Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Wabakimi :: Can you explain?
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jcavenagh |
Another issue is the park management takes a different view on marketing and maintaining the park from WCPP and certainly BW, Q, Algonquin, Kilarney, et al. The other parks are aggressively marketed and heavily maintained, except WCPP, which is trying to increase maintenance. The management style for Wab seems to be more hands off than hands on. The visitor count is reduced because the park is not in front of folks when planning and it can be more difficult to navigate through when actually there. |
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goatroti |
"I think they would welcome you. You don't need to be a whitewater ace. You just need basic canoe skill and be willing to work hard. Drop them a line and they can explain it much better than me. And you know your total cost going in." Some days you will work hard, some days you won't. On this year's trip my crew did four 1/2 days of exploring for lost portages and campsites and about two days of clearing portages and locating, cleaning and setting up campsites. Some weeks are more difficult than others. |
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goatroti |
Over the last 10 years I've done 12 trips with The Wabakimi Project and have been a leader on 3. I have learned (so much) about paddling, mapping, making campfires, stacking wood, building benches that will last, finding and clearing portages and campsites, cooking in the bush and leadership. There was no curriculum but experience. I've been on the Grayson River, the Ogoki, the Savant, the Albany, the Opichuan and the Big River. Its a great way to prepare yourself for boreal canoeing. I'm going back again this summer for another week. I've made great friends and have had weeks of fun in the bush. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. If you want to learn about Wabakimi, take a look at one of their trips. |
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arctic |
quote goatroti:" Last year on the Big River we cleared portages in a place where no one had paddled in 30 years. Portages are overgrown, blazed trees have since died and fallen, campsites are mossed over and covered in lichen. I love that stuff. Unfortunately, it's what keeps a lot of BWCA types away. " Ha Ha! A buddy and I went down the Big River in May 1986 on our way to Cliff Lake and on to the Witchwood/Atwood Rivers, and then Albany out to James Bay. Rough country with ZERO roads or logging and some tough portages. We were traveling in a wood/canvas canoe, too... |
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timatkn |
All of the Canadian canoe parks usage are down significantly since they raised their fees. It really prices the youth out, us old guys with more money or established gear are the only ones that can afford it. Selfishly it is nice when I go, I see way less people than I used to in Canada, but financially it take more planning. T |
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jcavenagh |
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jcavenagh |
In 2011 we stayed at a site that clearly had not been used for at least 5 years (probably a lot longer). It took some prep to make it usable again, but it was a beautiful site. Last summer my campsite had toads living under a few inches of moss in the fire pit. I don't know how long it takes for 2-3 inches of moss to grow on top of ashes, but whatever that time is that is how long it had been since the site was used. |
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hooky |
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goatroti |
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sunnybear09 |
quote goatroti: "I agree with jcavenagh, it's the rougher, wilder, almost abandoned nature of Wabakimi that keeps me going back. Last year on the Big River we cleared portages in a place where no one had paddled in 30 years. In 2010 between Smoothrock Lake and Elf Lake again we were the first people through in 30 years. Portages are overgrown, blazed trees have since died and fallen, campsites are mossed over and covered in lichen. I love that stuff. Unfortunately, it's what keeps a lot of BWCA types away. " I think that the difficulty of getting in plus the problem of the unknown route timing makes it harder for people with a finite amount of vacation time to take a chance on Wabakimi. Most of the folks who write about their trips to the BW, Q, and WCPP know in advance exactly how far they want to go and how long it will take to get there, whether they are base camping or tripping a route or loop. The need to be "out" on a certain day limits the chance-taking aspect of a trip and pretty much requires prior knowledge of the experience anticipated to do a trip in a set time frame. You can wing it if you are open ended, not so much if you have tightly defined responsibilities. The real lure is the joy of meeting obstacles head-on, doing what has to be done, and getting it "all to yourself"--truly a wonderful experience! |
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Thwarted |
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FOG51 |
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jcavenagh |
In 2011 i showed friends and family that the road literally ended at Armstrong. They thought I was crazy. Yeah, crazy like a fox! |
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ZaraSp00k |
since a lot of us don't rent boats from them, equipment, and pack our own food, or even buy gas from them they figure they can make up for it by raising the camping fee which causes us to stay home. Why would we buy food or gas there? Canadians don't even buy stuff in Canada if they can avoid it. It's amazing the number of people in places like Grand Forks, I Falls, or Duluth who have never been to Canada or rarely go. Why would they? everything costs more. If you think youngins' today have no interest in paddling, go to Lake Calhoun sometime and watch them stand in line to pay outragous prices to rent canoes, kayaks, and SUP's. |
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goatroti |
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timatkn |
They were making their annual trip to Minnesota to buy clothes, hockey supplies (not making that up), school supplies, and electronics. It was cheaper to drive 8 hours, stay at a hotel all weekend and drive back than to buy in Canada. T |
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hooky |
I'd read some trip reports and paddling looks to be way over my head in some spots. Can a relatively inexperienced paddler do something like this without putting people at risk? Nearly all of my paddling experience is kayak related and then very little whitewater, class II at that. |
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jcavenagh |
quote hooky: "Jim & Sherman, I missed your responses the first time around. I found the Wabakimi Project website one afternoon while daydreaming and googling when I should have been paying attention to a conference call. I think they would welcome you. You don't need to be a whitewater ace. You just need basic canoe skill and be willing to work hard. Drop them a line and they can explain it much better than me. And you know your total cost going in. |
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ZaraSp00k |
quote hooky: "J two most important attributes to have for Wabakimi is respect for the power of nature and have common sense and know how to use it |