A little over three years ago we tried a September canoe trip into Quetico Provincal Park in Canada. Quetico, separated by a surveyor’s line from the adjacent Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, roughly matches the BWCAW’s million-acre size, but attracts just a fraction of the visitors. Encountering few people and fewer mosquitoes that September, the autumn grabbed hold of us, and we started to plan an October trip; hoping for a fall color extravaganza. Well, we missed the peak color, but the loop route we followed, from Moose Lake in the BWCAW through Emerald Lake to Saganagons, and then back to the US via the Man Chain(A series of oddly named lakes)was a nine day pleasure. We saw a little snow, a lot of rain, spotted just two canoes during the middle seven days, and felt heavenly warmth from the October sun.
Approaching the landing on the North end of Carp Lake.
Behind the campsite near here,we happened on a rather enchanting grove of mature cedar trees,and two small stands of old growth.
Many of the portages are a virtual carpet of mosses, lichens,and fungi. They thrive when the weak autumn sun leaves the ground damp.
I’ll take a Hamm’s.
These grassy shallows are fun to navigate,if they’ll float you.
One side of the narrows near the south end of Saganagons.
This day was a repeating cycle of snow, rain,and bright sun.
More Quetico Underworld.
Sweet travels.
