Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Quetico Forum :: Water Levels?
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tuscarorasurvivor |
Gaidin53: "Will definitely like to hear some feedback. I enter at Stanton July 3rd and hit through all those lakes. I’m sure by then things will be fine. Probably a really nice water level by then. Will be great to hear reports though. Just came out yesterday. Great trip. Nym, Sturgeon, Russell, Kawanipi, Pickerell. It was a bit dicey going in with stiff headwinds and whitecaps spilling over the bow a bit on Batchewaung Bay and Walter Lake. Fortunately it was for short stretches and 3 decent paddlers in the boat. We've paddled in these conditions before, but not fun and not something I would recommend to anyone. Water were still very high - probably 3+ feet up from ordinary high water. Seemed to have come down maybe 6" based on shoreline pollen by the time we came out. Trees standing in 3+ feet of water, blueberry bushes masquerading as reed beds, islands you literally would not know were there were it not for the stand of pines on them - completely submerged. We could often paddle easily between large (8-10") pine trees. One campsite had a pine sapling the top of which was a good 12" under water. That said, travel and camping were not impaired. Just use a bit of extra caution around the large falls as there is significant current on both ends of the portage trails and either extend the portage a bit or have a very solid plan on the upstream side before you get into the boat or approach the landing depending on direction of travel. I'm assuming people who travel these areas have some experience dealing with currents and eddies around these falls. Temps were cool enough most nights that the bugs settled down and were not a significant nuisance. That was nice. I did catch the largest Northern of my life - about 40" based on my paddle shaft as a ruler. After fighting it for what seemed like 10 minutes and several times had it along side the boat at the end it shook one last time and spit out my lure - and then it just sat in the water next to the boat. We paddled up along side it and we (my son) grabbed it with both hands and pulled it up to the gunnel - I wasn't sure if it was going to flop back into the water or land in the boat. Fortunately it landed in the boat. After it settled down a bit we got a few pics and released it easily. Then caught another more appropriate to keep for dinner. |
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portagedog09 |
pd |
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tuscarorasurvivor |
AdamXChicago: "John, I heard back from the outfitter we're getting gear from. No early first hand recon, but said water levels are coming down and thought we should be OK. We get home on the 11th, so I'll let you know! |
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tuscarorasurvivor |
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AdamXChicago |
Have a safe and enjoyable trip. We’ll be entering Nym on 6/13. Would appreciate any feedback from you as to conditions when you return. Thanks in advance. AdamX |
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Gaidin53 |
Ryan |
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Waterboy |
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sns |
I’d take anything you hear with a grain of salt. We got intel that was spot on, and some that was 100% wrong. Pickerel Dam boom is broken and the spillway raging. Parks recommending (& therefore the outfitter) not to travel Pickerel to Bisk. However I walked the portage there, and it would have been more effort but doable…for me. 3 areas where you have to walk in water, one of those with some moving water. Not for everyone, but most could probably make that with nothing more than cold legs. Russell rapids to Sturgeon was also a ”no-go”, so we avoided it going in, but we decided to go all-in returning, and it too was passable with an extra portage; in fact, it was runnable all the way through if you packed your courage. A bit nerve-wracking since we were told not to try it, but it was ok. That said, not for beginners. Great trip…looking forward to the next one. |