Two Generations in the BWCA, 6-14-10

My Uncle John, his wife Diana, Ruth and I were completely delighted to get the best campsite on the lake after 3 hours of paddling and portaging. It was threatening rain so we put up the tarp and were soon enjoying our afternoon snack. Our steaks were still frozen so we went to plan "B" and fixed Macaroni, boiled hot dogs and salads for supper. At sunset we gathered on the west rock to watch the colors, photograph and visit. We enjoyed our time together. In the morning Ruth and I fixed spam and egg beaters. Very good eatting, but this kind of food weighs down the packs coming across the portages as did a lot of our delicious but heavy food. John and Diana had very light packs because of their careful packing and freeze dried food. We were impressed by how well they camped with a minimum of gear. While fishing in the afternoon we found a campsite with a huge supply of firewood. We spent an hour of our precious fishing time shuttling a load of it back to our camp. Our fishing adventure continued with me using a slip bobber and leech while Ruth used a cisco, large hook and large regular bobber. I learned these methods from Frank and Mark, respectfully. It was great fishing with Ruth but we didn't catch anything. Upon returning to camp I took a quick swim. The cool water is extremely rejuvinating. Supper was fire grilled steaks and baked potatoes. Ruth made delicious salads. The steaks were perfect and once again worth their weight crossing the portages. There was a heavy cloud cover and no sunset so we played cribbage. The girls won 2-1. We started the next beautiful day with Sturdiwheat pancakes. It pleased us greatly to know that we had enough mix for a second breakfast of pancakes. Later that morning all of us headed for the eastern bay of the lake for some serious fishing. It was great to be paddling around on such a fine day. It was cloudy but the sun peaked through every once in a while. We checked out an O.K. campsite on the eastern shore but found it just a little too small. Next we headed for "Dangerous Waters". We had lunch on a large rock overlooking the first rapids, followed by hiking the portage. We marveled at the many flowers, moss and ferns. Diana saw her first real live Pink Showy Lady Slipper. We had to cross several downed trees, they were challenging but fun. Back at camp we all immersed ourselves in the wilderness experience of swimming in a cool Boundary Waters lake. It rinsed our bodies and minds. Ruth built a fire and roasted hot dogs for supper. We went fishing again and after an hour of no luck stopped to photograph a rock wall and it's reflection on the calm waters. Ruth set her pole down without reeling it in and spent several minutes composing many images of the beautiful scene. When she picked up her pole she realized she might have a fish on. Then she thought it was snagged. Then the snag moved about 10 feet. Now she was sure she had a fish. She had trouble getting the Northern close to the boat but I finally netted it for her. It was a nice sized eatter. We cleaned it on a nearby rock and headed back to our wonderful campsite. The magic of this super day continued with an outstanding sunset that was an extravaganza of color for about 45 minutes. In the morning, after listening to the weather report we decided we should head out. The forcast was for high winds the next day. But, before we left we fried the Northern and made pancakes. A superior last breakfast. The paddle out that afternoon was full of northwoods beauty and wonder even though the portages were congested. It was great spending time with John and Diana and we're looking forward to another trip soon.

Old Friends in the Boundary Waters, 6-4-10

We paddled away from the portage and entered a steady shower of soaking rain. We passed 7 campsites before we found an empty one. Ruth and I erected our lean-to tarp quickly. As we sat there relaxing and glad to be out of the rain we realized we were soaked to the bone. Our rain gear had failed us. We changed into dry clothes, put on a pot of coffee and we were warm again. After supper the rain and wind stopped and Mark started a fire. It took him a while but his patience and skill urged a crackling fire out of the wet wood. Marsha and Ruth went to the tents early and Mark and I sat by the warm fire late into the night. We talked about life and other things. In the morning I crawled out of our tent at 10am to find out that everyone had been awake for hours. Mark had gone fishing and the rest of us enjoyed a warm and dry morning in high contrast to the wind and rain of yesterday. That afternoon we all hiked the Snowbank Lake backpacking trail that passed our camp in the woods. While walking we found a threesome of Pink Showy Lady Slippers, the Minnesota state flower. We also crossed a gurgling stream twice, once out and once on the return. About a half mile from camp Mark pointed out a huge pile of bear droppings. The 3 dogs we had along enjoyed the walk and were quiet and contented for the remainder of the day. Ruth and I had venison sticks, cheese, and salsa wrapped in a tortilla for our afternoon snack. Ruth and I played cribbage and I won, much to her suprise. I got to count first, and went out, she was left holding a 20 point hand that she didn't get to count. Coopers went fishing and I went for a swim. It felt wonderful to be clean and refreshed by the cool waters of a northern lake. Around the campfire that evening we shared stories about bears, children and camping trips from long ago. It had been a good day with only a couple sprinkles and occasional sunshine. In the morning Coopers went on a day long trip to a nearby lake while Ruth and I went fishing in bays close to camp. I used a Mepps and Dare Devil with no luck. I switched to a Rapala but soon lost it. It was great to be paddling on such a nice day, but no luck fishing. We played cribbage and quit when it was 1-1. We sat by the beach during whole late afternoon drinking coffee and absorbing the beauty of the lake before us. Coopers caught a Northern off the rock across the bay. He cleaned it a couple hundred yards down the shore and to our delight we watched an Eagle fly off with the remains. Ruth and I fished that evening and it was a wonderfull couple hours out on the water, but, alas, we caught no fish. Cribbage however was rewarding for the guys. We won the BWCA Invitational Cribbage Tournament 3-1. All of us, the 3 dogs and 4 adults spent the last hours of our days in the BWCA gathered around a wonderful fire. We knew this was a special place and knew we would return.