Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: Trip Planning Advice
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pleflar |
If you're reasonably fit and prepared, and you seem to be both, you should have no problem making it to Jordan from EP27 in a day. Heck, you'll have plenty of time and more to explore Jordan once you've claimed a site. |
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nooneuno |
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Z4K |
Assuming you get across Snowbank, you shouldn't have any problems. The last time I was in this area we double portaged from Snowbank to Ima in a day, spent a few days on Ima (most of them in camp, wind-bound!) and then came back out the way we came in one day. I would shoot to camp on Ahsub/Jordan (nice sites), Fraser, Kekekabic and Ensign... but be flexible! Windy and rainy days will screw up your plans, as will full campsites. You'll have bigger fetches to cross on Kekekabic and Ima too, if it ends up being windy you'd probably be best off hanging around Jordan and the west end of Ima. Do not expect to stick to your plans 100%, I have rarely had that luxury up there. |
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dojoho |
As for wind warnings - again, thank you guys. We ran into some moderate winds on my last trip (through Snowbank), but I had forgotten and that's definitely a good reminder. I also hadn't considered keeping a backward route in mind. And Z4K - Amen to that last. I hope to have at least two backup plans, if only to calm our mother, but the same trip I just mentioned taught me that even backup plans aren't enough sometimes. That's another reason why I'm hesitant to push for an ambitious plan that fills our available time - having an extra day for something to go wrong sounds like much more peace of mind. So, I guess a new question would be... With or without modifications to include Moose on the route, do you guys think that (given perfect circumstances) this trip could definitely be made in four days by a pair of somewhat green portagers? Because we have five days, so that would give us our cushion day. |
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Z4K |
I think I'm pretty slow solo but I still aim for 10 miles per day, and I would absolutely take the trip you're planning. I would plan for: Enter Snowbank via Disappointment, camping on Ima-Kekekabic-Carp/Ensign (Carp if Moose exit, Ensign if Snowbank exit, you won't mind that 207 rod portage after 4 days in) See how it goes! If the weather is perfect and you get an early start, push on to Thomas or Frasier on your first day. If the weather doesn't cooperate you can always just go to Ensign instead of Kek. Only you will know how you feel after the first day. There are exactly 0 ugly lakes with no fish in this area. Hatchet is a great little lake with one nice campsite, good for moose and walleyes. There are two cool little trout lakes off of Trader Lake. Cattyman Falls is along the portage between Cattyman and Gibson. Have fun! There's nothing wrong with having ambitious plans as long as you're flexible. |
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dojoho |
Currently, I'm eyeballing Snowbank for an entry point - my second trip started there and I remember a little of the area. Depending on how long we go for/permit availability, I'm thinking either Monday or Thursday/Friday beforehand to try and cut the crowds. My real question is the rest of the trip. We both like the idea of a full loop, instead of going in and out the same way, so I've got two potential plans and I can't figure out if 1 is too easy or 2 is too hard. 1) - go through Parent/Disappointment, camp on Ahsub, probably head over to Ima to spend more time up there, then go back through to Boot and spend a day on the longer portage and getting back across Snowbank to the entry point again. Or, 2) push to Jordan on the first day (I saw someone on here say they took a scout group that far in a day, which gives me hope), then up to Kekekabic, then over through Vera and Ensign and down to Boot and out the same. I don't remember very well the scale we covered on my first two trips, so I'm not exactly sure how well we'd be looking at doing. Being brothers, though, we certainly wouldn't be bothered by a little personal intrusion on packs, so I'd hope we could get by with a single canoe and two or three packs (two if I can sling it) and cut down on portage time. plan 2 still seems a bit ambitious, though... What do you guys think? Also any advice on timing for the beginning/end of the trip would be appreciated... I'd like to avoid paying for accommodations in Ely if I can. We have somewhere we can stay near Virginia, so overnight isn't impossible but I'll need to know ahead of time. |
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RMinMN |
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