Lake Two, May 27, 2010 with KWHS

Rich and I paddled stern in the Souris River canoes with the girls, Kari and Kayla in the bow of each boat. The three boys paddled the Old Town Tripper with Adrian steering from the stern. Jake and Sam took turns in the bow. We made it to our camp in 2 1/4 hours. After camp was made we shared tortillas with salsa, hot sticks and cheese. The students went looking for fire wood and were gone an hour. They returned with no firewood but did have stories of their adventures navigating the circumference of the island on foot. We talked them into paddling around the island looking for wood. As soon as they left it was obvious they were going anywhere they wanted. They soon disappeared behind lady boot campsite. After a while they reappeared and made their way back to our campsite. They did have a little firewood they scavenged from a nearby campsite. They talked about visiting a place called Heaven. It was a pristine piece of woods near the channel to Lake Three. The girls made salads while the fire was started. Soon the steaks were sizzling and the potatoes were roasting in the coals. The meal was a little late in being served but tasted like we had gone to Wiederholts. I enjoyed a cleansing experience while washing dishes. At sunset the kids went to a huge rock across the channel and sat there in the evening glow for a long time. Rich went to his tent early and the students and I hung the food pack. It was 15 feet off the ground but only a couple feet from the tree. Bear proof 90%. We all slept in a little the next morning. For breakfast we had tortilla wrapped eggs, bacon, fried onions and cheese. Our day trip took us to the East side of Lake Three, where we walked the Pow Wow trail and viewed some historic logging camps. For the return trip paddling across Lake Three Rich and I paddled my Souris River while the 5 students paddled the Tripper. Actually the girls paddled and the boys rode duff. They swapped positions after crossing Lake Three because it was a huge load for the girls to paddle. Kincaid and I struggled to keep our balance for several reasons. Camp life took over with swimming, coffee, snacks and then a supper of Mac and Cheese with grilled hot dogs. Sam and I went fishing with Sam in the stern and me fishing from the front. Kayla fished while Kari powered the bow of their canoe. I had one small Northern steal my Mepps. The evening was cool with a gray overcast. Eventually it started to sprinkle and then with a full shower as we headed back to camp. We spent the evening under the tarp and talking until the full moon shown above the tree tops. Kincaid was cooking pancakes when I walked into camp at 9:30. He also handed me a cup of coffee. A good way to start the day. Our day trip had us paddling to "Dangerous Waters" which had a hiking trail along the east side of the rushing stream. We walked, photographed, and wondered at the beauty of this little known part of Lake Two. While taking group photos on top of a cliff over looking the rapids I realized that Jake had a wonderful camera. Father's day is soon and I will get one. We went back to camp and took a short break. It was a hot afternoon and the students and I went looking for a rock to jump into the lake from. We couldn't find a safe one at first and then Kincaid paddled out solo in the Tripper. He led us to a nearby campsite with perfect jumping rocks. One was 5 feet off the water and the other was 10 feet above the water. I checked the water by surface diving below the cliff to check for submerged rocks or logs. All was clear. We had a blast leaping from these rocks. Now totally cooled off we headed back to camp. After supper Kincaid stayed back to wash dishes and we all went to the rock again. Several students brought their cameras and I filmed many videos of them jumping. It was a beautiful evening. Fun, exhilarating, refreshing and relaxing. To warm up we paddled into a quiet bay where we enjoyed the warm setting sun, the beautiful trees and no chilling breeze. We raced back to camp and I lost, they were very proud of themselves. Upon our return to camp we all did some organizing in preparation for our early morning departure. The students built a nice fire and we roasted the last of our s'mores. I told the story about the Real McCoy. In the morning we had breakfast and broke camp in 1 1/4 hours. The paddle out was easy with a 15 mph tailwind. It was a wonderful 4 days, I only wish it could have been a full week.

Clear Lake, May 20, 2010

The trip across Farm Lake and across the 160 rod portage to Clear Lake took 3 hours. We arrived at camp 3 around 3:30. As soon as camp was pitched we went fishing. Frank and I toured half the lake and had nothing but a few nibbles and some lost bait. Supper was huge Polish Sausage and beans. All of which was very satisfying. The next morning Kreasteaz pancakes with blueberries and venison sausage made for a very filling breakfast. We loaded the canoes with lunches, fishing gear and bait and headed out for a day of fishing. We fished for a couple hours with no luck and then rendezvous for lunch on a rock in the western end of the lake. Larry and Todd shared with us the location of a spot they had successfully landed several Walleye and Bass. We went there. In two hours of fishing Frank caught 4 nice Walleye. We returned to camp at 4 pm. I went for a swim and changed into fresh clothes. I put on a t-shirt that Frank gave me. It said "Camp Boy" on the front and "Clear Lake" on the back. I recieved this gift for volunteering to wash the dishes for the whole trip. That evening Frank baked a chocolate cake in a thing called a bakepacker. It worked on the stove and made a delicious, moist product. That evening Frank showed me two techniques used to fish for Walleyes, the slip bobber and the floating jig. We spent the remainder of the cool evening talking about the Forest Service, forest fires, Ketter Canoeing, and the Minnesota Rovers. In the morning we had Steel Cut Oatmeal and played cribbage till almost noon. The wind was strong so we headed for protected bays. At the first one we fished from a rock and were successfull. Frank caught 4 Walleye and one Bass, I caught one Walleye. While waiting for the spagetti to cook we had 3 cribbage games. I lost the $3 I had won in the morning. The guys have some footnotes to add to my blog. Larry says he's 5"10", 250 and ruggedly handsome. Frank says God is great, beer is good and people are crazy. Todd says that "Up North" changes a guy. After breakfast Frank and I noticed that we win cribbage in the morning and lose in the afternoon. We won both games and the second one was "come from behind shocker". We were 16 from winning and Todd and Larry were 10 from winning, and they counted first. First Frank cut a Jack, two points, then Larry lead with a 4, next I paired him with another 4, for two more, then Todd paired me for 6 points, and then Frank paired all of us for 12 points, thus giving us the win. Unbelievable. We went fishing again and I caught another Walleye, while Frank caught several. We had lunch on the same rock next to the hotspot. We spent the afternoon on a day trip over to the South Kawishiwi River, we returned through Esquamish portaging a total of 255 rods. Saw an abandoned wood boat and ice fishing house and came home with a dozen ticks. We fished for a while longer on Clear Lake and then headed for camp. The afternoon's 80 degree high made my swim totally supreme. Supper was grilled hamburgers and beans. That evening Todd told us about a month-long canoe trip to Hudson Bay. It sounded wonderful, I was envious. In the morning we left. I'm so glad that Bob introduced me to Frank. It's been a great 5 days.

Spring Opener, 2010

Doug and I paddled in on thursday evening, two days prior to the opener. On friday we relaxed in camp while having an excellent breakfast served by Doug. In the afternoon we paddled over to the Palisade and climbed to the top. Doug had never been up there even though he had been to Seagull Lake for several years. While we were up there the other members of the "Bill" club paddled by and we lobbed rocks into the lake beyond them, making them think there were huge fish jumping out of the water. Back in camp stories, jokes and coffee took up the rest of the afternoon. We were all glad to be together while escaping the realities of life in Southern Minnesota. On saturday morning everyone was already out fishing when I crawled out of my tent. Only Doug remained. We toured the islands and bays of our part of Seagull. We fished for Lake Trout without any luck. Finally south of Turtle Island I caught a nice Northern which we took back to camp for supper. The other guys had caught 3 Northerns, one Walleye and a Bass. Everyone took naps and Doug and I swam in the fridgid water. It was warm out so our goosebumps disappeared soon after we got out. After supper the two other Bills and Brian and Coop headed for the Seagull River as it came out of Alpine Lake. Within a half hour they returned saying the waves were too big to paddle that far in the evening. Bill and Bill did return with a couple Lake Trout, Bremer's being a huge one. We saved the Trout for breakfast in the morning. We baked them in tin foil with onions and salad dressing. Just as we were finished two Forest Service rangers paddled into camp. We explained that we goofed up permit but they told us to stop at the Gunflint Ranger Station and it would all be cleared up, much to our relief. Doug and I paddled out shortly afterwards.

April, 2010 Shakedown Cruise to Lake Insula

I traveled to the far Eastern end of Lake Four and didn't see anyone since the Lake One portage. It was a smooth and satisfying journey but I arrived at my campsite slightly worn. I enjoyed the solitude of camping alone and spent the evening reading. In the middle of the night my air matress went flat. I had to crawl out of the tent to blow it back up. I slept fitfully for the rest of the night. I crawled out of the tent at 7am the next morning, efficiently did my morning chores and was on the water by 8:15. The first 3 portages of the morning were easy but took extra time because I was triple portaging. The last portage which went into Lake Insula was 115 rods and about 1/2 uphill. I enthusiastically set out on Insula, which is a maze of islands and penisulas. I passed several adequate campsites on my way to a special one that was marked on my map. After a while I could see it in the distance and was delighted. It had a massive sand beach with many tentsites scattered behind it. I saw no one on this day, except for some human footprints on a portage. The veiw of the lake was mine alone. Afternoon coffee was delicious, followed by a swim. Couldn't believe I swam in the BWCA in April and didn't get hypothermia. Mid-afternoon found me exploring the lake north of my campsite. I was looking for sand beaches and five star campsites. I found several that were good but none as good as the one I had. I am truly alone in the wilderness.
I slept in the next morning, it felt wonderful. The day was spent reading, walking around and drinking coffee. It was in the low 60's and windy with an occasional shower, however, the day was mostly dry. After supper the sun shown hotly for about 20 minutes and I took advantage and went for a swim. The swim was totally refreshing and topped off with clean clothes. I loved this campsite and really enjoyed the view of the lake from here. It was many shades of blue, gray and silver reflected from the clouds and sky above. It was textured by gentle breezes like a Van Gogh painting. The peace and solitude of solo tripping is wonderful, I highly recommend it. To be your own best friend a couple times a year is a good thing. On my third day the wind had died down so I loaded my daypack and headed for the Northern part of the lake again. I toured around several islands and found several adequate campsites, but nothing outstanding. The two mile trip back to camp was a grind what with quartering winds. I did, however, find the workout beneficial. Coffee and a snack rounded out the afternoon. The sky was gray most of the day but occasionally the sun would peak through and make it very warm. Later in the day it sprinkled a couple times. At this point I was going on 72 hours of not seeing another human. The mosquitoes that had hatched in the previous warm weather had froze out the other night. Supper was rice, gravy, tuna and crushed red peppers. It was delicious, but because I forgot my silverware I had to eat it with a twig, as I did all my other meals. The cool breezes and warm coffee went well with the serene blues and grays of the landscape. The next morning there were small piles of snow around the tarp. It's been a regenerative 3 days on Insula but now it's time to head back. 1 pm the next day found me windbound on Lake Four. I thought I could wait it out and paddle once again in the evening calm. The wind only got stronger and I finally cooked supper and made camp. I wyled away the time looking at the map and reading. In the morning I was paddling before 7am but by the time I got to Lake Three the wind was very strong again. It was a fight for my life to keep the canoe from going sideways in the one foot rollers. I took a long rest on a sand beach once the harrowing journey across was finished. Lake Two and most of Lake One were crossed with only a little strife and extra effort. The last mile of Lake One, though, was again one foot rollers and I couldn't keep the boat from broaching. So I let it go sideways and very carefully balanced it as I blew up the channel faster than I could have paddled. Only one rogue wave caused me concern but I didn't roll over. Six days of solitude was soon over and though I enjoyed the freedom of solo travel, I was looking forward to the company of friends and family.

Moab, Utah 2010

Our arrival in Moab was preceded by a wonderful tour of southern Utah and the beautiful desert. After a night of rest we went to Arches National Park and were amazed by the natural geological formations that have stood for eons. We walked and scrambled around dozens of windows, arches and spires. We had to leave the dogs at Doggie Day Care, the proprieter was pleased with the good behavior that our dogs displayed while there. We were pleased with the freedom that allowed us to enjoy the sights. That night we camped at a BLM roadside campground. Again the following day we toured the Arches. While there we checked out the campground in the middle of the National Park. It looked good and we will stay there the next time we visit.

Grand Canyon, April 2010

We spent 3 days at the Canyon hiking and viewing the wonder of God's handiwork. We camped at the park's huge public campground. There were many people there but it wasn't full. Surprisingly it was very quiet. It is an international destination and we were very pleased to meet the family camping next door, they were visiting from Norway. They were tent campers and traveled in a Volvo. They stayed 2 nights and continued their journey in Utah. We walked the South Rim doing different parts on several occasions. I also walked down in the Canyon by myself. I only went down a couple miles. It was a worthwhile experience. There were a lot of people at the Canyon but the crowds never interfered with enjoying the magnificence of this geological phenomenon.