BWCA by canoe, 2006

Journal
Boundary Waters Canoe Area, 2006
August 7-13

Peter and I drove to Ely from Ann Arbor, Irene and Fred flew from NH to Madison, met Schuy, and drove north to Ely. We had our rendezvous at the Wolf Center, got our permits, and headed for town. Irene wants a green t-shirt, small. In all the stores in town we couldn’t find one. But we did find a delicious dinner at the Chocolate Moose. We have reservations tonight at Fall Lake campground, and soon we have the picnic table there covered with equipment or food, sorting what to leave behind. We were done just before nightfall, then traipsed down to the lake to watch the light fade.

Monday Aug 7
Up and packed early, breakfast at a diner in town, then out the Echo Trail to our put-in on the Moose River. It took five of us eight trips to get two canoes, six backpacks, paddles, PFDs & etc to the water. We head out with Dad in the bow of Schuy’s Bell Mystic. In the Minn II, Peter is in the bow, Irene in the middle, and I’m in the stern. The river is mildly twisty and very slow. Several other groups are coming out as we go in. We pass a high rock face, stop, and scramble to it’s top. We have a nice view down the river into Nina Moose Lake. Snack time. Back on the water we find an occasional sprig of wild rice, and as we reach the lake, expansive beds of it. Its not quite ripe yet, but Irene enjoys picking a few, husking them, and declaring them ‘sweet.’
From Nina Moose, on down the river to Lake Agnes. We find a nice campsite on a point with a wide rock apron in the sun. The tents go up and we filter water and go swimming. Dinner is tacos with instant refritos and sun dried tomatoes.
This lake is very popular, close to the put-in, and has many campsites. So it has some annoying chipmunks who refuse to be scared away when they climb into the food pack. Schuy and Peter, and Irene and I go out for an evening paddle and watch the full moon rise over the trees.
A bear visits us in the night, wakes up Dad and Irene, sniffs around, and leaves. Dad says he smells horrible!

Tuesday Aug 8
A nice tail wind drives us down Lake Agnes into Boulder Creek and Boulder Bay. Saw a Bald Eagle on a snag on the shore.
From Boulder Bay into Lac la Croix with more tailwinds. Our campsite is on a nice peninsula with a huge rock apron out front. After dinner we paddle across the lake into Canada to view the Native American petroglyphs on the cliff face. There are stick figures of men, profiles of moose and other animals, and many, many handprints. Wow.
Watched the sun set on the short paddle back.
Irene and I went for a moonlight paddle as everyone else settled into their tents. I slept out under the stars.

Wednesday Aug 9
Beautiful sunrise over Canada. Blueberry muffins for breakfast.
We follow Lac la Croix north then west through a confusing maze of islands, bays and points, then north again (more cartographic confusion) to a nice island campsite. On the way we watched two Bald Eagles fight over their territories. One was forced down into the water and had to swim to shore.
The fireplace/kitchen at this campsite is up on a rock bluff overlooking the lake. The tent sites are rough and small though. This area gets few visitors, and the sites are lightly used. We checked out some of the nearby sites. One had a spruce seedling growing in the middle of the fireplace.
Peter and Irene are both becoming very good paddlers. We switch positions often, so everybody gets a turn at stern, bow, or vegging out in the middle.
Dinner is curried couscous with vegs. The evening is quiet but buggy, thunderstorms in the distance and a lowering ceiling. After we all turn in for the night, the storm hits. From dead calm instantly to strong gusty winds, and a few light sprinkles. Dad, Schuy and I get up and made sure all is secure, then settled back down listening to nylon flapping.

Thursday Aug 10
Still blowing but no precipitation. It’s a short day of paddling, as we backtrack a bit of Lac la Croix, then up Pocket Creek, left into Ge-be-on-e-quet Creek and into the lake of the same name. Paddling the creeks is beautiful. Saw two beaver.
Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake is quite pretty, typical BWCA with rocky shores, thickly wooded, with bleached driftwood along the banks, and many huge pines. We liked the first campsite, and settle in. Irene found a special place in the woods - four very large pines defining a clearing about eight feet across. She’s planning on sleeping there, so she’s set it all up with her pad, bag, book, etc. Nearby is the lake with a secluded ‘pond’ complete with Lilly pads, driftwood, and rocks to sit on while reading.
Lunch was a very casual affair - food was arrayed in the kitchen, and those who desired, ate. The wind continues but not too strong. The overcast breaks up and by evening the skies are clear. We light a fire, but it is too hot and too smoky and too much bother to feed. So it dies. And we stoke it up again, and let it die again. I guess our hearts aren’t into having a fire. Did a little afternoon paddling too. This lake has lots of loons.

Friday Aug 11
We stay here for two nights, so we arise slowly and amble out to the kitchen. I’m making bran muffins.
We have a day trip in mind. Charm Lake is a small pond, about ¼ mile west of Ge-be-on-e-quet. We head out, wander along the shoreline of Ge-be-on-e-quet and paddle down the length of the western bay to an inlet. We manage to paddle a short distance up the beaver meadow before it becomes impractical to continue. So we back out, make for a rock on shore, and have lunch.
After lunch we pick a compass course through the woods, and Peter, Irene, Schuy and I head west and bushwhack our way to Charm Lake. It’s a lake much like any other BWCA lake, but with very few human visitors. We poke around a bit, then depart, and on the way back follow a moose trail complete with moose droppings and moose tracks and bedding spots in the grass. But no moose, instead we find a pine tree about 4‘ in diameter!
Dinner is kluski with pesto and cherry cheesecake. We watch the stars come out, Jupiter, constellations, the milky way, and a few meteors. A fabulous show until the just-past-full moon rises and washes most of it out. So we go to bed.

Saturday Aug 12
Windy and sunny, the wind continues all day, but clouds move in to block the sun. We strike camp and head south and upwind through beautiful Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake, portage to Green Lake, portage again to Rocky Lake and again into Oyster Lake.
The headwind keeps up all day as we work our way south. We keep to the shore for some protection, but Oyster Lake presents us with nothing but a big open water crossing.
We meet more canoeists coming in for the weekend. The Oyster River proves to be a difficult way to go. It’s a twisty channel through the grasses and the beaver have been at work. Most canoeists enter from a portage to Lake Agnes, but we continue on the river, which gets narrower, shallower, twistier, and weedier with more dams. Eventually we enter a delta with channels going everywhere. Only by paddling standing up can I find the right one. This leads us to a field of wild rice with no channel ahead. So we forge through and soon find the open water of the Nina Moose River. Quite a challenge.
Ramshead Creek joins the Nina Moose a little further upstream. But there is no channel here either. Just more wild rice. So we force our way through and eventually find the relatively open water of the creek. Each boat takes on about a half pound of rice. In two more portages and some more twisty channels, we reach Ramshead Lake. On the map this is our longest day. The creeks make it longer still, plus the headwind, about seven portages, and numerous drags over beaver dams, and we are quite tired when we finally settle into our campsite on an island.
Mac ‘n cheese for dinner with chocolate cake for dessert.

Sunday Aug 13
Dark, heavy gray skies and more south wind. The last day is always a bit sad. But we pack up and head out into the headwinds to a portage into Lamb Lake. Short paddle across, then a long portage into Nina Moose Lake. The trail ends in a large rice bed which we paddle through. Looking back at the portage trail head, you’d never know it was there nor how to get to it. Nevertheless, for such an inaccessible lake, the campsite we had was heavily used and there are six other sites on the lake.
We exit Nina Moose Lake into the Moose River, and twist our way up the channel through more wild rice, a few beaver dams and portages, and a pair of otter. More canoeists are coming in. A drizzle begins as we approach the last portage to the parking lot, and ends. On the drive to Ely it begins to rain in earnest. We pity those who are just starting out as the rain continues all afternoon.