Hi,
Magicpaddler is doing a solo meandering north half of Quetico. He is supposed to be transmitting OK messages daily but has not been heard from in over a week. Anyone traveling the area is asked to be looking for him and let him know his spot is not working. Please post if you find him and he is OK. If he is found not ok, please contact authorities and email me. He entered at Nym lake. Thanks.

Did his initial spot messages come through? What was the last lake you got a message from him?

The only message was from north shore prior to entry. Park confirmed his entry at Nym. Not interested in speculation. We know possibilities. Thanks.

No speculation here, just hopes and prayers from a good friend. And requests for an update when you have one.

Yes, prayers are appreciated. I didn't mean to be short earlier. Our hope is that the only malfunction is his spot device. He is solo so anyone paddling northern Quetico seeing an older gent, please check on him and let us know. His wife is fearing the worst so... He is due out on June 26.

hoping for the best here.

He's in my prayers

quote old_salt: "Yes, prayers are appreciated. I didn't mean to be short earlier. Our hope is that the only malfunction is his spot device. He is solo so anyone paddling northern Quetico seeing an older gent, please check on him and let us know. His wife is fearing the worst so... He is due out on June 26."

OS, we'll keep him in our thoughts and prayers...and hope that they won't be needed!

I will be thinking of him and hoping for the best. Please keep us posted.

I'll bet he is OK.. there are a number of ways SPOT can be a difficult dog..

Keeping magicpaddler in my thoughts....

Hoping for the best.

Rich,
Thanks for the information, I will be saying prayers for his safety and peace for his wife. We all know how easy it is for something simple to cause problems!

Bruce

prayer sent.

please keep up dated

Of all people he's one of the last people I'd suspect operator error. I wonder what is wrong. I hope his wife isn't fretting too much. I hope she lets him go to Woodland Caribou after this. Prayers will be sent.

If anyone knows someone who is in the Q with a Delorme InReach, maybe send a message to look out for him AND pass the word to other canoeists as you see them. Maybe word would reach him that way.
It can't hurt.
I assume he is in his Black Magic, correct?

prayers sent. I'll keep checking in for updates.

When is he scheduled to come out?

We're trying to confirm which canoe he took. He has three. His scheduled exit date is June 26. When I have more information, I will post it.

quote ducks: "

When is he scheduled to come out?"

June 26th

Old Salt,

Jimbo talked to MP's spouse and she thinks he took his green Bell Magic solo canoe. MP is likely around Poohbah right now.

I am praying for his safe return.

It appears that he took his green magic canoe. He was planning to hit the bushwhackers rendezvous a couple of days ago. Speculation is that he may be on or near Poohbah today. He is a hammock & tarp guy.

Praying for him.

Lots of days for wife to still worry. Praying for her and for his well being.

Hope all is well with MP. The SPOT can be finicky in the best of cases, so hopefully it is just malfunctioning. Its crazy to think that if he DIDN'T have the SPOT, we wouldn't even be worrying right now as we wouldn't know anything.

quote Goby: "Hope all is well with MP. The SPOT can be finicky in the best of cases, so hopefully it is just malfunctioning. Its crazy to think that if he DIDN'T have the SPOT, we wouldn't even be worrying right now as we wouldn't know anything."

Totally.

I'm pretty sure the SPOT creates a net stress increase in as many situations as it alleviates it. Still a great tool, but I doubt there are many more people sleeping better than they would have without it.

I hope all is well, and I'm pretty confident that it is. I feel very bad for his wife right now, though.

Just a quick update. Mrs MP has been encouraged by the outpouring of prayer and concern from each of you. She seems to be inclined to believe that he forgot it in his vehicle and that most likely he is OK. Please continue to pray.

quote old_salt: "Just a quick update. Mrs MP has been encouraged by the outpouring of prayer and concern from each of you. She seems to be inclined to believe that he forgot it in his vehicle and that most likely he is OK. Please continue to pray."

Will do.

We do not know if he made jamboree. Perhaps those who did attend can inform us.

MP is an highly experienced and fit canoe tripper. He knows how to be safe and take care of himself should trouble arise. If he forgot his Spot or knows it's not working, hopefully he told his wife not to worry if she doesn't get location pings.

Praying hard for the best outcome my friend.

Don't know MP but know he is a veteran tripper and highly regarded member of this site. This post concerned me a great deal. Hope he is doing well and there is an oversight or technological glitch with the SPOT. Brings to mind though that none of us are invincible and need to take care up there, especially soloists. Optimistic for his safe return and a great but sheepish trip report. Prayers for his well being.

Since his last message was on the north shore and his entry has been confirmed I'd be inclined to believe he forgot the spot in his vehicle and he's fine.

quote Goby: "Its crazy to think that if he DIDN'T have the SPOT, we wouldn't even be worrying right now as we wouldn't know anything."

that isn't crazy, its fact...thats the way it used to be.

I'm well aware of MP's experience and wilderness savvy. I have tripped with him and last March we co-presented at Copia. I have great trust in his skill and abilities. That said, I see the other side of the fence everyday at Mayo Clinic Hospitals. So I hope and pray for his well-being.

quote kanoes: "

quote Goby: "Its crazy to think that if he DIDN'T have the SPOT, we wouldn't even be worrying right now as we wouldn't know anything."

that isn't crazy, its fact...thats the way it used to be."

Maybe not crazy but certainly ironic. Hope he's doing great and we can all breathe a sigh of relief soon.

quote old_salt: "Park confirmed his entry at Nym."

Maybe the Park entrance staff could ask people entering at Nym to watch for him and get a message out?

Having traveled with MP in three different Ontario parks, among which Quetico is the most "tame", I feel confident that he is A-OK.

1) His SPOT unit successfully transmitted a pre-trip border crossing ... a good sign.
2) He checked in with the park staff at Atikokan as scheduled ... a good sign
3) Early in his trip, his route was through a comparatively high traffic area and no one has spotted him ... a good sign
4) He has not transmitted since he left the put-in at Nym (not even AT the put-in) ... a good sign (actually). Not only does MP religiously send evening "OK" messages, he is a meticulous "logger" and generally runs a continuous track. He wears his SPOT lashed to his PDF so it will always have a "clear sky" when traveling.

All this adds up to the SPOT not being with him. I'll wager that it is still in his car.

Praying for his safety, non-the-less.

dd

My hunch is that dd is spot on.

Maybe spot should add a feature. Like the reverse OK. If your worried you can message the spot and it will give you its coordinates. Obviously it would need to be something one could turn on or off. But it would work for loved ones that were worried.

Thoughts and Prayers

I have a feeling he's going to think this is really funny when he gets back.

quote amhacker22: "I have a feeling he's going to think this is really funny when he gets back. "

Especially if we jack up the post count! Or he will be very embarrassed if he really did leave SPOT in a car. Really dangerous to leave a dog in the car even in Quetico!

If all turns out well, everyone should give him a spot clip at Copia next March.

This is why I prefer my ResQLink PLB - either I'm getting airlifted out or nothing. No worries for my family if I've got a flaky SPOT or other "OK communicator".

Hope he's alright - guessing he is. And he has more than one Magic? Wow...

quote michiganmike: "Maybe spot should add a feature. Like the reverse OK. If your worried you can message the spot and it will give you its coordinates. Obviously it would need to be something one could turn on or off. But it would work for loved ones that were worried."

There's an app for that...findmyphone :)

On my 2012 Wcpp trip my spot worked fine and then it just quit one day. It still gave me the sent indication so I thought all was well. I got home to some frustrated people. Was a borrowed spot so I never found out what the problem was.

quote yellowcanoe: "

quote amhacker22: "I have a feeling he's going to think this is really funny when he gets back. "

Especially if we jack up the post count! Or he will be very embarrassed if he really did leave SPOT in a car. Really dangerous to leave a dog in the car even in Quetico!"

Now that is funny...All jokes aside I hope he is OK....

I can't wait to hear the story. And I'm doing my part to up the thread count and let Mrs MP know there's more good thoughts headed up to the Q.

quote nctry: "On my 2012 Wcpp trip my spot worked fine and then it just quit one day. It still gave me the sent indication so I thought all was well. I got home to some frustrated people. Was a borrowed spot so I never found out what the problem was. "

That is the only explanation that makes sense to me because if he left the spot in the truck, he would have noticed by the first or second day and gone back to get it because he knew people would be worried. Also, if it was completely not working, he would know that and know that people would be concerned. So, it makes sense that he thinks the spot is working fine. nctry, I hope your experience gets conveyed to Magicpaddlers wife, I think it might ease her worries a bit.

i don't know how much meandering he was going to do but even in June its inevitable that you see someone in Quetico... Had something gone horribly wrong someone would have noticed.

If something happened quietly in the tent probably someone would have noticed too. There are ranger patrols in the Q

The bush "telegraph" is quite powerful.. We were met in Moosonee by the OPP after a Missinaibi trip and scolded as we had not called home and were reported overdue. We just stared at the officer and said we had not promised to call anyone. He said our family in Wisconsin reported us overdue.

We told him we had no family in Wisconsin and lived in Connecticut and produced ID to that effect. He looked at the names and said he had the wrong folks.. (us) and apologized.

So sometimes things are not accurate but there ARE eyes out there.

For solo canoe trippers the SPOT definitely has a place.

After my knee gave way in WCPP several years ago I was darn tootin glad I had it or I might of been looking at a few weeks on a sandbar. Certainly an unpleasant prospect.

Interesting side note > after a fairly painful night I pressed the "come get me button" in the morning. Search and rescue got the call immediately but the helicopter was grounded due to wild fires. In the meantime they contacted my wife asking various questions about my fitness (heart conditions etc). After about 3 hours I decided to press the "send help" button to my wife so she could contact park service. Unfortunately the "send help" message repeats every 10 minutes and my poor wife thought I was sending each message and must be in a very bad way indeed. When I finally called she screamed "your alive" .............I'm sorry but I can't help but laugh. All said she still wants me to carry the thing.

Fast forward 3 years to WCPP........in for 13 days and on day 11 I had the device "remove itself from its holder" and "deposit itself " either in the water or on a portage trail. So the last few days I was unable to send "I'm OK" messages and even worse the SPOT (and consequently ME) was not moving. Bad sign!

MP is probably fine. He either left it, lost it, or it is malfunctioning.

quote RC: "

quote nctry: "if he left the spot in the truck, he would have noticed by the first or second day and gone back to get it because he knew people would be worried. "

not so sure about that. I left my SPOT back once and being in two days, I decided not to trek all the way back just to get it.

If I realized I forgot it back in the car I most likely would not have gone back for it. However, I would have also prepped people back home about what not receiving a message might mean. It could mean the thing is broken, that it got forgotten in the truck, or that there is some other sort of technical difficulty. Its technology after all and prone to failure for MANY reasons.

I always leave a detailed plan of my trip for people at home but I also tell them its the wilderness and things don't always go as planned. I tell them that weather gets goofy and that gear might break. If I had a spot I'd tell them that as long as you don't get an emergency message then assume things are ok and that I'm in satisfactory condition dealing with whatever curve ball the trip threw at me.

quote OneMatch: "

quote RC: "

quote nctry: "if he left the spot in the truck, he would have noticed by the first or second day and gone back to get it because he knew people would be worried. "

not so sure about that. I left my SPOT back once and being in two days, I decided not to trek all the way back just to get it.


"

How did you get me quoting that?

Knowing MP, I'm feeling good about the 26th. Thoughts and prayers for him and others out there. Please stay safe.

quote nctry: "

quote OneMatch: "

quote RC: "

quote nctry: "if he left the spot in the truck, he would have noticed by the first or second day and gone back to get it because he knew people would be worried. "

not so sure about that. I left my SPOT back once and being in two days, I decided not to trek all the way back just to get it.



"

How did you get me quoting that?"

Not sure how that happened, sorry!

My buddy and I bushwacked onto the bushwackers jamboree lake (from Allen Lake) this past Tuesday the 16th. We ran into an older fellow camping solo but I thought he said he was "DentonDoc". Don't recall the type of canoe he was paddling but it was registered in Illinois and he was using a kayak paddle. He mentioned that he had a 2 week trip planned to woodland caribou later thus summer with nctry. He mention he was tired having also bushwhacked into the lake and asked if we had some duck tape for his blistered feet. We made a long day trip having based camped on Poobah and did not camp with him. As a point if reference...he took a video recording Of the two of us and recorded our names so he could include in his post trip report. It wasn't clear how long he was staying in that camp but he said he had hung a pack in a tree on Allen lake to retrieve later.
My SPOT also failed during the trip and sent an uncommanded SOS message. Fortunately search and rescue didn't respond to the alert as the unit was sending tracking messages for a short period of time...this is another story all together..

Hope all is well

Cont.
He was wearing a canvas boonie hat with either a red or orange stripe around the head Possibly a Garhart jacket and leather work gloves..

I'm sure he's fine. As much as some want to believe the BW and Quetico are dangerous wilderness areas, there are always people around. Gleaning here that MP is a seasoned tripper, there is no reason to believe that he is in danger somehow. It is more dangerous driving in rush hour traffic in Chicago for one evening that is an extended stay in the bush. Best of luck!

quote Buster: "My buddy and I bushwacked onto the bushwackers jamboree lake (from Allen Lake) this past Tuesday the 16th. We ran into an older fellow camping solo but I thought he said he was "DentonDoc". Don't recall the type of canoe he was paddling but it was registered in Illinois and he was using a kayak paddle. He mentioned that he had a 2 week trip planned to woodland caribou later thus summer with nctry. He mention he was tired having also bushwhacked into the lake and asked if we had some duck tape for his blistered feet. We made a long day trip having based camped on Poobah and did not camp with him. As a point if reference...he took a video recording Of the two of us and recorded our names so he could include in his post trip report. It wasn't clear how long he was staying in that camp but he said he had hung a pack in a tree on Allen lake to retrieve later.
My SPOT also failed during the trip and sent an uncommanded SOS message. Fortunately search and rescue didn't respond to the alert as the unit was sending tracking messages for a short period of time...this is another story all together..

Hope all is well"

quote Buster: "Cont.
He was wearing a canvas boonie hat with either a red or orange stripe around the head Possibly a Garhart jacket and leather work gloves.."

Yes. That's MagicPaddler!!! Trip to WCPP next month with nctry, orange hat, jacket/leather gloves, duct tape for blisters ... all familiar characteristics of one "MP". Thanks for the update.

I have called his wife to let her know that MP had been spotted and was "still kicking" as of the 16th.

dd

quote Buster: "My buddy and I bushwacked onto the bushwackers jamboree lake (from Allen Lake) this past Tuesday the 16th. We ran into an older fellow camping solo but I thought he said he was "DentonDoc". Don't recall the type of canoe he was paddling but it was registered in Illinois and he was using a kayak paddle. He mentioned that he had a 2 week trip planned to woodland caribou later thus summer with nctry. He mention he was tired having also bushwhacked into the lake and asked if we had some duck tape for his blistered feet. We made a long day trip having based camped on Poobah and did not camp with him. As a point if reference...he took a video recording Of the two of us and recorded our names so he could include in his post trip report. It wasn't clear how long he was staying in that camp but he said he had hung a pack in a tree on Allen lake to retrieve later.
My SPOT also failed during the trip and sent an uncommanded SOS message. Fortunately search and rescue didn't respond to the alert as the unit was sending tracking messages for a short period of time...this is another story all together..


Hope all is well"

Whew! I've been waiting for a message like this. I'm excited to go tripping with him. I had so much fun with Denton doc and I'm guessing Laurence is a lot like him. I'll probably be a disappointment to him, but I'll do my best. I scored a carbon fiber north star paddle. Can't wait to try it.

Great news. You are always quite certain things are OK. Really pretty positive. Almost for sure.
But it is absolutely reassuring to hear it as a fact.

I'll post a picture of Magic on the lake tomorrow.

That is awesome news. I guess your on for your trip Ben !

I've been following this thread and am happy to hear he's been spotted (the good ol' fashioned "spotted") and is doing well.

This is very good news! A good way to start my Sunday morning! :-)

quote yellowcanoe: "The bush "telegraph" is quite powerful."

Looks like it beat out not one but maybe two SPOT devices this time! Glad for the good report.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All is good!

Now as Ricky would say "He's got some splaining to do"

Good news. This board comes through again. Hope the rest of his trip is smooth.

quote onepaddleshort: "I've been following this thread and am happy to hear he's been spotted (the good ol' fashioned "spotted") and is doing well. "

+100

quote FISHMAN3: "

quote onepaddleshort: "I've been following this thread and am happy to hear he's been spotted (the good ol' fashioned "spotted") and is doing well. "

+100"

Truly amazing how technology (this board) and old fashioned connections between people (in person or in "real life") converge to make the best of both worlds.

Now, we still need the "rest of the story"!

quote spottedowl: "I'm sure he's fine. As much as some want to believe the BW and Quetico are dangerous wilderness areas, there are always people around. Gleaning here that MP is a seasoned tripper, there is no reason to believe that he is in danger somehow. It is more dangerous driving in rush hour traffic in Chicago for one evening that is an extended stay in the bush. Best of luck! "

I'm not sure what this comment could possibly add to the conversation...but thank you for your thoughts, I guess.

quote Buster: " "

Hard to tell from these shots if MP is actually carrying his Gen II SPOT (as shown in the picture below, in its normal "travel" position, high-center of his back strapped to a pouch sewn to his PFD).






dd

We shall soon find out what happened to spot...stay tuned

The spot is working fine for hobbydog. He's up in wcpp and flew into artery lake. He came up the bloodvien to Simeon and went down through Dunstan, Royd, Gammon and Rostoul. He's just northwest of Wrist now.

MagicPaddler returned from the bush today ... along with his malfunctioning SPOT ... non-the-worse for the experience.

dd

this episode is a prime example of why NOT to take/rely on a communication device. I mean other than a PLB.

Sure glad this situation ended happily. Nice to know that eveyone looks out for each other on this board. FRED

Magicpaddler, I am glad you are ok. By the way, the gps works great. Mike

So glad it turned out well. Welcome back, Magicpaddler!

I'm glad to hear everything is fine. I hope his wife wasn't too freaked out. I know mine would have been, so I did the same as kanoes and got the PLB.

Glad everything worked out. Good bit of education with the PLB/SPOT use/malfunction.

I'm very happy to hear he is OK! I think I will stick to my ResQLink. I keep hearing about all the failures and lawsuits with the Spot and InReach.Although I would love to be able to send messages and be tracked, the extreme reliability of the ResQLink in rescue situations, without the worry of failure, or my family's worries when they fail to send communications or track,seems to be a better trade off.

Welcome home magic paddler. Look forward to hearing about your trip. Glad I didn't have to come looking for you. :)

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. The feed back to my wife from Buster through DD was helpful. My spot was broke from the day before I entered the park but I did not know it till after I talked to Buster and Zuba on the bushwhack lake. I was not near any one to talk to them for 7 days after meeting Buster. After I left Poohbah I never saw any human tracks on the portages until the portage between Keats and Chatterton.
I have called the Spot people and I think I will get a replacement for a small price.
MagicPaddler

quote MagicPaddler: "Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. The feed back to my wife from Buster through DD was helpful. My spot was broke from the day before I entered the park but I did not know it till after I talked to Buster and Zuba on the bushwhack lake. I was not near any one to talk to them for 7 days after meeting Buster. After I left Poohbah I never saw any human tracks on the portages until the portage between Keats and Chatterton.
I have called the Spot people and I think I will get a replacement for a small price.
MagicPaddler
"

You mean they are going to pay you...lol ;-)

quote MagicPaddler: "Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. The feed back to my wife from Buster through DD was helpful. My spot was broke from the day before I entered the park but I did not know it till after I talked to Buster and Zuba on the bushwhack lake. I was not near any one to talk to them for 7 days after meeting Buster. After I left Poohbah I never saw any human tracks on the portages until the portage between Keats and Chatterton.
I have called the Spot people and I think I will get a replacement for a small price.
MagicPaddler
"

Do you have any more information about the malfunction? Now that you know it was broken, was there any indication that it was not working? Would the emergency button have worked? We've decided to get some kind of emergency beacon but have not decided which one, and I'd like to hear more about this. I'm leaning toward a PLB, but it would be nice to have texting/tracking capability. My wife had a close encounter with a rattle snake, and it made me think that having a way to notify rescue personnel of your exact emergency could be life saving. However, that is predicated on the device being reliable.

I have used a spot device every year for over 15 years and this is the first time I have had a problem. It is common for the device not to get a GPS signal right away especially when in a car or under wet trees on a cloudy day. When it does not get a GPS signal but is trying to the GPS light blinks red. When it gets a GPS signal the GPS light blinks green. It was blinking Red and I should have noticed it never turned green but I did not pay attention. To get the tracking to work well the spot needs to be warn so it faces the sky. On my belt does not work. I have put it on a shoulder strap of my PFD and that worked well getting almost all the locations to the satellite. I now have a pocket sown to the back of my PLD just below the collar. Look at DD picture of my back below. This keeps it out of the way but in a good location. Put a lanyard and keep it fastened to something you will not lose or you will lose the spot.

SPOT has been around that long? I got one I think the first or second year they were out I still have it but am not happy with their customer service and auto charges so cancelled it. I will get something else.

But has it really been that long? Ouch. Me old.

Ok Yellowcanoe you made me look it up. I think the first time I used one was when Darrel Brauer and I bushwhacked from a logging road into Mckenzie. A trip report of that journey was published in Spring 2009 BWJ. The report says the bushwhack took pace in 2006. So it was about 9 years ago. Do you feel younger now!

I'm not trying to stir the pot so to speak, but I have figured out that you are a seasoned canoe camping tripper and were meeting up with another seasoned tripper to embark on the jamboree deal. I would think if you didn't make the meet up the other guy would come and find you or notify the authorities. You kind of had a back up safety net so to speak. All good. Why was everyone praying for your safety etc. it seemed kind of silly to me. I have to believe you are almost embarrassed by it. I don't mean to down play people's concern or the ruggedness of your trip or need for spot, but really, what can go wrong enough that people were fearing for your life. Unless you have a heart condition or something. Thank God you pulled through and live to beep another day.

quote spottedowl: "I'm not trying to stir the pot so to speak, but I have figured out that you are a seasoned canoe camping tripper and were meeting up with another seasoned tripper to embark on the jamboree deal. I would think if you didn't make the meet up the other guy would come and find you or notify the authorities. You kind of had a back up safety net so to speak. All good. Why was everyone praying for your safety etc. it seemed kind of silly to me. I have to believe you are almost embarrassed by it. I don't mean to down play people's concern or the ruggedness of your trip or need for spot, but really, what can go wrong enough that people were fearing for your life. Unless you have a heart condition or something. Thank God you pulled through and live to beep another day."

20/20 hindsight. Perfect.

First press release announcing SPOT was in August 2007.

quote spottedowl: "I'm not trying to stir the pot so to speak, but I have figured out that you are a seasoned canoe camping tripper and were meeting up with another seasoned tripper to embark on the jamboree deal. I would think if you didn't make the meet up the other guy would come and find you or notify the authorities. You kind of had a back up safety net so to speak. All good. Why was everyone praying for your safety etc. it seemed kind of silly to me. I have to believe you are almost embarrassed by it. I don't mean to down play people's concern or the ruggedness of your trip or need for spot, but really, what can go wrong enough that people were fearing for your life. Unless you have a heart condition or something. Thank God you pulled through and live to beep another day."

Ya a little embarrass but glad there were those watching out for me.
Andym Yellowcanoe may not be that old but I am going to blame my getting the date wrong on my age.

quote MagicPaddler: "Ok Yellowcanoe you made me look it up. I think the first time I used one was when Darrel Brauer and I bushwhacked from a logging road into Mckenzie. A trip report of that journey was published in Spring 2009 BWJ. The report says the bushwhack took pace in 2006. So it was about 9 years ago. Do you feel younger now!"

Are you kidding me? No..am still looking at the eighth decade in a year. But at least I am reassured that for now my memory is still not as bad as everyone says it its.