In 2001, I took my fourth trip to canoe country, accompanied by my wife Dorothy and two other couples. This will be Dorothy's third trip, Doug and Debbie's second (they went with us in 1999) and Mark and Susan's first. Another couple, Alan and Melanie, had gone with us in 1999 but were unable to make this trip. Alan's camping philosophy and attitude is much like mine, and I am going to miss having him along. As always, we will use the outfitter for bunk rooms and canoes and I will supply all food and crew gear.
During Christmas week of 2000 I called the outfitter to make my reservation and requested a Lake Agnes entry permit. Knowing that Quetico was now taking permit reservations on a rolling five-month window, I didn't worry about anything until we were two weeks inside that window. Having not gotten any confirmation by that time, I called the outfitter to check on it. Not only did they not have the permit, they had no record of my having made a reservation! The lady started taking all the information to try to track it down and when she got my address, she said "that sounds familiar, I think I remember taking that." In trying to get it all squared away, I gave her a three-day range of acceptable entry dates and told her I'd take any entry point serviced through Prairie Portage.
The next day I received a call from the manager. He said all permits through Prairie Portage on my dates were booked. Then he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He would try to get a permit through Lac La Croix and give me free transportation to the entry point. At first I wasn't sure we could cover the distance from Lac La Croix to Prairie Portage in the time we had available, but after consulting Beymer's A Paddler's Guide to Quetico Provincial Park and piecing together parts of several of his routes, we began to see it was do-able. I told the outfitter to go for it, and he was able to secure a Bottle Portage entry on my first-choice date.
So we were set. In the weeks and days leading up to departure, we had several crew meetings to go over packing lists, equipment and clothing recommendations, answer any questions.
What follows is mostly the journal that Dorothy kept on the trip.
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We are off!
After Ed and I got up 3 times each to make sure we had everything, we were ready to go. At 5:30 Doug, Deb, Mark & Susan arrived. We prayed for watch and care over us on the trip in car and on water, and prayed for the safety of all our families and friends left behind. I prayed that Allen and Mellie would have a blessed week and something special would happen in their lives while we were away. I hope it does whether it is simple joy of a day or something larger.
The first day was long, but went fast. We rode 3 in a vehicle and Mark & Susan were the separated couple. The women rode together in the Camry after lunch and had a great time talking and laughing and singing over the walkie-talkies to the guys. We ate at the Steak & Shake (same one as last time) and saw the marshmallow farm again. We wouldn't tell Susan what they were and even after she saw them, she still didn't know. I didn't get any pictures of the ripe (white) marshmallows, but I did take a picture of the unripe (yellow) ones! [Ed: The "marshmallow farm" was a hay field where the farmer had wrapped his round bales in white plastic. They looked just like huge marshmallows growing in the fields.]
We got to Madison, WI about 7:00, ate at Chili's and went back to the rooms, watched a little TV (couldn't find a ball game) then went to bed.
Mark came with his gadgets. I went to get in the car and there were wires everywhere! It looked like an electric cord convention. He is going to be dubbed Mr. Gadget from now on. Ed did like the GPS though. It was a neat toy, and the Cobras (walkie-talkies) came in handy on the road.
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Off at 6:30, breakfast at McD's. We ran into a horrible thunderstorm, but we had just pulled into another McD's for a break when it hit. I'm glad we were inside - the trees tried to go horizontal. We did our usual stop at Gander Mountain in Duluth. I spent four whole dollars. Mark spent a lot more.
We hit Ely at 10 minutes to 5. Ed was getting edgy and afraid the stores would close since we were running late, but we did fine.
When we got to Border Lakes there were no trees on the roof, no canoes through car windows or wrapped around trees. It was hot and muggy, but nice. [Ed: On our last trip, we had arrived at the outfitter just a couple of hours after the famous July 4 Blowdown of 1999.]
We told Susan that the meal at the lodge was chef's choice and she looked a little hesitant. Then we told her the "choice" was a prime rib dinner and her eyes lit up. Dale (the outfitter) said our tow at Lac La Croix was set for 10:00am so we would eat breakfast at 7:00, load, and be gone by 8:00 to Crane Lake to catch the tow. Susan was very very happy to not have to get up early.
We met in one of the bunk rooms, went over the maps and route together, and decided we would get a tow in from Prairie Portage instead of paddling in. Since the outfitter was picking up the tow to Bottle Portage, we will give him a little extra business by paying for a ride out.
We got in bed about 10:30. A party rolled in about 12:00 and woke Deb & Susan up, but I never heard a thing until about 5:00 when the white-throated sparrows started singing outside my window.
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Today is the day!!
I awoke at first light and tried to be very still so Susan & Deb could sleep until 6. We had fans so it wasn't too bad sleeping even though we only used a sheet. I got up about 5:30 and Susan was awake then and quite upset to realize she had woken up so early when she didn't need to.
Breakfast was fabulous. It was a short order, so some of us had the pancake (as big as the plate) egg and bacon, Ed & Mark had eggs, toast, and bacon, and Deb had the Western omelet. We have all eaten like there was "no tomorrow" since we left. The pancake had a touch of cinnamon to it and was wonderful.
Breakfast over, we are packed and on our way. We are told the ride to Crane Lake is about 1 ½ hours. Well, 2 hours and 15 minutes later we arrive and boy, what a two hours! From the outfitter on Moose Lake, we had headed back toward Ely but turned right at Winton. OK, not so bad little 2 lane out of town, going up into the hills is nice. The road narrows to about 1½ lanes. OK, still paved; a little bumpy but not bad. Oh no! The pavement is gone and it's gravel. We must be close but NO - hours to go yet! On the good side, the land and lakes we pass are beautiful. We saw a timber wolf and a buck deer run across the road ahead of us. WOW! It had to be one of the longest, bumpiest roads I've ever seen.
When we arrive we're afraid the tow has left without us, but it hadn't and not only that but the other party is still eating breakfast and it will be another 30 to 45 minutes.
When we do get ready to go, the other party is 4 women. Turns out they are all married and been friends since high school and have been coming here for a week every year for the last 20 years.
Oh - going back to this morning, as we were about to get on the van, Susan reaches over and gives Mark a big kiss, says "Bye" and turns to walk back to the cabin. You should have seen Mark's face.
The tow was an adventure, too - and longer than the van ride. We pulled up to the dock at Customs and the lady asked all those wonderful questions - any liquor, tobacco, firearms, where we are from, etc. Then off we went again, just across the small bay to the Canadian Outpost store to get fishing licenses. It had a lot of cool stuff in it and I didn't dare look. Where would we put it if we bought anything? We headed off again for the ranger station to get our camping permits. Three stops when we did it all in one at Prairie Portage.
Off we go again, by this time the wind was really blowing up white caps. Lac La Croix is much bigger than Basswood. We would bottom and splash and bang. It was great fun. On the way out we had 2 places where the boat was trammed over to the next lake. We would all get out and the boat was put on a trailer and cabled over the hill. We would all pile back in and off we would go. The young man (Jason) who piloted the boat was a great kid and knows the lake very well. The other party of women had watched him grow up so they were very friendly with him.
We dropped the other crew off at Brewer Lake and continued on to Bottle Portage. Jason drove us up close to some pictographs on the cliffs. There were moose, deer and hand prints and paw prints. It was cool to see. We took some pictures. I hope they turn out OK.
We are finally at the portage about 2:00 p.m. Jason drops us off at a spot and we fight the wind to get everything on this rocky out point. We look around and ask where the portage is and Jason points across about 50 yards of water! We load the canoes, paddle with the wind 2 minutes, unload and portage. Bottle portage has been touted as "horrible" and "not so bad." It was hot, uphill, rocky and very muddy with 2 or 3 knee-deep holes. Doug found them and fell in. He was caked with gray mud from his shorts down. We saw some really big moose tracks and had been told that there was a cow and calf on the portage, but we never saw them. It was a rough portage but we did it and I actually have pictures of people carrying canoes this time.
As soon as we are through to Iron Lake, we started looking for a campsite. We checked out 2 or 3 and Mark & Susan saw a rocky point that looked promising. We went around it but it was narrow and we thought it wouldn't work. However, right next to it was a spot that did work. A little tight but not bad. We quickly set up and cooked beans and rice and fried apples. I cooked and Debbie showed Susan how to do the "latrine thing." So she has the honor of being the first to use the throne room on this trip. [Note: we carry a small toilet seat with folding legs to set over our cat holes. The women insist, and the men appreciate.]
We are all very tired. It's been a long day. Mark caught a small walleye and a pike so he's in heaven. Susan saw a snake and didn't leave us. Doug has beautiful legs after their mudpack and treatment.
Debbie has taken over Melanie's role as the National Geographic photographer. Ed & I are just our usual dull selves. It's going to be a great trip. More tomorrow. Good night.
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The wind blew all night long and we were afraid we would be wind bound like last time, but we started later and the wind slowly died down so it was no problem.
Ed wasn't feeling well last night or this morning so we lay around a while before starting on, to give him rest time. We did note that we don't have nearly enough Gatorade as we need, so will note that for next year.
As we paddled Iron Lake we saw some cliffs and I wondered if there were any pictographs on them. Ed said "no" but Doug said we could make our own. I said I could do hand prints, Mark deer tracks, and Doug could do "Doug Loves Deb." Susan said they needed Indian names to do pictographs and promptly dubbed them (Doug and Deb) "Praise A Lot" and "Packs A Lot."
The sky is crystal blue with white upper cirrus clouds and puffy lower ones. We've seen lots and lots of eagles - goldens and balds. I was able to get a picture of a young bald sitting in a tree. I hope it turns out OK.
We had a long (140 rod) portage to Curtain Falls, which was a pretty good one with the beautiful falls at the end of it. The women all proved themselves to be worthy of "Wilderness Woman" title. Susan carried the kitchen pack and made three trips. Deb and I have both carried canoes - me on the 140-rod and Deb on a really rough 40 rod with "moose poop" at both ends.
We then paddled just a little ways to a campsite on Little Roland Lake. We wanted to get to Argo, but that will have to be tomorrow and then we will lay over. Susan, Deb and I all did the bucket bath thing and Susan and I washed our hair. Boy do we feel lots better. The day has been wonderful; cool breezes about 70 degrees and clear sky. Now we all three have our Thermarest chairs propped up on the landing rock - I journaling, Susan is working on acrostic puzzles and Deb is - you guessed it -- fishing. Doug and Mark are out fishing and Ed is back to his old self and is baking brownies and cooking chicken and rice for supper
We will get up and go early tomorrow so we can get to Argo and start our layover. Still haven't seen any moose.
Dinner's over and we are waiting for the hot water to be ready for dishes. It's very still and I am hoping we hear some loons. I've only seen two on the water and two flying over on their way to somewhere else.
Kirsten and Ray will like this when they've done a little more camping and backpacking. We'll have to bring them here one year.
The guys have the pulley stuck on a branch and Mark is throwing small logs at it. It seems the solution is to put Susan on Mark's shoulders with a fishing pole to knock it down - this will be interesting. Well, they didn't have to use Susan but it was interesting to see if the limb they used would hold. We were camped at Little Roland Lake.
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It was still this morning with the mist floating just above the water. Doug was first up and said the mist was coming from both directions on the river and swirling right in front of him. He said it was a beautiful sight. Doug is the early bird - he even beats Ed up which is really early. I always wake with first light but don't necessarily jump right up. Ed was having a rough morning again, even though he felt better last night. We think he is going to have to eat something as soon as he gets up so that he doesn't lose energy.
We had Egg McMuffins again and packed to leave about an hour late. We made the first portage and were all loaded when Susan noticed Mark didn't have his PFD on and he and Doug unloaded a canoe and went back to get it while the rest of us went on to the next portage and waited for them. (It was also at this portage that Debbie fell. She slipped, caught her balance, slipped again, and was laughing so hard she fell on her bottom and held her camera up the whole time so it would get wet or hurt.) The reason no one noticed was Mark was a fashion statement with a teal shirt the exact color of his PFD, and purple shorts. We had just gotten our stuff portaged when the guys pulled up. They said they pushed it but still stopped to watch the loons.
That first portage was from Little Roland to Middle Roland. The next portage (40 r) was from Middle Roland to Roland. On Roland there was a Bald Eagle in a dead tree and I think I got a picture as he flew out over the water. We saw ospreys on Middle Roland. Still no moose.
One more portage on to Argo from Roland. Not bad, a little steep with falls beside it. Debbie "O. Mills" set up a photo op and we did couple pictures in front of the falls. They were beautiful. We rested there a little and then continued on to Argo. We went through two narrows; the first was very tricky with fallen logs and rocks. Doug and Deb led us through it and at one point we had to hug a log to get by between it and the rocks. The next narrows wasn't anything except narrow.
Argo is a big lake and we headed for the first island campsite which was empty and it was very nice. We had been on it less than an hour before someone else came along hoping to get it. Since we were doing a layover I'm glad we were here early. It seems to be a very popular spot. Three or four groups have stopped to look it over and the last one left a pack with us to reserve it for tomorrow when we leave.
As we were coming across Argo to the island we saw two canoes in the distance which appeared to be heading in the direction of the island so we sped up to get there but they were just heading to the Darky Lake portage. As they came closer all of us thought there was something familiar about the group. When we were within talking range Susan asked if one of them was Judy (the ladies on the tow with us) and she yelled "yes." Can you believe we ran into them again? All of us said what a funny thing. After wishing every one well we went on to the island. It seems Argo is the highest point in Quetico and all flows down from here.
We have named this Squirrel Island because it is full of the cutest little squirrels that look like chipmunks with bushy long tails. They are aggressive things, not scared of people at all. They actually came up and licked the peanut butter off the knife Debbie had been using. We had to shoo them out of the food packs within the first hour so we decided to anchor one of the canoes in the sheltered cove with the food in it. They were not happy and chattered at us for several minutes.
We did find blueberry bushes on the island, but no berries, just 3 or 4 very small and sour. The natives said it was a terrible year for them, no rain. I think the squirrels probably ate the ones that were there.
This site is probably a 4-star site. The only drawback being the wind from across a big stretch of Argo Lake and the squirrels and no blueberries. It definitely has the great campsite, really good "throne room" areas with a view, a lounging rock that Melanie would love, and our own resident seagulls to clean up the fish guts. There are pine, fir, balsam, birch, and some cedar and spruce so it smells wonderful. It's a north-south island with big rocks for sitting on the south end to watch sunsets and sunrises from. There are trails all over the island for walking around. There had been a fire on one of the west points a couple of years ago it looks like, but not bad. The bushes and plants are already growing back.
Well, enough of the island, back to food. We had bacon ranch pasta salad with chicken and a cake with chocolate swirls. It was wonderful. The wind was really cold, so we all had on long pants, shirts, and sweaters. Good sleeping weather.
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Everyone had a great rest. I think we all finally were up about 8:00. It was still cool enough for jackets. We had our pancakes without blueberries, but we had maple syrup and Canadian bacon so it was OK. We cooked over wood last night and this morning to save fuel. The wind died down during the night and didn't start in again until late morning, getting progressively more windy as the day goes on.
We have set up, as Debbie called it last time, "white trash camp" with clotheslines everywhere and laundry hanging, but we have clean clothes now.
Our mission today was to have fish and we succeeded. Mark caught a 16-inch smallmouth and had a little one. Doug & Debbie each caught a smaller one so we are having fish and soup and brownies for supper. Doug, Debbie, Mark and I fished most of the day. It was fun to actually catch fish even if mine were too small to keep.
Debbie and Mark are on the rock on the east side of the island, attempting to fillet the fish. The resident gulls are patiently waiting for their part.
As I sit here watching another gorgeous sunset I listen to the wind, the chattering squirrels, Susan shooing them away from the kitchen, I thank God for His mighty hands that created all this beauty and for the friends he has placed in our lives to enrich us and temper us and help us through this life 'til we are all home. How can anyone not believe in God when you see His creation?
After sunset and supper we sat around the campfire drinking hot chocolate and reading out loud two chapters of Patrick McManus's A Fine and Pleasant Misery. We all laughed so hard it hurt. It was so much fun watching Mark and Doug laugh as listening to the stories. All we needed was Allen beating on his chest trying to breathe while laughing at Mark laughing. It was great and I think we will probably read some more each night if we aren't too tired. [Ed: While McManus is one of the funniest people I've ever read, I'd have preferred to save him for the cabin, opting instead for Sig Olson while on the water.]
The gulls did get their meal and so did we. Fish, potato soup, and brownies. The gulls had so much they left some and even called in a friend to eat . . . after they were done of course!
After story time we went out on the big rock and looked at the moon reflecting across the lake, and all the stars. It was so beautiful I didn't want to go to bed, but we had an early start the next morning so off we all went.
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Up at 6:00, already the wind is howling, but it usually dies down after a little while. We ate a quick breakfast of oatmeal, packed up and were off by 8:00 or a little after.
We traveled from Argo to Darky over a 120-r. portage. Just after we arrived at the portage a group of Scouts out of Charlie Base came up after us, passed us and were going out by the time we were ready to load the canoes. Immediately to the left as we got on were some pictographs of smeared hand prints and a man who appeared to be a hunter. Susan noted he was anatomically correct. We went across the lake to cliffs a little further down to see more pictographs showing moose and calf, canoes with men, a man shooting a rifle with the fireball coming out, more hand prints, and other things . . . hash marks and circles. Ed said they were painted so long ago even the native area Indians don't know what they mean.
We traveled on through Darky to the Darky River with a short portage, another ways, then a monster 180r portage. We ate lunch before doing this one. It started next to a pretty cascade and followed the river up to Brent Lake. It took about 2 hours to do that one. We loaded, traveled about 200 yards and portaged again for 18r on to Brent. By now it was pretty windy and we had to cross a large bay into the wind. These canoes are great for that and we did very well getting across. Mark and Susan had some trouble weather-vaning but we just shifted some packs forward and that solved that.
We are camped on Brent tonight on an island (we like islands!) It has started sprinkling but it doesn't look like it will be hard rain.
The campsite is really nice. Someone had stacked logs to make a bench and there is a nice fire ring. The squirrels are also here. We told them we had just left their cousins. I think these were even more aggressive than the last batch!
Ed had made a cake and set it on a rock with a metal lid over it and one of the squirrels started nosing around it. I said there was a squirrel about to get the cake and Ed said he wasn't strong enough to lift the lid, but about that time the lid went "bang" as the squirrel took his teeth and tipped the lid up. Everyone ran over and shooed him away. He wasn't happy and chattered at us. We solved it by putting a rock on the lid so to get even he ran down the tree where Ed had the kitchen tools hung and stole our plastic scrubber and ran back up the tree while Ed looked at him incredulously and said "he took our scrubby!" The little guy was so funny Mark almost fell over laughing at this chipmunk sized animal scampering with a green scrubby as fast as he could up a tall pine tree. We thought we'd lost it for sure, but he chewed around on it a while and then threw it down at us. It was hilarious to watch.
We had a long day with 2 hard portages so everyone was worn out and hungry. Ed is feeling back to his usual self now, which is great. Supper was spaghetti with meat sauce and the aforementioned cake. All of us are just sitting around and chilling out right now.
Oh, we did see another Bald eagle up close and took more pictures of him. They are magnificent birds. He was sitting on a log at the edge of the river eating when we pulled up. We spooked him and he flew across in front of us and then landed in a tree about 10 feet off the water so we took pictures as we floated by. Mark tried to get him to fly again, but he wasn't interested.
It started sprinkling as we set up camp and rained lightly all night long. It wasn't as cold as two years ago, but the same type of low-pressure system.
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The rain stopped about 5:00 or 5:30 so it's just dripping trees and a slight breeze. We had moose bread [Ed: our short name for Hudson Bay bread] and hot drinks for breakfast so we wouldn't make a mess to clean up in the damp. We have a long day of paddling ahead across Brent and McIntyre into Sarah, but only three short portages. The rain has definitely stopped as we take off about 9:00 but the breeze is cool so I'm glad the rain jacket is still on. We have 3 short portages of 4, 18, and 24 rods. We paddled around the lee side of the island out into a small neck of Brent, headed north, then turned east into the wind in the main body of Brent. Brent is a long east-west lake, so we paddled about an hour and took a short in-boat rest on the lee side of an island about 1/3 of the way down the lake, then started out again. The waves in the open areas were rolling about ½-foot high and our Minnie 2 [Ed: Wenonah Minnesota II] cut through like there wasn't any wind. Great canoe. Doug and Debbie and Mark and Susan have Champlaines, which are wider in the middle and drag a little more, but not bad. We traveled on down, turned south down Brent and came upon some loons in glassy water. We coasted and took pictures. I ran out of film and had to reload so my pictures weren't as close up as I wanted but I think Debbie got some great one since the loons were beside their boat. We then ran across an island with a moose skeleton on it and went over to inspect and took some pictures in case that was the only moose we saw. There weren't any antlers so it was either a cow or someone had taken them already.
We came upon a family of loons after that and I got some good pictures of them right before our first portage. It was 18r and we lunched after carrying it to the other side of a very rocky portage. Mosquitoes were sort of bad. We entered onto a very small no name lake, traveled about 5 minutes and portaged again, 4r this time. There was a steep shelf and the canoes had to be two-manned up and over. This lake is McIntyre and we entered a north bay area of the lake. It is still overcast and very quiet. No birds singing, no eagles flying, just silence. McIntyre is a north-south and the wind has died down so we didn't have cross winds. We passed a couple paddling that we had seen on Brent the day before. They must have a base camp and are doing day paddles. We rested behind a point and then headed across the wide part of McIntyre for a channel. Ed and I timed it and it took 20 minutes. As we entered the channel there was a group of nine coming toward us, young people, probably a church group. At the last portage, we headed across Susan and Ed (with a canoe) leading. It started rocky like the last portage, went through some heavy brush and then plunged down almost vertically! Ed and Mark made it down fine, just very slowly and when Susan came back to get the next load she was actually out of breath for the first time this trip. I started across with a canoe and as I approached the top everyone stopped me and talked me out of going down. Ed was coming back up and I passed it up to him since he had the footing going down already. We went back to get the last load and when we got back Ed was standing there with the canoe on his head, waiting. Someone made a comment on the lovely hat he was wearing. He said he had picked it up at Pigg & Parsons [Ed: a local men's clothing store] As we loaded, 2 guys came up to go back across into McIntyre. They showed us 2 really nice lake trout and told us Sarah was beautiful, well worth the trip. We told them about the Mt. Everest portage that they were about to do. The are in for 17 days and it's not long enough for them, they said. One said he was originally from Stone Mountain, GA. We did get a picture of Mark, Susan and Doug up on the vertical with packs so we could show everyone what we did.
The two we met told us of the 2 campsites we were headed for. They said one was good but the second was great with a sandy beach. We came to the sandy beach one and thought they meant the other one was better so we passed on. It turned out that the first one was the best as far as tent sites, etc, but this second one (the one we got) is a great site for viewing wildlife. We are in a small channel with reeds across and we saw our moose! We had just put up the rain fly and were starting on the tents when Mark and Susan said "Look! Look! Moose!" And there she was across the channel eating water plants. We all froze and then moved slowly to get cameras. We all got some great pictures. The cow swam a little moving around rocks to get to other eating spots. Mark said the look on Susan's face was priceless when she saw it! After the moose, there was a beaver swimming by close to shore. He must have seen us because he splatted his tail and went under right in front of us. What a great spot for wildlife! We had Adirondack stew for supper. A new dish that is a keeper. Everyone loved it.
After we all went to bed Mark and Susan heard the moose again on our side right outside Doug and Debbie's tent. Mark's comment was that the moose heard Doug (snoring) and thought it was a bull moose and came to investigate. But that's just a Mark comment!
The clouds broke about sunset and the sky was beautiful with the silence that only comes in the deep wilderness places like Quetico. Everyone settled down and sat quietly watching the sky turn pink to purple. This is why we came here, to experience the loud silence and see God's creation undisturbed.
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This is a day of rest. We slept in (6:45 for Ed and I). We even got up before Doug, who usually is up about 5:30. The sky is overcast again. I was hoping it would be clear today, but I guess not. The wind has shifted some and is straight from the east.
Ed and I sat on the rock and listened to the silence for quite a while not talking, just listening. There were birds singing, beavers swimming by. The distant call of loons flying over and ravens calling. It is so hard for me to fully comprehend that these trees have never been harvested. The animal life goes on here without mans trying to intervene. At one time the trappers were here and Indians paddled the lakes in their birch bark canoes. If you listen and watch you can almost see and hear them.
We are doing laundry and sitting around today. There are actually some blueberries here. Not many, but enough to have blueberry pancakes (yeah!) We all just ate some moose bread and drank hot drinks when we got up and then Debbie and I picked berries for a pancake brunch. Mark and Doug went out and fished a while, but today is mostly a lay around day.
We have some new names. Susan has been dubbed "Portage Princess," she actually likes portaging! Mark is "Dances with Lures" he spends about as much time fishing them out of snagged spots as casting them. Doug is "Dances with Rocks" he teeters and stumbles over them more than anyone I've ever seen, and never falls! [Ed: this giving of "Indian" names has been going on the whole trip. I'm beginning to feel like I'm trapped at a Girl Scout camp!]
It's after supper now, the wind has calmed and the sun is out. It's been a great day sitting on the point and waving to the 3 groups that went by. One was a couple with a yellow and a black lab. The yellow was a pup and sat up to bark at us. She had a soft "woof, woof" and wouldn't sit back down. She was cute. The black had obviously done this before and just sat there and watched quietly.
There have been loons traveling through the channel. They have a set pattern for up and down as they travel by, to avoid close contact with the humans watching them. There were two beavers early this morning traveling by. I wish I could get a picture of them, but all you see is a head going by.
Supper was wonderful. We had chicken and rice again, and cinnamon rolls. Both were Debbie's suggestions for meals when we were planning and they were great.
We're sitting around watching to see if the moose comes back and doing some packing tonight since we have a lot of portaging tomorrow and need to get an early start. The day of rest was greatly appreciated.
We have all quieted down and been still on the Sunday day of rest. Voices are softer and movements quieter. There is a reverence here for God and nature, which is His creation.
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Storms blew in about 4:00. The wind came up about 1:30 and Ed went out to get the canoes out of the water since it was starting to bang against the rocks. We saw what we think is the Northern lights. A flickering that kind of resembles very distant lightening, but different, too. We had planned on being up and gone by 7:30 or 8:00 but this storm came in with severe lightening and we had to wait until it had passed.
Going back to yesterday evening, we sat on the rock point waiting for the moose to return but she didn't. The loons did come back in and Susan watched one of them "crash" land. It really is fun to watch them. They traveled through the channel to check us out. This time they were close and just watched us as they went by. There were some ducks off the opening of the channel but I didn't see them. Doug and Debbie were fishing off the point and Doug caught a big pike, but it broke off before he could land it. It was bigger than Mark's smallie. While Deb was fishing she started laughing and said that while she was standing there on the point a turtle swam up, looked up at her and did a "spaz", shaking all four legs and turned quickly and dove back down. It was so funny she laughed for several minutes. We also saw two turtles in a headlock. I guess they were fighting since we decided they weren't in proper position for "other things." They swam around for a long time like that. I don't know who won that fight, probably the one who could hold his breath longer.
As the sun set we read some more Pat McManus and laughed until we cried.
Now back to this morning. The storms finally stopped about 7:30 so we got up, ate oatmeal and packed to go. We are looking at 7 to 9 portages today with short paddles between. A long hard day of loading and unloading.
As we loaded up Susan slipped on the rocks and popped her right should out of its socket, but it popped right back in place. She was ok, just sore so we made sure she had ibuprofen for the rest of the trip.
The day is overcast, but doesn't look like it will rain. It was a mess packing up because of the wet and mud. Our tent and Doug and Debbie's were at the bottom of the hill so that we were almost floating because the run-off was so much. Mark and Susan were up the hill a ways so theirs wasn't as bad. I hate packing in the rain and muck.
We paddle out of the channel and onto a wider part of Sarah. Off to the right I spot an eagle's nest with a bird in it. Ed and I go over to get a picture and it turns out to be an osprey sitting on the edge of the nest. We paddled on down to the end of Sarah, passing a group of Scouts just starting to break camp. The first portage is 112 rods and nicknamed "heart stop hill." It went uphill about three-quarters of the way, then down into an unnamed lake. The scouts coming up onto the portage overtook us and we're glad they did. There are two trails off Sarah and we went to the wrong one first. [Ed: The Fisher map shows them both converging on the same spot on Sarah, but in reality they are about 100 yards apart, on opposite sides of the bay.] Susan & Mark paddled over to the Scouts and asked them how long the trail they were on was. It was the 112. Ed and I had unloaded so we loaded up again and headed to the other one. That was the only entry we missed. Not bad for 10 days!
We came out onto a small, unnamed lake, paddled about 5 minutes and were at the next portage of 94 rods. It was very rocky, just like the last, but not as many roots. It was steeper but shorter going up and on the other side we met a group of young teens who were working for the Quetico Foundation, doing soil studies. They had spent all summer doing this, 10 days in, 4 out, and back again. Most of them were from Atikokan and just out of high school. We were talking with them and found out they were going the same way we were and they told us the stream out of Isabella to North Bay was navigable, so we were able to cut out 3 portages. That turned out to be a godsend!
The kids left and as we finished packing up we noticed a red day pack lying on the rocks that wasn't ours. We left it and went across the small lake, another 5 minute paddle, and saw the group still there. We asked if they had left a red pack and it was theirs so we unloaded our canoe and let them use it to go back, since they had already portaged their canoes. It turned out the pack had their soil samples and radios in it and they were very happy to have it back. The young men who went back carried our canoe over for us as thanks. We appreciated that a lot.
We ran into them again at the next portage from one unnamed lake to the next, this one 37 rods with a steep downhill rock face. I slid down and bruised my backside and scraped an elbow. Debbie slid at the same spot and bruised hers, too. Doug fell somewhere along the route, after dancing on the rocks for a while, I'm sure, and scraped a couple of places. Ed took his dip at the beginning of this portage when he fell forward into the water off a loose rock. At this point everyone had fallen on this day except Mark. His only slip was on Sarah Lake. When he was getting water for Susan he fell between two rocks and scraped his ankle pretty bad.
Most of the portages today have been one canoe at a time landing and reloading. Slow going for sure. As we were loading up another crew came through - mostly family with two extras and one of the girls was very pushy, yelling "get out of the way, canoes coming through." Like we had anywhere to go! They just pushed on in and started loading. As we finished and started out on unnamed lake #2 another group came behind them, so we had a traffic jam going on this little lake. The Quetico Foundation group had pulled left to eat lunch after loading. We had pulled aside at the portage to eat so were slower getting away.
As we approached the next portage onto Isabella a group was coming out so everyone was floating around outside the entry way, which looked like a swamp, with dead trees sticking up and logs just under the surface. After the group came out we waved the Quetico group on through since they moved so fast. We went in next and thought the pushy group would hold back. We unloaded and started across. The Quetico group and left their augur behind this time! Susan picked it up to carry over with our stuff and we met Karen (one of their girls) coming back for it. She then picked up and carried Doug and Debbie's blue dry bag had been dubbed the Bag from Hell. (There was no easy way to carry it. You either lugged it like a suitcase or put the sling over one shoulder.) We joked with Karen about being their clean-up crew.
As soon as we had cleared a canoe out the pushy group charged in and started unloading and passing us to get ahead. Both the Quetico and pushy groups were gone by the time we got across.
We paddled the length of Isabella, a beautiful narrow lake that was like glass. The cliffs had several shades of green from the different lichens growing there, and the reflection of the cliffs and trees in the water was prettier than I had ever seen.
The pushy group was setting up camp at one of the two sites on Isabella so we figured they were pushing to get to the site before someone got it.
We paddled about 15-20 minutes to get to the end of Isabella, thinking we could go straight onto the stream system. When we got to the end there was a beaver dam, but it didn't look like a canoe could go down it. [Ed: not really a beaver dam, just the usual collection of rubbish where the lake began to drain into the shallow creek.] Ed checked out the portage trail and it just went about 15 rods and then picked up the stream.
It was very still and quiet water. The entry was a slanted rock once again but had a cracked step area down. Ed and I had loaded and floated out in the lily pads so the others would have room. I had turned to take a picture of them. Just after I did the picture Debbie slipped down the rock face and fell. She said, "I heard a crack" and we could tell she was hurt! It was 4:15 p.m. Ed said to remember the time. We paddled back and grabbed up the first aid kit hoping Debbie's leg wasn't broken. Doug, Ed, and Mark did a thorough check and determined it wasn't a full break at least. We let Deb get past the rush of pain. Mark and Doug supported her and they helped her to the canoe. She got set down and then the pain had subsided to a throb. We left the boot on for support since there was just one more portage to North Bay.
That portage was just 4 rods and Debbie said she could do it. We started down the stream and it was so cool. Tall grass all around and this narrow and shallow stream winding through it. Everyone commented on how much it reminded them of the theme park rides where alligators come out and the guide says "That was close, but we have escaped!" We watched intently for moose but never saw any. Just lots of moose prints in the mud. It was sandy-bottomed most of the way. We came to several beaver dams. A couple we had to get out and pull over. We just left Debbie in the boat and pulled it over like that. There were two or three dams that were already breached so we floated over them. We entered an area that was rocky and my paddle became wedged between two rocks and the corner broke on it. I thought I was going to cry [Ed: this was a real nice Bending Branches paddle I had given her for her birthday] then I remembered Debbie's ankle and knew she had reason to cry - I didn't.
We came to what was to be the 4-rod portage at a beaver dam and stream area. The guys got Debbie up and she used her paddle to lean on to help her walk without putting weight on the ankle. Doug helped her too and she did great while we got the canoes and stuff across. The 4 rods were more like 18 and pretty rocky at the front end, but Debbie got through that part OK. She did stop once and had what Pat McManus called a "Modified Stationary Panic Attack." She was so frustrated at having fallen she had to cry for a few minutes then she was OK and continued on. This is one very tough Wilderness Woman! We got loaded up and we thought it would open very quickly into North Bay but there was just more Beaver dams and ponds. We saw one lodge with the beaver sitting on it and when we went by he slid into the water and swam around in circles watching us.
Another beaver dam! Ed and I got out and pulled over. This one had less footing on either side, so Ed pulled some sticks from the top of the dam to make a slot the others could float through. I am so tired of muck and sand and beaver dams!
Finally the end of the stream and into North Bay. Everyone thought it was really neat going through the stream. We navigated by watching the flow of the water grasses when there was a fork in the stream.
I am really tired by now. We enter the bay and there is a campsite right on the point where we came out. Doug and Debbie sat at this one while Ed and I and Mark and Susan checked out a couple more to see if they would be easier access for Debbie, but they were worse, so we set up camp there.
We got Debbie up to the campsite after getting up her tent and getting out the Thermarest chair. We had given her ibuprofen at the lst portage and so we got the boot off to look at her ankle and wrap it up. She sat in her chair with it elevated all the rest of the evening. We didn't get to camp until about 7:30 or 8:00 . . . what a very long, hard day.
Ed fixed chicken pasta salad for supper and stewed apples. I was so tired that it didn't even taste good. We cleaned up and went to bed knowing we had to get to Bayley Bay the next day. Only three portages but a lot of big water.
There was one neat thing. There was an eagle that went fishing and landed on the point just across from our site to eat. We watched through the binoculars as he ate and then walked around to the water on the other side of the point. He took off from there and circled our site before leaving. We also watched three loons there.
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We got up to gray and threatening clouds with the wind blowing pretty strong. About 7:30 you could hear the thunder in the distance. Looks like we will be a while before getting off. We had granola and moose bread for breakfast and got everything packed up and ready to go. The tents were a little drier but ours was still pretty damp. Ed & Doug discussed whether to leave the tents up but decided on dry tents and packed up. We left the rain tarp up in case we needed refuge.
The wind picked up and from behind our camp the clouds grew very dark and threatening. It became very still, then the wind changed 180 degrees. And the storm roared in on us. We had the tarp facing North Bay and when the wind changed we had to quickly turn it inside out to shelter us from the other direction. That turned out to be a real trick since by then the wind was gusting to over 30 mph or more. There were log benches set up so Debbie was sitting on one of these. We moved her to another spot when the wind shifted. It was a bad lightening storm with heavy rains. After quite a while the storm seemed to be passing on and then it got still, the wind shifted back 180 degrees and back it came over us again. It did this several times. We sat under the tarp and prayed for God's protection and for a break in the storms or for Him to cease the storm and also prayed for Debbie's ankle to be healed, asking that she be able to walk on it by the end of the day.
We sat and watched the storms and lightening swirl around us several times. It was like we were in the eye of the storm . . . close all around us but never right over the top of us. This went on until about 12:30 or 1:00. It let up enough once but we hadn't had lunch and were all hungry and very cold. By the time we heated water for hot drinks and soup there was an even more wicked looking storm coming on fast. So, back under the tarp we went. Ed put up the second tarp so when the wind changed directions we would be protected. About 1:30 it finally stopped and started moving away from us with light skies toward the way we were headed. The winds were calm so we quickly loaded and made a dash across North Bay, hopping behind islands. It was fairly calm and we paddled for all we were worth so we wouldn't be caught on big water if the wind came up again. When we got to the portage from North Bay onto a little waterway it was not a good spot. There was a muddy shoe sucking path or a treacherous rock garden. Doug opted for the muck for Debbie. He pulled her up into the mud as far as he could and she climbed out and started across the portage with her paddle/crutch. She had to get over two or three logs about knee high and made it just fine. By the time we got to the other end the wind was picking up and it was a small stream, rocky and hard to maneuver out of. We faced into a strong wind and paddled as hard as we could a short ways to the next portage onto Burke Lake. The portage off North Bay was 30 rods and the one onto Burke was 16 rods.
When we went onto Burke the full force of the wind hit us. As we got loaded Ed sent each boat on out following the right shore and using the points to protect as much as we could. It was the hardest we have had to paddle. The rollers were about a foot high and some white caps. It wasn't too bad as long as you could paddle straight into the wind. The distance to the other end was hard, though. You could see the sandy beach landing but it never seemed to get any closer. Susan said she wasn't sure if she was going to make it the last several minutes.
We finally landed and Ed and I walked the portage to make sure the site at the other end was available. It was so I stayed while he went back. When he got there he said "well guys, you see that island behind us? It will only take about ten minutes to go back there, don't you think?" Susan said, "yeah, I guess so" and was pretty down about having to go back when Ed said, "you don't have to do that though." Susan told me what he did later that evening.
Debbie made it just fine. We made it and are set to hit Bayley Bay tomorrow morning early, to miss the wind.
We had red beans and rice with tortillas for supper. Sat on the beach and talked then went to bed about 9:30. We discussed how we had been protected from the storm, how Debbie could walk without a crutch even though she limped and how wonderful a hot shower, clean sheets, and steak would be tomorrow.
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The last day!
Boy am I ready to be out of storms and muck. Another long series of lightening and thunderstorms last night starting about 1:40 a.m. They went on forever. I don't even know when I finally went to sleep. There were two or three close ones that caused Debbie and Susan and I all to sit straight up.
Debbie was attacked by a grasshopper in the tent. There were also sand fleas on the beach, which caused some bites on a few of us.
We awoke about 6:00 and packed up. Ate moose bread. Ed heated water but it was hot and muggy so only Doug had coffee.
We packed up and headed out about 7:30. Bayley Bay wasn't as bad as Burke was yesterday and we made it to Prairie Portage about 8:40. It was overcast and started raining just after we landed so we put on jackets, stacked our gear to the side and went to the gift shop. Our pick-up was for 10:00. We did our last portage and finished up just as the guys pulled up in the boats.
We have decided that from now on towing in and out is the only way to go.
We were back to Border Lakes by 10:20 and had settled our bill and headed toward Ely by 11:00. We arrived in Ely, headed to the DQ to get burgers and Cokes and went to the Super-8 to check in. They weren't checking in until 1:30, which gave us two hours to sit there nasty and smelly. We asked the proprietor if we could set up our tents and dry out on the back part of the parking lot and he said OK. By the time we got all the bags out, tents up, and wet things laid out it looked like a huge garage sale. Mark took a picture of it. I guess the wait was a blessing since it allowed almost everything except clothes to dry. We sure got a lot of looks from the cars going by! You would think that it wasn't that rare to see people doing that around Ely.
Finally we can check in. Hot showers. LONG hot showers. Two or three shampoos. Dry, clean hair. Makeup. Shaves and clean clothes. Now we're ready to shop! Off to Piragis, Basswood Trading Post, Ya Ta Hey, Canadian Waters, and other places. It is amazing how all my body parts started hurting. I could barely climb stairs or walk after being still. Ibuprofen is a wonderful thing.
We bought t-shirts, gifts for family and friends, books, figurines, plaques, maps, I even found some Sven & Ole fortune cookies! Sven and Ole jokes are common in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
About 5:30 we all headed to the Ely Steak House for "The Meal." Debbie got the 22 oz. Porterhouse and ate almost all of it. Doug had the filet, Ed and I had sirloin and walleye, his fried and mine blackened. Susan got a rib eye and Mark go the larger filet and had them "black and blue" it. Then we all had dessert, too. Talk about full and miserable - but it was good!
We all headed back to the hotel and were asleep by 9:00! What a trip. I can't believe it's over.
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On the road again.
We were up at 6:00 so we can eat at 7:30. We ate at Vertins - the "City Cafe" of Ely. [Ed: The City Cafe is a long established "meat and three" in Murfreesboro, TN, where we live, the place where all the locals gather. Kind of like Lake Woebegone's Chatterbox Cafe.] The waitress was the same as City Cafe also. She was nice but could only do one thing at a time! The breakfast was good but nowhere near Border Lakes food! They didn't even have real maple syrup!
We are off to the Chamber of Commerce and used Debbie's camera for the "we're done" picture. Her timer is a great feature.
We went down Highway 1 to the North Shore and followed it into Duluth, stopping at Gooseberry Falls State Park. Looked at the falls, visited the gift shop where Ed got a book on reading the weather (we could have used that this week!)
We did finally see a bear! It was running across the highway in Wisconsin. So we have now seen every thing we wanted to see as far as wildlife.
We arrived at Beloit about 7:30, checked in and went to the Famous Cheese and Fireworks store to get Allen and Melanie some cheese.
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Up and off to breakfast at Perkins and on the road by 8:00. Traveling home is quieter than going up. I for one do not look forward to going back to work! I like being off and out of doors. But that isn't the reality of life, just the vacation. I am glad we did this, it forces us to be still and slow down if only for a while to renew our mind and soul and strengthen our body to go on.
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I never take a trip that I don't learn some new things. Sometimes things about myself, but always things to do differently next time.
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