Sawbear Lake, July, 09

We pulled into the Forest Service multiple unit campground at Sawbill Lake around 4:30. There was Tom, Terri, Kate, Kenny, Em, and Bell in Tom's crew cab monster truck. Ruth, Sadie, Chloe and I followed in my compact extended cab pick up. Tom had reserved a site during the winter and when we got there we decided it was too small for all of us. We went around the campground to find an open site we could call our own and found one right next door. The previous occupants left a day early. After a supper of sweet corn and beans there was a brief shower. We spent the rest of the evening at Tom's camp watching them cook supper over an open fire. It was great to be in the woods again even though we weren't in the wilderness yet. When we got back to our camp the rear hatch to our topper was open and as I walked closer we could hear something growl inside. I sent Ruth back to Tom's camp and the dogs and I immediately got into the cab of the truck. I wanted to play it safe. Once inside the cab I realized I needed to get the bear out of there. I started the engine and reved it while shifting from drive to reverse. The violent jerking back and forth soon convinced the bear to leave and he ran across the road and immediately got into the neighbors cooler - devouring their butter and cheese. Kenny witnessed this as he walked up to our camp. We cleaned up the back of the truck and inventoried the damaged and lost food. We found bisquit powder all over, the hamburger was eaten and the bear left scraps of raw meat on everything. Our other sealed meats were gone along with our Tobies' Carmel Rolls that we were planning to eat for breakfast. We spent 30 minutes talking to Tom and Kenny and the neighbors and then went to bed. We were just about asleep when we heard Kate banging pots and pans together and then Kenny shout "Go Away Bear". Kenny saw the bear 2 feet away from the tent but wouldn't let Kate look. Well, the next thing we heard was the door handles on the topper hatch rattling. We got up and hollered at it and the bear went away. I now locked the back of the topper in hopes this would prevent the bear from entering the topper again. When I did this I found slobber all over the right handle. We debated whether we should sleep in the cab of the pick up or go back to the tent. We opted for the tent considering that the it would be the best sleep on such a short night as it was now well after midnight. At 4:30 we awoke to the sound of the topper hatch being opened. I got up armed with a coffee pot and banged on the side glass of the topper. The bear let out a very fierce growl and I immediately got into the cab of the pick up where the dogs had been silently cowering all night. I did the rev and jerk method of bear removal again. Ruth and the neighbors saw the bear fall out of the truck while I was doing this. He immediately ran under a pop up camper next door and hid there growling. It was getting light now and hoping that bears were truly nocturnal we decided to stay up and cook breakfast. We broke camp and went to the outfitters little store. We found that we were missing 3 suppers and some breakfast items.

At 8:50 we were on the water and heading north on Sawbill Lake. We were totally relieved to be away from that bear and at the same time hoping that we didn't see him again. The wind was straight out of the north and made progress slow. However, we got to camp in less than 2 hours. Tom and all of us were glad that we got the best campsite on the lake. Soon 3 tents and 3 tarps were pitched. After a little lunch we all took a nap that was pure heaven after such a short night. We had a quick and simple supper but were delighted when Tom shared some of his fireroasted steak and potatoes with us. Best steak I've ever had. It was cornfed Iowa beef. The next morning we slept in a little. The morning was spent drinking coffee. The remaider of the day was spent basking in the luxury of a northwoods camping trip. It was cool but comfortable. We did some paddling and fishing but with no luck. Kenny and Kate were really enjoying their first Boundary Waters canoe trip.

We awoke to mist, rain and dark clouds the next morning. We sat under the tarp making Sturdiwheat pancakes and drinking coffee. Kenny brought along "Griffin Pancake Syrup". It was a wonderfull social event that made the gloominess of the day melt away. It didn't stop raining all day and we had many conversations under the tarp. On one occasion Kate laughed until she cried. We did get out for a paddle later in the evening. It was a pure sense of freedom after being confined under a green tarp in camp all day.

Again we slept late and had a good morning in camp. It was mostly sunny with a northern breeze. At noon we headed out on a day trip to Smoke Lake. It was about 2 miles away with a 100 rod portage to the east. It was Kenny's first portage and because there were many using the portage I wasn't able to help him with his first try to lift and portage a canoe. Some other paddler helped him lift the 1oo pound Old Town Discovery. I felt bad for not helping him. When we got to the other side we had to wait for a group of girls clear the long boardwalk across a marshy area. We toured the whole lake looking for a campsite to have lunch on. We finally found a very good site with a sitting rock out front. After lunch Terri and Em were exploring around the camp as a prospective future destination. They came back to get me to check something out. They had found a huge bear poop with tinfoil in it. We were glad we didn't camp there. The paddle and portage back to camp was wonderfull. It was so nice to be travelling in the BWCA. Good weather seems fantastic after a day of rain. We worried about the north wind on our return trip but it had all but died down. 4:00-o'clock coffee was a delight while sitting on the rock with Kenny and Kate. Tom, Terri, and Em stayed out longer and fished. They brought home nothing. Supper was potato soup with onions. It was very easy and delicious. We paddled and fished during the evening watching the sunset and the woods grow quiet and dark. Later we had a great campfire with lots of conversation about next years trip. We're thinking of something a little more remote with a couple easy portages. There were a lot of canoeists on this lake.

We got up early after a restless night and had coffee on the rock. It was very foggy and beautiful as we watched a silent solo canoist paddle by. The swoosh of his paddle in the water was a great sound. He was a vision of serenity in our misty world. We were loaded up and on the water shortly after breakfast. Our paddle out was cool and calm but just as we got to the Forest Service landing it began to rain steadily. Thus ended a great trip.