Solo With Dog On Soho
by TomT
I am up at 3:00 AM and on the road in 45 minutes. Me and Cody my almost 2 year old Border Collie, are going to the Beaver House Lake entry for Quetico Park. Coming from the western suburbs of Chicago it’s gonna be a long day of driving. This is Cody’s first canoe camping trip. We practiced in the canoe on lakes and he did very well. It’s all uncertain how he will take to 8 nights in a tent and long paddles.
The drive is uneventful until we cross into Canada from International Falls Minnesota. We get delayed from road construction and don’t arrive at the lake parking lot until 7:00 PM. The Beaver House Lake Road is as advertised - ROUGH! I take the last spot in a packed parking lot. Rain is imminent and I scramble to unload gear from the bed of the truck and lay out an air mattress, pillow and blankets. I had given Cody a mild sedative so he sleeps through the night.
Friday 9/12
It rains hard on the cap of the truck and when we wake on Saturday morning it’s a steady drizzle and maybe 60 degrees. I lay under blankets until 7am when the rain stops but a thick overcast and our radio promises more to come. We eat and load packs while two groups exit the portage and load their vehicles. Cody's on a leash and doesn’t leave my side as I throw on a pack and make my way down the long but well worn trail. After triple portaging the load we are in the boat at 9:30. During portaging the rain started up again along with a breeze.
The lake water levels are low this time of year and our boat bottoms out in the narrow channel. I tell Cody “Out!” And he obliges giving me enough freeboard to pole and paddle up to the main lake. Cody is absolutely thrilled with the adventure of running through the weeds along shore becoming a muddy mess.
Now on big Beaver House Lake the wind and rain pick up. I paddle hard to hide behind islands and race to the portage with white caps pushing at our back. Cody seemed nervous as the boat rocked. He would sit but refused to lay down making ME nervous! Good thing the boat had lots of weight keeping it steady in the waves.
We beached on sand in the creek channel at the next portage trail. This one is short but very rocky and goes into Quetico Lake. We stopped for a chat with a couple who are leaving the park a day early. They talked of a hotel with warm showers and good food. They did however, say their 7 days camping were wonderful but they had enough of the rain.
A bigger, deeper channel to paddle awaits as I load the packs into the canoe on Quetico Lake. Cody refuses orders to enter the boat and wants to run the shore again. I hesitate and weigh my options. I’ve seen a few you tubers with dogs let theirs do this. There are definitely risks but the shore is shallow so I paddle nearby as Cody takes off following me. I figure it’s a good way for him to burn off some energy before the long paddle ahead of us.
After maybe 200 yards he rejoins me in the boat where huge Quetico Lake opens up in front of us with its arms and many islands. The goal is to paddle and portage across western Quetico into Cirrus Lake before looking for a campsite. We see no one until 3 hours later when I spy a small 2 person tent at a peninsula site in a narrows near our next portage. It’s a short triple carry into Cirrus Lake. I’m pooped from little sleep and all this paddling/portaging so we quickly take a nearby campsite.
Setting up camp takes awhile which is normal at the beginning of a trip. Throwing a ball helps occupy Cody. There’s a squirrel for him to “tree” and then get scolded. He’s having a great time exploring the trails and shoreline. It’s warm around 70 degrees and very humid. The rain starts up after dinner around 6:00 so I climb inside the tent. Cody won’t come in as now there's 2 squirrels out there.
After dark he still wants to stay outside so I fall asleep. Around 9 pm I awake to a low growl near the tent. I call for Cody and he wiggles through the rainfly and screen door excited to see me. I’m not sure why he growled. Maybe he woke up and was disoriented. We both sleep like rocks.
Saturday 9/13
I’m up at 7:00 and had an uncomfortable night in the tent. I usually sleep in a sleeping hammock which is great because tenting will leave me with numb shoulders and arms if I sleep on my side. I make the coffee and oatmeal before packing up. We are underway at 10:15 and I hope to make it all the way up Cirrus to the only portage into Soho Lake. It’s overcast, about 65 degrees and we have a slight headwind going easterly on long and narrow Cirrus Lake.
I stopped at a campsite about half way down Cirrus for lunch and a leg stretch. We then continue on until 4 pm when I land at the Soho portage. The trail rises gradually, levels out then rises steeply before descending down to beautiful Soho Lake. I hope to camp 2 or maybe 3 nights here. On the lake we see no one. This is a dead end lake meaning there’s no route through it only one portage in and out so this lake doesn’t get many visitors.
We take the small sand beach site half way down the lake on the south side. It’s a hidden gem tucked in a grove of mature red pines. A very nice fireplace sits at the tree line in back of the sand beach. Tomorrow I’ll fix up some seating and clean the fire pit. I set up camp and made dinner on the stove before we watched a beautiful sunset. My weather radio is calling for 80 degrees and sunny skies for the next couple days. Cody prefers to stay outside the tent again but is scratching on the fly to come in around 10:00.
Sunday 9/14
This morning is gorgeous, warm and sunny with little breeze. I’m taking my time now and cook up bacon, ova-easy scrambled eggs with dehydrated veggies. I add some hot sauce and it’s fantastic. I mixed some bacon and eggs into Cody’s kibble which he wolfed down and looked at me like “I want more!”
After clean up I set about to make seating logs for around the fireplace. I limbed and dragged 2 heavy logs from nearby then scooped out the fire pit and used stones to level out my grill top. Next we went out on a firewood gathering expedition. I fill 2 dry bags with water and place them in the sterner a counterweight to Cody’s 50 lbs in the bow. We shoved off our beach paddling the south shore down to the nice long strip of clean beach where an overgrown short portage leads to Smudge Lake. We walk the trail to check out the landing. Smudge is small and very scenic. I plan to get the boat in here tomorrow to explore and fish.
Once again Cody elected to run the shoreline for awhile leaving the sand beach at the Smudge portage. This boy sure has energy to burn! I think he gets a little stir crazy having to sit in the canoe for an hour or more. I can’t blame him for that.
I paddled the north shore now stopping to grab firewood on the way before making the crossing back to our camp. It’s very warm mid 70’s and breezy now with sunny skies. At lunch I make what I call a “Lost Lakes Special”. The inspiration for doing this trip route is from Youtuber content creator Jon who goes by “Lost Lakes”. He sometimes will make a wrap with peanut butter, honey, and tops it with chocolate covered almonds. I’ll be having one of these most days for lunch on this trip and it’s really good!
After that I try to throw the ball in the water for Cody but he only wades and won’t swim. I wade out up to my chest and dive under a few times then put Cody’s life vest on and walk him out into deeper water trying not to scare him. The vest assists him while he panics back to shore. Maybe with time he’ll swim. My previous border collie female was 3 years old when she finally swam.
I air dried on my chair in the sun before I cut up the 3-4 inch thick dead pine we found while paddling. After that I set up 2 fishing rods for tomorrow. Dinner was cooked over the fire presumably a freeze dried dinner that you add boiling water to.
This kind of slow paced layover day on a solo trip is something I really enjoy. We got to watch turtles and saw a circling bald eagle. We stopped to get out and explore the lake shore looking for items washed up or maybe discover an old fire ring of stones. Cody is definitely an explorer.
The sunset was gorgeous and I lay in the tent listening to the CBC on my little radio earplugs. The last thing I heard before sleep was the call of an owl nearby.
Monday 9/15
Beautiful reddish orange sunrise this morning. I was up early making coffee using the pour over method. I once ran out of coffee on a trip. That will never happen again. I’ve been adding pieces of dark chocolate to my cups and I love it.
After breakfast and making a packed lunch we were on the water paddling to Smudge Lake. I found out something about Cody I never anticipated. When I cast a lure he thought I was throwing it for him to fetch. He literally would shake the canoe every time I made a cast. This is not good especially in a tippy boat with no packs in it. I was relegated to trolling on Soho.
We double portaged the trail to a narrow landing on Smudge. Once on the water I paddled the south shore and saw many beautiful rock outcroppings from a very thick forest. I noted a few flat ones that would be good to filet fish on. The water is stained dark in here and has areas along shore with Lilly pads. This is very different from Soho which has gin clear water and no vegetation.
Getting to the east far shore I noted several areas that could be camped on especially if one had a hammock instead of a tent. It’s guaranteed solitude if you camp on this lake. If I ever get back this way with a hammock I think I’ll do that. Smudge is very scenic and as I paddle and troll the north shore I get a hit on my jointed rapala. I fight the fish near the boat and get a pretty good look at maybe an 18 inch lake trout or possibly a very light walleye before it spits the barbless hook and dives down out of sight.
After exploring the 2 small peninsulas where I find an old rock fire pit we head back to Soho. Cody runs the north shore while I troll. He happily jumps in the boat after 100 yards of rock hopping. I catch 2 decent small mouth bass but both got off at the boat. I’m not having the best luck fishing today.
We head for 2 marked campsites to check out in a bay but don’t see the sites. The wind has really picked up suddenly now and I’m forced to get into the bay out of the white caps. I head to what I think is a beach but turns out to be a bunch of wild rice in the shallows. The wind has let up a little so I do an about face and blast through the waves across the lake back to camp. Luckily Cody listened and laid down in the canoe.
We ate our lunch, went swimming and took a nap. After dinner I made hot chocolate with a shot of Jack Daniels (first barrel) while Cody napped at my feet. Life is good. It takes me about 3-4 days of being unplugged to the world to get into nature’s ancient rythm. You hear birds sing and squirrels jumping in the trees then scolding Cody. The waves are gently lapping at our beach. We watch another show in the western sky across the lake before turning on the solar lantern in the tent before it’s time to sleep.
Tuesday 9/16 Today is moving day. After oatmeal, dehydrated fruit and coffee we are packed and on the water at 9:35. It’s very calm and warm maybe 70 degrees partly cloudy. A good day to paddle. After triple portaging the trail back into Cirrus I ride the south shore looking for the portage to Kasakagwog Lake.
Long story short, I search for about an hour and never find it. I bushwhacked up a creek and walked on top of a tall ancient beaver dam. I hiked through the woods looking to run into a trail and never found one. Oh well, I’m gonna have to retrace some of my route back to Quetico Lake.
So off we went back down Cirrus Lake. When there’s a straight, very long paddle I like to pick out a landmark, maybe an island or peninsula and shoot for that. Break it down into smaller sections. But I’m not lying if I say it can be tedious work. After a couple hours I make the left hand turn into a narrows. It is here I see a guy on the shore of a marked campsite. This is the first human I’ve seen since the portage out of Beaver House 4 days ago.
There’s something about 2 solo canoeists when they meet in a wilderness park. There’s an instant bond and all pretenses all put aside. “Hey how you doing?” he yells out to us. This totally startles Cody and he starts barking. This is what I feared the most with bringing him. A barking dog in Quetico will potentially annoy anyone within a one mile radius. Sound really travels well in the park on a calm day.
I finally get him to settle down while the solo guy laughs and apologizes. We then have a chat. It turns out he’s going to Soho for a layover. I tell him to check out Smudge and he will love the site on Soho. I even left him some good firewood. He tells me he came from a nice site in a bay just a little distance away and the walleye were biting. I look on the map and thank him for the info. I then paddle on to find this tucked away bay.
I turn right into the bay and the first 2 sites are not good. There’s another marked on a southern peninsula. On the way there I hear thunder and the southern sky is getting dark. It’s calm and that is not a good sign. I pull in to the site and find a fireplace but not many good tent areas. Good for hammocks. I walk a little ways and see another larger fireplace on the west end of the peninsula. This is where it’s at! A nice rock shelf landing and a couple flat areas for tents.
More thunder now so I hurry to jump in the canoe and paddle to the new landing. I pullout and carry the packs to a flat area where I hurriedly string up the tarp. I get 2 ridge lines tied off when it hits. Wind gusts in the trees and a hard downpour rocks the tarp. I manage to tie off the 4 corners getting soaked. Cody, unaware that a tarp will keep us dry is seen sitting out in the rain looking sad. I call him over and we wait out a 45 minute banger of lightning, thunder, and a pelting downpour.
Then it gets very quiet and peeks of sun shine through the trees. Cody is still a little spooked from all the wind and thunder. It’s about 4:00 and I work on setting up the tent. After that we eat our lunch and I filter water. About 6:00 I stroll over to the first campsite which faces the open bay. Wow, what a stunning view! The water is a mirror of the sky. Cody is very intrigued by the scene and I capture some amazing pics of him studying the sky’s reflection in the water making for a truly surreal scene. There’s 2 loons out fishing on the lake and the peninsula has come alive with small birds and a couple squirrels hopping through the trees. It’s moments like these that keeps me coming back to the north canoe country.
Wednesday 9/17
I let Cody out of the tent at first light but I like to sleep in late on layover days. After bacon and eggs I decide today is a day to catch a walleye dinner. We are on the water at 10:10 and the plan is to circle the bay counterclockwise. It’s a perfect day for this. Partly cloudy with a slight breeze. All I catch is 3 smallmouth bass. The biggest went 16 inches. I let them all go and we pull in two camp empty handed. A fresh fish dinner isn’t in the cards this time.
Because this site has many small to mid size rocks covering the ground and no real place to throw a ball in the water for Cody, I decide to travel tomorrow hoping for one of the big sand beach sites on Quetico Lake. Back in camp I take a long nap in the tent. When I’m up again I notice it’s overcast and much cooler.
Thursday 9/18
Up early at 6:30 it’s oatmeal and coffee before tearing down and packing up. This part of canoe tripping is my least favorite chore. It’s why I try to have more layovers during my trips. We get on the water at 9:35 and the wind is in our face through the bay. But, rounding the corner to go west we have a nice tailwind pushing us down Cirrus. A common toast given to trippers is “May the winds be at your back and your lines are tight”. Well, I got it half right today!
It’s a long paddle but I pull in to the 72 rod portage to Quetico Lake. This is further west than the portage I used earlier in the trip. The trail is fairly level and sits along a creek. It’s an old growth forest and a very scenic walk. At the Quetico Lake end I meet a tandem canoe with 2 guys from Louisville out fishing. We have a long chat as they have been coming up to Quetico for 35 years. The stern fisherman boats a very large northern pike right in front of us. He holds up what looks like a 30 inch fat pike that's missing part of its tail. It’s not uncommon to see stuff like that as those fish are in one word “barbaric”. They have been known to canabalise each other. I tell of my plans for a beach site and they say there’s lots of camps already taken closer to the entry to Beaver House and I’d be better off taking one of the nice sites that are still open nearby.
So they walk the portage and we shove off into Quetico Lake. It’s not long before I see the peninsula site is open. The landing is exceptional. The tent area is massive and there’s a 5 star stone fireplace. It has a very interesting shoreline on both sides with one nice sand beach where I plan to swim later. Yeah, this is a beauty!
After I got the tarp and tent set up a canoe approaches us. It’s an older couple and they want to know how long I’ll be staying. I say 2 nights. They aren't happy and say they really wanted this one. They paddled by it 1 hour earlier but decided to look at a couple others before coming back here only to see me. Oops, She’s in a bad mood, tells me they are from Toronto. I say Chicago and she goes off on Trump trying to make Canada it’s 51st state. Jeeze, the joys of civilization have infiltrated the back country. I don’t come all this way to talk about problems, I come here to live in the moment like our ancestors used to do every day. To listen to the loons and marvel at the black sky with the massive Milky Way. It’s pretty incredible but we never see this in the cities. So Mrs. Toronto turns around to paddle off and I’m wondering if the Mister was envious of me with only my dog. :)
I make a fire and cook a no mess freeze dried dinner in a bag. Then it’s time to explore this place. Cody leads the way to the shoreline where we hop flat slabs and note the little beaches for tomorrow. We take a trail that leads into the woods. It’s thick and fairly dark in there. Cody loves it and I’ve never seen him happier. At one point he scales a 10 foot nearly vertical ridge. The boy certainly is athletic! Soon I decide it’s time to go back. I turn around and bushwhack to where I hope to run into the trail. It’s getting darker and the woods look unfamiliar now. I stop to gather myself. Did I get turned around? Am I lost?? I have no flashlight or compass let alone warm clothes or any survival gear with me because I was going on a short trail walk! I stop and let myself calm down to think clearer. The sun sets right out in front of this peninsula. The sun has set but it will be the lightest area of the sky. It’s overcast and the trees are thick but I scramble a ridge and peer through the trees looking for light, any light!
I think I see it. I did get turned around somehow. I make a beeline through the woods with Cody out in front and I see him running on the trail. The relief is intense. I get back to camp with dusk closing in and dig out the Jack Daniels. Live and learn, live and learn!
Friday 9/19
I’m up around 7:00. It’s a heavy overcast with an on and off cold drizzle overhead. It’s breezy in the treetops. The weather radio calls for dropping temps, windy and periods of rain. This was our swim day. I had wanted to try for a walleye today. Well, I make the decision that it’s time to bail. Just like that couple we met on day one talking about warm showers and good food. Sometimes we have to make a decision so I packed it up and paddled away. I made a vow that if I ever come this way with a group we would layover on this site. It’s a big group gem! Just bring a compass if you ever wander into the woods.
**Addendum
I brought some new gear with that I was really happy with. I ordered some quality products from a company called Firebox Stove. The owner has a you tube channel. I got the long handle pot grippers and tongs in this pic. Also the short table shown in previous pics. I also bought a collapsible blower to stoke a fire which I really like.
I bought new wet foot portage boots from Palm Equipment. These fit and worked great. The soles are very grippy and they drain perfectly and dry fast. They held up very well. Look for reviews on youtube.
I also brought my new grill from Purcell Trench. It's the voyageur model seen here. I love it!
The last piece of gear is something I really needed. It's a collapsible wind block for my cannister stove. I ordered it from Firebox Stove an American company in Utah.
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