Back from the Quetico

[Jerry R.]

We made it back from ten days of fun, fishing and frolicing in the Quetico. (Chuck’s terms, not mine. Have to give credit where credit is due.)

Water was low, times and spirits were high, on a great trip.
Pooh Bah hasn’t changed in 23 years, as it still loves to eat my Rapalas.

New adventure was the portages north out of Pooh Bah back to the Maligne River. I’d hate to do them in a wet year.

The trip was to burst a button over, ask me about this for the full story!

We’ll get more posted as we catch up at work, and probably some pictures from Chuck too.

J

ps Barry whatever Chuck says about Bass and me, it’s not true. Can’t trust a N. Dakota guy ya know.
We didn’t catch any big ones, with 3 1/2 lbs the biggest I suppose.

[houlibar]

@Jerry R. 235 wrote:

The trip was to burst a button over, ask me about this for the full story!

Okay, I’m asking! 😀 Your adventure sure sounds like a lot of fun. Can’t wait to see some pictures! 😎

[pknoerr]

Jerry is Preggers!!!!! Oh wait, that’s over on MYCCR. Sorry, ‘scuse me, couldn’t help myself.

Glad you had a great time, Jer. Been a long 16 years since I last tripped in BWCA/Quetico (1991 when in graduate school). Laura keeps talking about it one of these days… but with her being a teacher we are either relegated to black fly season, or the hoards of July and August.

PK

[Jerry R.]

First PK,

The Quetico was chosen as the destination this year for health reasons. Chuck wanted to do something a bit closer to home as his “comeback” trip. Someplace we could get his fat, oops, his butt out in a hurry if we had to.
We saw people every day but one, on a rather less popular route. Compare that to WCPP last year on one of the more popular routes, and only saw people on two of ten days. Next year will be somewhere less traveled, as Chuck’s return was successful.

Now houlibar,

The story doesn’t involve anyone being “preggers” to start, and that is a damn good thing too!

We were a party of four, Chuck, Colin my youngest son 12yrs old, and Dave my canoeing partner of 25 or so years.

We were heading from Sturgeon to Badwater Lake. Low water made for some strenuous creek sludging, and the ports in places were tougher than others, but not gruelling.

On one said portage, going into Fair Lake, Dave hangs up in the brush while packing a Duluth pack and a canoe. (We single trip nearly everything.) Dave earlier on the portage had his painter from the bow come loose. He managed to catch it on his foot and lift it to his hand, so not having to drop the canoe and pack to thing right again.

Now here is poor Dave stuck in the brush, painter in one hand, canoe on his shoulders, plus 40+lb pack, after a pretty long day already, and some shorter temper ( my part) than usual occasions having happened. Dave exerts himself mightily to extricate himself, and burts a button on his shorts. His shorts settled neatly around his ankles. Not to be daunted, Dave, painter in one hand, reaches down with the other and hikes up his shorts, without dropping anything, other than his shorts, on the portage! He arrives at said landing and lets his shorts go. Needless to say Chuck and I were in tears, and all the day’s frustrations melted into laughter.

Dave secured his shorts with a piece of rope and proceeded on.

At the end of the next port, Chuck and I greeted Dave with our shorts around our ankles, and saying, “Dave the most damneded thing happened! You wouldn’t believe it!”

So the button busting story goes!

J

[houlibar]

LOL! Now that’s a funny story! Dave sounds like a regular one-man band! :p

Oh, we had a preggered companion on the first canoe trip I did on the Colorado River. We did a short portage inland for our overnight camp after dinner. We did it in several moves, but on the last one the woman’s husband took off with the boys and left her to fend for herself on the rocky trail. Being a husband myself, I helped her up the trail. I’d had a little too much wine with dinner myself, so it was mutual aid! :p

[ckimmerle]

Ahhhh….nice to post in a canoeing forum I DON’T have to moderate.

Yep, the Quetico trip was fantastic. Not really a true “comeback” trip as I was out this past spring with Jerry and Dave for five days of BWCA fishing, but this was my first remote, extended trip since Wabakimi in ’05. Felt like my old self!

The pants-around-the-ankle story is true, and one of the funniest things I have ever experienced in the boonies aside from a killer-weasel story that actually gave me cramps (you had to be there).

PK, while we did see someone almost every day, it was usually only ONE other party. The last couple of days we had a layover near the entry points and did see a couple of other campsites, but that was to be expected. Added all up, the folks we saw were about half of what we would have seen in a single day (morning?) in the BW.

So much for post #1.

Chuck

[Preacher]

Awesome stories. Post pics please, love the pics.

[pknoerr]

Chuck and Jerry,

That’s great guys. Congrats Chuck on your “comeback trip”. Funny story about the dropping trou….I’d expect nothing less from you boys. Thouch Jerry being pregnant would surely top that.

I greatly enjoyed BWCA when I was there, unfortunately, from my neck of the woods I pass several more remote canoe tripping areas on my way to BWCA/Quetico. But I suspect I’ll get back that way one of these days.

Thanks for filling us in… just don’t post pictures of the dropping trou episode. It would surely be more unpalatable than Jerry’s keister sticking out of the water…. 😮

PK

[pake rick]

Hey Chuck & Jer.

Glad you guys had a good time. I can almost visualize you two sans trou, waiting for Dave at the next port. I told M that story last night. She busted a gut laughin, then said, “I can’t even imagine my friends and I doin that.”

“That’s why they didn’t invite you.” I said. :p

Anyway, we didn’t hear too much about fish…….yet. Did you leave any for us? Bman and I are heading to the Quetico next month.

pake

[Jerry R.]

We caught enough fish to eat, but it wasn’t great fishing by any stretch of the imagination.

Colin caught the only three trout of the trip with one being about 6 lbs on Pooh Bah. Worst trout fishing we have experienced in many, many years. Not often do we not catch one when we want to.

Even the pike weren’t too cooperative.

The bass were stubborn at times too.

I did a first for me however. I hooked my finger. Past the barb. It came out amazingly easy, and without too much pain and discomfort. I didn’t even have to cut the hook. No lasting effects either.

I suppose Chuck will jump in with some fishing stories for my amusement and torture too.

J

[houlibar]

Okay, I have to ask… what or where is Pooh Bah? :confused:

[Jerry R.]

Scott,

Pooh Bah is a big round lake just south of the Maligne River, just west of where said river exits Sturgeon Lake. No good ways to it.

J

[ckimmerle]

Well….lemme just say that Jerry absolutely abhors bass (considers them satan’s spawn), but was forced to partake as on a couple of nights we had little, or no other, fish to add to the pot. To his credit, he choked it down with only a hint of gagging, but he did sob uncontrollably throughout many of those meals 🙁

[Jerry R.]

Let alone the nights!

sob

[canuckcamper]

@Jerry R. 267 wrote:

Let alone the nights!

sob

😮

Eatin bass!!!!!

I feel yer pain Jerry!….I’d cry to eatin that!

Kirk

PS…good to see ya postin again Chuck!

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