Greetings. I'm doing a loop out of Cache Bay, up to the Waiwag river, Kawnipi, Agnes and then along the border back to Cache Bay.

One problem I have is getting from Agnes back to the border area without taking the 'long' way from the far south end of Agnes before I head east along the border.

I have about a week to do this- going solo- and am trying to find a way to shave off some paddling distance. My issue is that there are no portages between the shortest route which is out of Louisa Lake and into the Man Chain. The pictures I've attached will help show the area.

I'm pretty certain others have done this. If anyone has and would like to chime in, I'm all ears. I'm pretty good at bushwhacks but this one is pretty substantial. Any other suggestions are helpful too. Thanks.

hexnymph is your guy. He did a bushwhack from Louisa to the big un-named Lake just North of Magie as part of Stumpy s Bushwhackers Jamboree/Rendezvous

Others got into Magie via Sheridan or That Man. Unclemoose was one, Stumpy was another.

Also I think I head from QPassage that you can paddle the creek in quite a ways from This Man to that small pond that you have tracks to and from

It also looks like Stumpy did the first part out of Louisa

Bill Rom describes in his book the way between Rom and That Man Lakes. I've wondering about that short cut myself before. Would certainly make a nice loop option to connect the Man and Falls Chain.

I Cant be sure of this but I think I saw where someone bushwhacked in and out of Rom going from the far eastern tip east to the thin sliver of water from a noname. Then followed that down to almost where your track crosses that creek then follow your track.
I think it will take you longer to do the bushwhack than to go around through pp but it will be more fun.

Yep. Rom named that long narrow lake after his brother, Rog. They went up the creek to Rog from that man and then headed west to Rom at the narrowest spot.

quote MagicPaddler: I think it will take you longer to do the bushwhack than to go around through pp but it will be more fun.
"

Agreed. And thanks for the moral support. I need it.
I don't -think- it will take too long to do these but you never know. I've learned a lot about looking at satellite images to find high ground and stay out of swamps. There looks to be some burned areas north of This Man Lake which can make for easier travel.

I think I'll probably just go ahead and do this. And I'll probably regret it once I step out of the canoe at the end of Louisa Lake and walk into a wall of forest :(

It's all Boji's fault for getting me into bushwhacks anyways. But OMG, there is so much to see this way!

Thanks for the pointers and info so far guys.

Tom

I think you are going to have one very hard time. I have bushwacked into some of those lakes in the winter on skiis. With a canoe,well good luck.

Cross country solo in the Q, eh? I hope you're bringing a sat phone or emergency beacon with you. Don't want you to just disappear...

I've done lots of cross-country solos in the Q. Not worried about that.

I've also bushwhacked through some rough country and OK with that too. As long as I avoid swamps and steep hills I can manage. And most of the bushwhacking is just short hops so it's not too tough but time consuming.

I am taking a SPOT just in case so that my family can at least find a body. It should be a good time.

Tom

That is a memorable quote "taking a spot so my family can find the body, should be a good time". That is the Q mentality, I just love that quote!!!

I envy you Young Bucks!

I envy you Young Bucks!

quote bojibob: "I envy you Young Bucks!"

Bojibob, I think you might be having a stroke ; )

you might save yourself some time and frustration if you take along a GPS....

Trust your compass.

From Louisa to the first puddle is going to be rough. I've never been to that end of Louisa but most of the south shore is a cliff.

Have fun!

Hex

P.S. You might be a little crazy to bushwack solo.

Tom, you may be crazy (who knows?) but I love your attitude! Best wishes to you and please write a report. --Goose

quote OldGreyGoose: "Tom, you may be crazy (who knows?) but I love your attitude! Best wishes to you and please write a report. --Goose"

I agree and what a energy level.

quote hexnymph: "Trust your compass.


From Louisa to the first puddle is going to be rough. I've never been to that end of Louisa but most of the south shore is a cliff.
"

I do trust my compass. I walk just 100' at a time then get another bearing. Thanks for the advice about Louisa. I am printing out some maps with Google and laminating them for the bushwhack portages.

I don't think I'm crazy. I'm definitely adventurous, though. I have never been afraid to be in the wilderness and I can't explain it. I'm not afraid to bushwhack solo either. I've had far more troubles in the Q when I've had people with me which is why I can no longer travel with other people. I don't think I've had good luck picking trip partners. It's not anything I've done, it's the situations my trip partners put me in.

One of many stories that I'm not proud of is when I had to paddle a relative out of Quetico that blew out his ACL after he fell when drinking (alcohol). I took him to Atikokan to a hospital.

Traveling alone means trusting myself, using good judgment. Loving every moment, and being prepared.

I will definitely share with this forum how it goes. I plan to camp on Rom one night just to get away from the crowds :)

Tom

Here's my trip map. 88 miles. 8 days. The tabs on the map aren't necessarily where I'm spending the night. I usually travel as far as I can each day until I'm tired or wind bound.

Here's my trip report.

I made a good decision and chose not to do the bushwhack portion of my trip. I can handle doing bushwhacks but this was a bit more than one person could do in a day. It started bothering me during my trip that I would have to push through that rough country with my canoe and gear. After all, being in the Q is hard work. And doing it alone is harder.

Once I got to the bottom of Agnes, I portaged east and I went through Louisa (beautiful lake!) and continued on the chain of rivers and lakes up to McEwen (Lakers!) then back through the falls chain.

I've never had such an easy time catching fish, the weather was good, and bad. Saw a lot of country too. But I'm also glad to be home again. The highlight of my trip was an intimate encounter with a wolf. And the hardest part was dealing with that awful storm and having to camp back in the woods to get out of the wind.

Tom

Good to hear you are back and had a good time. What is the Mack end of the portage into Mack? I enjoyed the area between Louisa and McEwen and never saw any one while in that area of the park.

Glad you had a good trip!

Your revised route is exactly the route my son and I did last July, except we added McKenzie, Ferguson, and Cache River to the mix. Great route. Funny thing for us was that the busiest part of the trip was on the segment between Louisa and McEwen. Go figure.

Skipping the bushwhack option was probably a good idea--especially going solo--as the woods are wet, insect levels are high, and the route pretty rugged.

magicpaddler. I'll send you a PM on the question you asked. Nothing I need to keep secret by any means, it's just easier to explain.

Arctic. The area between Louisa to McEwen was pretty quiet for me. I saw one canoe on a lake but they disappeared behind and island and I never saw them again. It wasn't too bad to get through there except there were so many portages. At least they're short.

Louisa was gorgeous. The sun was out and the lake was calm. I'd like to do a weekend trip there sometime. I'm sure the Lakers are big in there too. Once I hit McEwen, I put on a big shad Rapala just in case I could pick up dinner. I was in the middle of the lake and tossed it out. I immediately caught a laker but let him go. He was too big for me to eat. I tossed out the Rap again and immediately caught another one. I ate him. I found that Rapala last year on a trip and had it hung in a pine tree in my yard. I put it in my tackle box before I left since it looked like a trout might like it.

So this almost wraps up Quetico for me. I've been to all four corners and almost everywhere in between. I haven't been to McKenzie yet so that might be my next stop. I'm not sure what part of the Q I like the most. It seems every part has it's own unique qualities but overall the scenery is pretty much the same all over.

Northern Q feels a bit more remote to me maybe because it takes so long to get there. The western region has always been special to me since I started camping in the BWCA as a kid in the area so if you ever mention Lac La Croix, I get all excited.

I'm glad I got to see Delehay a few years ago but I don't know if I need to go back there again. I'm not a fan of the death march. It kicked my ass. But Agnes would be a return trip for me perhaps and more trips out of Beaverhouse would be nice too.

I hope to do a far north trip to the Barrons in 2016.

Tom