Post by fishguts on Jun 30, 2007 17:13:27 GMT -5
Fishguts Incredable Quetico Adventure
Patrick, Elizabeth & Thomas Brewer
Patrick, Elizabeth & Thomas Brewer
Day 1 Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Having spent the night in Doug Jordan’s bunk house, we got up early, 5:15 AM, and repacked our bags, and had a breakfast of 3 pancakes and 2 sausages each and orange juice. We loaded into a van for the drive to Crane Lake. We made it in time (about 1 1/2 hour drive) for our tow by Zupp’s Outfitters.
We were towed by jet boat to Sand Point Lake where we checked through Canadian Customs. We shared the towboat with a group of 6 from Wisconsin. After customs, we went down the Loon River and over 2 mechanical portages. We were originally scheduled to take the slower boat and the Dawson Portage, which was cheaper, but Zupp’s put us in with the guys from Wisconsin on the jet boat, going down the Loon River Route. The jet boat went very fast down the curvy part of the Loon River. When we got to the mechanical portages, we got out and walked, while the jet boat with 9 people’s worth of baggage and our canoe and their kayak, was pulled up on a funny railroad car contraption over the portage. After the last portage, off we went to Zupp’s base on Lac Lacroix, to buy our fishing licenses, and change boats. They put the Wisconsin guys’ two aluminum canoes that they picked up at Zupp’s and red kayak on the bottom and our tiger 3 person Kevlar canoe in the top.
Zups is on the east side of Lac La Croix, and we were towed all the way across to the east, where we stopped at the Lac La Croix ranger station to pay for our Quetico permit and camping fees. The ranger station is located on an Indian reservation and our ranger was an Indian woman with a bad cold and a young boy asleep on the couch. She said we were the
1st party to come through there in 3 days.
Next we were off to our drop off point for our permit #43-McAree.
Our boat driver, also an Indian woman, coaxed the boat into shore just below the first “Brewer Rapids” which are not shown on the map. Here we unloaded our 4 packs and canoe, said goodbye to the driver and our 6 friends from Wisconsin and started our trip.
Thomas scouted a path, through the woods, to be above the rapids. We made our 1st portage. We paddled up the Brewer River to the rapids and portage to Brewer Lake. Elizabeth took pictures of the rapids.
We paddled across Brewer Lake to the portage to McAree Lake. There is another big rapid that is not shown on the map. We took more pictures. We met another group at the portage from Doug Jordan’s Outfitters.
We found a beautiful spot at the far end of the portage for lunch. There was a big patch of daisies and a great view of McAree.
We crossed McAree and it was warm. We stopped and put on sunscreen. We continued on to the northeast corner of McAree to the small portage into Pond Lake. Just before the big portage to Gratton, a fish rose and Thomas and I couldn’t resist so we unloaded the canoe, left Elizabeth guarding the packs in the shade and caught our 1st fish of the trip. Small mouth bbotty…we both caught some!
Then we were in for it…The “Death March” portage from Pond Lake to Little Gratton. 220 rods. It started in a moose swamp with Thomas carrying the canoe, sinking above his ankles in the muck. Then up and up some more, with ankle twisting rock gardens and more moose swamp. Then the last 100 yards, steep down a boulder covered path. We accomplished this portage quite well!
We took it in stages and leapfrogged our way across. We worked together and even though it was a long sweaty rough portage, we made it! Longest portage of our trip!
We paddled into Little Gratton Lake, searching for a campsite. A nice site was found on the 2nd island. We set up camp, had dinner, hung the food pack and fished. Thomas and I caught a bunch of Largemouth Bbotty with 2 big ones, all catch and release. We decided to spend 2 nights on Little Gratton, so we slept in next morning.
Day 2 July 7, 2005 Thursday
We are staying another night on Little Gratton. We had steak (left over from dinner) ham, eggs, coffee, and tea for breakfast. After doing the dishes we went through the food packs and fishing gear, so we would know where everything was located, put them in the canoe and headed out.
We looked for the push-thru to Gratton Lake. We found the stream coming out of Gratton, but it looked pretty muddy and rough. No trail visible! So we headed to Wicksteed instead and fished down the north side of the lake.
We all caught fish…about 4 or 5 each! Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bbotty. I cast my crawdad imitation about 20 feet up in a Norway pine and lost it…Thomas laughed.
We stopped for lunch about 12 noon and had summer sausage, rye crisp, fruit punch and a nice rest in the shade. It was hot!
After our rest we returned down Wicksteed and caught more fish. Then back across the 35-rod portage to Little Gratton and home.
We took a nice nap and then fixed dinner: Beef enchiladas, corn and chocolate pudding. Yummy!
After cleaning up, doing the dishes and hanging the food pack, Thomas and I went fishing. We caught about 25 fish! Mostly Largemouth Bbotty with a few Northerns. The Largemouth were hitting well on Thomas’ Rapala and my Smithwick. We switched to a rubber frog and a popper and the fish went nuts! Lots of fast action till it was getting dark and Elizabeth called from across the lake and we headed home.
Day 3 July 8, 2005 Friday
We got up early and had a great breakfast of bacon, pancakes and the last 3 real eggs. Then we cleaned up the dishes and camp and packed up and headed east to Wicksteed.
First came the 35-rod portage that we had gone over on the day before, then past our lunch island. The wind was blowing more today so we hugged the shoreline. When we rounded the big point, the wind was really blowing, so we dodged in and out behind islands to cross the lake. We really pulled together in that wind and we made it across and down to the 45 rod portage to Darkey Lake, which we single portaged.
So here we are on Darkey Lake. It’s kinda warm & humid with a steady wind from the south. We have a nice clbotty 5 campsite(The Best), on the north end of the lake. We set up camp…The tent, rain fly, and food pack roped up in a tree. Thomas and I took the canoe back towards the portage to fish and find firewood.
We struck out…no fish biting and no good firewood. The wind was a factor, making it hard to fish and maneuver the canoe. So back to camp we went, to take a rest and see if the wind quiets.
We hope to go down Darkey and see the pictographs, but it will be difficult with this wind from the south.
We took a nap and made dinner…mashed potatoes “Family style chicken”, more like chicken gravy, plump green beans and vanilla moose with ***tart***raspberries…yummy!
After we finished dinner and did the dishes, we hung the food packs and headed down to the south end of Darkey to see the pictographs…the wind that had been a strong breeze all afternoon finally dropped to a light breeze. It was still a long paddle (4 mile there and back!!!). Our Souris River Kevlar canoe does glide thur the water and when all 3 of us paddle we move right along!
At first we couldn’t find the pictographs. We had gone too far, so we checked each rock face that we came to. Finally we found them. They were on a huge 100-foot granite rock face. Some pictographs were just above the water line. Others were about 5 feet up. There were 2 moose with white hearts, also a spirit symbol and a man with a gun with a bullet coming out of the gun. There were strike ///////// marks and a handprint. Pretty impressive! We were all glad we made the effort to go the distance and see the artwork.
We fished a bit while heading back north to camp. Thomas caught a couple of small Smallmouth Bbotty and one good-sized Northern. We paddled back to camp as the sun was going down. We were pooped and went to bed.
Day 4 July 9, 2005 Saturday
We got up fairly early, as the tent was right next to the lake. When the sun came up, it baked on the tent. The weather is still clear, very warm and humid with occasional white puffy clouds.
For breakfast we had bacon, pancakes, maple syrup and juice, coffee and tea. We then cleaned up, packed up and boarded our pleasure craft and headed east, across the northern part of Darkey Lake….Headed for the chain of portages going to William Lake.
Just before the first portage, Thomas spotted a school of walleye in the water. The first portage was a little brushy but not too bad (24 rods).
As we were loading up in the moose muck, Thomas spotted a leach. I was busy with a fishing lure, and didn’t think much of a little leach, so I paid no attention. Thomas and Elizabeth were in the canoe and I was in the soup when they said, “He’s headed your way!” I looked over and here was this 5-inch long leach, green with red sides headed for my ankle!! Feet, don’t fail me now! Wow! It was like something from the Amazon River Delta! Magically I was in the canoe!
This was the start of the William River, a meandering stream, lined with wild rice and cattails, filled with water lilies, both yellow and white! Also water grbottyes and other aquatic plants, including patches of bilious frog slime filled with bubbles…Yuk! It reminded Elizabeth of outer space where clouds of gas form galaxies! Other than that the frog slime, it was very beautiful.
The 2nd portage was a killer….up and up and up some more with lots of brush. We had to take it in stages…There was a muddy spot in the trail with moose prints and a bear print…with claws! It was very hot at the end of this portage and Elizabeth found a little shade behind a single dead tree.
Again we were back on the beautiful William River, then portage #3. This was another tough one, about 50 rods, but not marked on the map. Lots of brush, steep at the start, with tippy rocks towards the end. It looked like the portage had been extended because of a beaver dam. The last part had big steps up on boulders and then a rock ledge.
Now we were on the longest stretch of the William River, thur Cloverleaf Lake, up and over and down an un-named pond, thru one easy beaver pullover to our last portage into William Lake. A beaver dam blocked the way but not far…but Oh! How much fun!!!
Elizabeth and I grabbed a load and carried it over and found a boulder to put the gear on. I returned to help Thomas when Elizabeth started screaming! She had been taking pictures of the beaver dam and we hadn’t noticed that the boulder was the home of a “Biting Red Ant Colony”!! And they were all over her in a swarm and biting her! She looked at the packs and the ants were swarming into and over the packs! All Elizabeth could think of was the biting ants in the gear and in the canoe! How to get them out? All the gear would have to be washed in the lake! (The camera and camera bag got dropped into the soup, but seems OK).
Now, let’s see how Elizabeth faired…the camera is OK, did I say that? Elizabeth jumped back down the beaver dam and brushed the ants and when she left, they must have sent a chemical signal out because they all abandoned her and the packs when she retreated and we never saw them again. Did I say the camera is OK? Elizabeth got 12 bites. Pat wasn’t very sympathetic until one bit him…at a later camp.
After all this calmed down, Thomas carried the canoe over the beaver dam and was frantically pawing his “hoof”. (Foot) He had a big leach and 2 tiny leaches attached to his heel!!! They weren’t coming off! Luckily the food pack was right there and I handed him the salt…After sprinkling the leach with salt, the leachs wiggled and fell off! No mark showed on Thomas and we were relieved! (And the camera was OK. Did I say that?)
Finally we were able to load up the canoe and head out on William Lake. The second island has a great campsite that we soon claimed. It has a nice rock fireplace, a rock table, log benches, a soft pine needle area for the tent and lots of shade.
Thomas set up the tent and we all had lunch: peanut butter and strawberry jam on corn tortillas, cheese and rye crisp etc. Then we took a nap as it was very warm...we were tired!
Now it is cooling off and we are getting dinner ready. Thomas just lowered the bear pack out of a tree to get the grill. Tonight is our 1st campfire. We have been using the stove up till now, but here on William Lake we have lots of firewood. The other campsites were picked clean of firewood.
Tonight’s dinner will be teriyaki beef, wit long grained rice, hot 3-berry cobbler and fruit punch…Yummy!
After dinner we cleaned up and hung the food pack.
Then Thomas and I went fishing for walleye. Not far from the camp Thomas caught a nice keeper walleye. Later I caught one. We didn’t get back to camp till dusk, it make quite a scene with us filleting the fish by flashlight and swatting mosquitoes by the dozen.
We paddled the guts across the lake to the shore, came back and jumped into the tent. It was still hot and humid so Mom and I read “3 Men in a Boat” by Jerome K. Jerome for 2 chapters and then it was lights out and sleep.
In the night Thomas heard an animal ruffle around the campsite and then run past the tent. This happened about ½ hour after we quit reading last night.
Day 5 July 10, 2005 Sunday
Elizabeth and I are up early, and the morning is cool and wonderful with breezes. There is not a cloud visible. For breakfast we cooked with a campfire again. We had bacon, pancakes & syrup, and golden Walleye fillets. Wow! Fresh Walleye is delicious!
Thomas and I are getting ready to go fishing again. Elizabeth is at the lakeside with the pots and pans.
Thomas and I pulled out of the campsite and started trolling towards the east. I had on my favorite “Signature Smithwick” when I thought I was stuck on the bottom…Ugh! Then I noticed the canoe was moving…and so was my line??? So I started pumping and reeling…then whatever it was must have seen the boat…and ZzzzZZZzzz! Out went the line. This went on…back and forth…until we were able to get a look at what was on the line. It was a HUGE Northern!
Thomas tried to net him headfirst…and he wouldn’t fit. Thomas then tried tail first…too big…so Thomas gently grabbed him with both hands and pulled him into the canoe.
Like all Northerns, he went mad. Thrashing in the bottom of the canoe. We turned around and yelled to Elizabeth to get the camera. We took pictures, but were so excited we didn’t weigh or measure him. We did get him back in the water and he swam away. Our guess is he was 36 inches or more. We’ll check out the pictures.
Thomas and I trolled down the north shore of William Lake. We caught a couple of Smallmouth Bbotty. We kept seeing fish on the depth finder, but we weren’t deep enough. I switched to a purple rapala tail dancer and Thomas switched to a brown salt & pepper twister tail jig.
About this time we spotted the “Reef” in the middle of William and headed for it. On the way I hooked and caught a beautiful walleye-20 inches and weighed 4 Lbs. When we got to the reef, Thomas caught another beauty 19 inches and 3½ Lbs. We were set for fish for dinner! We caught a few more walleye and smallmouth bbotty, but the wind was rising and it was about noon. We headed back to camp. I filleted the fish after we took lots of pictures!
At noon we had lunch: gorp, peanut butter & jelly on corn tortillas…not bad when hungry! It was so hot and humid we took our Thermorest pads out of the tent and took naps and read…later we took a bath in the lake. A bald eagle came and sat in a tree across from our island where we had been putting our fish guts and bones. HA! He’ll have dinner later.
We had a big dinner of golden walleye fillets and macaroni and cheese and peas with lemon pie for desert. Ever had lemon pie from a bag? Just add water and stir…Marie Calendar has NO WORRIES!
We cleaned up and all jumped in the canoe and headed back to the “reef” and fished some more. We didn’t have much fishing action, but Elizabeth did catch a beautiful little walleye…we took a picture. We caught a few other smallmouth bbotty, but the sun was sinking in the west so we headed home.
It was especially warm and humid this night. No sleeping bags were needed till early morning.
Day 6 July 11 Monday
We got up fairly early, and decided to skip breakfast, so we could get our traveling done before it got too hot!
We packed up and headed south on William to the 60 rod portage to Brent Lake. We had a lot of paddling to do, because Brent is a big lake with lots of twists and turns. But no more portages for today. The wind kept changing directions all morning…first from the south, then the west…. then east and then back to the south. As the day went on the wind kept increasing. With the twists and turns of Brent Lake, there were a few times that we had the wind at our backs, and we raised our paddles and sailed along.
We were looking for a campsite just past the Brent Narrows, but could not find it. We turned south in the next bay to find another site …We finally found it, but it was “Old” and hadn’t been used for years…and was very small. We decided to have lunch there, but it ended up being a stand-up lunch, because of the Red Ants. We had peanut butter and jelly on tortillas and cheese and crackers, and gorp, followed by orange drink.
The afternoon was getting hot and windy, so we wanted to find a campsite soon. We headed east on Brent with 3 campsites on the map to check out. The first one we could not find, the second one had a couple of trees blown down across the site and there was no where to put up a tent. So it was on to #3. By this time we were tired, and the wind was really starting to blow. We rounded a point and saw 3 canoes, the first since Darky Lake. And we saw an island that had burned in a fire; luckily it was not the island we were looking to camp on.
Finally we found our campsite on Brent Lake. It was way up near the portages to Suzanette Lake. We pulled in and Thomas jumped out and checked out the island. A “Clbotty 5 Campsite” he declared! Wonderful! It is way up on the top of a granite lump, has a lot of trees and great views of Brent Lake. Also there are tons of blueberries ready to pick. We were so pooped that Elizabeth and I just rolled out our thermorest mattresses in the shade and took a nap. Later, when we got up, we saw that Thomas had set up the tent…What a Saint!
We picked some blueberries and decided to rest some more…as it is still hot and the wind is still blowing. We heard thunder in the distance. It would be wonderful if it rained and cooled off. We cooked on the gas stove tonight.
As we were heating the water for our freeze-dried dinner, I glanced over towards the pack and an army of red ants 3 inches wide and thick were headed towards the fire ring. We grabbed the RAID and made quick work of them. The whole army of them disappeared.
For dinner we had chicken fajitas and corn with raspberry cobbler for dessert.
The wind has stopped and it is still sultry! Thomas is fishing with a popper from shore. Elizabeth is reading in the tent and I am about to join her. We all read a chapter from “Three Men in a Boat”. We heard thunder and saw lightening flashing to the north of us and had one small sprinkle of rain, but the main storm pbottyed north of us. It was fun watching the lightening flashes and hearing distant thunder.
Day 7 July 12, 2005 Tuesday
It is cooler this morning. Elizabeth and I got up early and cooked breakfast on the stove. Bacon, hash-browned potatoes, country omelet…yummy! We cleaned up and packed up and headed south for McIntyre, on the water by 9:30 am. First we pbottyed an island that had burned in a fire…we guess about 10 years ago? It was a calm trip with hardly any wind. There are white puffy clouds in a blue sky. The temperature rising as we traveled along.
Just before he portages into McIntyre, we spotted some moose bones in on an island. The rest of the moose’s bones were laid out in the water under the canoe! We took pictures of Thomas with the bones on the island and put them back for the next travelers.
We took pictures of Thomas portaging the canoe. The next portage (4 rods) was rocky and very short…and we were into McIntyre. We followed the east shore down the lake to Cedar Point Camp. We pulled up the canoe and checked out the campsite…nice.
Then we searched in the woods behind the campsite. It was way back in the woods, along some faint trails, in a small clearing. There is a stone cairn and inside a message cache…in a plastic pickle jar. We brought it back to camp and read the messages while eating lunch. “Swiss Cheese” spread with imitation bacon bits, pilot biscuits, dried fruit sack and grape drink. The cheese stuff was rank!
The messages were interesting going back to 1993, all times of the year...some in snow in September. Lots of fish stories were shared. We have started a note of our own to put in the cache before we leave.
Thunderheads look like they are building! It’s off to the tent for some reading and a nap….Hope it cools off! First it’s hot, then it cools off a bit, then it’s sultry again. Big thunderheads were building all afternoon.
Thomas and I went trolling out in the bay in front of our camp. I had heard of trout being caught here. First I tried a little Cleo and a weight but Thomas and I got all snarled up and it twisted my line, so I cut that off and put on my deep tail dancer (purple).
Thomas fished shallow and I let out lots of line and fished deep. I caught 2 nice lake trout, One 1 ½ Lbs and one 2Lbs. They have pink meat and are all cleaned and ready for dinner. We are having trout, macaroni and cheese, peas and cookies.
Faintly, just before we went to bed we heard wolves howling and yipping to the northeast. We had a chapter from “3 Men in a Boat”. Two of us read a chapter each night. Then a different 2 read the next night. So it is two nights on reading out loud and one night just listening. Kinda fun. We started doing this with the kids when they were little. We read clbottyics.
As we were trying to get to sleep a Whipper Will started cheeping! We counted 72 times in a row…41 times in a row the next time.