This forum was established to inform and facilitate discussion about the Boundary Waters
Canoe Area in northeastern Minnesota and the Quetico Park in Ontario, Canada. This forum
was established on October 26th, 1998.
Tick54 below mentioned that he shaved at one point on his last trip. Are there any other guys out there that shave once or more while tripping? If so, why?
Yes, he shaves, at least most days. Beards are WAAAYYYY too scratchy for the first 4-7 days! He's used both a regular razor with a travel-sized container of shaving gel or a little battery-powered electric razor (not nearly as nice, IMHO).
And, yes, I do shave my legs every few days. It's a great opportunity to sunbathe on a warm day.
they can shave THEIR legs. The bears and mini-bears certainly don't care. Men's faces, however, are another matter - but yours is already hairy, Lee, and your wife isn't there to kiss you!
Until last summer. One of the first things my sister told me was that she refused to go if she couldn't shave her legs. Can you imagine what I've had to put up with? But heck, I hung the sun shower and grabbed a razor and you know what? It felt really good to clean up and shave my legs. Truly I don't care and have never done it on a trip before but now I can never say never.
That trip included the first time I've bothered to bring Lexan wine glasses, two Nalgene bottles of wine and a tablecloth. I had my share of Crown Royal Reserve thanks to my brother in law insisting we take some. Oh and Cap'n Morgans too. And snorkeling gear. Man, what a different trip that was! But a good one!
One of my stump speeches, Rjovik! Only I use a toothbrush. Once on a trip many years ago we met up with some guys who were out for 2-3 weeks and they didn't brush and they had GREEN teeth!!! (I asked why their teeth were so colored!)
.....though I have shaved prior to a trip, just for a change of pace and for hygiene purposes. Beards can be hot in the summer and sometimes it's nice. However I have never shaved on a trip before.
Great question.
Mike in Minneapolis
Everybody knows rock and roll acheived perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.--- Homer Simpson
Personally I feel a bit grubby if I don't shave. I've got a really thick heavy beard and it grows fast, but even then I usually only shave on lay-over days. I also wash my hair every other day; just makes me feel better.
I can tolerate the amorous come-hither looks thrown at me by cow moose, but when the bulls start paying attention...shudder....
...but they are often just passed through on people's path from one place to another.
I was coming back from a photo trip to Yellowstone, but spent several days here plotting moose locations for a fall photo trip back here and doing some hiking and flower photography.
If anyone is interested, I've put up a temporary website at http://www.visi.com/~gdietzman/photos/content/index.html with a few of my favorite photos from that trip. Got a bit lazy and let the software decide how to arrange the photos, so the Bighorn photos and Yellowstone photos are mixed up a bit.
I shave like clockwork at home for the purposes of keeping up appearances at work. Not shaving is a way to remind myself how far I am from my cubicle and being able to look scruffy as heck is one of the small pleasures of the BWCA.
I can understand guys who do shave though... it can be a nice way to clean up and if you have a fast-growing beard, a necessity for keeping it in check.
I like to check in and see how many other parties will be entering the same EP as my party. So I checked the bwcaw.org web site and this is what I found:
So I looked up my reservation on their site:
Well, it's confirmed and the right date. Apparently it just didn't subtract from the quota for the day...
If something went wrong it would be a hassle to have to deal with the day of your entry.
Reserve America is known to have issues-(many of us have found that out the hard way)-and finding out the morning of your entry that your reservation was invalid for some reason would be very dissappointing and lead to lots of conversations and phone calls delaying your ability to get into the water.
Make sure it is correct in their system also before you go to up later this month to avoid the hassle and take names and numbers when you call.
"When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known."
Sigurd F. Olson
Spoke with a woman who assured me that the permit is confirmed. Though for someone who announced when she answered that she would be providing me with "excellent service" she sounded rather bored/annoyed...
We had the Anoka/Cambridge Summer Soltice Cluster dog show this past weekend and we had an interesting weekend.
We set the show up Wednesday and that night we watched a huge storm blow through at about 6:30 pm with golf ball and bigger hail. Lots of it. Many cars damaged, many RV's with shattered windows, broken roof vents etc. Mine was one of them. You may have seen reports on Twin Cities TV stations. Good thing that was the only problem of the weekend.
I had a friend show our newest male puppy Cooper (Southcar's High Noon). Cooper turned 6 months old the day the show started-so he became legal to show for the first time.
Thursday-the first day of the show was the day they have the puppy competition. Cooper went into the ring and did his thing and won his class beating an older male (8 months) puppy with ring experience. He ended up taking Best Puppy in Breed and Reserve Winners to his older half-brother Clancy who took Best of Winners. Cooper then went to the Puppy Group ring in the afternoon and took a Group 2 Win!!! A nice way to start.
Friday Cooper went and won his class again over the older puppy and took Reserve again to his older half brother who won the points.
Saturday Cooper started strutting his stuff! He went in and not only won his class but beat his half brother for Winners dog for his first point. He then went into the breed ring and Took Best of Winners and Best of Opposite Sex beating all the class bitches (5 of them) for a second point. The judge (Mr Gary Doerge) asked for a copy of the picture as he absolutely loved Cooper! He said he almost gave Cooper Best of Breed over the specials, one of which was handled by a professional handler. I had a nice conversation with judge Doerge and his friend and he insisted that I bring Cooper back to him in the future-he loved him that much. I have not heard of judges asking for copies of a picture of a dog very often. Certainly that made my day and you can be sure he will get a picture along with a big thank you card from Cooper and us.
Sunday Cooper took reserve again and the judge that day (Dr. Jackie Hungerland) said he was an amazing puppy and that he will do well. Mr. Doerge stopped judging in his ring for a couple of minutes and came and watched Cooper again and said he got screwed and should have won breed that day. Cooper's confidence and attitude was really growing each day and he strutted around the ring like he owned it!
I was very proud of my new little guy. His next show will be Duluth July 13-15. I hope I can keep his attitude in check. He is a bit too confident sometimes.
Sorry to go off topic-but Cooper is going to be an amazing show dog as he grows up.
"When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known."
Sigurd F. Olson
Not a lot of judges will put up puppies so he must be exceptional. Having a dog that loves to show is an experience in itself, you are very fortunate.
Showing dogs is great fun, winning makes it even better! Its also addictive isn't it? Can't wait to get my pup in the ring early this fall. Tukka gets another chance in Belvidere and again at Cudahy/Racine.
A friend of mine finished her elkhound (12 mos. old) at the same show you were at. Like me, she is a novice handler. Her boy is aweseome.
I was Chief Ring Steward for the show and watched many rings and many dogs compete. I saw your friends Elkhound and thought he was very deserving of the win.
It's fun watching people get a championship on a dog-its a big thrill even to those who have many under their belt. It's still a great feeling for the handler and an exciting moment for the dog.
"When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known."
Sigurd F. Olson
It should be a good photo seeing I won't be in it.
Being Cheif Ring Steward did not give me the time to show so a friend of min Gloria-showed Cooper.
The picture will be of Cooper, Judge Doerge, Gloria who handled him, Lynne who is the breeder who was down with her boy Clancy (half brother) and Deb who is the owner of Cooper's Grandfather James. It was very much a family affair.
"When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known."
Sigurd F. Olson
I have alway "outfitted" myself and have not used an outfitter for anything other than a warm shower at the end of the trip, to pick up sovengiers for the the kids and the "crap I forgot to pack the ____" purchases.
So I was wondering how to get a permit pick-up at an outfitter.
I am taking my nephews (15 & 13) up to the BW Labor Day weekend and would like to pick up my permit at an outfitter closer to what ever EP I pick.
Any help/suggestions would be greatly appriciated!
The lapping of waves on the shore...
The hypnotic gurgling of a stream...
The eerie call of a loon...
We originally scheduled a pickup at ranger station but changed it to the outfitter where we're renting a canoe.
The ranger told me to call Reserve America, which is now recreation.gov, and they were very helpful. Just have your permit number, and if there's time, they can make the switch for you!
I'm pretty sure any outfitter can actually pull and issue a permit you've reserved for pick up at the ranger station. (Maybe Lynn can confirm.) But once you've reserved for outfitter pick up, another outfitter can't issue it unless you've changed it through Reserve America (which might be difficult or even impossible on short notice). So reserving for pick up at the ranger station allows for last minute switches if all you are doing with the outfitter is picking up a permit, not renting stuff.
there's a drop-down box to select where you pick up the permit. Outfitters are listed under "Cooperator Permit Stations" rather than Forest Service Stations. Just select the proper outfitter and you're all set.
If you get your permit through a responsible outfitter, they should send you an email within an hour (especially if there is only 1 permit left!) with confirmation number, EP and date of entry, etc. Within 3 days you should get another email from the webmaster@customercare.reserve america.com with your permit number, ep, entry date etc.
I always pick up my permit from the outfitter so I don't have to worry about making it to the ranger station in time.
Our Chris is entering his H.S. senior year (2007-2008) come this fall and needs to be thinking about colleges. (or if he's even going to go that route).
Chris is crazy about being outdoors. He loves fishing/hunting yet has a deep concern for animals (no that's not a contradiction). For years I have fondly called him "Speaker to Animals" not because of some cheesy New Age thing but because that is his way and nature around animals.
I would love to see him go into the Ranger/Forest Service or Fish & Wildlife Service. But that is Federal and he's not ecstatic about being assigned park hut duty at an "Interpretive Nature Center" in who knows where.
He saw a couple Rangers in the BW who asked us for permits etc and is quite interested about that. I told him (while looking at those above mentioned websites) most of the positions in those gov't services are at least four year degrees.
If Cabela's was building in town he would camp out for three days just to be first in line for an employment application. He is also wondering about working at an Outfitter in the BW area (Ely - Gunflint etc). Is that year around? I don't know. He still has to think about long term skills.
He's also good with his hands - we're building that 38 Special and a lot of it is his own work.
So we're looking at options here. Opinions invited.
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Journal of EP50 to Long Island Lake to No. Temperance to
Brule through Cliff to Winchell to Caribou to Poplar. http://home.wmis.net/~eastmant/bwca.html
Tim Eastman
"Lead by example and be an example worth following"
The Iowa DNR has both park rangers and traditional fish and game wardens. Of the ones I've talked to, most have Wildlife Biology degrees or Forestry degrees. Almost all have full 4 year degrees too, not just an associates degree. There is a lot of competition for the jobs, and you need to have something "extra" to stand out.
A lot of folks on this board have more experience with Forestry and Parks than I do, but the friends I have in NPS and NFS say there is an increasing emphasis on Law Enforcement certification. In fact, one of the NPS guys I know says that's really the only way a new person can get a job - be LE certified. He said that all the basic "rangering"-type jobs (interpretation, naturalist, fire protection, etc) are still needed, but the folks who get those jobs are also LE certfified. Full EMT certification is also a requirement for many jobs, particularly in the small parks where the ranger is the first responder. Is he good with a gun? In excellent physical shape? Is he willing to take EMT certification? [In our community a person can get their EMT in the evenings at the local community college in a few months.] You can also work quite a few years as a seasonal worker before you can get hired in as permanent staff, something to think about if he wants a family soon.
The county parks in Iowa also hire rangers and naturalists. Most of the ones I've talked to also have 4 year degrees, and a number of them get into the field through AmeriCorps volunteer stints.
you might want to take a look at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. They have an excellent Natural Resources program there and my game wardens come from that school.
My sister is a wildlife biologist. She works in the field censusing endangered birds and stuff like that. Her degree is a masters, but that's partly because her bachelors is in history so not applicable. It's a really satisfying job. Pay sucks, though.
Oh yeah, and she talks to the birds, too (not to mention conversations with her dogs).
I don't have too much experience at the State, local or pvt sectors, so most of my thoughts would pertain to Federal employment.
First of all, the employment backdrop is a mixed bag. Constant squeezing of budgets for agencies not related to health and human svcs or defense has greatly reduced the numbers of employees. But, on the plus side for a young person, the demographic curve of the workforce is heavily skewed to the 45 yr plus group. That means retirements continue to be brisk.
Also on the plus side is the variety of positions and the variety of locations across the country. Pay is decent, but not for someone desiring to be on upper end of pay scales. Retirement and benefits are also good but not great. Of course, the pay and retirement depends somewhat on one's ability to move up the ranks over time.
The Federal Agencies with primary land mgm't duties include US Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and US Fish and Wildlife Service. However, a wider variety of federal entities hire foresters, e.g. Dept of Defense (military bases with lots of land), Bonneville Power Agency, Bureau of Reclamation, etc). Fish and Wildlife Bios have fewer but some additional options beyond USFWS, e.g., NOAA.
There are also lots of smaller niche employers of biological-oriented employees beyond governmental or industry concerns. Just have to find them.
There are two primary categories of jobs...Technicians and Professionals. Technicians generally lack the 4 yrs college degree required of professionals and can qualify with no post-high school training. A couple year degree from a Jr. College can speed your career progress some tho. The professional forester or fish/wildlife bio needs the 4 yr degree from an accredited institution.
The Forest Service - and other Agencies to a lesser degree - has a large number of temporary jobs. They, and permanent ones for that matter, are in a wide range of occupational areas such as fire, recreation, timber mgmt and silviculture, etc. And within those area are numerous specialized jobs. I think you need to be 18 but no other special qualifications required. If you live in an area with a Forest Service office, I'm sure someone would be happy to talk with you and give you a leg up on the process. Many kids get their start through the temp job approach. If you're in college, the school will normally be able to assist with summer placement.
Relatively few Forest Service position are of an interpretive specialist nature...sadly so in my opinion. Most are fire related...always have been. I always thought the Wilderness Ranger positions were the best, but that's just my bias.
If you go on to a 2 yr or 4 yr school, you want to apply to compete for a SCEP position. I can't recall what the letters stand for anymore, but it's basically like an intern position. If you connect, you get seasonal employment until you graduate and then the FS will offer you a permanent job. It may not be at the same unit where you've been working but you will be able to bypass all the competitive process.
Another item to remember is Veteran's Preference. On the intial hiring of someone into the Federal agencies, an Honorably Discharged Vet has what's known as Veterans' Preference. If two people are up for a job and one is a veteran and one isn't, the Agency must select the vet for the job. So, if your son spends a little time with the Defense Dept. he'll get a leg up on Federal jobs.
That's the big picture of it. If you have any more specific questions that I might help with, shoot me an e-mail.
My best wishes to your son. He does good work and undoubtedly benefits by having a father/mentor such as yourself.
My son is looking at the same type of career path. We visited Vermillion CC in Ely on one of our trips up there and he was very impressed by the outdoor options and career advice they provided. They also have many reciprocal agreements for transfer to four year schools. They offer great job placement opportunities for summer(i.e. outfitters) and permanent positions through the country. He begins classes there in the fall.
First, let me second the suggestion of the book 48 days to the work you love. Great resource!
So your son wants to go into natural resources management. Well, there are a few things to consider. First, what kind of work and responsibilities would he like to do/have? Does he just want to tag fish, work in a hatchery, write tickets, or track animals with no real say in what any of that work means in a larger picture? If all he wants to do ultimately is work outside, then he needs a BS degree in a natural resource field of his choice: fisheries, wildlife, forestry, etc. This is what is needed for a technician or conservation officer. A CO additionally requires about 6 months or so at a Police Academy, because usually COs are considered full officers of the law. This degree does not require a great deal of analytical or math ability, and it is highly weighted towards field work. It is, however, lower paying on average than other options.
The next option. Does he want to work on fish, wildlife, or trees, and do some field sampling, design research studies to answer questions about the resources, educate the public on how and why the govt agency he ends up working for (state or federal) manages the resource, write up technical reports that advance the knowledge in natural resource, and maybe utlimately become an administrator for that agency, helping decide on natural resource policy? If so, he needs to go on and get a MS degree in whatever field he wants to work at. He would end up being a Fisheries or Wildlife Biologist (not sure what the equilivent forestry term would be). This requires good grades, attention to detail, and at least some ability in analysis and math. If he wants to try and make a difference in how we manage our resources, this is where he wants to be. It carries a lot more responsibility (he would be managing a team of folks in the first category), and is generally evenly divided between field work and office work. Obviously, if he becomes an administrator, it would be mostly office work. People in these categories constitute the bulk of the folks that run our natural resource management in this country. The pay is several grades over those in Category #1.
Sometimes folks going for a MS degree decide they like the research process so much that they go on for a PhD and end up at the front end of natural resource management, designing field studies to tackle issues that state and federal agencies are interested in but do not have the resources for. It is often cheaper to pay a university to do the work than to do it themselves, because often manpower is limited. This has the advantage of diversity. You never know what you will work on next or where it will be. This is where I am. Over the last 10 years I have worked on the effects of variable reservoir lake levels on sportfish recruitment in TN, a statewide evaluation of crappie populations in TN reservoirs, the effects of a large herbicide application on the largemouth bass population in Lake Seminole, GA, the effects of spraying herbicide on spawning bass in ponds, population dynamics of sunfish in Georgia rivers, including the effects of river flow on growth, and how to growth trophy bass in ponds. I am about to embark on two studies on shoal bass, on geared at evaluating the stocking program for restoration efforts for this species here in AL, one dealing with movement and behavior of this fish in 2 GA rivers. I say all this not to brag, but to illustrate the diversity of things you can do in 10 years in this position. Pay is the best of the 3 categories, but still far below what most folks can make in the business or law fields.
Hope this helps you (and him). Feel free to email for more info.
"Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."
After an early June trip with GSP and FishFanatic, I am the proud owner of a bent shaft paddle from my friend GSP. Have sanded the paddle down and am toying with the idea of adding a picture to the paddle by my artistic daughter as a future heirloom.
Two questions:
- If I put a picture or drawing on the paddle, should it go on the sanded wood, or apply a finish coat on the paddle and then put the picture on with additional coats of finish? Any suggestions on what to draw the picture with such as a Sharpie pen, paint, other??? Is it possible to take a picture from a photograph and put it on a paddle much like they do quilts or T-shirts?
- Went to Home Depot and they suggested a product Helmsman Spar Urethane by Minwax that is a clear gloss. Is this a good product or are there other suggestions? How many coats of finish should be put on the paddle?
This is my first project of this type, and I look forward to the vast expertise that this board has. The paddle will get a lot of use, but will also become a prized heirloom by my daughters as the paddle that Dad used and the many memories created on those trips.
The picture idea came from my daughters as they watched me refinishing the paddle. I told them I'd research the idea and see if it could be done.
A slip decal would be unique, customizable, and looks to be easy to use. I see there are several places on the internet that sell slip decals, but I bet my local hobby shop has them also.
Good to know that spar urathane is good to finish off a paddle that will see a lot of water use.
I've finished off with the spar urathane, but I have NOT used the paddle, once done this way.......
I was looking more for an "ornamental" display type process, so I'm not too sure how durable the final product will be.
AND, the water-slide decals are pretty easy to use, but TAKE YOUR TIME, and try it out on a piece of wood first..........After the decal glue sets up, it might be hard to get them off the paddle.
I will be taking my time between each step. Also opens up the door for the daughter that draws to complete her work and then scan it in for the final picture. My girls are having a great time planning what they are going to do for the project.
Here is a picture I posted some time ago. I put a coat of epoxy on the bare wood and then did the ink drawings with a Sharpie and then I fiberglassed the blade, again with a couple of coats of epoxy. I finished it with 3 coats of spar urethane. It should hold up pretty well.
Those are beautiful paddles and your artwork is excellent. Might have to let one daughter do artwork and the other do the decal method.
Could a person just use spar urethane for 5 - 6 coats? Is there a need to do epoxy for 2 to 3 coats and then spar urethane? This is my first project like this, and the people that sell finishes in Nebraska just say, "I don't really know, and you are the first person to every try to put wood underwater."
Again, your paddles are a work of art and thank you for sharing your knowledge on applying finishes.
share in your finished work. Most of my paddles have been more on the artsy side; made for hanging on the wall rather than banging off the rocks.
I did make one for actually paddling tho. And I put two coats of epoxy on it. No spar varnish...but maybe I should have. I plan to take it on this year's trip. We'll be in and around Darky Lake, hence the Heartless Moose. And also passing the LLC Pictos, hence the big bull moose.
The first two pics are before I put the epoxy on.
A pic from a test run over on a coastal bay. The epoxy has been applied before taking the paddle out on the bay.
That paddle had and ash shaft, cedar blade(s) and an ash strip around the cedar.
We think we might have to say goodby to our black lab of 16 years. Being the kids are only 17 years old this is the hardest thing i have ever had to concider. He is like one of our children. I only say like becouse he listens beter then they do. He is having truble with his hips and blader control. along with other health reasons. so this is a problem that needs to be delt with. Wow to keep from tearing up while typing this is dificult.After reading all the entrys typed on this web and sharing thaughts with all of you. I figured why not share this and see how others have had to deal.Any feed back is welcome. thank you.
This was posted right here on the CCBB quite some time ago by Sundog. It immediately went into "My Favorites". I hope it helps a little, although I know it's a tough time. Good luck with everything.
to my Kacey and 10 years before that, Susie. Both Shorthaired Pointers, both made it to 16+ years, & both loved very much.
I've never seen that video before, made me cry as I watched it. A good cry, still missing them yet remembering the good times.
It gets better, but you never get over it, especially when you have to be the one to say "enough pain for you my dear fuzzy friend, I'll take care of you the best I know how".
Not to commercialize, but just to let you know I am one of those "outfitter types"
It's a tough road to go down. I traveled that same road less than two years ago and had to make that decision for my companion of 13 years. You will know when the time is right.
I can't speak much about the hip situation, but you might want to ask your vet about Phenylprop for bladder control. This medication has worked wonders for the dog I have now.
My thoughts are with you and remember to make decisions based on what is best for your little buddy.
Good luck
however, the joy that animal brought to your life is worth the pain of knowing the loss you are facing. I, even now, am tearing up over the loss of our beloved Golden Retriever 3 years ago. I can never see a Golden without thinking of him and how he smiled (HE DID SMILE!) when we came home and the sheer utter joy he had when seeing us.
As Will Rogers said "If animals don't go to heaven when they die, when I die, I want to go where they are"
We are feeling for you, buddy, do what is best for your much loved pet!
You know if it's time. Not only has he given you plenty of great memories, but at 16 years - a long time for a big dog - you've given him a long, affection-filled life as well. My heart goes out to you and your kids.
The hard thing is make the tough call and doing what's best for the pet. The pain and sorrow will be felt for a long time. Try to cling to the good memories and focus on those.
Having been where you are on three occasions, I can sympathisize.
I have tears recalling those occasions and for you and your family.
"Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing." Henry David Thoreau
I’ve been facing similar problems with my 12 year old German Shorthair. So far, small adjustments in her routine have allowed us to “work around” these issues. She’s still full of life and every day contains moments of joy for her. I’ve decided when her health deteriorates to the point that her quality of life is no longer there, then it will be time. If the chronic pain of worn-out hips is beyond the point of being alleviated by medication, I’d seriously consider what the dog is going through.
This was my first dog (ever) and we’ve been through a lot together; it too tear up at the thought of her passing. I sympathize greatly with your situation. Best wishes.
I'm so sorry Pakhound,
Saying goodbye is so difficult, and the decision for euthanasia is heart-breaking. Please understand it is also your final act of love for your dog, to alleviate his suffering, and provide peace. For humans, we provide hospice to provide constant pain relief and deep sedation, as death approaches. For our pets, "pawspice" is just not an option (currently anyway), and so euthanasia is a very humane alternative to dying naturally. Although we may wish to just find them peacefully passed into death one morning, as a veterinarian, I can tell you this is unfortunately very rare. They may experience tremendous pain, anxiety, and difficulty breathing as the organs, joints, lungs and hearts fail. Please know that our thoughts are with you, and I hope that 16 years of very special memories sustain you both through this very difficult time, and through the rest of your life too.
RSL
It's one of the hardest decisions we have to make. We made that decision for our Vizsla, Rika, last September. It's difficult, but not as difficult as watching your beloved pet's quality of life evaporate. She left us peacefully, with dignity, and with many, many wonderful memories, as did our other furry children over the years. Rika and her predecessors remain in our hearts forever. And our new furry child, Murphy, fills our life now.
I went through this several times and as recently as December when we made the decision to end Rainey's suffering. She had a brain tumor, was only 10 years old and I felt so ripped off because she was so healthy in all other respects.
It was terribly difficult to say goodbye. I would lay on the bed with her and just sob. I cried every time I had to think about what lay ahead for us. Good friends really helped me. They told me things that made a difference such as, "dogs don't know about tomorrow, only today". We tend to humanize them while they really don't know. They are not thinking, "oh boy, I'm going to miss my people"
We, on the other hand, know the pain of loss and grief. We start to grieve as soon as we know the end is coming. Everyone told me I would know when the time was right to do the kindest thing for Rainey. And they were right. There is a look in their eye that begs for release from the suffering. One morning, Rainey told me enough was enough.
I took her into the woods for our last walk together. Just me and Rainey as it had been so many times in the past, Rainey and I getting through tough times together. Rainey always at my side, happy go lucky. Rainey putting up with me when I screamed unkind words born of my own torment. She never let me down, even getting me out of bed in the morning when I just couldn't rise. Then finally, we found happiness and a new life and she shared in all that. And yes, she even made it to the BWCA!! I swore I'd never take her there but she did great and I am so glad now that we did it.
During our walk in the woods I knelt down and she came to me. I asked her if it was okay for us to say goodbye. She gave me a big ol kiss. We finished our walk, me in tears, just like I am now. But at the same time I felt a sense of peace. Once again, Rainey was there for me and I would be able to help her.
Randy and I took her to the vet and stayed with her. I held her face in my hands and told her to be happy and free. After she was gone we stayed for quite some time, just touching her and making sure she got to the bridge where she will wait for us. I smiled and said she probably went by canoe.
I spent a weekend with my dad soon after. He taught me how to make boxes with finger joints and together we made one for Rainey's ashes. It was a very special time when we put her remains in it with her collar and sealed it. Something I will never forget.
In the end, while we miss her so much, we know we did the right thing. She did not need to lose her last shred of dignity and continue to suffer. Remember what another friend told me, "I know only one person who said they did it too soon (had their dog euthanized) but I know many who said they waited too long"
We did the right thing...and you will too when the time is right and it sounds as though it may be. Take comfort in knowing you are doing it for your boy, who obviously has given you so much.
Pachound I can't really add much to the wisdom already spoken on the board here. Other than a lot of us have had to do exactly the same thing - almost the same circumstances.
We had to put our border collie Daisy down in 2003. We rescued her before Chris was born ('89) so Chris didn't know a day in his life when "Daze" was not around.
It's not easy saying goodbye. But for all the intense grief we went through - I would not miss out on having Daisy share her life with our family. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
I hope it goes as well as it can. We're all here for you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Journal of EP50 to Long Island Lake to No. Temperance to
Brule through Cliff to Winchell to Caribou to Poplar. http://home.wmis.net/~eastmant/bwca.html
Tim Eastman
"Lead by example and be an example worth following"
I really don't think I can add much to what has been already said, other than that you and your pooch will know when it is time. When my lab began "leaking" the vet put her on phenylpropenalomine pills. They really helped. There are also some canine analgesics that may help manage the pain. Unfortunately time and age take their toll on everyone. You are in our thought..
I have wanted a lab for years. I can honestly say that I only hesitate getting one because I don't think I could stand to ever have to put him or her down without it breaking my heart. If I don't get one, I'll miss out. If I do, I get to have years of a fun loving animal. I'm terribly sorry you have to go through this. That's just heartbreaking. You have my sympathy. Makes me want to believe in dog heaven.
There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie --
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.
When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find -- it's your own affair --
But . . . you've given your heart to a dog to tear.
When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone -- wherever it goes -- for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.
We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept'em, the more do we grieve;
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long --
So why in -- Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?
my mom and dad had to put "sparky" down this past week - he was sheltie... and had been in the family 20 years -way longer than he should have been - the last time I saw dad cry that hard was when he found his mom dead... there is nothing that can heal the heart of losing a pet.. My and my families sympathies...
This is very very sad to read. Dogs are wonderful creatures and
best friends. Really sorry that we can't give your pooch
15 more years of good health. One of the family.
...it's definitely a terrible place to be - trying to decide what to do. 16 years can really hold soooo many wonderful memories. I've stayed with a lot of older dogs who have been able to take medication for incontinence. The hip problems though are not so easily managed. Dogs are amazing critters and I think "man's best friend" is a completely agreeable description of them. Your dog is lucky to have such a wonderful family! (and vice versa!)
We lost our pup eleven months ago. Cried for a week when I'd think of her. It's difficult to contemplate the loss of these critters we love. I remember the good times and feel grateful the Lord let me be her buddy.
My son carried her into our home when he was 16. I was gone on the road and he had to carry her out to the car for her last trip to the vet 17 years later.
The girls hugged her alot. They both have their own children know. Maybe someday soon they will have a pup to share with our grandchildren. Kids and pups go together.
My wife was the one who spent the most time with our pup. She trained the pup about when to go out. The pup would curl up on the floor near her quite often these past years. The pup couldn't get up on the couch anymore, so we purchased new furniture. The pup sure wanted to spring up there, but as these things go, there was no spring left anymore.
Flowers grow now where she lays and spring will come every year. Sometimes, tears will help them grow!
well despite the lack of rain in over 30 days down here we picked 7 gals put up 12 pies ( 9 1/2 inch pies).. eating the rest ... they finally got rain while I was here - 2 1/2 inches.. first time I ever remember picking black raspberries in the rain.. well back to racine and start picking up there this week -gordon said they are just coming on...
I just got back from 3 days on the north shore - my consolation trip for missing my put-in on Duncan Thursday. Last nite we were pasing back thru Grand Marais after a jaunt into Canada to see Kekabeka Falls (more later on that)and on the south end of town were dozens of cars and more looking for parking. They were all headed towards the Folk School, so we did too. Turns out to be the 10 Anniversary/Biorthday party/Summer Solstice bash, complete with fundraiser silent auction (already finished ) of quite a few boats and other projects made at the school - fun to look at! And also a play done by the locals, all somehow associated with the school. The turnout was probably the population of the town - all brought their own chairs and filled the area between the buildings, facing a makeshift stage where a local group of musicians played. It looked like an ad from Backpacker or Organic Gardening Magazines - all these beautiful people wearing natural fibers and zip-offs and Tevas and Patagonia and Columbia, with children named Willow and self-made baby front carriers with gorgeous healthy babies in them, and the scent of patchouli everywhere, all greeting and hugging one another, and dozens of dogs barking.
An announcer ,sort of a medeieval commentator came out, complete with face mask with a long beaked nose, and crown of fresh lilacs, lupines and lots of birch branches - very classy! And told us this was a tale of loss and hope, of the Ham Lake fire. First out was wheeled a tall scaffold with a box on top of cardboard clouds, and up popped various players, Wind, Fire, and Rain, and the most recent important one, Comfort. They wore larger than life puppet masks and grand costumes, a la Heart of the Beast Mask and Puppet Theatre in Mpls mixed with Renaissance Festival, overdone and dramatic and accompanied by the musicians. Chldren danced around the base of the scaffolding and Comfort threw Hershey's Kisses at the crowd, especially the kids.
The narrator unfolded the tale that we were watching, of a man who came to his cabin on the Gunflint and opened up for the summer, got startd on his projects with the help of his trusty dog, and then heard on the radio of the fire and the evacuation. He said the radio stressed the 4 P's, and everyone in the audience, including the kids, shouted "Pets! Papers! Pictures! Pills!" what to bring in an emergency evacuation. Someone behind the cardboard house is throwing out P things in cardboard and the man holds them up - Pizza? No! shouts the crowd and the dog (Ro!) Porcupine? (Ro!) Potatoes? Ro, ror reaven's rake mutters the dog, shaking his head and stuffing his man into the carboard car and driving him off to town. Here they are met by Comfort, with her lovely crown of wiggly wires holding pictures of a Hershey Bar, a bed, a phone, a canoe, a teddy bear, a picture of Mom and some other things. She magically produces a small table and chair, sits the man down and pulls off one of her large skirt scarves and sets the table with it. A few children dance in and serve him tea and biscuits, and some more kids bring in a folding bed, up on which he falls asleep with his dog, and Comfort pulls off more of her skirt to lay over them.
Next scene - the fire, and Wind and Fire dance with one another, and a huge 30 foot intense red satin dragon with a beautiful fierce horrifying face, held on 5 or 6 poles which flow up and down rushes in, and a man carrying a helicopter surrounded by a mass of children of various sizes with fire helmets (some holding them on) and yellow rain jackets chase the dragon with cardboard hatchets and saws and shovels, and sometimes get chased back by the dragon. Other children holding large cardboard fires rush around, but finally the firefighters win out and chase off the fire. This is all accompanied by Johnny Cash's "I fell into a burning ring of Fire" and everyone in the audience is clapping along and many singing, and booing the dragon.
Next scene is silent for awhile, not a sound from the crowd. In come 7 or 8 people on stilt tree branches, black and barren, and balance on another blackened branch. The musicians sing "It's ok to cry", and many watching are crying, and singing along.
And then comes Rain (on stilts), accompanied by a gang of women in blue and purple veils, and huge poles topped by circles holding long ribbons of blue, and they walk in among the barren trees and dance along with the music. And sun (on high stilts) dances around too, and everyone is clapping loudly and cheering (a lovely Celtic song is played that sounds so much like re-birth), and in parade a whole LOT of the smallest children dressed in green with green crowns and small branches on their heads to stand among the blackened trees, new life and hope, and everyone is on their feet cheering and clapping.
I had goosebumps and tears. It was like the most ancient of storytelling, a kind of therapy of their lives, retold as a story of hope and strength and learning, and especially of community and caring for one another and how incredibly important this place and this community is for each one there.
Not bad consolation.
Anyone have experience hiking the Powwow trail? Every year, we like to spend one or two of our days hiking, and this Sept we'll do the same. We'll start our hike where the trail goes between Lake Three and Horseshoe Lake. With the very limited info I've heard, it sounds like the trail is not well maintained, and perhaps a challenge to follow.
.... about not being well maintained. But it's definitely worthwhile hiking. I'd highly recommend hiking southwards from the Horseshoe Lake/Lake Three area towards Rock of Ages, Path, and Mirror Lakes. This is my favorite section of the trail.
That's very enticing information. The photography is just awesome.
It looks like you never posted a trip report. If you have completed one, I'd be curious to read it.
We're looking forward to hiking the trail. We've done parts of the Kek in the past, but this looks more primitive and challenging. We are not experienced backpackers, we just are planning a 6-8 mile hike one direction one day, back to base camp probably on Horseshoe or Lake Three, then another 6-8 mile hike the other direction. What can we expect? Are we going to get soaked walking thru wetlands? Does the trail disappear at times? Any suggestions?
I've got one posted and have a few successful (that's a jab at Nibi) hikes under my belt. link - http://ahmoocreek.com/oct2000/. I haven't hiked most of the Powwow since 2000, so some info could be slightly dated. The pictures pre-date my digital camera days. Nibi is absolutely right, the Superstition to Lake Three section is the best section of the trail. That doesnt' mean that there aren't some good sections elsewhere - the part along North Wilder before 1999 was a favorite and I like the hike along South Wilder as well - even some up further along Pose Creek, but if had to focus on one section it would be from Lake Three down to Rock of Ages, Path, Mirror and Superstition Lakes. I personally think the campsite on the shore of Path Lake would be the one I'd chose. Rock of Ages is a close second. I can't remember details behind the Superstition campsite. Mirror Lake campsite is pretty rough. The spur trail to Quadga leads to a pretty good campsite, but Quadga does see canoe traffic and might be sub-optimal. I've often thought that Rock of Ages is the prettiest BW lake I've ever seen, but that's a personal thing that is influenced by lighting, mood, etc.
My personal opinion is that the trail is no more difficult to follow than the Kek. So if you've done parts of the Kek, you'll be fine. There are a couple sections where the feet can get wet and you might even need to do some route finding trying to keep your feet dry, but again, nothing that you don't have to do once in a while on the Kek. Bring a GPS with pre-entered waypoints from the trail if you feel you might be vulnerable to getting lost.
Ironically, I plan on hiking from Lake Three south to Rock of Ages or Path Lake in a few weeks, but it will be a day trip with kids.
Best of luck and don't hesitate to let me know if you have other questions.
I'm currently reading a book called Lost in the Wild. One of the two stories is about a guy who got lost on the Pow Wow in 2001 by himself. Apparently there used to be an old logging camp in the area and he got sidetracked on one of their old trails. But, he made quite a few errors on his solo hike and just wasn't paying enough attention for an unmarked trail.
Sounds like a cool area, as long as you stay on the trail. You'd probably enjoy the book since you're going there.
Any other information about the Turtle-Flambeau to share? Was up there nine years ago, but haven't made it back yet. Just curious about your experience.
No one ever looks back on their life and regrets the adventures they've had.
______________________________________________________________
Pete
Shouldn't poke fun at the guy - i bet he had a great time...He's getting out there and doing more than alot of us on the board.
Man I hate waking up with a dead hooker" –Dan Henderson
"I have retard strength" –Jason “Mayhem” Miller
"He spent the night in a hospital, I spent the night at a bar." -BJ Penn
I sat waiting for a pickup at the Lake One entry point last year for about an hour. Doesn't look unusual at all! Like Speckled said, the vast majority were going to have a good time, even if they have to work at it a little bit more with bulky gear and ice chests.
The funniest thing I've ever seen around Lake One is one I've mentioned before - the college kids with a pony keg of beer that they were deciding wasn't such a good idea. The second funniest was the six very well dressed women (white shorts! - day trippers) who carried their canoes across the portage to the Lake One "puddle", one boat at a time. They only had two people really carry the canoe (suitcase style), but all 6 walked the portage all three times needed to bring the three boats. I hope they had a good time, but they were already complaining about the amount of work so I'm afraid they didn't.
Give the guy credit. Instead of using his tandem as a solo, he is appropriately in the bow seat with all the important gear in the stearn. He does appear level, if not level headed. Jerry G
seen everything' sights. I say that every year. A couple of years ago, we were at the K-Lodge, fishing off the dock, sipping beer and more or less getting ready to start our trip the next morning. A van pulls up and 13 8 gallon kegs are put on the dock, followed by 80 pounds of charcoal, 150 quart coolers filled with frozen food. 20 pound propane tanks to heat water for hot showers. We were stunned. Their objective was Insula. They used stretchers to carry the stuff across the portages.
This last trip I commented to Jim/WI, "If they can make tiny portable stoves for camping why can't they make a tiny cooling device? It'd be like a stove only make things colder instead of hotter."
Then when I saw your reference of "20 pound propane tanks" memories came rushing back of propoane refrigerators and I wondered if there were such a thing as a portable propane refrigerator, so I googled it. http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?itemID=4453&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C676%2C810%2C816%2C896 So, with that item, a 20 pound propane tank, and the LP tank connector you are almost good to go.
The last thing you need to do is to remove the wheels. Ya can't have wheels in the BWCA ya know.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
No kidding. Crossing Sag headed for Cache Bay we saw this sight...the "gear" was piled to shoulder height. The canoes were lashed together. I have no idea what kept the 5 gallon buckets from rolling off the load. I was absolutely gawking but didn't get out the camera.
I've taken LOTS of trips where we take the kitchen sink, and MORE. Whose to say what makes a GREAT trip.
When we base camp, that is EXACTLY what we do...........BASE CAMP. With coolers, solar showers, GREAT food, some brewskies, and who knows WHAT else.
Just because I'm not single portaging, or taking a kevlar canoe, or carrying tons of camera equipment doesn't mean JACK. I pack a TON of fishing gear, because I tend to LIKE fishing.......I've taken nets, baskets, minnow traps, etc, etc.
Don't judge me, or anyone else, for that matter, because they do it differently.
I don't care what anyone takes. I was simply AMAZED at what I saw and how it all seemed to be staying in/on the canoe. I'm not sure what kept it there, the pile was so high...shoulder high! I've taken a lot of stuff other people wouldn't bother with, including a TON of fishing stuff AND camera equipment. I prefer that it all be in packs but I don't care how many.
Everybody is entitled to enjoy their trip the way they want, but if he tipped over his trip would be over. Plus he's not wearing a life jacket. Maybe he is a newbie and could use some pointers, and who knows maybe he would be receptive and appreciative.
When I see people like this, I think "Good for you!"
Mostly good for them for getting out and doing what they want to do.
Mostly good for them for going after their trips even though they don't
have high tech, lightweight or compact canoe camping gear.
I also chuckle and think "I hope that sleeping bag doesn't fall in the drink!"
Tough Old Bird and I will be entering the BW at Brule Lake in mid July, with the idea of staying at the Crescent Lake campground the night before. I will be bringing the dog, even after reading previous posts about some of the dangers of doing so. Our plan is to base camp on Brule, so we won't be doing alot of portaging (except on day trips). I think this will be a good type of trip to introduce Honey Bear to the BWCAW.
Although we plan on camping before this trip, I also try to make at least one additional trip to the Minnesota arrowhead, in past years staying in or near Duluth. Until adopting the dog, this wasn't a problem, I didn't need to concern myself with finding dog-friendly accomodations. Future plans will hopefully include travelling with the dog, and camping at one of the NF or State Parks is certainly an option. However, I would also like to know if anyone knows of accomodations that allow pets in the Duluth, Grand Marais, or Ely areas?
When in Ely last summer, we wanted to walk around town for the day and do some activities where dogs were not allowed.
My wife was able to leave her dog for the day at the Ely Veterinary Clinic on Miner's Drive. They took very good care of the dog.
We also stayed at a nice mom & pop motel on the north side of Sheridan Street. I do not remember the name of the place, but their parking was very cramped. They allowed pets.
Alan
"Never make the same mistakes. There are plenty of new mistakes just waiting to be made."
I have posted questions about suitable portage bag to fit in Bell Magic before and got few suggestions (mostly granite gear and ccs bags). But I love my Duluth packs (#4 and Rambler) and I would like to stay with a Duluth pack. I really like the open wide mouth, tump line, and the canvas material. My # 4 does not fit in the magic. Has any one tried a 2 or 3 Duluth pack in the Magic.
You have two choices, don't fill the #4, or buy a new pack. Which it aleady sounds like you are gearing up to do anyway. If that's the case, you owe it to yourself to try A CCS pack. He makes a pack specifically for solo canoes. They are comfortable to carry and very well made. You can even get a tumpline setup for it if you need one.
I'm not a salesman, just a happy customer, yada yada.
out or away from Lake One. The North Kawishiwi flows (from east to west) into Farm Lake. The South Kawishiwi flows (from northeast to southwest) then seems to join with the outflow from Birch Lake and flows into White Iron Lake from the south.
Tracing lake elevations, it would seem that White Iron empties into Farm Lake. The "rejoined" Kawishiwi River branches then jointly seem to flow north into Garden Lake.
Although, I've heard that the flow on the North and South branches is really only detectable near rapids (since it's so wide)...
Eglath has it right, they both flow away from Lake One. The South Branch eventually flows into Birch and then White Iron Lake, through Silver Rapids and joins up with the North Branch as they flow into Garden.
There is NO current to speak of except at the portages. It really does not matter which way you paddle on these rivers.
Shoot me an email if you want more info, I've done almost all of the route from EP's 30, 31, and 32 and I'm going in from EP 32 again on July 10.
Jim
Why? For the thrilling thunder of rapids, the mournful wailing of loons, and the lure of an untrammeled forest that leads to a fishing hole.
My daughter and I are entering at lake one on 7/20, and are looking for suggestions of campsites on our way up to Insula /Alice, and Thomas /Fraser. I've never traveled this route before, so any info regarding fishing spots, campsites, portages, pictographs, etc. We will probably spend a day or two hiking along the Powwow trail also. Recently added a gps unit to the navigation repertoire, so any waypoints/ coordinates would be helpful. Thanks!!!
Several along the south shore of Lake 3, one at the entry of Lake Four, a couple on Hudson that looked nice from the lake. Several on Insula, I've stayed on the island just south of Williamson, rock peninsula, great for watching stars etc. Thunder box is deep in the woods. Once you get to Alice, the sites along the east side, north of the river are all nice, sand beaches and spread out. I stayed on the third one up in that group. Nice site, decent swimming. The sites to either side of it looked nice too, though we didn't get a close look at them as they were occupied. Fishing is decent from Insula to Alice. Caught several nice walleye in Alice. Get your sites early.
We seam to go through this quite a bit. What would be the chances of building a seperate area to the website that could have a data base of all campsite ratings? I've seen reference numbers to campsites used before. Is this info available somewhere? I don't mind typing the same campsite info in, but it would be nice to have some corporate knowledge stored.
I think there are several on the bb that overtime have gained substantial data on campsites, some may have addresses you can go to, others will post responses or links. I know Wilderness Mama is contributing campsite ratings to BWJ, so that's another source. Hope that helps.
What I was envisioning is something like this. You log on to cc.com. Instead of going to this board, you click on "campsites" or "lakes". A screen pops up and asks you to select a lake. You select, say Lake Three. A map of Lake Three pops up with all the numbered campsites. You scroll down to read ratings and write-ups for each site. Does it have a beach? How many tent sites? Any special amenities? It could be printable so you could even take it on the trip and use it like a Michelin Guide. For instance, I read a recent trip report where someone stayed on Grace Lake. They described their campsite as OK. Would they have been interested in knowing that the campsite at the north end is pretty nice, but more importantly it has a small trail that goes a short distance to a rock where you can cast into the stream that comes out of Magic Lake and catch fish? Maybe they would or wouldn't, but if they were, it would be hard to find (this info has been written on this board) without some type of central depository. Maybe what I'm talking about is not practical, just an idea.
BWCA.com has a map section were members can add portage, campite, fishing and other comments on the map. The database is getting pretty big now, and has a lot of info.
Personally, I'd like there to be one source of BWCA info. The board is great for asking questions and bantering about, but where do you go to find out how bad it is to paddle the Perent River be Perent Lake and Isabella during low water? How good is that campsite half way between Perent and Isabella? Is there any fish near that campsite? Is that really an old hiking trail near there and where does it go? (I have answers if you want them)
There are a number of sources for this information, but none have really succeeded. My personal opinion is to see the BWCAWiki be that source. No, it doesn't have a campsite numbering system and all the campsites listed today, but it could and I think would be the best place for all of us to contribute our own personal information. If you look it up, I have my own personal BWCA website and have no interest in the BWCAWiki other than believing it's best positioned to be what I'd like to see - a single great source of information on entry points, lakes, campsites, routes, etc. It's not that today, but believe it could be.
I think the Compendium is the best source of info today, but is not user updateable to the best of my knowledge. Wild Paddle has a campsite numbering system I think it got from the Forest Service and is user updateable, but I'm not a big fan of the site. There are a couple others below and I'm probably missing some key sites that are targeted to be more than a personal site (like my own personal one).
One place would be nice for all the BWCA info, but I doubt it's going to happen. Different web sites have different goals and tools at their disposal.
Here is a run down on the BWCA websites out there and some observations. I can only comment on one of them with authority, the rest are just observations and speculations.
BWCAwiki
It uses the freely available program MediaWiki, from the organization that gives us Wikipedia. Wiki's are neat and great for documentation but have severe limitations when you get into things such as photo galleries, forums, blogs, or new forms of information. You also have to learn the cryptic syntax that it uses to convert the text into HTML.
A Boundary Waters Compendium
These guys are insane. This site is loaded, I mean loaded with all sorts of information. From the looks of it, they have coded these sites by hand (i.e. each page has been done individually). This becomes a very big problem to manage when you get over 100 pages. All other websites use some sort of system that uses a database to store the information and the page is created when you access it. As pointed out, it doesn't look like this information is updated much anymore and is closed to other people updating it.
Wild Paddle
This site is a new comer to the BWCA website list. It is built on a free program called Drupal. What sets this website apart is the ability to rate and review specific campsites in the BWCA. To find the campsite numbers it uses a flash based map to zoom into the lakes. It uses Google Maps on its site to show locations of campsites, entry points, and other such things. Since Wild Paddle is relatively new, the community contributed information on it, at this time, is small.
Wilderness Passages
No comment, haven't really seen this website before
Quiet Journey
This has a forum that uses YaBB forum software. Sadly, this site is hard to navigate around. The menus are not clearly labeled and they change depending on what page you are on. Like the Compendium, it uses a lot of hand done pages. Again, this makes it hard to maintain when you have so many pages to update. It has a large list of portage information. This also has more Quetico information than the other sites on this list.
BWCA.com
Pretty good site with forums, entry point, and lake information. The maps it uses are pretty crude topo maps and I was not able to figure out how to add campsite information or such spots that are marked on some of its maps. It also has a forum (see a theme here, they all have forums). BWCA.com has some other areas such as route information that looks like it is newer as it takes you to a whole other design/layout when you go to these areas. BWCA.com uses a programming language called Coldfusion, and it looks like all the functions on that site have been homegrown (as opposed to BWCAwiki and WildPaddle which both use freely available software to build their sites on).
Disclaimer: I am a web developer / System Administrator so I tend to look at websites differently than the average Joe Websurfer (usually more critical). I also have a vested interest in one of the above, but I'll let you decide which one that is.
Diversity here is good, each site has it's pros and cons, use them to your advantage.
Our Quetico trip starts July 5 with an Agnes EP permit. We'll be in the Ely area before that with my brother and family. What kind of events are there in Ely on the 4th? Thanks!
You have probably covered this base but here is the link to Ely's website. Hope you have a great trip and I look forward to your excellent report. I will be somewhere in the BW over the fourth...
The Gilbert Parade is held on the evening of the 3rd - whether you're a "ranger" or not, it is a really nice parade and a very good time. The shenanigans outside The Whistling Bird are a festival in and of themselves.
The city of Eveleth has its parade on the morning of the forth and is arguably one of the greatest parades in the state - again a ton of fun but bring a healthy liver.
As I child, I attended the 4th of July parade in Tower every year. It has become quite crowded (thousands of spectators?) due to an influx of "cabin people" from Vermilion, but it is also a nice parade with a variety of attractions, a 5k run, and a bunch of marching bands. I think it starts around 10 a.m. I've never been to Ely on the 4th, but I believe they stager starting times so you could watch the parade in Tower and get back to Ely in time for their festivities.
All the information about events and starting times should be available on the home page of what ever town you plan to be in for the 4th. Do not limit your northern MN 4th of July experience to Ely - you will be missing out. We locals may be a bit goofy, but we know how to celebrate Independence Day.
Use only under close adult supervision, aim away from face, light fuse, get away...
Is it true there is a really good Jamaican restaurant in town? I've looked as I've driven down the main drag several times but never saw a place that looked like the spot.
Everything on the menu is good and the jerk sauce is nice and spicy. If you ask, they'll prepare REAL jerked pork or chicken (not "dumbed down" for the palate of the average Minnesotan) that is to die for - and will kill a person of weak constitution.
They have a kettle drum band, hors d' oeuvres, and cheap rum drinks outside after the parade. Nothing like rubbing shoulders with the natives and gawking at a parade with a Maker's and water in hand!
Nice informative post! HoHo, VitaminE is right,
you can't go wrong with the Whistling Bird. I was
just there last week. Great food, good atmosphere
(casual) and good drinks too. Irie!
I'll be in Gilbert for the 4th festivities.. on the
4th itself, I'll be at the Side Lake parade (near
McCarthy Beach St. Park) in the a.m. Independence Day is a
heck of a lot of fun, Up North!
Great info, VE. Thanks! We will be leaving the BWCA sometime on the the third or fourth, trying to catch some local festitivites for those two days. Maybe we'll bump into some of you from this board. I'll be wearing an "Indianhead Resort" baseball cap on my head.
7/4 Tower 25th annual 10K starts at 8:00 a.m., 3 mile walk / run at 8:30, kids’ fun run at 8:30
7/4 Tower parade starts at 11:00 a.m.
7/4 Ely Parade starts at 1:00 p.m. with fireworks at 10:00 p.m.
All this info and more was availiabel from the City Hall's of the corresponding towns.
I’ll for sure be at the Gilbert Parade (near Big Al's) and possibly the Eveleth parade. I look somewhat like the person pictured in my CCBB bio entry. As a result of being with the kids and in-laws, I’ll only be half irie. Have fun – God Bless America!
Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Chisholm, Virginia, Cook, Mt. Iron, Aurora, and Hoyt Lakes all have parades on or around the 4th. I think Orr and Babbitt do too. Biwabik has 2 parades. Even those "Side Lakers" pop the silver spoons out of their mouths long enough for a parade - just kidding! It's my understanding that the Side Lake parade is lovely; I seem to recall watching part of it on public access TV.
You're welcome for the info. - I just really enjoy the 4th.
Entry Date: 06/10/07
Entry Point: 37 Kawishiwi Lake
Permit Issuing Station: Sawtooth Canoe Outfitters
Group: Ken Brown (aka Bannock); and Jim Balow (aka Jim/WI)
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
Jim and I left Onalaska, WI at 9:30 a.m. and arrived in Tofte, MN at 4:00pm. This included stops for lunch and gas. Onalaska was a good meeting spot for us. Jim wouldn’t need to detour the 23 miles each way to get me at home. We transferred gear from my car to his and my wife drove my car back home (or maybe she went shopping first).
This was Jim’s second BWCA trip of the year. He had been on the portage-clearing trip in May, but this was my first trip of the season. We’ll both be tripping together again in October when we do the “Four Solos” trip with Larry and Steve. Last year we did the same thing – the two of us did a June trip together and the Four Solos in October.
We decided we were going to take a slightly different route up north. In the past we took highway 53 to Eau Claire, but Jim said he though that highway 93 to Eau Clair was faster (and it was). This meant we were traveling through different little towns. One of the first was Arcadia, which has a chicken processing plant, Arcadia Fryers. We saw many billboards and signs about it.
Next came the village of Independence, which was having its “Independence Days”. The parade had obviously just gotten over and people were hanging out at the “Chicken Que” tent drinking beer at 10:00 a.m.
Then came Elk Creek, a tiny village that had a tavern with a gigantic, fiberglass Wonder Roast type chicken on its roof.
But the best was yet to come. After Elk Creek we came up on a truck pulling a trailer with something odd on it. I told Jim that from far away it looks like a big, fiberglass chicken! It turned out it was!! As we passed it we saw “Eleva Broiler Days” written on its side. Eleva was the next little town and apparently “Broiler Days” is their community festival and this was their float that had just participated in the Independence Days Parade.
Jim and I had great fun after that telling chicken stories and making up recipes for beer can chicken, comparing thing to chickens, etc. Jim said that this trip was to be known as the chicken trip. You can imagine our reaction to the Two Harbors giant chicken, something we had seen often but not in quite the same way.
We stopped at Sawtooth Outfitters in Tofte where we arranged to pick up our permit. Set-The-Hook introduced himself and his paddling partner, Neil, to us. A great surprise! I knew there was a possibility we may run into them while on the water, but I didn’t expect it at Sawtooth. We had a nice, albeit short, visit.
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While at the outfitters I bought a new Granite Gear Bucket. I neglected to bring my el-cheapo, vinyl bucket and took this opportunity to upgrade some equipment. After Sawtooth, we went over to the liquor store for a six-pack for the night’s supper.
We started up the Sawbill Trail at 4:30 pm, and by 5:30 we were at the Kawishiwi Lake Campground. I thought we made great time.
There are only 5 sites at the campground and they were all taken. In fact, we witnessed a few other groups come and go hoping to get a site. It seemed everyone was there for multiple nights, using it as a family campgrounds opposed to a place to stay overnight before entering the BW - pop-up campers, etc. We talked to a guy and his grandson who slept in the cab of their truck in the parking lot the night before.
Fortunately I had heard on one of the websites that there were a couple un-official campsites. Jim and I spotted one right away, so we were all set. Unlike the official sites, our bushwhack site didn’t have a picnic table or fire grate, but did have a stone fire ring. That seemed to be OK. A sheriff drove by while we were there and didn't seem bothered by it.
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The campground is very nice and seems like a very popular place. The sites are nice and most, if not all, of them have lake access. It has a very nice outhouse. There is no drinking water, but Jim and I knew that so had brought a large jug of water with us.
We saw many turtles on the gravel roads, and in fact, we got to watch a turtle laying eggs in the gravel parking lot at Kawishiwi. We could also hear grouse drumming in the distance. It was spring up north. I also noticed lilacs in full bloom along the north shore, something we hadn’t seen in a month in my part of Minnesota.
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Jim made a wonderful first night supper! At 7:00 pm we had steak cooked on the fire coals, foil wrapped potatoes and baby carrots, fresh tomato, and cold beer. Mmmmm … Jim is a great cook.
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At 9:30 pm the temperature dropped a bit and some clouds rolled in. I though maybe we were in for some rain, but none came. At 10:30 there were lots of fireflies. Shortly thereafter I was in bed.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
I was up at 5:30 a.m. The night was on the cooler side. As it turned out, it was coldest night of the trip. Up north the sun sets later and rises earlier this time of year than back home. I woke at 3:50 a.m. to birds chirping at the first gray light of pre-dawn. By 4:20 a.m. we had full daylight.
At 6:30 a.m., we started the day with our normal breakfast – oatmeal and hot chocolate. Then proceeded to get ready to launch. It took a while to pack up my tent, roll the sleeping bag and pad, get the canoe off the car, park the car, and generally just get organized. By 8:30 we were paddling.
This was a “two solos” trip, so Jim was paddling his Bell Magic. I had sold my Wenonah Encounter earlier in the year and had not yet bought a new one, so I was paddling a Wenonah Prism that I rented from our local canoe shop in La Crosse, WI. It was a Kevlar flex core, which according to Wenonah’s website, is 44 pounds. It felt like that was accurate.
I paddled a Prism many years ago and didn’t like it. Well, I have changed my mind. I like it a lot. It handled well, was rock solid, and had great glide. I thought maybe it was because I was paddling with gear this time, but later in the trip I paddle it empty and still liked it a lot. I wonder if the gel coat makes a difference. I paddled a skin coat before. I wonder if the gel coat stiffens the hull?
Today we paddled down stream through Kawishiwi Lake, the river, and across Square Lake where we reached our first portage, an easy 20-rod. That was soon followed by an 11-rod portage that we lined through. This second portage was not on my 15-year-old map but was on Jim’s newer one.
I love that kind of paddling, that is, those intimate rivers and creeks between the lakes. The Sawbill area has many of them and I have paddled many recently. Last year one of my trips originated at Baker Lake and another at Sawbill Lake. Those trips included the Temperance River, Ada Creek, Kelso River and others. Another trip from last year included Little Indian Sioux River. I do like the rivers.
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After Kawasachong Lake came the 189-rod portage, the pond called Townline Lake, and then the 95-rod portage to Polly Lake. The portages were fairly easy, although they had a bit of length and were a little muddy. It didn’t matter to me, but dry footers would not have been happy.
We reached Polly at 12:30 p.m. – four hours from when we launched. I thought that was pretty good considering we weren’t in a hurry at all. In fact, often we were just drifting with the current looking for wildlife, etc. At one point I floated right up to a deer. At first I didn’t see it and Jim, who was behind me, had to say something so I’d notice. She still had her winter coat -- that gray color opposed to the reddish brown coat they have in the summer. She looked big, too, like she was still carrying a fawn. Spring happens later here.
We began looking for a site on Polly and decided to take the island site in the middle of the lake (#2013). It was a nice, wide-open site big enough for a large group. We had lunch, set up camp, got water, gathered wood, and took a quick dip in the water to cool off. The only down side to the site was that the water was shallow, which made it tough for swimming and fishing from shore.
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Jim’s new CCS tarp
The day had turned hot. By 3:00 p.m. the wind had started, and by 4:30 p.m. it was blowing hard. The wind continued to blow for the rest of the trip. Also, the temperature got hotter. For the rest of the trip the daytime highs neared 90 degrees.
Jim is da man! He makes just the best meals on our trips. He gives a lot of credit to his wife, Rachel, so I tip my hat to her, too. That night we had a Knorr Sides Plus dish called Roasted Chicken Rice to which he added a foil package of chicken (more chicken stuff). Yum!
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OK. Here is the moment you have been waiting for ….. after supper, about 8:00 p.m., I caught a fish! A smallmouth bass to be exact. Yahoo!
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At 10:00 p.m. it was still light enough to read the writing on my coffee cup. It has big letters granted, but I could still read them. Let’s see, it was light before 4:00 a.m. and light until 10:00 p.m., so that is 18 hours of daylight and it is not even solstice yet!
I went to bed at 10:30 p.m.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
Looks like you could have tied on a bigger hook and used it for bait! (would that be legal?)
That looked like a great campsite. ..jstroke and I camped on the last one down the bay from there, on the southwest side. Heard wolves howling. Not a bad site, but same thing with very shallow water - made it tough for fishing. I had about the same luck there.
Navigation-wise, I had a heck of a time following Polly using the map the first time.
Come to think of it, I think we stopped and had lunch at your site on the way out at the end of the week. Very nice indeed. Battled the wind on our way south to the portage.
Jim did the menu planning and cooking, so he can correct me if I'm wrong, but the dish was simply one of the Knorr "Sides Plus", a foil packed side dish that you find in the supermarket. It's one of those that you add water, boil, and simmer. This one was called "Roasted Chicken Rice". To it Jim added foil package of Tyson chicken. Simple but extremely good.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
Up at 7:00, but, boy, was I stiff! Everything was tight and I had a hard time getting up off the ground. I popped an Aleve and was better within 15 minutes.
Since we had such a nice site, Jim and I decided to turn this into a base camp trip. So we had breakfast, packed our day packs, and left for Hazel Lake at 8:00 a.m. The Phoebe River is beautiful. The portages were easy and not too long. In fact, they seemed shorter than what the map said they were (How often does that happen?). All the portages were around beautiful rapids. What a great, little river to paddle!
Jim and I spotted the healthiest, largest fox I have ever seen. I don’t think either of us got a good picture, but this fox looked like it had its winter coat still and appeared to be the size of a dog. The foxes in my area are skinny little things the size of a house cat. This was a beautiful animal and it looked like a classic fox, except big. There was no doubt it was a fox. Spring comes late and the animals are big up north.
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Jim paddling the Phoebe River
We got to Hazel at noon and grabbed an empty campsite to have lunch. There are 3 campsites on Hazel. All appeared to be vacant. We were on the western-most site (#1068). Hazel is a nice lake, but doesn’t appear to be popular.
The wind had kicked up as we reached Hazel and we fought it all the way back to Polly. The Prism handled the wind great, so it was still a very enjoyable paddle for me. We were back to camp at 4:30 pm.
The day was, again, very hot, way too hot for June! There were no bugs, however. We saw no other people on our entire day trip to Hazel and back.
We had Jim’s Damn Good Chili for supper (Excellent) along with some marginal corn bread I made in the reflector oven. The wind was causing problems with the oven (I think). One down side of using a reflector oven in the BWCA is that there is only one place it can be used – the opening of the fire grate. Other places you can move the oven to take advantage of the wind, but not in the BWCA. The wind was just too strong and from the wrong direction. It was blowing the heat out of the oven. However, this was the only trip I had problems with the oven. The corn bread was still edible, just a bit crumbly.
When 10:30 pm rolled around, I was off to bed. This time I took a bottle of water and an Aleve with me to stash in the tent’s vestibule.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
Again, I was up at 7:00 a.m., but was much better than the day before. I woke at 6:00 a.m., took an Aleve and went back to sleep to let it work for an hour.
We had our normal breakfast of oatmeal and hot chocolate and hit the water at 8:45 a.m. We headed to Malberg Lake for a day trip. I know I sound like a broken record, but this was another beautiful river to paddle. The Kawishiwi River has short portages around picturesque rapids and falls.
At the end of our very first portage we ran into a father and son going the other way. I did a double take. I know that guy. “Lee?”
Lee Retzalff and I went to high school together, went to the same college, and now live in the same town. We have other things in common including hunting, building canoes and taking BWCA trips. I run into him occasionally around town, but was surprised to see him on the 17-rod portage out of Polly. Small world. Ran into both Lee and Set-The-Hook un-expectantly on this trip.
The butterflies were out in force on this trip. Migrating? Mating? At any rate, there were lots of them.
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We reached Malberg at 10:30 a.m. It only took us an hour and 45 minutes to reach it from Polly and we were traveling slowly in solo canoes. We toured around the lake checking it out. We went up the eastern arm of the lake and I stopped to inspect the first campsite (#1054). It stunk to high heaven!! I quickly returned to my canoe. Something was dead at that site. Turkey vultures were circling and I could hear hundreds of flies buzzing. . I don't know if someone cleaned fish at the site or some poor critter met his end there, but it smelled horrible and I wasn't going to investigate further.
At the end of the eastern arm of the lake are three campsites. All were vacant and appeared not to be used very often. The northern site (#1059) was very poor and should be used only as an emergency site. It looked as if it wasn't used this season.
I didn't get a good look at the site furthest east (#1058). I saw it only from the water and from a bit of a distance. If I had to guess I'd say that it was the best of the three in that part of the lake.
Jim and I stopped for lunch and an extended rest at the southern site (#1057). It was pretty decent though only had two small tent pads. The latrine has a plant growing in it. Guess it's not used much.
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We lounged around for a while. Fished from shore but caught nothing. It was another hot and windy day, the hottest and windiest of the trip. There were a few fluffy clouds but none of them held rain. Not a drop of rain on the trip.
We made it back to Polly by 4:30 pm. As we approached our campsite, we could see something on the water. It was a large flock of Canadian geese. Jim counted 30 of them. We tried not to disturb them but they were right out in front of our campsite. They moved on when we got close enough.
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Jim approaching the Canadian geese.
Our trip back from Malberg was upstream and into the wind. Yep, all the wind we were having was from the south. I guess that explained the heat. I took a full submersion dip. That was hard because the water in front of camp was so shallow and rocky. I kept banging my feet on rocks.
Tonight’s supper was Lipton Chicken Noodles and Broccoli side dish with foil pack chicken. Yummy.
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Jim relaxing after supper.
Bedtime was 10:00. I took the water and Aleve with me again.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
I saw butterflies gathering like this on a trip through the Lady Chain a few years ago and took a similar picture. Our local naturalist said they lick the wet gravel to get minerals!
Great report. Thanks.
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Yogi Berra
Again, up at 7:00 a.m. with a little help from Aleve. Today was moving day with the plan being to get the 95-rod and 189-rod portages done.
We left at 9:00 a.m. It was another very hot and windy day. We would be traveling upstream and into the wind all day.
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Paddling the Kawishiwi River.
The portages were a circus. Very busy. Where did they all come from and where were they going? We decided to have lunch the eastern campsite on Kawasachong Lake (#1017). We were thinking about staying there for the night, though we considered it marginal. It was a bit small.
When we arrived on the lake, one campsite was occupied. We watched as the other two were taken. Just as we were about to leave a group of 8 college-aged guys showed up. We could hear them talking out on the water. They were upset all the sites were taken, but got excited when they thought perhaps we were leaving. We obliged.
They practically cheered when we paddled away and anxiously took the site. I thought it was small for two of us and those guys were going to cram eight on it. It was still early, but I suppose they didn’t want to do the two portages to Polly nor backtrack to Square.
We paddled the Kawishiwi River to Square Lake. That river is really nice to paddle. We checked the sites on Square. Both were vacant. However, the southern-most site (#1015) was low laying and next to a swamp. It looked buggy to me, so I didn’t want to stay there. The other (#1014) was on top of a hill, and Jim didn’t want to stay there, so we decided to move on.
The first campsite on Kawishiwi (#1006) was open, but Jim suggested we check out the island site (#1007) first and if occupied we’d come back to this one. Well, it was occupied but as we came back to the first site someone else pulled up to it and took it. Darn! We were too picky!
A side note about the island site: I’m convinced that site was not occupied but rather it was being saved. There were two Timberline 4 s pitched on it and nothing else – no food pack, no packs, pans, no tarp, no clothesline, etc. Furthermore, the tents were pitch right next to each other and right next to the fire grate. To me it looked like someone went there and set up only the tents in an obvious place to be seen from the water.
We checked out the other 4 sites up at that end of the lake and all were taken. Now what!? We had been fighting a strong wind all around this lake and were pretty tuckered out. We certainly did not want to go back to Square. So we decided to head for the campgrounds. We didn’t have much hope of finding a vacancy there either.
Then to add to everything, I got us to where we didn’t exactly know where we were on the map (not lost though). Jim had a mental lapse for a moment by relying on my navigational skills. Never do that! But Jim pulled out his compass and got us righted again.
As we approached the campground Jim made a comment about the sand beach just east of us, and how it would make a nice campsite. Jim had good eyes because it was indeed a campsite (#1013) and it was vacant. It was probably mere feet within the BWCA borders, and we occasionally could hear people in the campgrounds, but it was an official BWCA campsite. We were luckily. It was 4:00 pm, the first site from an entry point, and it was open.
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The beach landing at the Kawishiwi Lake site.
It was an interesting site. It had a long sand beach with lots of animal tracks. Obviously the turtles had been laying eggs there, too. Also there were no log benches around the fire grate. I think this was the first time I have seen that. The site on Petersen Lake has a short 4-foot long log as a bench, but this is the only site I remember with no bench what so ever. I was glad we had chairs.
Supper tonight was Knorr Teriyaki Noodles with Vegetables with dehydrated hamburger added and some bannock. The wind had died down so the reflector oven was performing well again.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
The wind had died down during the night and we got a little morning dew. This was the only moisture to speak of during this trip. I guess we could go home with dry tents.
Up at 7:00 and on the water by 8:30. It was an absolutely beautiful morning. Jim commented that this would be our shortest paddle out of the BWCA ever. It couldn’t have been 300 yards. We just loaded up the boats and just drifted to the exit. We wanted to take as long as possible.
We loaded the canoes, packed the car, changed our clothes, drank the final two beers from the cooler, and were on the road by 9:45 a.m. ?
We were a half hour down the trail when I suddenly remembered I had forgotten my new Granite Gear water bucket! Jim graciously offered to turn back, but I declined. To retrieve it we’d have to drive back, launch a canoe, paddle to the site, return, and then reload the canoe. That wasn’t worth it.
I had hung the bucket upside down in a tree to dry out. Both Jim and I made a final sweep of the campsite, but the gray-green bucket must have blended in too well and we didn’t see it. My wife has made me blaze orange bags for my saw and my reflector oven so that kind of thing wouldn’t happen. I think I’ll get some blaze orange ribbon to tie on the handle of the next bucket. I hope Bucky finds a good home.
We pull into Tofte at 10:45 a.m. and there is a thick fog over Lake Superior.
We stop in Duluth for gas and Superior for lunch. The bank says the time is 1:15 and the temperature is 65 degrees when we leave Superior. It is much cooler along the lake than further inland. I bet there is a 20-degree difference.
Jim drops me off at my house at 5:30 pm.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
Double portage???? nice that you gave time to get to various lakes.
How tough were the roads to ep?. They were rough around labor day last summer...and then there were those two logging trucks we kept meeting.........
How crowded was the campground when you left?? wonder if showing up in middle of week would get better chance of finding a site.
thanks for the report bob
"Those who stop where reason and instinct command never reach the best and highest places of all" Bill Gilbert
"Double portage???? nice that you gave time to get to various lakes."
We double portaged to Polly and back out. The day trips were single portages.
"How tough were the roads to ep?. They were rough around labor day last summer...and then there were those two logging trucks we kept meeting........."
Jim may want to weigh in on this one since he drove, but I thought they were very good - excellent. Keep in mind they are gravel roads, however. The road from the Sawbill trail to the EP is narrow with many blind spots.
"How crowded was the campground when you left?? wonder if showing up in middle of week would get better chance of finding a site."
Maybe Jim remembers for sure, but I think there was one open campsite when we left. The other 4 sites were occupied by the same people that had them when we went in.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
We had lunch at the campground last Wednesday, 6/20, while driving the backroads from Ely to Sawbill & the North Shore. NO one else was there. Campground was deserted, although lots of cars in the EP parking lot.
What a fun trip report to read. It seems like you guys are
great trip partners. I like the "low key going with the
flow sorta pace" that you kept. There is something special
about river paddling especially when you are one of the only
boats on the river. Thanks for sharing your trip!
It is my understanding that all the campsites are numbered by the NFS. The source I used, and the only one I know of available online, is at BWCA.com. You go to the "entry points", click on the entry point you're interested in, and a map will come up. Rest the cursor on the campsite (red dot) you want and the campsite number comes up.
You can click on that campsite if you want to rate it, make comments, or read what others have to say about it.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
HS and I stayed on that top campsite on Kawishiwi (the one you let go). It was a great view of the lake with a meteor shower, northern lights and some early wolf howls.
This was my backup permit, if we were unable to visit Saganaga due to the fire. We would have been entering the SAME date, and TIME as you guys....that could have been interesting.
I am appalled at the ignorance, insensitivty and out right stupidity of sme people. In my opinion, this fine isn't enough and they should have been required to do hundreds of hours of community service, preferably outdoor related so it has an impact. To do something like this is SO beyond the pale it is dumbfounding...
these guys got off way too easy. agree with kensofe.
I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed with power, but respond only to quietude, humility and endless patience; because I suspect that men are going this way for the last time, and I for one don't want to waste the trip; because only in the woods can i find solitude without loneliness; because bourbon out of a tin cup always tastes better out there; because maybe someday I will catch a mermaid; and, finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important, but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant--and not nearly so much fun. robert traver aka john voelker
My wife, who grew up nearby, has a subscription to the weekly Story City (IA) Herald. I found an article in the latwest issue by "nature" columnist Steve Lekwa titled "Canoeing the Skunk River" that brought back pleasant memories. A paddling friend, Roland H. and I paddled down the Skunk to north of Ames either in 1957 or 58, I'm not sure of the exact year. Roland had a Foldboat which some of you older guys and gals may have heard of. It consisted of eight or ten rigid pieces that snapped together and were covered by a canvas "skin". It could be carried inside a 4-door sedan disassembled.
I recall we passed over one or two low rise dams on the Skunk without incident but sustained several punctures when we encountered a barbed wire fence without warning! Lekwa warned of strainers from recent wind storms but made no mention of fences.
At a later time we used Roland's boat, patched up, on Squaw Creek near Ames. This was not a canoe suitable for the BW/Q so Roland and I rented Grummans for the two trips we and made into Quetico in 1958 and 59. The first of my trips to Q, in 1957, was described in an article "Changes in the BWCA/Q Over the Years" on a Quetico Passage LLC disk a year or two back.
I would sure like to read that article you wrote on changes to the to BWCA/Quetico over the years. My first trip to Quetico was in 1964 and have noticed a few changes over the years too. -Your trip on the Skunk reminds me of my most memorable canoe trip-especially the name "Skunk". I was in high school. One afternoon 2 friends and I took our family Grumman on Kyte Creek, (a small tributary to the Rock River that goes right my hometown of Rochelle, Illinois.) We hadn't paddled 15 minutes-just barely out of town and into the country when a thunderstorm started rumbling off in the west, which was the direction we were heading. We crawled up the bank to see if there were any buildings or farm houses we would run to for safety. Off in the dstance was a nice big building but between us and the building were 3 small lakes. We were pretty surprised to have lived in Rochelle all our lives and not known about those lakes. Well, we grabbed the the canoe, paddled like crazy across the first lake, portaged a few feet into the next lake and by the third lake we REALLY had to paddle hard because of the wind. We got to the bulding just minutes before the hard rains and storm hit. A man was at the door to greet us and up above his head over the door in big letters were "ROCHELLE SEWAGE DEPARTMENT" He said, "I've been here 20 years and you are the first people that I know of who have canoed the sewage beds." Well, we didn't say much. What was there to say? I called my dad and he came and picked us up.
We reeked so bad of sewage that Dad could hardly stand being in the same car with us. We had to drive home in the pouring rain with the car windows open.
As far as canoe trips go, I've had better. Marie Sue
Quetico Passage LLC / 2225 Mt. Olivet Road / La Grange, KY 40031
queticopassage@yahoo.com
I'm not sure of the exact title of the CD I mentioned (I loaned it out and am waiting the return).
How quickly people forget how dangerous water can be. Back in 2002 this is exactly how someone drowned at lower basswood falls---of course people still do this---I admit it looks like a blast, but the risk is not worth it. This particular video is of Rebecca Falls---the guy passes over an area where there is a huge rock right under the water (can see it when the water is a little lower)---all it would take is a blow to the head and he is a goner.
I agree with Jstroke. Looks like the guy is wearing a helmet and a pfd. Also if you notice, when he comes out of the chute, he's not disoriented at all, he begins swimming at the right angle to get to shore and appears to be ferrying which would also be correct. He's obviously experienced. Of course we don't know how many takes it took to get the video. So, he may very well have gained his experience that day, but I doubt it. As far as dumb or stupid, yeah, ok, to those that don't like whitewater etc. I can see that. Some of us do enjoy the thrill of paddling moving water and rapids. Yes, there's an accepted risk, but the reward of accomplishing the goal far outweighs that risk. I have paddled many class II and III rivers and have rafted on class IVs. I don't consider myself dumb or stupid..most of the time. I do enjoy the rush of getting through the rapid in one piece. And when I don't get through without dumping, I learn and move on. The important fact in all of this is you must be prepared, not only physically, but mentally. When paddling among rocks, helmets are mandatory, pfd's also. Emergency kit, first aid kit, dry clothes and food are always present. On moving water, buddies are always present. Atleast one other and usually two or more. And you have to be responsible and prepared to pay for your actions, whatever form that payment may be, monetary or otherwise.
In the case of the second video, I'll say one thing. Use your own gear to paddle moving water, period! Unless, you are renting from a company specifically there to rent that type of gear. In this case, VNO clearly was not there to rent moving water equipment. Those clowns should have to pay for everything they ruined and be removed from the gene pool.
I jumped before actually seeing the video, I apologize. I assumed that it was a video of someone wrecking canoes of a few yrs ago. I understand Lynn's concern, they should have portaged the gear, but, if this is the way it turned out, it certainly could have been much worse. Note to self, watch all video before jumping in.
It looks like a blast I have to admit, but I know that 2 people died in 2002 becuase of this same activity---I know one was even wearing life vests got sucked under and did not come up in time to breath again. I also know from being at Rebecca at different times of the year there is a huge rock that sticks up almost all the way across the bottom of the chute you could easily get sucked under and wedged. I don't think these guys really knew the full risk they were taking. One more thing there is more videos on youtube from these guys talking about how one of the guys got sucked out and they had to go out and get him with a canoe----one of the statements I believe was "we almost lost him"---I think that was what may have ended the fun for the day.
It's one thing if you are the only one affected by your decisions but that is rarely the case. For example in 2002 when the person drowned at Lower Basswood--the second person that drowned was not part of the group I believe he was guide that went in to help and got sucked under as well---our actions have consequences to other lives as well.
Tim
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
I thought it was a helmet too but I have my doubts as the video is poor and it might just be wet hair. How many people do you know take a helmet in with them? If they do then they are whitewater people to begin with. Seems unlikely to me.
It doesn't look so bad in the video (even fun) but people who underestimate the power of moving water often die. There are also lots of things under the surface that you can't see. When I was young and stupid I tubed a section of a river that has a portage around it. Duh. A nice big bruise on my thigh...lucky it was only that and not my helmetless head. Double duh. Thankfully all the teenagers stupid enough to join me came out unscathed, we learned our lesson and never went back.
Just got home with the family after a 3700 mile roundtrip to Bozeman, MT, Yellowstone NP, the Bighorn Mountains and all points thereof. Awesome trip.
Haven't been much of a regular here lately, but at least our vacation explains the last couple weeks.
Tell you what, folks... I'd love to paddle the Yellowstone River sometime in the future. Just give me a "Point A" and a "Point B" and the canoe is going in. What a beautiful river! Wow... and to think that was only one of many beautiful rivers out there. Lots of rafting and kayaking in Montana and Wyoming, but there are plenty of opportunities for canoeing, too.
So much to do. So little time for it all.
No one ever looks back on their life and regrets the adventures they've had.
______________________________________________________________
Pete
Jax - That is a beautiful area of our country isn't it? I'm
sure glad that you and your family made the trip and had a
great time! Send a few photos...
Here's our trip report for Woodland Caribou for 2007. We left the Wednesday before Memorial Day and returned the following Tuesday. I think we did about 40 portages, about 50 miles of paddling; temps ranged from 34 degrees to 70; rain, snow and sunshine. Thanks for reading.
Prelude and Day One: This was our second trip to Woodland Caribou. Our first trip last year was wonderful with warm sunny days, great fishing, and the wind at our back throughout the entire loop. Our crew this year: Senor Trout, The Wise One (Sarge, Greg), Bill the Builder, Boy (Mark), Mighty Mike, and Pucker Man (Randy).
After an 8 hour drive from Onamia, telling the same old stories and jokes, sighting a moose and two bears, we spent the night in Ear Falls at a friend’s cabin. We were a little apprehensive of the forecast, which predicted rain and cold temperatures. The folks at 4 Seasons Outfitters were helpful as ever as we bought gear, licenses, and permits there. They also had a complete set of WC maps for sale. Greg produced some great steaks for dinner, eaten inside with rain outside.
"Lord, help us tolerate each other for the next week!"
Day One:The morning broke at 5 am with clear skies. After a quick cold breakfast we took to the logging road that leads to Leanno Lake. It was indeed a logging road as evidenced by the huge slasher parked right in the middle of the road! Luckily there was just enough room for the Suburban to squeeze by. The road was in worse condition than last year.
"What are these loggers doing on this logging road?"
Ok, this year I listened to all of you! Little cotton, plenty of fleece, I’m going to be dry for once ! I put on nylon pants, fleece shirt, fleece jacket, Cabela’s waterproof socks, and FroggToggs rainwear. As we drove north, we noticed some ominous clouds gathering ahead of us, a foretaste of the “feats” to come.
Leanno Lake welcomed us after a short portage from the parking area (with just two other vehicles there, both from Minnesota). We paddled off into darkening skies, and before long had to don our rain gear. Why are the first hours of paddling and the first portages so tough? Don’t our muscles have any memory at all?
The first portage into Bunny Lake is about 70 rods and a bit tough at both ends with lots of muck and water. Don’t go to Woodland Caribou if you expect to do “dry shoe” canoeing – your boots simply have to get wet, often above the boot tops. Mike wore knee high rubber boots and was the only one with dry socks at the end of the trip.
Woodland Caribou differs from Quetico in several ways. The most noticeable is the lack of Norway pine or white pine; the forest is mostly black spruce, jack pine, and birch. Mammals and even birdlife are less prevalent. The lakes are somewhat smaller, nothing as big as Sturgeon or Quetico Lakes where we went. There are more portages, but they are relatively short. There is more blowdown to navigate; with less visitors the budget doesn’t get every portage attended to every year.
So, in our first 10 hour day we did about 14 portages, none longer than 70 rods. The last portage into Mexican Hat Lake is noted for crossing through a river; there is little choice but to step into about 10 inches of rapidly moving water.
We stumbled onto the campsite on a point across from the large waterfall that empties into Mexican Hat. We had great luck with fish near here last year, but with colder temperatures the “stackage” was greatly diminished; only about 4 fish for supper. Supplemented by frozen margaritas , potatoes, and large portions of dark chocolate, we were soon satiated and headed for bed early to rest
We awoke to very chilly temperatures on Friday morning, 34 degrees by our thermometer.
On a personal note, I was quite dismayed to become aware of an irregular heart beat. My pulse was either racing or occasionally giving off a couple of slow beats. I suspected I had “atrial fibrillation”, an irregular beating of the top portion of the heart. This was very worrisome; although most people do fine with this heart rhythm, it can cause complications. Of course, before long I wondered if perhaps I was feeling just a twinge of chest pain! We usually have two MDs on our trips, but Sir Rodney deferred this year, so I only had myself for advice.
So, I got out the satellite phone and looked at it; thought, prayed, and compared my relatively benign situation to some more serious situations facing some of my colleagues at home. Still, I was dismayed at the prospect of having to abort the trip for the rest of my friends. But, within an hour or so, I was back in a regular rhythm. That was gratifying for the rest of the trip – if any misery set in, I would just think “At least my heart beat is regular!” and the misery was vanquished. I later realized it was all the dark chocolate I ate that precipitated this problem. Whew!
The fire was started, coffee boiling, and then a white speck or two flew by. Before long there were flurries, and after that gusty snow squalls! At least snow is much less dampening than cold rain! Canoeing in heavy snow in May?
Snow on the falls at Mexican Hat lake
We had a nice breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon, packed up camp, and set off for even farther north. We paddled off into snow squalls interspersed with blue skies and sun; before long the sky cleared into a brisk cold day.
There are three gorgeous sets of waterfalls and rapids between Mexican Hat and Glenn Lake. We were glad to see the fly-in cabins had been cleared from Glenn Lake, an effort by Ontario to make the park more of a wilderness experience. We considered a mutiny when we found that Greg just had strawberry twizzlers planned for lunch!
Another pretty set of rapids, waterfalls, and streams. We actually ran a small rapids, without much thought to how we would return up them in a couple of days, and soon we were onto Hansen Lake, new territory for us.
Hansen Lake was a nice big lake, but we were surprised to see a regular old resort greeting us on the east shore. It had about 3 cabins, some motorboats, and a large lodge. We did see motorized craft on the lake twice but no activity at the resort. Worse yet, there were actually some campers occupying a nice camp on a point across from the resort! Ah, Wilderness!
Sarge was not content with camping within sight of a resort or other humans, so we went uplake for a few miles and finally found a bare rock suitable for dropping our gear on. We had to carve our tent sites out of the brush, but it was otherwise a nice spot; a nice view of the lake from a high open rock. The current craze for grading campsites (view, wildlife, firegrate, etc., on a 1 to 4.0 scale) seems a little out of synch in Woodland Caribou, where you’re lucky to find a place that has any of the features, other than solitude and view.
I brought along several new recipes for the year, thanks to folks posting them on the Internet. Tonight we tried garlic-baked walleye. I suspect Pucker Man was to blame for hiding several needed ingredients, as I could not find the salt , pepper or cilantro. I did find some fresh garlic cloves. Anyway, it needed spice and need butter, but was pretty good; the second batch with some left over Italian spice was darn good.
Pucker Man and I have somehow gotten into an insane competition for “Camper of the Year”. He has the notion that Cap’n Greg will award this honor after review of the week’s activities. Each year he starts out the week by offering Greg coffee, suggesting that he carry Greg’s pack, etc. He will point out my inadequacies to Greg “Greg, did you notice that Tom dropped that butter in the dirt?”, etc. The fact that I spend months planning the trip with Greg, and help him clean up after, is lost to Pucker Man. The whole thing leads to many moments of frivolity during the trip, and Greg never seems to get around to giving the award.
This year, Pucker Man was very suspicious of Bill, as Greg seemed to prefer his company (Bill is obviously more useful to Greg as he has real skills as a carpenter and actually knows how to catch fish). Anyway, Pucker Man and I had a great idea – we formed an ALLIANCE! Surely together we could defeat Bill and share the award! This plan failed miserably – I led Greg down a disastrous attempt at running a rapids , Pucker Man got drunk the last night and said regretful things, so I imagine Bill will be getting the award this year.
Twas a peaceful night as we went to bed. A nice cow moose and her calf made an appearance, but by the time the guys woke me up to see them,they were gone.
Day Three: Layover on Hansen I got up to clear skies, with just a small strip of dark clouds to the far south. Breakfast was Greg’s delicious ham, cheese and eggs bake in his wonderful stove top oven. As we ate, the clouds came north, and by the time we were done with dishes (Pucker Man hardly ever does dishes) it was totally cloudy.
It started to rain. We’re not much for hanging around camp, so we set off for an adventure to the next lake, Roustol Lake. On the way, Mike and I noticed a nice cliff to the north with some reddish hue, hanging over the lake a bit. Although there are no pictos on our maps, I suggested we take a look as it looked like an obvious place for them.
What tremendous pictographs! There were large areas of pigment; an obvious moose, handprint, and human figure or magic figure. I photographed them, the only photos I’d risk on this wet day.
Pictos on Hansen
This was a really fun discovery. I later read about these pictos in other folks’ trips on the Net, and realize that we had far from discovered them, but it was so exciting to find something without being led to it. What a great connection to history and culture!
Another little portage around a pretty falls to Roustol lake. We fished a bit and caught enough walleyes for a meal. As it rained the temperature fell, and we started to shiver. Capn Greg, ever the Wise One, said “Boys, I think it’s time to switch to survival mode – lets go back to camp, rig up a tarp, and take it easy!”
The boys fashioned a great THREE-tarp system at the base of a large jack pine blow down, essentially forming a cabin. With a nice fire going, we made hot cider and fried up fresh walleye tacos for lunch. We then hit the bags for a great two hour nap and awoke warmed up and refreshed.
Our "tree-root house"
As it continued to rain, we had hot toddies by the fire, cooked a supper of barbecued ribs and onions, fresh baked chocolate chip cake, and then enjoyed each other’s stories for the evening.
I was up at sunrise to find the skies still cloudy, just a tiny strip of barely clear sky to the south and east. As the sun came up, the sky started to open and by breakfast there was more blue sky than grey – Hallelujah!
Another attempt at a new recipe for breakfast – sausage gravy. Although the salt and pepper showed up after dinner, they were again hidden, and Greg offered pancake batter instead of the required flour. I thought it was pretty darn good, but I am ashamed to say that the boys didn’t even finish the second batch! Boy was fishing from shore, and extremely excited when some huge fish was seen snapping off his Rapala – he was very eager to repeat the experience despite a limited supply of lures.
We packed up and started to retrace our journey. The sky brightened into full sunshine, surely what we deserved after the rain and snow of the previous days! The rapids we ran down were soon confronting us. We now could see a small portage, surely intended for men less courageous than us. Bill rigged up a rope, and we were able to line the canoes through the rapids.
No day can be perfect, so we weren’t too surprised when just a few friendly little black flies showed up on the portages, seemingly most attracted to the bridge of the nose and the nape of the neck. We were able to swat them away as we left the portage or if the wind blew up.
A nice PB&J lunch on an island, and we were back to our campsite overlooking the waterfall on Mexican Hat Lake. The bugs were up to the pesky level now!
I’ve been trying to sell a few photos to BWJ, so I had Mark go across the channel by the waterfall. I had to tell Bill to get out of the way! Bill was nice enough to go hide behind a rock, and then also to ferry me across and hold my camera stuff while I took a few pictures upstream.
"Mark fishing for BWJ"
Dinner was tasty chicken quesidillas, marred only by the increasing presence of said black flies. Greg and Mike developed some terroristic looking garments which were only partially effective against the onslought. (Could these flies have a military application?) I retreated to the deep woods to view just one lonely lady slipper, I’m ashamed to say my compatriots went to bed before sunset!
Mike's a towel-head!
Boy got up at 10 pm desperate for comfort, and true to his calling, dropped a line. He was surprised to find the fish had returned to the stackage point, so he woke us up for some fine after dark fishing under the moon.
I was up at dawn to find one of those beautiful canoe country mornings, still with mist over the waterfall. I took a few pictures and made coffee for my caffeinated friends. Breakfast was pancakes and bacon as we packed up for a long day.
Dawn on Mexican Hat
It was about 12 miles and 12 portages back to Bunny Lake. Some gorgeous waterfalls again, including one that vanishes into the rocks.
Bill walking through the falls
My rain gear was showing some signs of stress; the blue cover was wearing off and pine needles were clinging to me, so I looked like a walking conifer. The day darkened as we took the journey south; those portages were even more challenging with the added rain. The put-ins are hard enough to see that you sometimes miss them, and we had to walk the canoes through about 2 feet of water for 20 yards or so. Only Mike kept his feet totally dry. We wearily ate lunch (on Lunch Lake!), and finally found a great island campsite on Bunny Lake.
Another nice two-tarp system set up over the fire ring on top of a high island rock, and we enjoyed evening libations with my famous fresh fried onion rings for appetizers. Dinner followed with another new recipe from the Net, “Jambawalleyea”; but we just had summer sausage, no walleye this night. It was warmly received by the crew.
Some incredibly dark blue clouds came in from the west, and soon we were in a big gully-washing thunder storm which lasted for the rest of the evening. We had a nice pile of firewood, a roaring fire, plenty of firewater, so we just stayed under the tarp, kept Pucker Man’s cup full, and enjoyed being warm and dry while about 2 inches of rain drenched the forest. It just doesn’t get better than that! Then to bed in warm, dry bags listening to the rain on the tent roof.
Ah, that bittersweet paddle as you head to the landing area! Greg and Bill (!!) got a mile or so ahead of us; it was so still that we could follow their trail of bubbles in the water! A gorgeous still paddle through the woods as we enjoyed the calls of loons, chickadees, and white throated sparrows, and were too soon back to the landing area on Leanno Lake.
Lining up some rapids
Packing up, we were surprised to see a note on the windshield of the Suburban. The wonderful folks at Goldseekers Outfitters of Red Lake had left us a note telling us the south leg of the LongLegged Lake road had washed out; without the note we would have either risked danger or had to go about 2 hours out of our way! We took a little longer route through Red Lake (an interesting little town) and were soon safely on the highway home.
And, we found a little dirt road bypass around Dryden – so small that you wonder if you made a mistake. About half way through, a big cat crossed the road, too big for a bobcat, too short of a tail for a cougar: a once in a lifetime lynx sighting! Nature is so suddenly surprising sometimes!
Final equipment report: Nylon pants were great – what got damp dried out quickly over the fire. Fleece pullover and fleece jacket were great down to 34 degrees, and stayed dry. Fleece underwear was great , especially at night. Frogg Toggs are wearing out, but still comfortable and not at all clammy. Cabela waterproof socks failed miserably – fell down and didn’t seem to repel water at all. Waterproof gloves held water in but not out.
Greg hasn’t announced the camper of the year report – he’s probably waiting for more special favors. He’s already considering options for next year’s trip – maybe Woodland Caribou through Telescope Lake, maybe Wabakimi park in Ontario, maybe just a short distance fishing trip on Quetico Lake, or maybe (here’s a new one!) a canoe trip in the Florida Everglades. ( Is fleece alligator repellant?)
PuckerMan carrying Greg's flyrod and pack
Write me at srtrout@yahoo.com if you have any questions about Woodland Caribou.
I appreciate the opportunity to better understand Woodlands without having to take my own trip. Great job on the report. Good luck on getting that "camper of the year" award.
Seems like WC is a place you can almost take walleye fishing for granted. Kinda makes one's heart skip a few thumps. Maybe that's the diagnosis senor trout? Just a wee metaphysical moment.
Sounds like it was a good thing you had excellent medical staffing for the trip. Anxiety over the irregular heart beat would probably have been the end of me.
I'm enjoying the occasional glimpse of WCPP. The lack of red pine and white pine would be a drawback but the stacking of walleye would be a plus.
OK, I am not the most technically savvy person in the world. Yes I built the PC that I am typing this on but I still use dial up and don’t own a cell phone – unless you count the three broken ones that the girls have accumulated through a doting aunt. Still, I know what U tube is and have tried, on occasion to watch a video or two.
I kinda like video. It is fun. If you don’t like video, check out one by Kevin Callan. If you still don’t like video, give up an go canoeing. Of course, you will have to still watch at least one video if you happen to go canoeing in the BWCA; yes, the Dreaded Video!
Since the most interesting part of the video is either finding a way to not watch it or figuring out how they got those bears to act if you do have to watch it, I got to thinking. Now, I know that me thinking is a dangerous thing, but here is my thunk. I can PAY the forest service over the internet, why can’t I watch the video over the internet, take the test and maybe print out my permit? After all, I have to print out my e-mail that says I can watch the video and get a permit. Or, maybe, I could print out a certificate that says I watched the video, took a test and didn’t miss so many questions that I will endanger the BWACA, myself or those cute trained bears.
I am sure that there are a wide variety of reason why this won’t work - most of them burecratic. On the other hand, it seems pretty sane to me which is the other reason why it probably won’t work. Of course, for me, I would still end up watching the video when I pick up my permit in person – remember, I am on dial up.
Back into lurk mode,
TB
"Every canoe trip, no mater how modest, is an adventure, because everyone is different"
Strangely, I have never seen the video. We have been going in since 1993 except for three years. We have gotten our permits through the places we stayed the week before our trip. Once we picked it up at Piragis. Maybe they all figured that at our age we must have seen the video before. Next time I think we will ask to see it just out of curiosity.
The reason your proposal wouldn't be adopted is that there really isn't a way to verify that the person who took and passed an online test is, in fact, you. Interestingly, the "Leave no Trace" video was available on the Superior National Forest website last year. It's not there anymore; I'm not sure of the reason. But you can watch it online (albeit slowly with dialup) at this link:
I think the evidence is pretty clear that the earth is warming. Whether the current state is caused by man or just a natural climate change is the question. Regardless, if it is man caused, the things that we would need to be doing to stop it are the very same things we should be doing for the long term health of the planet anyway.
I can only hope that 50 years from now people will sit and laugh and say thank God for the left. Man caused global warming wasn't true but we've created a much better place for our future generations to live. Of course, if it is true .... well, thank God I won't be around anymore.
We got the pre-coat sanded and buffed ready for a fiberglass wetout. We got the fiberglass wetted out and installed. We did an almost flawless fill coat 6hours later.
So the fiberglass and fill coats are done, finished up last night about 10pm;
Went out this morning to check our handi-work and - OMG what is THAT?!
So what do the builders recommend as far as dealing with "Mr. Footy-prints". Scraping is easy while it's relatively still curing, but we got this moth dust to contend with.
(the lights are casting weird highlights - that's not fabric showing.)
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Journal of EP50 to Long Island Lake to No. Temperance to
Brule through Cliff to Winchell to Caribou to Poplar. http://home.wmis.net/~eastmant/bwca.html
Tim Eastman
"Lead by example and be an example worth following"
I’m very sorry to see your HARD work messed up by such tiny pest. I usually repair my fiberglass duck canoe on a September evening with the garage door opened, and over the years, several moths and other bugs have met the same fate. My solution is to entomb them with brush loaded with olive drab paint! That seems quite a bit easier than what you’re left with. Beautiful boat just the same - good luck!
That soon you will be tossing dirty packs, and dragging muck and gravel into the canoe with your boots.
And don't forget all those rocks that are lurking for you...
A little moth dust will be the least of your worries.
reminding you that she will be the one with the last word.
I have minimal experience fiddling with epoxy, but my reading says it should sand like wood (or something like that). Maybe you can just let it dry and sand it out - then touch it up? Better check with one of these guys with lots of experience like Old Scout or Dan Lindberg...others too.
Other than that... nice progress. Sure is a shiny gorgeous looking canoe.
A few years ago, when the Asian Beetles were infesting everything, I got about a dozen of them stuck in my epoxy. I waited for the boat to totally cure (ie weeks). Then I sanded them out and touched up the epoxy.
I also named the boat "Lady Bug". Seemed even more appropriate since it was a Wee Lassie.
"Brain cells come, and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever."
this will be my first year to get in two trips up north. the first week of september both my brothers, my sister, a nephew, and my lovely bride and I will be going into Quetico. the only time I have ever been is the first week of June and I am not sure what to expect as far as weather, and fishing go. I have heard the bugs should not be to bad and think the weather will probably be about the same temp wise, just maybe less rain. fishing is a real unknown so any info you feel inclined to pass on would be greatly appreciated.
The weeks of Sept are guaranteed to be...unpredicatble. No bugs!
Take hats and hand coverings and warm socks. You may not need any of it, or you may be wishing you had brought more. My brother and I awoke to snow outside our tent on Sept 10th, 1993 on Rice Lake off of Little Isabella. It was a gorgeous time of year - hardly saw a soul, and heard wolves every night on that trip. The days were warm in the sunshine and very chilly in the early morning. I recall the fishing to be less htan spectacular this time of year - others will have more seasoned opines, I'm certain.
Have a great time!
15 years or so ago I made a trip into Cummings Lake. As part of that trip I had intended to visit Buck lake. Well, I ran into some stormy weather while searching for the Cummings to Buck lake portage and couldn’t find it. I returned to my campsite on Cummings. The following day the strong West, Northwest winds built up the waves so high that I couldn’t travel back to look for the portage so I gave up on Buck lake for that trip. I later found out that the map had the portage in the wrong place and this was the main reason that I couldn’t find it the first time.
It always kind of bugged me that I failed at an attempt to reach that lake. I decided this year to visit the Crab Lake area again and finally make it to Buck Lake. This time I would make a small loop out of the trip and go through Lunetta, Schlamn, Glenmore, and Western to Buck and then to Cummings and loop back through Korb to the point of beginning. This would be a fairly short trip (as far as distance goes), but the portages should add just enough of a challenge to make it interesting and secluded from the main crowds.
My main concern was my knee. 30+ years of stumbling through the brush has not been kind to it. It protests with pain at nearly every step and refuses to do what it used to do. I whipped it into shape with Glucosomine Condrotine with MSM pills and rode my bicycle, totaling over 600 miles in the last 2 months. I practiced portaging my old and heavier aluminum canoe up and down the block early in the morning. I strapped on a knee brace and decided that I was ready to give it a try.
My permit entry date was last Sunday, June 17, 2007. I returned yesterday, Friday, June 22.
It’s a 4 hour drive from my house to Ely. I left early enough to reach the permit station just after 7:30 am. In order to hasten my departure I took my “get out of video free card” from last year and crossed out the ’06 on the expiration date and wrote in ’07. It worked!
I was soon on my way to the Burntside Lake landing.
I decided on the landing near the south-west corner of Burntside. I felt that this would be a better choice for errant winds as the route would offer a number of small islands I could duck around to get out of the wind, if needed. This is a small landing and there is not a lot of room for a lot of vehicles but I had no problem. I was on the water at 8:48 with darkening skies and the sound of distant thunder.
I stopped at an island to put on my rain suit after the rain began and reached the Crab Lake portage just under an hour from the boat landing. The newly re-routed first stretch of the 360 rod portage is a bit rocky with a few small, short inclines; but once you hit the old trail the portage isn’t too bad. The steady rain and occasional thunder continued as the South wind picked up. I reached Crab Lake just after eleven and pretty well soaked (more from the inside than the outside). I nibbled on the pasty I was carrying in my pocket for lunch, and it was surviving the trip fairly well although slowly diminishing.
At the other side of the short, easy 20 rod portage into Little Crab; I met a group of 3 canoes coming in. I wouldn’t see any one else until I reached Cummings lake over 2 days later. I stopped and set up camp on Lunetta Lake just after 12:30. Not a great site, but more than adequate for a rainy day and the trees were quite accommodating to the hammock and tarp. It finally did stop raining later although the weather radio warned of the chance for tornados until midnight and a 70% chance of rain tomorrow. I was comfortable spending the rest of the day putting in some hammock time and watching the occasional rain.
at least more than I have encountered in the BW in the past. The mosquitoes were thick on some of the portages and I resorted to using bug dope on a couple occasions, which I rarely have to do. It cooled off enough at night that the mosquitoes weren't bad at night.
I was well-rested and on the water just after 6 am. The first portage had a blowdown over the trail which I had to push the canoe over. This was to become quite common and there does not appear much use or maintenance on this portion of the route. The trail was also flooded over portions of it and up to knee deep in at least one place. It is nice and level, however.
The next portage is shown on my map as being on the north side of the creek. It is not. I searched for a while, got out and explored the brush even longer. The only explanation seemed to be that the portage was on the south side but there was no clear sight of it yet. After a bit of more searching, I finally noticed a squared off stub, indicating that it had been cut by a saw on the south side of the creek. The trail was flooded at the beginning and was blocked and somewhat hidden by some logs laying across it. At least it was actually there. Half-way across the portage, the trail crosses the creek and so does end up on the north side of the creek on the west end, at least partially explaining the map error.
I also paddled by the portage from Schlamn to Glenmore without seeing it. I finally doubled back and noticed an old blaze on a dead White Pine which marked the trail (east of an old beaver lodge). This, I thought would be one of the more challenging portages as the map shows it going up a steep hill. The trail actually climbs more gradually (at least on the south-end) so that the incline is hardly noticeable. One wet spot, a few step-over blowdowns; one too high to step over and too low to duck under and a bit of brush.
The portage from Glenmore to Western is a bit rocky and I was pretty beat by the time I got to Western Lake. I guess I’m not 51 anymore. My original plan was to spend the rest of the day fishing on Western and spending the night. I pulled out the telescoping fishing rod which has a beetle-spin with a yellow twister tail that is almost permanently attached to the line. Half-way across the lake I picked up a 24 inch northern while trolling. I lost it while trying to get a picture which was just as well as what I really planned to go after were walleye.
Western was a some-what appealing lake and the north shore seemed to have good potential campsites for a hammock camper. The developed campsite, however, was disappointing… no trees. It would take a bit of ingenuity and the cutting of support poles in order to use a hammock on this site. It doesn’t look like it gets much use, and there is vegetation growing up through the bench logs next to the fire place. Most of the site is over-grown with ferns. It was also getting darker with the sound of thunder becoming louder and frequent. I decided to push on to Buck Lake.
The wind was whipping around and sheets of water were coming down as I reached the end of the portage into Buck. The campsite was only a couple of hundred yards from the portage on the other side of the lake, but with the wind and rain, I waited for a break before I attempted the passage. I made it to the campsite at noon and set up camp in the wind and rain. It rained fairly steady for a couple of hours and then off and on for most of the remainder of the day. I read a book and passed the rest of the day fairly comfortable under the tarp in the hammock.
The wind had never let up all night and there was off and on drizzle and mist through-out the morning. It actually seemed to get colder until noon. I had planned to spend the day exploring and fishing Buck Lake. The wind did not co-operate. Fishing alone from a canoe in the wind can be anywhere from frustrating to maddening. Usually I just troll. This wind, however, was too much to do even that. During a couple seeming breaks in the wind, I did try it, only to be hit by wind gusts that were a bit un-nerving. I decided against serious fishing.
The campsite is pretty decent although it wouldn’t accommodate a large crowd. It is possible to walk around the area a bit and explore a bit of the countryside, which I spent a little time doing. I read some more, made a pizza, listened to the radio and watched the wind blow. I even tried fishing again, with the same results regarding the wind. The wind finally abated and the skies cleared at sunset. Although not much was accomplished, it was kind of nice not to do anything for a day.
Platy sits down to take in the view from the hills above the campsite on Buck Lake
I woke up to rain and thunder at 4 am. This ended shortly, becoming partly cloudy and calm as I broke camp and was on the water before 6 am. My goal for the day was to cross the Buck lake to Cummings lake portage and make it across the west half of Cummings lake before the wind got too strong. An early start was more essential than I realized at the time.
The 480 rod portage will remain memorable. It started out wet. I mean really wet, like flooded wet. I dropped the canoe and drug and floated it through the wettest spots. I did this several times. At one point a beaver dam had flooded the trail to the point that I could paddle across. The mosquitoes were thick and the brush was wet. Several times I had to drop the canoe to push it over blowdowns which could not be stepped over. It was all that I expected and more. My normal routine is to carry 100 rods and then rest 5 minutes before resuming. I count my paces to estimate the distance and use the timer on watch to force myself to take at least a 5 minute break. I plodded along, carrying, dragging, resting and reached Cummings lake a little before 8 am.
The lake was fairly calm. I felt that I was in luck and my concern for winds on the west half of Cummings was un-founded. In the hour that it took to round the point between the east and west half of Cummings; the lake changed from calm to white caps. Rounding the point got to be a bit hairy and I was quite relieved to reach the east half. I remain a firm believer in getting an early start if you really want to get some-where.
My next goal was to stop at an open campsite; dry things out, wash-up and shave. I then hoped to be able to do some serious fishing while exploring the east half of Cummings. I wanted to stay out two more nights so I didn’t want to go beyond Cummings. As it turned out, the only open campsite was the one farthest south which is totally exposed to a west wind. An hour after stopping here the west wind picked up with sustained gusts over 30 miles per hour which lasted the remainder of the day. Again, I was pretty well stuck due to the wind. I made the best of it and tried fishing a little bit from shore and caught a few tiny small-mouth bass. I was getting to be well-versed in the role of “camp-loafer”. Its not really a bad vocation after all, once you get good at it.
Platy goes ahead and urges me on across the Buck Lake portage:
I had left the tarp off of the hammock during the night due to a favorable weather forecast. In the early morning I woke up and noticed there were no bugs. I pulled the mosquito netting off to better enjoy the night sky. The temperature was pretty cool and it felt more like September. Later, on the radio, I heard that low temperatures of down to 36 degrees were reported.
The goal for the day was to travel to Crab Lake, find a campsite, fish, and spend one more night. It turned out to be the nicest day of the trip. As the sun rose higher, it warmed quickly and the wind remained calm throughout the day. Once I reached Crab Lake, I trolled slowly around, catching a few small, small-mouth, and a northern. Only one site seemed to be occupied and after checking a few of them out,I finally settled on the eastern-most campsite which is on a small island. This turned out to be a great site and one which I would love to re-visit.
I would loaf around the campsite for a while and then go out and paddle around, fishing for a while and then repeat the process. I caught an occasional small-mouth but none had any size to them. It was a totally enjoyable, relaxing day. Again, the weather forecast predicted clear skies and no mention of rain. The tarp was left off again, and although there were enough bugs to warrant the mosquito netting, I could still enjoy a view of the night sky before I finally drifted off to sleep.
Another beautiful day, but alas, it is time to go. Once that last day comes, I become anxious to leave. I think about the drive back and what needs to be done when I get back home. Again, once in the traveling mode, I get an early start. I am on the water shortly after 5:30 am and on the way I come across a loon nest with two eggs. I am on the portage by 6:00 and on Burntside by 7:00 and make it to the landing by 8:45. this trip is over.
In short, I spent a lot of time in the hammock, didn’t fish a lot and didn’t catch a lot when I did. I managed 6 miles of portages without giving my bad knee a second thought. I bolstered my confidence a little and practiced a bit of self-reliance. I swore at the wind, reflected on the stars, picked off the ticks, sweated on the portages and slept well.
Great trip report in an area I haven't been to. You deserved
all that hammock and R&R time. Fun read, some tough portages.
Thanks for the report! Platy seems like a good paddlin' partner!
You seem to indicate that you enjoyed your trip but mention in your last report episode that you were "...anxious to leave" and got up to a very early start. If I may speculate, that while solo tripping can be neat, the solitude can become too much by the end of the trip?
I know many of you who post here have had stories and/or pictures in the BWJ, but this is a first for us, & it is definitely KEWL! Sorry, I guess this is sort of going against my "commercializing" rule, but it is SO neat!
Not to commercialize, but just to let you know I am one of those "outfitter types"
..desrve the exposure! I know you have helped bring the joy of the BW/Q to many people and the recognition you get is well deserved. Many of us here depend on VNO for assistance and that help is invaluable. Your selfless and serving attitude is refreshing and I, as many do, enjoy working with you!!
I will be in Ely next Saturday also- where are entering? Staying the night before in Ely? I will be staying in the VNO bunk house and I wouldn't mind meeting you and saying hi. I seem to have missed you at copia so I thought maybe this is a good opportunity? Let me know if you can, Carel.
Looks great - mine isn't here but can't wait to see it. You know, you don't always have to apologize for "being in the business" - you're there to help us get into the BWCA and we appreciate it!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Journal of EP50 to Long Island Lake to No. Temperance to
Brule through Cliff to Winchell to Caribou to Poplar. http://home.wmis.net/~eastmant/bwca.html
Tim Eastman
"Lead by example and be an example worth following"
I have to change my plans for next week and need a place to spend the night between Duluth and Ely for next Tuesday night. Everybody I have called seems to want 80-100 dollars. I am all for supporting the local economy but all I need is a room for 12 hours....
Got reservations for the Holiday Inn Express in Superior for one night in July, $129.00 Anything in canal park was $180.00 and up. Sounds like not a bad price.
Check out Canadian Borders Outfitters, they've got bunks and showers for about $16.00 a night. My son and I are staying there next week. You can shower on the way out for $5.00 too!
Canadian Borders is just down Fernberg Rd. They really do have bunks or if want more they have motel rooms also (that's what we've secured for the night before we go in).
A friend of mine is heading out from the Gunflint trail this summer and has offered to pick up a canoe if I find one along his driving route from the Gunflint to Martinsville, Indiana. Do you know of any outfitters that would have a used Souris River Quetico 17 for sale at a reasonable price?
I don't mind getting one that I can put a little sweat equity in.
John and Lynn at VNO offered me a Kevlar SR Q17 for a heck of a deal last year, but I had a temporary bout of insanity and decided not to get it. My insanity is now in remission…
Alan
"Never make the same mistakes. There are plenty of new mistakes just waiting to be made."
"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul." --John Muir
picture! it feels almost that hot down here...i will definitely park my kevlar canoe in the shade! more seriously i didn't have an idea kevlar or composites would burn completely up..gone!. ....hoho....lm
...is there a pair of familiar shapes in that third canoe from the left in the picture? Could it be that the canoe melted, but the yoke pads survived?? Now THERE'S some marketing for ya!
...is there a pair of familiar shapes in that third canoe from the left in the picture? Could it be that the canoe melted, but the yoke pads survived?? Now THERE'S some marketing for ya!
...is there a pair of familiar shapes in that third canoe from the left in the picture? Could it be that the canoe melted, but the yoke pads survived?? Now THERE'S some marketing for ya!
My friend doesn't have the time to go that far out of his route. I personally don't want to wait for a trip that may or may not come into being next year.
I already have a 17'Alumacraft canoe, but it is just a little too heavy for a back that already pains me.
I may just have to wait and see if VNO can bring one down to the Indy Boat, Sport, and Travel Show next February.
Alan
"Never make the same mistakes. There are plenty of new mistakes just waiting to be made."
Heading up to Saganagons on Monday for a week...My son(his first trip) and I will be
base camping on Saganagons with fishing, swimming and exploring
the main activities. In the past I always paid my camping fees and
fishing license with credit cards but now these days I no longer carry CC.
Was wondering is it ok to pay with cash at the ranger station on Cache bay. I thought
I remember reading somewhere it was ok to do that but expect problems with the conversion
rate?
Sometime in the future I may be putting together a group of people from my church to head into the BWCAW and I need suggestions. (it won't be until NEXT summer, but I like to plan ahead...lol) Now most of these people have never been to the BW or anything even closely related to the area. (though they've all been in canoes) There would only be me and maybe one other person who has any experience with BW canoe camping and I'm at a loss as to routes etc...
It would (likely) be a 5 day/4 night trip, in late July or August. Wildlife, swimming (though a site with a sandy beach isn't a must, just a site where you can swim (with sandals on if needed)...just not sites full of jagged sharp rocks, or shallow, weedy lakes) scenery, and day trips would be most important aspects. (I might be the only fisherman) We would not travel and find a new camp every day...probably only 1 or 2 sites for the whole trip.
The thing is I'm having a couple problems, first, I'm more familiar with the Gunflint side (though not totally ignorant of the Ely side)...however because the Gunflint side can be more rugged, have more big lakes with more wind and waves, the fire/blowdown landscape (which I don't mind but I understand why first timers would only want to "pass through" and not camp there) and other various reasons I'm hesitant to take beginners there even though thats where I do most of my canoeing.
Second, I think beginners tend to want to "loop", even if it's only a small one, rather than "in and out". (Though honestly most of my trips have been in and out ones.) So I've kind of ruled out a few of my favorite trips for the time being because they are "in and out" ones (swan lake for example)...and because I'm less familiar with doing loop trips so thats what I need help with.
I keep thinking about going in at Lake One, as this seems to be the place most first timers go, but I've never put in there because of the stories of large crowds, even if its only for one day. And maybe this is my thing, but I don't mind seeing say 3 or 4 groups a day go by my campsite, (though I prefer zero) but the way people talk I envision that many groups per hour going by, maybe even more, and that's just too much. Are the numbered lakes really that crowded?
I've also never been to South Hegman before, which seems like the perfect beginner trip, but I worry that with 2 permits per day, there wouldn't be enough campsites in the area without going across the Angleworm death portage. (I hiked the angleworm trail once, putting in at the hiking trailhead....I admit it was too much for me....we made it, but with canoe gear in our packs, it was brutal. (we just base camped near the portage at one of those 3 sites for the night then packed out)
Any other suggestions for beginners trips, preferably a loop? (or a straight run that doesn't backtrack?)
Oh and I do have the Beymer (sp?) books and will check them too, but wanted to get more up to date feedback since my copies are about 10 yrs old now.
First look through the books, even his earlier editions still have great information on them.
As a thought pick you top 2-3 routes (loops or straight) and have the crew vote on which one to take. This gets them vested on the route and will cause fewer complaints later.
Also if you can start not a weekend that will help you to many people issue.
you might try starting at Isabella Lake or Island River & ending at Gabbro or South Kawishiwi.
The river is nice, and in August the bugs should be down. One long (140) rod portage from the river to Bald Eagle. The next two lakes are nice, as long as the wind isn't coming from the northwest. (Lake One area is a bear in the wind too.)
Not to commercialize, but just to let you know I am one of those "outfitter types"
is WHO. If several of these people have never been to the BW/Q before, even though they have canoe experience, you might sound them out as to whether they would really fit into the BW/Q style of camping.
Potential problems can be avoided if they are made aware of:
1. The significant chance of rain and insect pests
2. The uncertainty of finding good campsites
3. The quantity and quality (?) of the food provisions that can reasonably be carried in
4. Length and difficulty of portages and that all must share in the work of carrying
5. The limit on how much personal gear can be brought along
6. The need for all participants to share the work
These and other "difficulties" should be clearly described. There is nothing more disrupting than to discover, too late, that the trip is much different that one or more individuals imagined in the planning stage. After all, not everyone is really cut out for the BW/Q.
I've thought much about this as well and after paddling the Lake One area several times, I honestly think it is the ideal trip for beginners. It is incredibly scenic, the portages are reasonable and its an area that fits your "fun" needs without wearing out your gang. Yes you'll see crowds but your newbies will be enthusiastic about the trip regardless and it took me a while to learn that my solitude needs weren't as important as their newbie needs.
If you go up to Insula there is a perfect beach site across from Williamson Island that would fit your swimming requirements perfectly.
Here's what I plan to do with my next "rookie" trip:
day one:
Put in on Lake One and paddle to camp on Lake Two or the beginning so Lake Three
day two:
head towards Insula. If you can, making the beach site would be perfect. Lots of tent pads there, too.
day three:
layover on the beach site for recreation. If some want to, take a day trip to the Fishdance Pictos.
day four:
paddle back out and camp on Hudson or Lake Three. If you want a loop, you could head north towards Rifle, which would give you your seclusion (as long as no one is already on the lone site there)
day five: takeout.
I would prefer one more day in this itinerary to ease the travelling a bit, but its doable.
You won't get your seclusion late July/August on this route, but your party will be enthusastic enough to want to go again to a more secluded and a bit more difficult area later.
I essentially did this route last May and posted a trip report on it at:
The beach campsite I'm referring to is one I called "Mrs J-stroke's site". You'll note that I also stayed on a beach site on Insula nearby that would do well as a second choice site.
Feel free to email me if you decide on this route and need any more ideas.
Thanks everyone for the great ideas! Anytime I've done trips with people we usually all just agree on where to go with no problems so in some ways this is new to me. I definitely have told people who have been interested in what it can "really" be like in the BWCA and I think I scared some people! But it's definitely good for people to know the good and the harder type of good stuff at the same time.
I'm going to think about this for awhile, but I too keep coming back to the Lake One area...although Lynn saying the winds can be bad there have me a little concerned, it seems like beginners don't have too much problem since its so popular. I think I will narrow it down to 3 routes in the end and let people sort of vote on it. But this would give me the perfect reason to see the numbered Lakes region and not have to beat myself up about crowds! :D
Thanks for all the advice...and anymore suggestions would be appreciated of course!
The last couple times we have tried to be at the EP early... like 7 AM or earlier. The first 2 portages are empty.... the rest are those coming out and not many of them. If you wait 8-9 AM you can find yourself with a flotilla of canoes...especially large youth groups being dropped of in one big mass. Finding the channel at the beginning is tricky...McKenzie map is a little clearer or ask your outfitter. Once you find that narrow little spot you are OK... otherwise you end up in a bay wandering around...easy to do and frustrating to have that happen right at the beginning. Fire Lake or Horseshoe lake might be nice if you don't want or find getting into Insula too tough or wind or whatever (no sandy beaches though)...
"Those who stop where reason and instinct command never reach the best and highest places of all" Bill Gilbert
Another good choice would be to put in at Kawishiwi and come out at Sawbill or this trip in reverse. Good scenery. Modestly difficult portages (good for first trip types) and Sawbill Outfitters to help with plans and provide post trip showers.
Backpacker Magazine presented a new slogan that I like a lot, well really two good ideas that have to do with the health and future of our children and our society.
First they suggested that politicians be asked to support initiatives based on "Leave no Chldren Inside". Get then outside and active - simply that.
Second is the idea that "It Takes a Forest to Raise a Child" - discovering Nature teaches them about themselves and how they should relate to the world around them. If they learn to be tolerant and caring about frogs and trees they are more likely to be tolerant towards people of different faith, color or nationality.
Now that politicians are appearing on our doorsteps, lets ask them to support these ideas.
As for you and me, let's take kids paddling whenever we can, because somebody took us once upon a time.
talk "with" their parents, hard work has its rewards & the wilderness can be fun. Lots of other things too.
I think of the times I have taken my kids and now, my grandkids and how much it has made them grow & added to our relationship too, it has been great, even the tough, yucky times/trips.
Wait..., there have not been any yucky trips, just more challenging ones!
Not to commercialize, but just to let you know I am one of those "outfitter types"
I finished another canoe paddle this morning...another PNW Indian design on Western Red Cedar.
Here's a few pics.
Next one will be a salmon - also PNW Indian design on red cedar. I think I'm going to use a spawning sockeye for inspiration. They're a pretty striking image around spawning time.
of another cedar paddle this afternoon...ready for the drawing and painting now. I had built several (4) paddles earlier so it was all shaped and ready to whittle on.
Everytime I peel that wood off with the power planer and belt sander I say a little thank you to "Old Scout" for the little push that helped me buy those tools. And the Paddle Primer of course.
We traveled as the Voyageurs did by canoe, paddled the same lakes, ran the same rapids and packed over their ancient portages." Sig Olson The Lonely Land
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Journal of EP50 to Long Island Lake to No. Temperance to
Brule through Cliff to Winchell to Caribou to Poplar. http://home.wmis.net/~eastmant/bwca.html
Tim Eastman
"Lead by example and be an example worth following"
I haven't been to the west side in a number of years. Staying at Bearhead state park the weekend before the 4th of July. I have gotten some suggestions for day trips in the canoe. Any must do hikes? Waterfalls, scenic overlooks? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.
Sometime around 1920, the moraine that held in the outlet to Bass Lake burst and the lake level dropped something like 30 feet overnight, shrinking the lake to a fraction its former size. The trail circles the lake, traversing high cliffs, past a nice waterfall, across the old lake bed (which after 80+ years still has unique flora), over the outlet to Low Lake where you can see the old moraine that burst, and along the old lakes shore (high above the new one) where you will notice cedars arching over the long-vanished water. The trailhead is at a well-marked parking lot few miles up the Echo Trail.
We did that and the Kawashiwi Falls Hike last year. The kids LOVED both..........Also, plan a daytrip to the Hegman Picto's. That was easy, and easy to get to.
There is about a 13 mile round trip option to hike to Devil's Cascade. It's about 6.5 miles up and another 6.5 back (on same trail). There is a section of trail that follows the Little Indian Sioux River near some of the neat falls before the Pauness', but then wraps around the lakes and joins up with the Portage around Devil's Cascade.
Honest opinion - Not a bad hike if you are set on a good day of hiking. If you want to see the falls, it's much easier to canoe to them. It's probably still good deer fly season - a royal pain in the ars in my opinion, so be prepared if you are going to spend 6-8 hours hiking the 13 mile trail. It is a pretty flat trail and is not nearly as rocky as trails like the Border Route on the east side. This is the first part of the 32 mile Sioux-Hustler Hiking Trail. More can be found on the BWCAWiki at http://bwcawiki.org/wiki/Sioux-Hustler_Trail
Angleworm Hiking Trail is 14 miles round trip (loops, so only 2 miles of trail are repeated) and while I know people day hike the whole thing, best of luck to you if you want to try it. The Angleworm trail is definitely more scenic overall, it's also more rugged and will definitely feel like a much longer trip at the end of the day. I'd be prepared for something closer to 10 hours if you are an average hiker. It is, however, a pretty nice hike, especially along Angleworm Lake.
I haven't hiked the other trails in the area that are listed on some of the sites. Big Moose Lake Trail, Herriman Trail, and Norway Trail are all options. The Pine Lake Trail you see referenced is closed last I read on this board. I've heard good things about the Bass Lake trail that others have referenced, but don't have any personal experience. Here are a couple links that could help.
Secret/Blackstone--off of Moose Lake Road--gorgeous views.
Several other loops (don't know the names) but they start off the North Arm Road (Burntside) just past Camp du Nord. A variety of trails and some majestic pines.
Angleworm is more than a day but the long portage is a possibility with the branch off to Trease Lake.
Stub Lake Trail which starts at Fall Lake Campground.
You can't beat the Bass Lake Trail and the spur to Dry Lake!
And the short trail to Kawishiwi Falls is a must!
There is a small booklet called "Ely Area Trails" available, too, that has several other trails mentioned. I think I got it at Piragis.
"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul." --John Muir
So my buddy came back from his morning stroll in the woods (with his little orange shovel)and said: "I felt just like a ruffed grouse out there--perched on a log going putt-putt-putt".
We traveled as the Voyageurs did by canoe, paddled the same lakes, ran the same rapids and packed over their ancient portages." Sig Olson The Lonely Land
We (me, my brother in law, and two 13 yr olds) have a 3-bedroom place rented at Smitty's (Snowbank Lake)starting week of july 14th. Have the place for the week. Permit for EP16 that Monday, for a 2-nighter (intro canoe trip for the two 13 yr olds). Any dad/kid combos out there - or others, who might be entertaining thoughts of going up & need a place, let me know & we could maybe work something out.
... I just left it as "EP16" a) for the little bit of humor value, and b)if someone ends up staying with us at the resort but has their own EP permit for a separate trip and just wants to use it as a 1st night/last nt. deal, or stay there and do day trips, whatever, that's fine too.
The day has arrived for departure to the great north woods..... I am so excited to take my 1st lilly dip in the beautiful pristine water. I will have a post trip report when I return.
We are leaving at EP54, however I am unsure on the exact root until talking to the outfitter about what exactly has burned, and not burned.
I appreciate reading everyones experiences from there past travels...
and will be camping at the campground 6/27. Hanging out mostly on Alton with some day trips. Coming out probably 7/4 or 7/5. Anyone around at that time? Send me an email!
-Blazing Paddle (Mary Jean)
"Watching nature is a feast for the heart while understanding nature is a feast for the mind." [unknown]
Can't wait to get my pup in the ring early this fall. Tukka gets another chance in Belvidere and again at Cudahy/Racine.
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There is a joy in the journey...
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