Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: Loop trip ideas Moose through Quetico
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Rambo3489 |
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Banksiana |
My guess its it is unlikely the park will open this year. |
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billconner |
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Banksiana |
billconner: "My second favorite Q route is Moose to North Bay, Shade, Kashapiwi, Trant, Silence, and Agnes, Meadows, Sunday, and out Moose. My son and I did that a few years ago - easy 5 nights. I aim for Isabella for first night - great sit at narrows. Tough hall to Kashapiwi but not awful. Kash through Trant to Silence is very pretty." Isabella not really on the way to Kahsh if you go through Shade. |
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PineKnot |
Banksiana: "billconner: "My second favorite Q route is Moose to North Bay, Shade, Kashapiwi, Trant, Silence, and Agnes, Meadows, Sunday, and out Moose. My son and I did that a few years ago - easy 5 nights. I aim for Isabella for first night - great sit at narrows. Tough hall to Kashapiwi but not awful. Kash through Trant to Silence is very pretty." Well, it's not really direct, but can be done by hooking SW after 1st portage from Shade and heading via Dell to Isabella. I count 11 portages from Bailey Bay to Isabella via Shade....that's a tough 1st day for sure. We did that last portage into Isabella in 2019 and I recall not enjoying it much.... |
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billconner |
Banksiana: "billconner: "My second favorite Q route is Moose to North Bay, Shade, Kashapiwi, Trant, Silence, and Agnes, Meadows, Sunday, and out Moose. My son and I did that a few years ago - easy 5 nights. I aim for Isabella for first night - great sit at narrows. Tough hall to Kashapiwi but not awful. Kash through Trant to Silence is very pretty." Mental error. I meant Side, not Shade. |
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Banksiana |
PineKnot: "Banksiana: "billconner: "My second favorite Q route is Moose to North Bay, Shade, Kashapiwi, Trant, Silence, and Agnes, Meadows, Sunday, and out Moose. My son and I did that a few years ago - easy 5 nights. I aim for Isabella for first night - great sit at narrows. Tough hall to Kashapiwi but not awful. Kash through Trant to Silence is very pretty." I agree that is a tough road to Isabella.... |
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Rambo3489 |
Planning a tandem trip for next year. My best friend from high school and I are planning to make a trip next September or so. I was planning on just staying in the BW but he is wanting to make the trip up to Quetico. He's been on the trip before with the scouts, this will be my first BW trip. I could use a little help planning. As it stands now we will be at the Moose Lake EP on a Saturday. Likely spend the night there. Push off Sunday and start paddling towards Prairie Portage. I'm thinking we'll spend the night somewhere on the way up as we're not necessarily seasoned paddlers. (Its been a while for us both) Cross over Monday. From there is where I'm having issue. I want to buy Beyer's book for more definitive route options, but would like to purchase the book and the maps together to save on shipping. That is where I'm looking for your help. Could you guys give me a little guidance on what lakes we might be paddling on so I can figure out what maps we need? We will likely be in Quetico for 5 days. I'd like to make a loop trip while in Quetico, but that isn't necessary. Just don't know what our realistic 5 night range is for me to get the correct maps and really start planning it out. Not planning to go at it for speed, more of a fishing/leisure/exploration type paddle. Thanks, Rambo |
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Jackfish |
Since you'll be arriving at Moose Lake on Saturday, you might consider staying in the bunkhouse at Latourell's. Their resort is right on Moose just a short distance from the boat landing. Prairie Portage is only about a two-hour paddle from Latourell's. I highly doubt that you'd have to find a campsite between Latourell's and PP, but if that's what you want to do, go for it. Personally, I'd pay for a tow from Latourell's and they'll have you at PP in about 20 minutes. Take care of business at the ranger station and you're on your way into Quetico. Lots of ways you could go from there. Buy McKenzie maps #8, #9 and #10. (Those will get you started with your planning. You may need others depending on how far north you want to go.) You should also buy a Chrismar Quetico map. Shows the complete park and is great for planning and using as a backup map in the canoe. You can never have too many maps. Study the maps. Read trip reports. Ask lots of questions. You'll find a route that works for the number of days that you want to be in. |
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TrailZen |
Jackfish: "Buy McKenzie maps #8, #9 and #10. (Those will get you started with your planning. You should also buy a Chrismar Quetico map. Shows the complete park and is great for planning and using as a backup map in the canoe. You can never have too many maps. Study the maps. Read trip reports. Ask lots of questions. You'll find a route that works for the number of days that you want to be in." Get the Chrismar map now. Spend the next couple months reading old trip reports and deciding on trip length (both days and miles) trip focus (fishing? distance? pictographs? crazy portages? base camping?) and start throwing ideas back & forth. Late August/early September trips are our favorite--fewer bugs, fewer people (especially in the Q). Hope it's the first of many GREAT trips. TZ |
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RetiredDave |
The portage from Burke to Basswood is a breeze. The only possible difficulty on this route is that if the wind is blowing from the southwest (which it often does) the bay on Basswood can have whitecaps and four foot waves (this has happened twice with us), so get an early start on the final day back to Prairie Portage. Good luck, happy planning, and have fun! Dave |
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Jackfish |
We camped at the site on Sultry that is right near the portage to Silence. Had a group of nine with the Boy Scouts and it suited us just fine. Caught a pile of smallmouth bass that night, too! |
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Banksiana |
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billconner |
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Rambo3489 |
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Rambo3489 |
billconner: "No idea of hours next year, but ranger station has opened at 7:30 am recently. You can get there by tow in morning for opening, i just like the easy afternoon paddle, saving tow and lodging charges, and being able to get further into Q." That does sound like the way to go. I didn’t know campsite availability up around there. But there looks to be quite a few sites nearby as well if those 5 are occupied. Definitely wouldn’t mind missing the tow fee and paddling on up. After all paddling is part of the reason for making the trip. |
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GraniteCliffs |
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cburton103 |
Kahshapiwi is a fantastic lake as someone else mentioned, but I’ve taken friends through there on their first trip to the Q and I think they wondered if they were on vacation or if I was playing some sort of joke on them. Great Lake, but it’s a hard road in or out wherever you come from. |
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GraniteCliffs |
I would also think about staying in a bunkhouse at an outfitters on Moose Lake on your first night. The pricing between a BW camping fee at Moose lake with its BW permit fee is very similar. And you get your own room. I like to take the tow to PP very early in the am. I don’t much like the boat traffic passing right by me. And I like to be rested when I start paddling in Quetico. I do sometimes paddle back down Moose on my return so I don’t have to be beholden to a schedule for a tow return trip. I use Williams and Hall and the offer a free hot shower upon your return if you have stayed in their bunkhouse. Whatever you do have fun |
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Rambo3489 |
Only a 2 hour paddle? I for some reason thought I remember reading it was the better part of the day. Thanks for the info Bill. Didn't think to do that but if we can get there early enough it would probably pay to head for one of those campsites just to hopefully ensure an early cross into Quetico. I will look into getting a Chrismar map just so I can start mapping out distances and such for routes. Then the appropriate Fisher/McKenzie maps. Thanks for the info guys! |
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billconner |
After that, Kashapiwi is a good target and loop over to the S chain via McNiece, Yum Yum, or Trant and down Agnes or to North Bay back to PP. Very doable, but solid five days. Lots of other routes. Chrismar is the first map to get, then either Mackenzie or Fisher. Not hard to figure out which maps online. |