Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Lynn & John fly into Quetico
by VoyageurNorth

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 09/09/2003
Entry Point: Quetico
Exit Point: Moose Lake (EP 25)  
Number of Days: 8
Group Size: 2
Trip Introduction:
It was finally here. Our time for a canoe trip! John & I were planning on flying into Bitchu Lake to begin our trek down towards Glacier and Louisa.
Day 1 of 8
Tuesday, September 9, 2003

Day One - Saganagons

It was finally here. Our time for a canoe trip! John & I were planning on flying into Bitchu Lake to begin our trek down towards Glacier and Louisa.

Our flight was supposed to leave at 10:00 am, but the wind was so blustery that it was delayed a bit and it actually left at around 11:20. The day may have been breezy, but the temps were between 80 and 85 degrees!

Once we were up in the air the pilot informed us that he wasn’t sure if he could land in Bitchu with the wind so strong, we might have to land in Cache Bay. Luckily for us however, the wind in the north was not as gusty, so into Bitchu we descended!

Bitchu hasn’t changed too much since the last time we were in there, except for some of the birch & poplar trees are a bit bigger. A fire in there years ago makes the area look a little desolate. But on the other hand, you can see the contours of the land quite well, even further down into Saganagons and Wet Lake on the northern shore.

The wind was coming from the west, directly into our faces of course. So we headed into the wind and across Bitchu and into Saganagons. We paddled until 2:30 pm and then took a site on the west end which is the second island from the right. On this west arm of Saganagons there are 4 different island sites. The site was quite nice, with a good breeze at the shoreline but trees blocked the wind from the main part of the campsite.

We set up camp and then sat on the shoreline, soaking up some sun & refreshing breeze. I started a fire around 4 pm. We cooked up some T Bone steaks and some of our precooked Italian chicken fillets. I put my chicken in a tortilla, easy and no mess! John did the dishes and we sat around and just talked for a while. Soon it was 8:30 and we headed for the tent. John slept right away, but I read until around 10:30 and then it was time to call it a day.