight breeze. We were both wearing our rain jackets as windbreakers. Today's portages were all spoilers; nearly every landing was gravel, and footing across most portages was good. Some had an obstacle or two, like the log shown below on the portage out of Silence.
While stopped for lunch at a campsite on Shade we saw our first canoes in 48 hours. When we portaged into West Lake, we paddled past three canoes/six anglers who said they were camping on North Bay. We had considered camping on North Bay tonight, but remembered that it's usually hosting more paddlers than some of the smaller lakes, so we stopped on South Lake instead. The site near the portage into North Bay is another premium site: plenty of pine needle-covered tent pads, a nice takeout, a great cooking rock, an easy bear hang, and no hazard trees. It's home for the night, even though we arrived at 2:00 pm. The early stops have spoiled us, too.
After last year's Quetico trip, we met with a personal trainer and started regular workouts at a local gym. We both feel that our endurance has greatly improved, but both need some more leg strength for the occasional tall step-ups on a portage with our 60+ pound loads, and I need better lifting strength for loading the canoe when it's windy. We'll be working with the trainer again to meet those conditioning goals, and we're certain only our love for Quetico and our desire to keep visiting Canoe Country could get us into a gym!
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