To the Bushwhackers Jamboree Part 1/5

**MagicPaddler** · 09-22-2015, 12:27

To the Bushwhackers Jamboree
So what is a Bushwhackers Jamboree? Ten years ago a friend of mine with a board name of Stumpy announced an event. He announced it like this.
“Hi:
It's been over two years since my first post on this idea...when I was a little more anonymous, and a little more cocky (at least on this board).
Many, thought it was too far off. Now, we are halfway there and less than 2 years away from permit reservations for it.
There have been a few critics, but let me say this...It's not a contest. It's not about me. It won't be crowded and it won't be easy. Yes, I'm calling the shots this time. Maybe those who make it there can all call the shots for 2010...The charter members of the BUGBIT club.

Here are the basics::
WHO...Whoever can get a permit and get to the location on the date(s) to be named later.
WHAT...It will be an informal meeting of tough and hardy travelers, where stories and information will be told. Things that should be earned.
WHERE...It will be on a lake near the middle of Quetico, with no name, no portage trail to it (NONE), good depth, good water, plenty of bugs and campable shoreline.
WHEN...It will be in mid June 2005 (When bugs are bad and so are voyageurs)...And every 5 years after that, I hope.
WHY...Because the best information should be earned. Because I hold back on some stories on this board and I know others do to. Because exploring those no-name lakes makes for great adventure. Because I want to meet other bushwackers and here where they've been and tell them where I've been and exchange great stories. Because I want to shake the hand of anyone who gets there!
HOW...Barring any changes in the permit system...I will anounce the exact date and location on this website at .....9:00 PM, DECEMBER 7th, 2004.

Thank you
Stumpy”
The first and second jamboree I was in the park and for one reason or another I did not make the get-together. Here is Jamboree number 3 announcement.
http://www.bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseac...ID=12&confID=1

When this years jamboree was announced several people posted they would be there. I decided I would try and this time not make any of the mistakes I had made in the past. I even decided I would go a day early so I could rest up enough to get out at the same time as all the others. I was saddened to hear about the family commitments that would keep Stumpy from attending. As trip time got close life was busy and I did not keep track of who to expect at the jamboree but I was excited to meet whoever did.
6/10/15
Left home at 9 o’clock and plan on spending the night somewhere between Duluth and Atikokan. Have plenty of time to get there so when I catch up with a truck I stay behind it and leave the passing lane open for those who need it. I stopped at a little motel after Duluth along RT61 called the Outpost. Out my window I have a view of Lake Superior. I would recommend the Outpost. I sat in the lawn chair and sent a Spot Messenger “I am OK” To my wife and my spot watcher Jimbo. Little did I know that was the last time that spot worked and actually sent a message.

At 7:00 AM the Lake Superior is almost glassy and I am on the road with good weather. On the road I saw 3 deer and 2 moose. Met a truck that picked up a rock and chipped my windshield. Other than the chipped wind shield the trip up was good. Stopped at French Lake ranger station and got my permit then stopped and talked to Doug an outfitter friend. He is trying to retire from the business and may have someone who wants to carry on. After checking at the White Otter I checked out the museum in Atikokan and then got a tour of Souris Canoes. I set my spot to send the “I am OK” message on the dash of my car while I eat supper in the White Otter restaurant. I go to bed at about 8:00.
Day 1 6/12/15
At 03:00 I am too awake to try to go back to sleep so I have a breakfast that I can eat in the room. My Hives are flaring up and are staging a comeback after yesterday’s retreat. By 04:00 I am on the road and can see a large moon so the sky is not heavy overcast. I set my Spot to send my tracks and then I put in at Nym Lake and head for the lesser traveled rout out to French Lake through the 3 portages in the South East corner of Nym.
Map1

On the map you can see my first and last days tracks. Crossing Nym Lake there are some rocks just below the surface in the area just beyond the first narrow section. At 6:50 I am through the first portage the wind is so light I cannot tell which direction if is coming from. Half way down the first lake I had to cross a beaver dam. Not often there is a beaver dam in the middle of a lake. After I got past the beaver dam the lake is a little deeper but I can still see lily pads occasionally. At the end of the second portage there is an old road that the portage crosses just before the put-in. No human tracks on either portage so far. At the third portage I waited for a group of 3 canoes to finish loading and push off. Looks like 3 father son teams also doing the less traveled rout. As I unload at this portage I realize I left my main fishing pole in the car. The backup will need to suffice. On this portage there is a place where you could put the canoe in a beaver pond in the middle of the portage and a few places where your feet will get muddy. I frequently read where someone is asking about the condition of these portages and few people have done them so there are few answers. Well they are typical Quetico portages. While in the open water section of Pickerel there was a set of waves coming from the direction of Pine Portage. The waves were big enough I could feel the canoe bounce. There was no wind and I did not see anything that could have caused the waves. Coming into Dore portage I saw 2 bass guarding a nest. I thought it was too late for them to still be on the nests.
At 1:00 PM I have finished taking a lunch break at the camp site on the North East side of Dore Lake. I have finished all the big water lakes for a while and the wind has been nonexistent. Ahead are a couple of smaller lakes and a river that usually has lots of bugs. The weather is cooperating by starting a light breeze. I stopped just to explorer the campsite on lower twin. It would work well if I needed a camp while on the move.
Map2

My day one tracks enter the map from the North and curve around to the west and end at a camp on the lower part of Sturgeon Lake. Nym to lower Sturgeon not a bad days travel for an old man. By 8:00PM I have eaten and ready to crawl in my hammock. Set my spot up to send an “I am OK” message. The only people I have seen today were the 3 canoes while I was coming out of Nym.
6/13/15
Day 2 is a layover day and I plan on exploring around Scripture Island. This is a nice camp site with nice views of the lake.

There was a moose skull behind a rock in camp. Set my spot to track mode and went exploring. While out exploring I talked to a group with 2 canoes that asked for directions to Tubman Lake. I told them which way it was from where we were and to turn their bent shaft paddles around and they would work better. I caught a few walleyes but let all of them go because I want to lighten my food pack. My body is still recovering from yesterdays long day of travel. I have seen 3 canoes today. For supper tonight I am having the last of my frozen ham and tomorrow morning I will finish my fresh eggs. Set my spot to send an “I am OK” message” By 8:00 PM I am in the hammock. In the middle of the night while doing natures call I noticed the sky was clear and I could see all the stars in the little dipper.
6/14/15
Day3 As I am packing up fog started rolling out of Sturgeon narrows and filling the area where I will be heading. Set my spot to track mode. Shortly after I was on my way the fog cleared. Looking at my tracks on Map2 you can see where I spent some time looking for the rout in the wrong location. I was soon on to Allen Creek which I have read many tales about its portages.

**MagicPaddler** · 09-22-2015, 12:29

To help understand the above map that is Allen Lake in the lower left corner and Hoare Lake in the lower right corner. My track comes in from the upper right and there is a portage in that area. Slightly before that portage there is a branch of the creek that goes off to the no name lake in that area. I did the portage as one long portage and I think that is the best way to do it. The whole portage was on the North side of the creek. There was several places where I thought this was the end of the portage and would go to the creek to put in only to see the creek blocked up stream. One place I stopped and put a end of portage waypoint on my GPS (0372) only to discover I had further to go. Much of the portage is in meadow grasses that do not show the path very well. Some places there was ankle deep water but the bottom was solid. I finished the last 2 portages there is very little breeze and it is hot. There is an old camp on the south side of the channel leading to the creek but it is high on a hill and would be a lot of work to get my gear up there. Just around the corner is a camp with a nice flat rock landing that I took. I had to clear out some brush to make a place near the water for my hammock. Looking for a spot with a little breeze because the day is still hot and sunny. After I got the hammock up it was time for a nap. Shortly after I got up from my nap it starts to rain with enough wind I needed to re rig my tarp. I cook my supper while setting under my tarp listening to the rain. I have not hung my food and do not want to go out in the rain and set it up.
6/15/15

This is the rock I cooked my breakfast on. While cooking I noticed the little frog on the side of the rock. He did not seem to mind me and I did not bother him.

Allan Lake Camp site
I Put all of the gear and food that was not going on the bushwhack in my big pack and hung it high between 2 trees and then I was off with my spot set to track mode.

Bushwhack
I explored a couple of places to start the bushwhack which were not the ones I thought would be the best but they were closer to camp. I moved on to the location that I believed would be the best. My plan was to carry the first load through and come back for the canoe. I had planned on staying to the side of a marshy area to stay on dry ground but not have a lot of up and down. I found that near the edge of the marsh there were trees that had fallen into the marsh making travel tough. Moving out into the marsh got my feet wet but made travel much easier. I carried my first load through and went back and started with the canoe. The portage yoke was frequently catching on tree branches and being drug off of the canoe. I ended up dragging the canoe through much of the marshy ground. Once on the lake I was able to find a deep enough area to get drinking water that I did not filter. My detector showed 35 feet but I believe much of that is beaver muck. I think there is a little over 20 foot of water in the west end. I am set up on a camp site with a large rock landing and several areas for tents or hammocks back in the woods. I have cleared a place for a couple of tents in addition to my hammock in anticipation of others arriving tomorrow. On my way in I lost my pocket saw and head net. I have a spare head net in my backpack back on Allen Lake.

BushWhackCamp
I forgot to bring duct tape to put on my feet for the trip out so I may have a problem there. My right foot has a blister on the bottom and on my left foot the side of the little toe is raw and one toe is jammed with the nail sore. My hives are still bothering me. My Spot in indicating it cannot get GPS coordinates but it is sending the OK message without Coordinates.
6/16/15
I had plans to bushwhack into the lake north of here to do some exploring but with sore feet I decide to give them a day to heal. I toured the shore line of the lake and did not find any other areas that would make a camp nearly as nice as what I have. So I did some fishing and found there are northers in here. I went back to camp and had lunch and started gathering up fire wood for this evening’s festivities. At about 2 in the afternoon I saw 2 guys coming out of the woods near where I had come from.

.
Buster and ZIIBI are only day tripping in from Poohbah and wanted to say HI. After exchanging some information they were on their way.
No one else arrived so I had a little camp fire and went to bed. Starting to think about what the rest of my trip will be like. If my feet end up a mess by the time I get to Poohbah I will need to shorten the trip rout.
Day 6 6/17/15
It got cold last night. I use a light weight summer sleeping bag as a top quilt. On cooler nights I put a poncho over the top of the sleeping bag and that keeps me warm. Last night when I got up for natures call I was cold so when I crawled back in I put my PFD over top of my sleeping bag and then put the poncho over top of that. That kept me warm for the rest of the night.

Got up at 5 and was out of camp by 6. I put thinner socks on my feet. I single tripped coming out of the bushwhack lake. I wore the backpack and while in the marsh I dragged the canoe. For short sections I would double carry but most was one trip. This saved lots of time and was much easier on my feet than the trip in. I took about 2 &1/2 hours to get back on Allen Lake. By 10:00 I was back in Allen camp and had the pack down and getting ready to move on toward Poohbah. The Allan to Berniece portage had a muddy section in the middle and the portage from Berniece to Poohbah had a lot of downhill in it. I started looking for the portage from Berniece to Poohbah down the creek and that is not where it starts. It starts just north of where the creek starts. On my way across Poohbah I trolled a deep diver with no luck. I saw fish at about 40 ft in 100+ feet of water. By 6:00 PM I am on the island camp site on the south part of Poohbah. Hammock is up and food is hung high enough to keep the ground squirrels out of it. The little squirrels are running around like mad and making bacon if you know what I mean.

**MagicPaddler** · 09-22-2015, 12:30

This camp has a stone fish dressing table and several tent pads. There is a nice view of the south end of Poohbah. To the east where I came from is a island with a gulls nest and they just about took my hat when I paddled too near the island. They chase the eagles away even when they are very high. There are 2 boats stashed on Islands North East of here. My Feet are doing fairly well. I will make the decision in the morning as to which way do I go. My Spot battery is dead. I think it is trying to get GPS coordinates all the time while in tracking mode and that is running the battery down. I will continue to send my OK messages but not put it in tracking mode to save the last set of batteries I have for it. After a hamburger soup supper I cleaned up and went to bed.

Day7 6/18/15
This morning it has been raining and the wind has been blowing for a couple of hours. I think I am wind bound. I found that down where the fish dressing table is the pine trees block the wind. I cooked pancakes on the fish dressing table and had a leisurely breakfast. My pancake syrup has been leaking and several things in my food pack are sticky so I have washed the outside of several packages and put the syrup in large plastic bag.
I check my feet they are doing ok I am going south. The Memory Lane portages are almost straight sough of this camp. After breakfast I pack up hoping for a break in the wind so I can get to the south shore and the portages and just as I finished packing the wind let up and I was off.

The 3 portages between Poohbah and Conmee known as the memory lane portages total just under 2&1/2 miles and have several muddy sections as well as steep climbs. They are memorable although I will try to forget them. I stopped on a camp site on the second little lake and ate lunch and filtered some tee colored water. The first 100 yards coming out of Poohbah I had to triple portage because it was so steep. I fell on the first and again on the second portage. On the second portage I fell while carrying the canoe and dropped it in the black goop partially filling it and I ended up setting in the black stinking slop. On that second fall I hit my knee on a rock. I had surgery on that knee to fix what happened on a canoe trip a few years ago. It will be ok this time just a surface bruise. I have some new pants with built in knee pads which I thought were too nice to ware on a canoe trip. I will wear them next trip. At the Conmee end of the last portage there is a 5 foot vertical drop you need to come down which proved to be a challenge while carrying a load. I set the canoe down with the nose hanging off and went down below and dragged it on to my shoulders. When I looked into conmee waters for the first time I saw 3 large bass swimming in the shallow water by the portage. I dragged a lure part of the way to camp but no luck so it is eat out of the food bag again tonight. I took the first camp site I found on Conmee. It was a nice camp but had a terrible landing. Wind blowing hard make unloading against large rock difficult while trying to protect the canoe from the rocks. Conmee waters will never recover after I washed the stink off of my body and rinsed out the canoe. Some fisherman returned to their camp North East of this camp at dusk.

Other than the landing this is a very nice site. It has several tent pads and a nice view and plenty of trees but spaced to allow a breeze. Supper tonight was spaghetti with a sausage fill sauce. It started raining before I was finished eating. I have my food bag hung so the ground squirrels will not get it. It is to bed just as the sun is setting.

Day8 6/19/15
Got a good nights sleep and rain had stopped by morning. Packed up and headed for South. After breakfast I trolled a deep diver out in to the deep water then turned south and headed for Suzanette Lake. Having no luck fishing so I put the fishing gear away as the water started to get too shallow for my lure and head for the portage into Suzanette.

I paused in the middle of Suzanette while remembering a few night spent on Suzanette several years ago and how bad the pink stew had looked and how good it tasted but that is another story. It would be fun to spend a few nights here but if I am to make it out near my exit date I better move on.

See the stick laying on the front right side of my canoe in the above picture. I stopped by Mr. Beavers cane shop and picked that up to help keep me from falling on portages. It is designed to carry a canoe and the curve gets the top end out from under the canoe allowing it to be long and still not hit the canoe. It is made out of very light but strong wood. I did need to round the ends. In the above picture at the end of the cove is a set of rapids running into Suzanette and that is where the first of 2 portages is leading to Burt Lake. As I approach the rapids I can see bass swimming in the shallow water. I get the fishing gear out and put on a shallow diving lure and catch and release one small Bass. Compared to yesterday’s portages these ore nothing. Once past the last 2 portages I put on a lure that will dive about 10 foot and start trolling toward the large part of Burt. I catch 2 nice walleyes in short order. I release one and dress the other. I pack up the fishing gear and look for a camp site with a breeze. I check out the location where I have a mark on my map for pictographs. I can see some of the correct color but too much of the art is missing to tell what it is.

I take the site at the point on the large island in the south part of Burt. This is another nice site and with a nice landing. I use the fire place as a wind block to cook and eat. This is another lake I would like to spend some time on. It has been overcast most of the day and this afternoon it has started to sprinkle once and a while. Supper is the walleye and a pasta and sauce meal. There has been wind today but I was not on big water so it did not bother me. The sky has been overcast so the temperature was good for paddling. The portages were easy and short. This was a nice easy day and the body needed the rest and a fish meal. As the sun sets I set under the tarp and dig out the maps I will need tomorrow. Then I go to bed and drift off listening to the pitter pat of rain on my tarp. Then the wind came up and rocked me hard enough to wake me up. The tarp was pushing against the hammock and making a lot of noise. Three of the tarp tie outs came untied from the tarp. This tarp has been a good tarp lasting through several years in some windy Canadian parks.
Day9 6/20/15
It is pancakes for breakfast and that will finish the sticky syrup. It drizzled while I ate breakfast and pack up but stopped as I loaded the canoe. There are 2 portages marked on my maps at the south end of Burt. I check out the one nearest the falls and find it has rarely been used. The other portage is well used and so I go that way.

**MagicPaddler** · 09-22-2015, 12:30

I did the 5 portages to Kahshahpiwi Lake without spending any time to explore or fish. I did eat lunch on Joyce. On one of the portages after Joyce I saw a mammal and I did not know what it was. It had a head shaped like a rabbit with bug eyes on the sides of its head and a hairy tail about 4 inches long. The sky has been overcast all day with intermittent rain. At the end of the portage into Kahshahpiwi I got my fishing gear out and put a lure on that will dive to about 10 foot and started trolling shore line to the north. By the first island I hooked something that dragged me out over deep water and it went straight down to 50 feet and started to role. I think I just lost a big laker. I hooked a couple more fish but they were just on and off. I have been soaking wet sense Joyce and have had several hard rains so I am soaked and it is cooling off. I took a camp in the northern part of Kahshapiwi as the wind is getting strong and I am cold.

I set up the tarp a little lower than usual and use the canoe and my pack to block wind from coming under the tarp. I found a flat rock to make a place for my stove and cooked under the tarp and out of the wind. Being out of the wind helped to warm me up and I put my dry clothes on for the night.
Day 10 6/21/15
The morning comes with a little sun then fog closes in so tight I can’t see across to the far side of camp.

I have a lot of wet gear but the fog is sticking around so nothing is going to dry so I packed up and headed north.

Picture looking up Keefer Lake and the sun is starting to break through.

Stream between Keefer and Sark.
Once on Sark I got my fishing gear out and fished around where the stream pictured above dumped into Sark with no luck. The sun was bright so walleye would be deep so I put on a deep diver and started trolling to find a camp. Shortly I had a lake trout on the stringer then dressed. I stopped by a down tree in the water and cut some limbs that were where I could reach them. By now the dark clouds are rolling in and it is starting to sprinkle. I find a nice camp with a poor landing nearby and scramble to get everything unloaded and carried up to camp. I Set up the tarp and put my gear under it.

Lake Trout with North Woods Seasoning and butter.
The rain stopped so I cooked the fish on the fire and ate it. It is only 1:00 in the afternoon I finish setting up camp and

Kick back for a while. Then I explorer the other camp sites nearby. The one on the island just north of here looks like the nicer one but it looks over used. Someone had left a hard bound book wrapped in plastic for the next occupants. After exploring the area I get back to camp at about 5:00 and explorer the camp. The hives have been gone for 3 days.

This strange looking tool was leaning up against a tree.

I have seen a lot of lady slippers blooming on this trip. This one is behind my hammock. I am sending an “I’m Ok” message every night after I am in camp for the night. I eat a light supper and go to bed,

Day 11 Monday 6/22/15
Out of camp at about 8:00 some fog and no wind.

BairdJPG

**MagicPaddler** · 09-22-2015, 12:31

It is a very nice paddle up the long narrow lake with high bluffs making the water very still. By the time I got to the end of Sark it was sprinkling. While on Metcryst the sky opened up and dumped on me. I could not find a good cam on Metacryst so I headed for the portage. When I got to the portage I had over 3 inches of water in the canoe. It was difficult to role the canoe to get the water out. The 2 portages between Metacryst and Baird were not bad but they were slick from all the rain. They did not have good landings but the trails were ok. They were short so I tripled carried those 2 portages. I took the camp that is on the island between the portage coming in and the one going out of Baird. The landing is ok but it is difficult to get from the landing up into camp. I carry everything including the canoe up into camp and set up the tarp with the canoe under the edge again to block wind and make a place where I could get dry and warm.

Nice views from the Baird camp site but that is fog and rain headed this way. It rained off and on till I went to bed.
My food pack is getting lighter and I am moving some of my gear from the main pack into the food pack to better balance the load. The wind is still blowing as I go to bed at about 9:00. I am up for natures call at 4:00 and the wind has slowed to a breeze. A little over 2 miles of wooded land north of here is the falls chain with Snake and Split Rock both being about 2.2 miles away. I can hear the roar from my hammock.
Day12 6/23/15

The rain stopped shortly after I went to bed and early this morning the wind died down. The first portage was the longest portage today and it was in good shape. The second portage is around Split Rock Falls and I see human tracks for the first time in 6 days.

Split Rock Falls
I move on to Russel and start looking for a camp site. I see people moving about in a camp on Russel. I decided to go on to upper Sturgeon for a camp but a storm came roaring in from the West so I grabbed the closest camp. The storm had lots of wind and heavy down pore but was over in 20 minutes and the sun was back out like it had been most of the day. I got my tarp set up and my gear under it before the rain hit. As evening set in the wind became hard and steady giving my concern as to whether I would be wind bound tomorrow morning. Exploring the island revealed a location I could carry my gear to that would be protected to load if I could handle the wind on the open lake.
Day13 6/24/15
For a map see Map2.
I get up to rain on the tarp and eat breakfast under the tarp. The wind is low enough I will not have a problem loading or crossing Russel. There is a set of rapids going out of Russel that I ran several years ago. Although this is nothing more than a fast section in the river I am a flat water paddler and do not like rapids. The rain lets up after breakfast and I take off under threatening skies. As I enter the narrow section of the river where the rapids there are 2 men camped on a island. We have a short conversation and I ask about the rapids and they assure me they are no big deal. That was the first people I have been close enough to talk to since the Bushwhack lake where I spoke to Buster and ZIIBI. The rapids were no big deal and I headed North of Sturgeon. I am now doing my rout in only backwards.

As I approach the norther end of Sturgeon there is a pair of swans which were shy and soon were out of sight. The camera lens was starting to fog over as I took the above picture. Going up the Due was easier than most of the times because of the high water. I paddled over all but one of the beaver dams and I was able to step out on the dam and pull the canoe over that one. The portage between Twin and Dore seems longer than a few days ago when I was coming in. Once on Dore I get my fishing gear out and troll across and pick up a lake trout. I dress the fish and put is in my cooler and do the portage into Pine Bay. Being a little tired I paddle around the point rather than doing Pine Bay Portage. I take a camp site on an island straight north of Pine Bay Portage. A couple of times today it has sprinkled on my but never a hard rain and wind has never been a problem. The weather has been improving all day and I set up camp in the sunshine. I find enough wood around to cook my lake trout and relax with a little adult beverage. This will be my last camp and tomorrow will be my last day for this trip.

Day 14 6/25/15
I get up to a pretty sunrise. See Map1 The camp is where the two tracks cross and on my way out I go west then north. This way has more paddling but less portages and the portages are in better shape.

On my way out I start out trolling for Walleye and caught one nice sized eater which goes in the cooler. I try to get a lake tout but no luck. Once back at my car I send a spot “I’m OK” message and go to French lake and take a shower. That feels good. Then it is off to Kakabeka Falls to a little restaurant for a sandwich and some ice for the ice chest then I head back for the states.
Shortly after I cross the border I see my phone has service so I call my wife. She said there were no spot messages she was worried. Calls had been made to the park confirming that I had picked up my permit. The motel had confirmed that I stayed there but nothing after that for over a week. Messages were posted on BWCA.com and Quiet journey asking for people to keep a look out for me. Buster read the post but could not remember what my name or handle was but gave a description that dentondoc identified as me. Dentondoc called my wife and let her know that 4 days ago I was ok.
The (MagicPaddler OK?) thread is at http://www.bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseac...ID=12&confID=1
My spot was replaced free of charge after a phone call explaining what had happened.