A four day trip to the Boundary Waters

Five guys set out for a four day trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in September of 2006. Here is a brief account of the happenings.

Wednesday September 6, 2006

Thursday September 7, 2006

After only getting about 3 hours of sleep, I rose out of bed at 4:45am. I was all ready and just had a few things to gather and then hop in the van heading for Jeff's. Jeff had the very large job of organizing the meals for the trip. He did an outstanding job of segregating the things needed for each meal into a bag. I suggested paper bags so we could burn them when done, but I am not sure if this was a good idea as they don't pack as well as zip lock bags and we had a problem with them getting damp and ripping. This was also one of the things that I guess only trial and error can perfect. We took about one or two meals of food more than we needed. Next time, we need to cut out a meal and just bring a couple Ramen noodles just in case. Also need to keep the snacks in small portions. Next, we took on Mike and Brian without incident and started heading north where Mike (Pop) was waiting for use at #8. So north we pushed on a beautiful morning. Stopping at McDonald's for a fully nutritious meal to hold us over. Near Ely we saw a small grey wolf cross the road in front of us and figured that we were on a good start to seeing some wildlife on our trip. At 7:30am we pulled into the Kawishiwi ranger station. Brin at the desk who had graduated high school from Cloquet, had us watch the infamous movie and ran over the rules of the game up in the Waters. She also confirmed our suspicion that the scene with the bear coming into the camp (getting rocks thrown at it to chase it away) was actually a tame bear. After some jokes cracked we received our permit and headed for the Echo Trail. The Echo Trail is a wonderful example of degradation. It goes from a nice smooth paved road, to a bumpy road, to a half paved road, to dirt.

We pulled off the Echo trail and headed for the Chain Saw Sister's Saloon. A small establishment that lives solely off of parking fees it accrues from BWCA goers. A little disorganized at the get go. I walked up to the Chain Saw Sister's Saloon and paid for our parking fee. The ceiling was full of dollar bills with people's names on them. Upon walking out, one of the coolly dogs was nipping me in the back of the leg. I figured kicking it to kingdom come wouldn't have been the most desirable thing for the town to see. We packed into the low river and set off. Slow going through the mud and muck we made it into Mudro Lake. Across Mudro and then a small portage into Sandpit Lake. From Sandpit we headed into Horse lake. Horse lake was pretty rough and we found a small island at the mouth of Horse river and started to have sandwiches and apples for lunch. A couple of playful otters saw us and came closer to check us out. After lunch we pushed forward into Horse river. It was narrow with a low water level and a few portages over some impassable rocks. The last part of Horse river was a low marshy wetland filled with some Blue Heron's that seemed to have it in for us, trying to bomb us with their dangerous payload. Horse river spills into Crooked Lake and at that point there is a falls, Lower Basswood falls I believe. We took a few moments to explore the falls and take some pictures. After the falls we set forth for Table Rock. By God's design, the wind was at our backs and we floated along pretty good. Soon the Indian pictographs appeared on the west side of the lake along the steep rock embankment. They were neat, but not that impressive. We kept paddling. Jeff saw a campsite with some "white" campers at it and when we drew near no one was to be seen. Maybe they were doing some skinny dipping. We saw Table Rock, and kept paddling looking for the nearby campsite. We went a quarter mile too far and headed back. Seems the campsite was at Table Rock, not past it. We pulled in, the wind was pretty strong at this point and we could see inclement weather on the horizon. We started into setting up camp. Jeff began making the meal, but his aluminum bags were not really bags, so we settled for grilled venison, rice, carrots, pineapple, and tomatoes. The weather turned from bad to worse. It started raining and lightning near by. We then tried to hang the bear bag, but the initial set up was a bit lacking. We finally got it high so that at least a bear wouldn't poke his eye out if he didn't see it. The wind and rain prompted us for an early bed. After a round of cribbage we hit the sack. The wind blew all night and it rained off and on.

Friday September 8, 2006

Still blowing in the morning. We got up and started putting together a hearty breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, and bacon. After about 8am the weather started to clear and we were able to snap a group photo on Table Rock and start heading north up Crooked Lake. The wind was our foe today through most of the paddle. We past Wednesday bay and then came into Thursday bay. There we took a little break at a nice little narrows. At the north end of Thursday bay (on the Canadian side) we met up with some park employees. They were out for a week seeing the various sites in the park. They were quite friendly and told us we should go into Canada and fish in Emerald lake, but we declined as we weren't really supposed to be in Canada in the first place. Most of the campsites we checked out on the way to Friday bay were less than desirable. A good campsite plays a large part in the enjoyment of the trip so taking a few extra minutes to check a campsite out pays off big dividends. We then came to an island on the north side of Friday bay. The campsite there was great. A nice rock beach, protected and flat tent pads, and a good view of Friday bay. We pulled up and broke out lunch. Pink Salmon in pita bread with mozzarella cheese and cucumbers. It was then we met up with the very friendly Canadian Jay's or otherwise known as Whiskey Jacks. At first it was cute how close they got and started to pick off the small food we threw to it, but then they started to get pesky. It would start rootin' around our food as soon as we turned out backs. It even made of with a half slice of pita bread. After lunch we decided it was time to put the poles in the water and get some fish. Jeff and I paddled to the east side of Friday bay and fished along some of the bay's there. We saw a grey loon hanging around us and Jeff caught a Northern and a few Bass. We paddled back and started filleting and frying up the fish. Brian was camp cook this night and he made a great meal of the fish that Jeff, Mike, and Mike caught. We must have had high hopes as we filleted 5 fish and after eating our fill it didn't seem like we had dented the pile one bit. Fish for breakfast it looks like. We then hung our bear bag. This time there was a nice big tree at a 45 degree angle that we hung it down from. It worked ok, but we secured the dangling rope on the wrong side and it started to pull the fallen tree away from it's resting spot. Another lesson learned in hanging bear bags. That night the moon was gorgeous. We stood on the beach looking at the moon and stars and talking about various subjects while Mike (Pop) astounded us with his knowledge of the constellations. Then we tried our hand at fishing at 11pm at night in the dark. Some fish were jumping and Mike (Pop) caught a really nice size Bass. Time to turn in for the night.

Saturday September 9, 2006

I awoke to an empty tent. Jeff was up and already packed. I got up and started to bustle about. Later that morning I thought I would fill up our Nalgene bottles with water, so I scooped them up with the water filter and headed to the lakes edge. One problem, I stepped a little too close to the lake's edge and slipped backwards. I landed on my butt, threw the bottles in the air and then fell back on a large rock, cracking my head on the edge of that large rock. Man it hurt, and I knew I'd banged it hard. I didn't get knocked out, but when the guys came, they said "Whose blood is on that rock." I put my hand on the back of my head and pulled it away... yup, full of blood. I had them wash the blood out with some clean water then took an Excedrin. After some granola bars, fish, bacon, and english muffins we snapped the group photo on the beach and headed south into Friday bay. A small portage from Friday bay put us into a small river north of Papoose lake. To the beaver's credit they had dammed up the river, giving us plenty of water to paddle on. Had they not, we may have been knee high in muck pushing our canoes for a couple miles. In this river that passed through Papoose, Chippewa, and Niki Lakes, there were thousands of bees on the lily pads. We had to pass over one dam, but the traveling was enjoyable. After Niki lake there was a small portage to Wagosh lake. Then at the far side of Wagosh stood the definition of pain and suffering. A 328 rod portage, which is exactly 1.025 miles. Walking a mile on pavement is laughable, but walking a mile with 70lbs on your back, over rocks and up hills is challenging. I assumed a pack on the back as well as the front. One step at a time. Half way through, Mike (Stanley) gave me the canoe and he took my front pack. Then near the end, Jeff came to the rescue and carried the canoe that last 100 yards. A feeling of relief and accomplishment rested on us as we took 5 before heading into Gun Lake. In Gun, Jeff and I split from the group and fished the south shore. We saw three bald eagles and one deer and caught a few tiny fish sticks. After checking out a few campsites that were 5 or lower on the campsite scale we met up with the other guys and headed for the south end of Gun. There we found our spot. A nice campsite looking south into Gun, with a nice grassy knoll. We started camp and got the Hungarian Goulash going. Yum, yum, yum. I did some washing of dishes and clothes after lunch. Brian took a much needed nap, as did most of the other guys. After the nap, we played a round of cribbage. Then the guys went out fishing on Gun lake in different directions. I stayed in camp to set up the bear bag and keep the home fires burning. Gun lake seemed to have an over abundance of beavers, we should have filtered the water from that lake 3 times. A different beaver swam by every 15 minutes, probably patrolling the shores, keeping the locals in line. Mike and Stanley came back empty handed, but Jeff had caught three small walleyes, the first real fish caught this weekend. I threw a rock on the fire grate and started toasting our tortilla pizzas on that. While we were making dinner a tree collapsed about 100 feet from our camp. I guess the beavers were sending a warning signal to us. The we tried creating nachos with two tin pie pans, Fretos, cheese, refried beans, chilies. Unfortunately, we stoked the fire at the same time we moved the nachos closer to the fire. They got burnt, cold on one side, burnt on the other. I think they tasted OK, but next time, they'll be great. Stanley turned in early. Then Jeff and Mike turned in after a while. Brian and I stayed up, talking about how we came to the Lord and some challenges / opportunities we are facing. Then we threw our pads and bags on the grass and jumped in our bags to sleep underneath the stars. The moon came out in full force and we laid there looking at the stars and moon. I was pretty well tucked in but my eyes kept getting cold and I don't like to breath stale air. That was a great time.

The Lord's Day September 10, 2006

Woke up to thick fog on the lake, couldn't hardly see the water. We began cooking pancakes for breakfast and tearing down camp. Brian picked out the M&M's from the gorp and put them into the pancakes. During breakfast the Canadian Jay's were attacking hard. One was quite bold and came right in the midst of us to grab his loot. Brian was standing like a statue trying to get one to come and eat out of his hand. He finally received his reward. A Jay came and landed in his hand and ate the pancake right from his hand, then took the whole thing off. We headed south out of Gun lake. From there we came into Fairy lake, then into Boot lake. In Boot lake we found a rock jetting out of the water up about 50 feet. Brian suggested that Stanley climb the rock (for our entertainment of course). He scaled up the rock with no problem. We continued down Boot and then portaged into Fourtown Lake. On Fourtown we found an island and stopped off for a lunch of cajun rice and meat wrapped in a tortilla. We headed South out of Fourtown, there were three deer near the portage. The portage out of Fourtown into Mudro was very rocky and followed the ledge of steep hill. Very beautiful. Back into familiar territory of Mudro, we headed for the mucky river toward the Chain Saw Sister's Saloon. We packed out, stink and all. Brian was the only one smart enough to bring a change of clothing to jump into for the ride home. We started driving south and then stopped at Dairy Queen. Brian graciously bought everyone a treat at DQ. Once the driver was ready, we headed south again. Dropped Mike off, then Brian, then Jeff. I dropped Stanley off and took off the trailer, then fell backward from the van, what a clutz.

The End.