Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: Cross Bay to Poplar Mid September
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cowdoc |
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LetsGoFishing |
I like the idea of having the truck at Rockwood so we don't have to deal with shuttles on exit day. |
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2NDpaddlers |
2018 - Day 1 - Entry 47 into Lizz Lake, Caribou, Horseshoe, Gaskin, staying on Winchell (761). Tough first day - did buck the wind later in the afternoon (however 2019 had it at our back) so remember mother nature can blow wind out of the east sometimes too. Day 2 - Omega, Kiskadinna, Muskeg, staying on Long Island (564). Tough portages this day. The 37 rod at Omega has a steep decent into the lake on the Kiskadinna side. "The Wall going into Muskeg is long and challenging. Then the beaver dam mess going into Long Island is a boulder filled creek. Lucky it is only 20 rods. Day 3 - Karl, Lower George, Rib, Cross Bay, staying on Snipe (2011). Pretty Lakes and easy portages. Snipe is very pretty and a great lake to explore. Day 4 - Missing Link, ending at Round Lake at Tuscarora's docks. Lots of portaging little paddling this day. 2019 - Pretty much the same other than Entry 48 into Meeds. This starts things off with a 290 portage. Much easier going thru Lizz. We then went into Caribou and followed the same route but stayed on Gaskin (633). Day 2 - Henson, Omega, Kiskadinna, Muskeg, Staying on Long Island (585). Awesome site. Don't plan on staying on Kiskadinna, both sites are not very good. Day 3 - Followed the same route other than we stayed on Missing Link (548). Day 4 - quick day finished on Round Lake. Both years after exiting the BWCA we showered and cleaned up at Tuscarora, and head for Duluth where we stay the night and have a good meal and some beers before heading back home to North Dakota the next day. You can see we are all about travel and moving. We have only had 4 day/3 night option. I would like longer, but this is perfect for my wife. Sorry for the long post, but you can see your trip is very doable. You will totally enjoy this route with 6 days and 5 nights to fish and explore. Jim |
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Cricket67 |
This July we did a trip on the very Eastern part of this route...see my trip report for more details. With 6 days I think this is very doable for you and your daughter. Tentatively Day 1 you could get to Rib Lake or the Eastern part of Long Island. Day 2 the Eastern part of Long Island, using it as a short day to have time to fish and explore Long Island. Day 3 travel to Omega. Here is where I think you could really get your daughter involved in planning, as there are several choices. Have a talk about how things have gone and what she wants to do with the second half of the trip. I see at least 3 different options at this point...have her look at the map as see what she comes up with! 1. Winchell-Gaskin(overnight)-Hoseshoe-Caribou(overnight)-Lizz-Poplar. Winchell has a neat little waterfall that comes in off of Temble Lake. Fishing was good to us on Gaskin (smallies) and Horseshoe(Walleyes). 2. Henson - Pillsbery - Swallow - Meeds(last two nights)-Poplar. Meeds is reportedly a very good fishing lake. You could spend two nights there resting up for the 320rod portage to Poplar. Or split this up route up into shorter days by staying on Henson or Pillsbery. 3. Henson-Gaskin-Jump-Allen(overnight)-Horseshoe-Caribou(overnight)-Lizz-Poplar. This is the route we took out on our July trip. The short portages from Gaskin to Jump and Jump to Allen are fairly technical with some big rock "steps" To me the appeal is to camp on the lone campsite on Allen and have a lake to yourselves. Heard this lake was good for Walleyes and to me at least it seemed very "fishy". Have a great trip! Would love to see a report when you are done (hint hint) |
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ducks |
I prefer renting from where you will end your trip so you have the shuttle on the first day giving you much more flexibility with when you end your trip. Your trip is on my bucket list for a future solo. I've done the Cross Bay EP with little duckling when she was 5 and I've been in the area around Lizz a few times including big duckling's 1st daddy/daughter trip at 5 and would like to see the parts in between that I haven't been to yet. I 2nd Cowdocs fishing advice. I've found Pillsbury to be very quiet compared to area lakes and have had good fishing there. Rockwood rents a Northstar Polaris which is an awesome canoe when you have a smaller bow partner like an 11 year old. I rented it for a trip to Swan and back from Bower Trout when little duckling was 9. It's very stable even though it's smaller, tracks well and gets up to speed quickly, and is easy to manuever in twisty streams. We also had a 90 lb lab along and it was rock solid stable. Pics of the Polaris in action! |
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LetsGoFishing |
We have 6 days/5 nights. We usually base camp, but this time she wants to move camp. She loves to fish, so that will be a priority as well. We always double portage. I'll use either Tuscarora or Rockwood as my outfitter for the canoe rental, maybe a pack, and the shuttle. I am thinking of entering EP50 - Cross Bay and heading towards Poplar via Long Island and Omega. Thoughts on this route? I've read that the portages between Long Island and Omega are rough. I was thinking maybe two nights on Omega. Last night will be on either Pillsbury or Meeds. Or should I make this a lollypop loop somehow? Any tips on fishing in September? I've always gone up in June or July. I'm also looking at a GPS tracker. What's a good one that won't break the bank? I don't think I want to spend the money on a device that has topo maps at this point. Maybe just something that can be used for emergencies and so my daughter can shoot a couple texts to mom. |
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Northwoodsman |
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Northwoodsman |
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boonie |
Muskeg-Kiskadinna portage is not easy (The Wall is a steep climb). Kiskadinna-Omega is not easy, but is shorter. I stayed on Long Island, Omega, Allen, Horseshoe. |