Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Woodland Caribou Provincial Park :: Red Lake Outfitters exit from WCPP
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sns |
jillpine: "Mike, are there shuttle or drive-in options for northern / NC options? Not Mike, but - the northernmost drive-in access is Lund. The map on my wall also shows entry points associated with Hawk, Mimi and Trough lakes but these are all paddle-in, and are many days from a road. In fact, other than flying I bet the fastest way to those three northern entry points is to go in at Lund. |
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sns |
I'm less clear now about the RLO situation than I was before - I thought the outfitting business was sold - but this video indicates a sale of the "retail business". Is RLO shut down or is it being operated by someone else? Regardless, Albert at Goldseekers is going to have a busy year! My crew is already booked with him for liquid water season. |
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joewildlife |
Wow, that would be a disappointment, paddling across the park east to west only to see a bunch of motorized boats on Carroll! Joe |
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sns |
Would be interesting to make a list of all the lakes with outposts/lodges/cabins and with boat caches...so anyone who wants to be sure they avoid motorized traffic could do so. off the top of my head: Sydney Kilburn Hansen Hammerhead Optic Telescope Douglas Sabaurin Royd Artery Carroll Knox Thicketwood Murdock Peterson Hatchet Larus ....and I am sure I am missing a bunch. |
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joewildlife |
Add Rostoul to the list. I was just working out an idea of what a trip on the Bloodvein would look like. Too many lakes on the route are on your list! Joe |
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joewildlife |
Joe |
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Marten |
You make a valid point about the SE part of WCPP not being crowded. Very easy to have all the solitude you want. The Haven to Mexican Hat route is one to stay away from. |
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hobbydog |
I had some mixed feelings about how Harlan promoted/marketed WCPP. I get the business side and WCPP does not get a lot of visitors but I think the common routes on the east central side get a disproportionate amount of traffic. I have never been on this route but you can see from the campsites in the video that they get a lot more traffic compared to the western half. I prefer ones that get maybe one or two uses a year....if that. But I do encourage people to go there and outfitters have their place. Good luck to Albert and Goldseekers. I think the last 6 lines of the Eagles "The Last Resort" kind of sum it up for me. Stand up and sing about What it's like up there They call it paradise I don't know why You call someplace paradise Kiss it goodbye |
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donr |
I would love to try Obukowin, but am concerned about the portages from Siderock. That leaves Wallace Lake to Crystal Lake or Garner Lake. Garner Lake looks more feasible, but I have not been able to find information about leaving a vehicle there. Being somewhat of a control freak, I hate to rely on access/pickup by plane or shuttle. I would greatly appreciate suggestions on routes other than the SE portion of the park. Don |
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Marten |
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Marten |
It is easy to drive on really good gravel roads to the Wallace and Garner parking places. |
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hobbydog |
donr: "I would love to get to other areas of the park, but my issue is the lack of relatively easy vehicle access and not be able to camp on Crown Land at most of the entry points. Not being able to camp on Onnie is a deal breaker for that access point and Johnson does not lend itself to circle routes. I have done Garner twice and no issues. You park at the boat launch in a staffed campground. Same with Wallace Lake EP. You will need a Manitoba provincial park pass. Lots of loop options going in Garner. check out my trip report. Garner Lake |
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joewildlife |
It's more important for my daughter and I to have solitude and good fishing than to have simply traversed the park east to west and back on the Bloodvein and Gammon, that is for sure! Specifics and recommendations always welcome :) Joe |
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joewildlife |
A good general rule if you want solitude...go to trout lakes. Everybody wants walleye and if there aren't walleye, the area will receive a lot less traffic. This was very true, and characteristic of the southern areas of the park. Joe |
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Marten |
Goldseekers Outfitting special rate on WCPP flights https://www.facebook.com/woodlandcariboupark/ Flying into WCPP opens you up to the ultimate adventure in the seldom used parts of Woodland Caribou. Goldseekers Outfitting special rate on WCPP flights Goldseekers special offer on flights into WCPP |
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Marten |
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mpeebles |
To JoeW's point about specific routes and lakes. I'm willing to share everything I've experienced up there. Feel free to e mail me and I'd be more than willing to share info. Better yet, if you have a map of the park we could go over it on the phone. That worked really well for me last year. Better, better yet, if you can hook up in person with someone who's been up there and go over topos. (Thanks again Marten!) Later......Mike |
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bottomfeeder |
Marten: "I know float planes are thought to be a deal breaker because of cost but you owe it to yourself to at least check out what Goldseeker's is offering in this Facebook special posted on Feb. 2. Albert will have several groups flying in over the summer. If you coordinate your trip and schedule a fly-in with Goldseekers, he may be able to sync your group with another, i.e. one flies in as the other flies out, and split the cost of a leg between the two groups. That makes a huge dent in the cost. Flying in opens up half the park to trips that would otherwise be inaccessible or physically draining in a weeks time or less. |
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mpeebles |
Anyway, all that being said, you will encounter some boat traffic in that part of the park. Safe travels....... |
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Marten |
There are so many better places in WCPP than that area. |
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donr |
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mpeebles |
Safe travels....... |
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mpeebles |
You can also access the n/e part of the park via the Chukini River. I met a family of four on Linge last year who did that although they mentioned that they probably wouldn't do it again. We loved that part of the park last year...Bigshell, Little Bigshell, Olive, Linge, Young and a bunch of 'other' lakes we explored. Hoping Marten chimes in as he knows infinitely more about the routes in the park than I do and Wallace Lake might be an option. Safe travels......Mike |
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Frenchy19 |
Marten: "I came across this video of a late 2019 trip into WCPP. The intro message and some of the comments shed good light on the nasty situation going on last summer in Red Lake, Ontario. I wish Goldseekers the best as they pick up the slack in the WCPP outfitting business. Nice canoe video and interesting comments about RLO"s exit. " Happy ending for the couple driving all the way from NC; Richard sounds like a class act all the way! |
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Marten |
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joewildlife |
It's funny when folks imply the SE part of the park is "overused". I've only been to WCPP twice, and first I will say that Harlan was instrumental in us getting up there in the first place. The only place I saw any concentration of paddlers, at all, was Mexican Hat lake. Other than that, we saw very very few people. I feel that outpost cabins have a much, much more negative effect on the park than even a doubling of backcountry paddlers would have. In my opinion, I'd rather run across a paddler here or there on a trip, than be on a single lake and see motorized fishing boats. We made a 14 day loop out of Leano June 2019, using truck shuttle in and out, but the shuttle wasn't really necessary. It is a more expensive but less risky option. I'm told if you break down or get stuck or anything, a tow truck is $1000 to get out of Leano. That 14 day loop was an epic trip, we never saw a cabin or motorboat in use, saw exactly one party the entire loop once we got past Mexican Hat, and that was Oldzip. We saw nobody going in through Bunny and up to Mexican hat. And saw nobody between Talon and out through Killburn. The year before we went in at Johnson lake and spent the first night on Telescope, and saw nobody until Mexican Hat. We didn't see anybody coming out through Embryo Hatchet and Douglas, and get a water tow out from Trout Bay. When you don't see anybody near the access points, that is a good sign. Just stay away from Mexican hat if seeing other canoeists is a problem. As for us, we won't use air service because when using two solo canoes, it becomes very cost prohibitive. We will have to just make longer trips. If you have 14 days, you can paddle in and out of anywhere in park if you move most every day. We went as far west as Bulging, Mather, and Irregular so there wasn't much more to see to the west or south of us in the park. Sometime we will do the Gammon system to Carrol and the Bloodvein to Artery, but those trips will be more of "there and back" trips instead of loops. I'm looking forward to it, but my next few trips will be in Quetico. Any comments on driving and leaving personal vehicles at Lund? Joe |
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jillpine |
mpeebles: "Just wanted to add that there is some of the best walleye/northern fishing anywhere in the north/central and northern parts of the park that are rarely visited by canoeists let alone motor boats. Mike, are there shuttle or drive-in options for northern / NC options? Beth |