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       Trip Report - Snowbank, Raven, Alice, and Insula Loop
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Date/Time: 03/28/2024 08:08AM
Trip Report - Snowbank, Raven, Alice, and Insula Loop

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Previous Messages:
Author Message Text
TomT 02/04/2010 11:31PM
TomP, I remember talking before our trips and you were going in just ahead of me. As you enter the bog on Roe did you findthe portage off to the right? I'm thnking I may have missed it cause we were looking left. The maps weren't very specific as to where it is.


Did you camp on alice?
IBFLY 02/04/2010 07:47PM
Nice trip - bushwacking builds "character" and a definite appreciation of the sites you found at Alice.
I had a similar experience in an unamed bog/lake between Brule and Winchell. Sunk down to mid thigh in muck after the canoe got stuck in the middle. Took me nearly an hour to get back to shore, soiaked, slimy, stinking and a few leeches. Mosquito bait.


TomP 02/04/2010 07:04PM
Tom, Great trip report. We traveled the same route. I can understand how hard the portages are to find after Sagus. You are correct that the portages get very little use in that area. We took the wrong portage out of Cap to Boulder and did quite a bit of bushwhacking. I agree that the beach sites at Alice are great.
sotaman 12/01/2009 01:21PM
Great report sounds like a nice trip
TomT 11/29/2009 06:00PM
The beaches surprised me too. There are at least 4-6 really nice beach sites there. We were at probably the largest one that's in the middle of the east shore.

There's 2 really nice ones to the north of there on a peninsula. These 2 are more protected from the wind but you don't get the view of the lake that we had. However, the westerlies can really blow at the site we were on. Lots of good shoreline to explore at these also.



Kevlar 11/28/2009 07:49PM
Enjoyed your report. I had never seen pics of the sand beach campsites on Alice...I've been thru north to south, but we didn't camp. Quite a range of food you had...bars to delicious. Congrats to you and your son.
Beemer01 11/24/2009 01:06PM
You can get lost the The Q.

I can certainly show you how to do that....:-)


Koda 11/24/2009 12:47PM
>"see if we can get lost"
Alex has a great attitude!
TomT 11/24/2009 06:48AM
Hey, this is like an encore or something. Thanks for reading you guys and Beemer, that's nice praise coming from you. I DO have a sense of adventure that goes back to when I was a kid. I don't get too much adventure here in the burbs anymore.

Recently Alex expressed his desire to go to Quetico and "see if we can get lost". We probably won't get to go for awhile because he will be in the Army and I'm looking forward to see how he changes as a result of this. Hopefully we can make many more trips with ultimately going to Wabakimi.
drnatus 11/23/2009 08:41PM
Enjoyed the report, Thanks!
lars54 11/23/2009 07:17PM
Thanks for the report, and also for the pictures
Beemer01 11/23/2009 12:12PM
Nicely written - I applaud your sense of adventure.

Cheers -

Koda 11/23/2009 11:30AM
Nice report, a pleasure to read. We had a thread on "Dad stories" a little while back - maybe we should have one on "Kid stories." This one would be a keeper.

I, too, soloed at Williamson Island (last Sept. 13-14), and would stay there again for sure.
Dbldppr1250 11/22/2009 10:01PM
Great report. I really enjoyed the pictures. I soloed to Williamson Island last June 16, so I just missed you I guess.
SunCatcher 11/22/2009 06:51PM
Really nice trip report. Nothing like a father son trip.
Take care.
SunCatcher
outdoorguy54494 08/28/2009 07:52PM
Great report. Sorry I missed you guys at the rock. I feel bad about the guy who died and his son having to wait there. I'm not being funny.....But, what better place to go. Beats some cold hospital room.

Boppa 08/26/2009 09:26PM
TomT,
Enjoyed your trip report very much. Not your ordinary trip by any means, but still a fine one. The pictures were great and added a lot to the report.
Boppa
TomT 08/24/2009 05:18PM
I thought for sure there would be mention of it on this board when I got out. I told the guy about this site though.

I'm not sure how it happened. When we passed through Thomas Lake the next day we saw a large fire at a site and lots of canoes out front. It was very far away from us so really don't know what was going on.

I have a feeling something will come out about it. My son (and me) were a little freaked out about it. Imagine being the 28 year old son and having to stay with your dead fathers body.
salukiguy 08/24/2009 02:11PM
Loved your report. I am curious whether you or anyone found out more info about the cause of death for the man at Thomas Lake.
Bog 08/24/2009 11:24AM
Reading these trip reports remind me that no two trips are the same. Different lakes, different people, different weather, different circumstances. Still that 'quiet' of the Boundary Waters always makes a mark on me.
mr.barley 08/23/2009 11:23PM
We walked back to Raven a few years ago. Looked nice. I don't think the slab rock is the real campsite on the lake though. Someday I will be returning with a PMA permit in hand and find out where the real campsite is. I've also been to the sand beach sites on Alice a couple times. Nice sites.
onajourney 08/23/2009 06:57PM
I enjoyed your report....glad I am not the only one that has face planted in the muck this year! It wasn't much fun.

Congrats on raising a fine son. You should be very proud of his willingness to serve our country. My son commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in the Air Force in Dec. and his new bride also commissioned in May. Unfortunately they won't be at the same AF base til next spring. Please tell your son thank you for his commitment to our country.
timatkn 08/23/2009 01:40PM
Thanks for posting.

I really enjoyed your pics of Raven, I have had my tent set up in that exact same spot 2-3x myself. Brings back some good memories. FYI the portage from Roe to Cap is really quite easy, but mismarked on some of the maps, you just needed to keep heading east. I think the portage is a lot shorter than some maps show and you have to head up the stream towards Cap quite aways further than the map indicates. That area really gets quite overgrown though so I can see how you got confused. I remember just having to power through those vegetation mats--a lot of work. When you finally get to the portage it is quite obvious. If you have to hit the wrong Lake though--Raven is a good one to hit :)

T
bojibob 08/23/2009 10:58AM
Nice report. Excellent male bonding, some challenges, good food and some danger (Cliff jumping). What more could you ask for??
alpine525 08/23/2009 09:39AM
Nice trip report - it sounds like you had a real adventure getting through all that mud! We're headed to Ely a week from today - from the Northwest suburbs in Chicago. Can't wait!
satchmoa 08/23/2009 07:44AM
Great report with pictures. I really enjoyed seeing some familiar areas and seeing a father son trip that both seemed to enjoy. Thanks
TomT 08/23/2009 12:52AM
New Trip Report posted by TomT

Trip Name:Raven, Alice, and Insula

Entry Point: 28

Click Here to View Trip Report