BWCA Warm October Solo - Quetico 2010 Boundary Waters Trip Reports


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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum

Trip Reports

Warm October Solo - Quetico 2010

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Banksiana

01/09/2012 10:36PM

Explanation-
For most of the last ten years I've managed a Quetico solo in mid to late October. It is the high point of my year and each year the trip gets a little longer. This year I was packed for my trip (leaving the next morning) when I got a call that my father was scheduled for emergency heart surgery. Instead of leaving for the Q it was a couple of months in Boise.

All is good now. But in the absence of time in the Quetico I let my trip report get a bit out of hand.

These things happen.

Warm October Solo

Clicking on the pictures and maps will make them bigger.

Steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and they make you king.

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flaxman

01/10/2012 12:06PM

AWESOME!

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billconner

01/10/2012 12:16PM

Wow. I'm going to have to step up my trip report game to keep up with this amazing report. Thank you for the work it took to prepare this and sharing.

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nojobro

01/10/2012 01:13PM

Amazing report. I loved every second. Truly.

You know, you have to share that beet and marinated bleu cheese recipe now. ;-)

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fitgers1

01/10/2012 06:55PM

Outstanding! Thank-you for that great read/report and photos. I'm in Bills boat, gonna have to step up my next trip report as well.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson...and...“Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".

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boonie

01/10/2012 08:20PM

Really nice report and photos - wish there had been more. Really enjoyed that.

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TomT

01/11/2012 05:42AM

Wow Banksiana, way to raise the bar! Just flipping through and am totally blown away by the photos (and maps!). When I have time to read I'll comment again.

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misqua

01/11/2012 10:25AM

Thanks, I would like to follow do the same route some day. Thanks again.

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bojibob

01/13/2012 09:52AM

Awesome report as usual!

"One inch on the map ~ is not one inch on the ground"

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tremolo

01/13/2012 08:51PM

just wow

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Ho Ho

01/14/2012 08:29AM

Jon, you take the coolest trips and write the very best reports. Your pictures are stunning, but you have the very rare knack of writing your descriptions as to almost render the pictures redundant. I was transported to October in Quetico while sitting by the woodstove this winter morning. Thanks!

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TomT

01/22/2012 06:44AM

Excellent trip report. I only wish there were more pics. Your description of Ted Lake is right on. Such a beauty.

You have covered so much distance on this trip and not always in good weather. I'm curious how you pack. Do you go strictly freeze dried food? How do you keep your packs small and light? What luxuries do you bring along?

Thanks for taking me back there as I read this in frozen Illinois.

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Savage Voyageur

01/22/2012 07:42AM

Your trip report was just the thing for this cold January morning. It took me two cups of coffee to get though the report. Very well done with pictures and journaling. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

"So many lakes, so little time."

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Banksiana

01/25/2012 10:48PM

Thanks all for taking the time to read and comment. Much appreciated.

TomT- I really didn't cover any more distance/day than you did on your last trip, but I rarely layover. I carry one big pack (a Granite Gear Quetico) and a small pack that I portage with the canoe. Any trip over five days I double portage. I don't carry anything in my hands when portaging. At the beginning of each trip- when I'm throwing everything in the packs before heading to the car- I feel a bit disgusted by the mass I'm lugging. Seems like over kill.

Luxuries- Moka pot coffee maker (like espresso), SLR camera, decent tripod, tarp, books, journal, good whiskey, butane lantern (for late fall a near necessity), white gas stove (moka pot will not work on fire).

Food- Dinners are one pot meals that take about a half-hour of boiling time (usually over a fire). Thick soups made with dehydrated beans (already cooked then dried), dried veggies, rice or potatoes. Carry some fresh veggies, onions and garlic cloves add depth and texture. A bit of chocolate for dessert. Breakfast is usually oatmeal with dried fruit- I carry steel cut oats, they take 15minutes of cook time but are much better tasting. Also take about 1/4 breakfasts in cliff bars in case I need to move. Lunches are nuts, dried fruit, maybe some cheese.

I tend to break camp a bit late and try to arrive at camp by five (gets dark early in Oct). I let the circumstances dictate travel and not fret about where I am or think I "need" to be on the map- after all I'm already there. My mantra each day when I sip that first cup of strong moka pot coffee (Gene Hicks Signature Blend) is "What will the world bring today?"

Steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and they make you king.

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TomT

01/26/2012 07:02AM

Nice, I really like your mantra. Thanks for the detailed info.

I loved my last trip but for my next solo I think I'm going to adopt a little of that mantra. I'd like to have the watch packed away and not on me, also just a general route and not a time schedule. And take the big good DSLR (it's way heavy).

The real world for me is so scheduled it's tough to break free from that mindset. Gonna go with the good coffee next time too. For the last 6 months I've been grinding beans and I cut out the cream too and just go black. There's something to be said about a great cup of coffee in the morning.

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Beemer01

Moderator

02/06/2012 05:56PM

Excellent report and formatting!

"You're not serious about wearing sandals on this portage.... are you?"

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Rambler_Dog

02/20/2012 09:09PM

wonderful report
thank you

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WhiteWolf

02/21/2012 03:19AM

unreal trip report. The best I have seen.

"What good fortune for governments that the people do not think." — Adolf Hitler

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dicecupmaker

02/21/2012 04:43AM

Holy Ned! Da best one I have ever read. Thanx for 'taking me away' on my slow,boring, night shift. Namaste

Joy is a great teacher, but so is dispair. Wonder is a great teacher, but so is confusion. Hope is a great teacher, but so is disillusionment. And life is a great teacher, but so is death. To deny yourself any of those in any aspect is not experiencing life totally.

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