July, '08 on Basswood

One of my friends told me that I was looking for trouble if I went on a trip in a canoe with a motor. They were right, I found trouble but averted disaster. There was a low pressure system to the south spinning up wind and rain from the east. We were headed Northeast on the Moose chain. For a while it wasn't bad, just cool, sprinkly and breezy. Then the wind blew in one foot waves from the east. Spray was coming in on the right side. Ron and I had rain suits on but were still getting wet around the edges. Chloe, the Cocker Spaniel, was soaked and shivering. The 19 foot Grumman square stern with a 5 horse handled it just fine, taking in only about an inch of water in the back of the canoe. The 5 horse would drive us forward as fast as we had the capacity to handle the thrill. We did slow down in the real rough, open areas so less spray would blow into the boat. In the excitement of the journey I got turned around 180 degrees. I didn't realize my mistake until I started seeing the cabins of southern Moose Lake again. My original theory was to follow the right shoreline. This wasn't a bad idea but there were many Islands and bays to lead you astray. Well, we laughed and Ron said he thought we had gotten turned around but wasn't sure. I got out my compass, which I should have been using all the time. I also realized that the world looks different coming at you 8 mph instead of 2 mph. A delightful portage operator advised us to hurry because another storm with hail, rain and wind was on the way. Soon a dark cloud appeared and we opted for the first best campsite we could find. We were unloaded and under the lean-to tarp when the first rain and wind hit. After about 20 minutes it really started to blow and we were thankful that we weren't out on the lake. When the rain stopped we finished making camp, took a coffee break and laughed about about how Missy back at La Tourells said "Have a good time, boys!" We felt like boys on a grand adventure. Of course I have to mention the mosquitoes. They were like fly creatures in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

7-12-08 At dawn the waves were still rolling down the lake. At 10 am we were loaded and moving towards a new, yet to be determined destination. It required all my novice skill to keep the boat going on a safe course. Constant steering corrections were used to avoid broaching sideways to the 2 foot waves. We proceeded slowly to limit the amount of spray blowing into the boat. As we crested each wave the bow would slap the back side of the wave on the way down. It was a very rough ride even though we were going very slow. We decided we couldn't do this for the 2 hours it would take to get to the other end of the lake, plus the winds were getting stronger. We pulled into a much better campsite than the night before and gladly called it home. After camp was made I took a long, refreshing nap. A cool swim followed by hot coffee segued into a relaxing evening in spite of the rain and occasional storm. After supper we played cribbage. Ron won both games. His good fortune was a couple of 16 cribs. We felt we were stranded on the ocean. Basswood is so big that the wind and waves have miles to build. We have been held here since 11am. Camp life has been pleasant, especially with a good tarp to get under every time it rains. Conversations have been good and Ron likes the food. We've contemplated our future and plan to keep track of the forecast. We may leave Monday or Tuesday if the weather isn't good for Wednesday. The Grumman and 5 horse are much better than last years Old Town Discovery 169 and 2 horse. However, the Grumman is still not good enough for this lake in these weather conditions. The high for the day was 58 and a predicted low of 50. It was so cold that long underwear, a stocking cap and 2 jackets barely kept me warm. We felt lucky to have made it this far. We were curious to see what tomorrow would bring. We hoped for fishing and exploring weather.

7-13-08 The wind was still blowing. We had donuts for breakfast with cinnamon, sugar and lots of coffee. Then a storm came through. One tree in the middle of camp blew down but did no damage. It had the tarp tied to it but broke off above the rope. However, the wind pulled loose 4 stakes on the back of the tarp. It sailed like a spinnaker. The storm was short lived. We were very glad we weren't out fishing when it hit. There had to be 40 mph winds with that burst of meteorological mayhem. We continued to be trapped here for fear of being caught in a storm while traveling or out fishing. We made plans to leave tomorrow if the weather settled. We had dealt with the wind and weather for 3 days now and were getting real antsy. I wanted to explore, fish and see new vistas but it was just foolish to to go our in the boat. Ron went for a walk and Chloe was sleeping about 6 feet away from me. She never left my side. Another long nap was relief from the constant pounding waves and buffeting winds. Ron went fishing in a calm bay west of camp and returned in time to eat supper. At 7:30pm the winds died down and then my soul was content again. The peace that comes over you when the wind settles after 3 days of blowing is unbelievable. Ron had a fire going, it was almost dark. Chloe was laying Ron's chair sleeping. It was a beautiful evening. The stars came out about 11pm.

7-14-08 The lake was still calm this morning and we had a lengthy breakfast before we packed to leave. The trip out was smooth and uneventful. It took only 2 hours including a long wait at the portage. We were glad to be heading home after enduring so many storms and raging winds. Later that day more severe weather rolled through the BWCA and we were happy with our decision to leave.

Ogishcumuncie

We arrived at an island on the west end of Seagull Lake about 2:30 in the afternoon. Making camp, conversation, fishing and getting ready for supper took the rest of the afternoon. Supper was steaks, potatoes and salad. In the evening everyone went fishing and i did camp chores. After the sun had set there was a glowing area in the clouds of the western sky. Spring Peepers were sounding off in a near rythmic pattern. Little birds were chirping and White Throated Sparrows sang their melodic series of notes. This soothing orchestra of sounds celebrates the end of another great day on Seagull Lake.

Tuesday was a great day, but not without it's challenges. The wind was blowing out of the west at 20 mph. We had to fight for every mile we gained. there were 4 portages ranging from 105 to 25 rods. When we made it to Ogishcumuncie we made it a mile and everyone stopped to rest on the leeward side of small island. The wind wasn't letting up and forward progess took twice the effort of regular paddling with no wind. We decided that we should take the first good campsite we came to. It was a beauty. It had a flat rock near the lake to sit on and launch boats. there was lots of room for our 5 tents that would sleep the 8 of us. Mark fried a bunch of fish and i made a huge pot of coffee. Everyone's spirits were lifted and the conversations flowed. We all reveled in the beauty of the wilderness we had so deservedly earned. At 5 Derrick, Neil and I went to check out a cliff that looked good for jumping. Derrick and Neil went to the top to find the best spot to jump from. I surface dove below them to check for rocks. Down about 10 feet all i could see was black. I dove again and went farther down. All i could see when i got down there was black all around me and it was very cold, even scary. I headed for the surface as fast as i could. We all made 2 jumps which was nerve wracking, fun and exhilarating all at the same time. 9 kids from minnetonka showed up and we watched them jump for 20 minutes. For our final jump we did a triple, what a hoot. We swam for a little longer and headed back for camp. The first thing we did was make a pot of coffee to warm up. The water was swimmable but after 10-15 minutes we were cold. Everyone went fishing and came back at 10 pm with a stringer of walleyes. It's pure joy to be together in this wilderness with such a talented group of people. We have excellent fishermen, enthusiastic campers, fire makers, cooks, navigators, story tellers, humourists and all of us thoroughly enjoy this wilderness experience.

Wednesday. Some of us got up early while it was just starting to sprinkle and rain. About 1/2 way getting my tarp pitched we had a downpour. Breakfast was blueberry pancakes and homemade dounuts. It was a team effort. Derrick made the pancakes and Neil made dounuts. A couple of us helped with the details. It was a fabulous group breakfast. Mid morning activities included card playing. Next we paddled to the jumping rock. 3 of us jumped many times with a camera crew taking photos. While we were all becoming adrenaline junkies Sandi climbed to the top of the cliff. She spent 15 minutes up there building up her courage. Finally I asked her if there was anything she'd ever done by saying the hell with it and just went and did it. She replied yes! She married Derrick. In about 30 seconds she jumped and made a successful entry into the lake. During a mid afternoon lunch it downpoured again. We all stayed under my tarp eatting fish, hash browns and super coffee. The excitement of rock jumping made us very hungry. Next Neil and I beat Coop and Guy at cribbage. Neil is an excellent player. It had been a hot day and i spent the evening on the rock next to the water cooling off. The sun was getting low over the forest behind camp. The reflection of the sky and distant shoreline looked like the lake was an impressionist's painting shimmering with light and blurred images. The birds are chirping in a serene soundscape. I was relaxed after finally calming down from the rock jumping. It was 25 feet, probably the highest i have ever jumped from. The woodsmoke from Guy's fire is an added pleasing sensation.

Thursday. It was a day a voyager could be proud of. It was 6 hours of paddling including 5 portages. We covered a total of 11 miles. When Neil and i left Ogish we headed northwest to Knife lake. The others returned to seagull where we started. The day was breezy and 80. We stopped at Eddy falls. My first time there even though i had passed by many times. It was outstandingly sublime. I sat in the mist of the falls bathed in the cool moist air and sunshine. Rejuvinated by this break in the work of canoe travel i was ready to do the last 5 miles. By the time we got to the middle arm of Knife we were looking forward to a nice cool camp. The one we wanted was taken and rather than back track we pressed onward. After 2 more miles we found a small camp that faced the west. In the next 2 hours we swam, drank coffe and talked. Now refreshed we started a 3 course supper. The first course was cheese and onion quesadilla's, made over the fire by neil. Next we had chicken noodle casserole and beef soup. As darkness fell i contemplated another great day tommorrow. We have decided to take our layover day saturday on western Saganaga and travel there tommorrow.

Friday. Packed and ready except for eatting breakfast by 7 am. It's cool and cloudy as Neil and i eat bagels and drink coffee. Bass are taking bugs off the surface of the lake. While watching we notice that it has started to sprinkle. Before we turned to go east we paddled to the canandian shorelin. To answer a point of discussion from the previous evening we went to see if there were people camped over there or if it was rocks and shadows that we saw. When there we could see nothing that resembled people. Neil says they were never there. I said they were but have now gone. I contended they were at least spirits of the boundary waters. We headed down little knife lake to a 5 rod portage that took us into Ottertrack lake. We paddled another 4 miles to Benny Ambrose's former homestead. It had lots of flowers and an overlook of ottertrack lake where we had a snack. On our way through this area we saw several Eagles. One of them sat in his tree and watched us paddle below, the others flew right over us. This place along the canadian border is a true wilderness. We saw no other canoeists or cammpers for 5 hours. Monument portage (76rods), is noteworthy because of the 3 monuments that mark the border. It was a long steep hill and we were very glad to be out on the cool water afterwards. The next couple miles were where two maps join. We decided there was a mile of lake travel missing between the 2. It was confusing and frustrating trying to figure out which bay to paddle through to find the channel to Saganaga. Another 2 miles brought us to american point where we found all the campsites unacceptable or taken. We pressed onward lapping past several islands that had less than perfect campsites. We then decide to paddle to Horseshoe island 3 miles away. When we got there our two favorite campsites were taken. We continued north and found a very large campsite that faced east. It had a good sitting rock out front and an open but shaded camp. We had been in a downpour off american point and were afraid it was going to rain hard again so we first pitched the tarp. For 2 hours we did camp chores, drank coffee and visited. For supper neil showed me how to make quesadillas. He made mac and cheese on his stove. Next was more camp chores and then neil went to bed. I stayed up to watch it get dark. We labeled this day the eagle day. In the cool misty weather we did 15 miles.

Saturday. We slept till 8:30 a welcome rest after 2 big mileage days. We fished the islands for lake trout with no luck. The one hot spot was too rough to comfortably fish. After lunch we trolled for lake trout on our way to Saganaga Falls. There we fished for bass. Neil caught a nice one and we headed back to camp. It took an hour to paddle back to camp making the daily total 6 miles. We were tired. Coffee first and relaxin on the rock. We were going to have suupper on the rock but the weather switched from mist to rain. We moved to the tarp and had fish, chicken caserole, and quesidillas. After chores were done we critiqued our camp equipment. Basically i brought too much stuff. However the food was good and plentiful. We did a total of 55 miles in 7 days with 2 layover days. Tonight we are looking forward to civilization and making contact with our friends.

Sunday. To start the morning off Neil fed the Canadian Jays peanuts. We surfed across the lake on 2 foot rollers caused by a strong north wind. A thrilling experience. Neil was in the stern keeping the boat under control at all times. Our now light load prevented us from taking on water. Because of the wind it only took an hour and a half to get to the landing 6 miles away.