BWCAW Day 4

Day 4
Oyster Lake, Rocky Lake, Green Lake, Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake


Its Wednesday! The morning started with clouds but quickly got hot. Before we left on our trip - temps were predicted to be in the upper 70s and move into the low 80s as we got further into our trip. Most days felt pretty hot with clear skies and a little bit of a breeze.  Today we were paddling with the breeze at our back most of the time which made for a hotter paddle. 


The portages between Oyster and Ge-be-on-e-quet Lakes were noticeably different from the portages we had seen so far on this trip. They were noticeably narrower and they were up, down, up! MD calculated that we traveled about 50 feet up in elevation from Oyster to Green and then Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake was actually lower than Oyster. And that was just the lakes - the portages were even higher than that! 
NOTE: After looking at some websites with more detailed information, the elevation of the portages was closer to 100' up and 50' feet down and 66' up and 38' down.  


Rocky Lake was a nice small lake with bluffs and one campsite we didn't get to see. We also sang some Rocky Soundtrack theme music while we paddled through. Green Lake was very green. We had a hard time locating the campsite on this lake. I don't know if we ever really found it. There was some discussion that campsites are sometimes retired for a time. Maybe this was the case with this one.


Finally - into Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake. It is a gorgeous lake. Very deep in some spots with a few islands to add interest. We passed up the first two campsites as they were taken and then finally decided on one of the campsites on the far side of the lake from the portage we came into the lake. It was a nice site. There was a rock into the water and then on top there were trees with the kitchen area and there was a few nice tent sites to choose from. The bugs were actually pretty bad here - especially the biting flies which wouldn't move from your leg even if you were stomping. Yuck. 

The lake was clear enough that when I was in thigh deep water and in the sun I could see the bottom of the lake so I felt comfortable enough to get in a swim a little. Lake swimming is absolutely not something I do especially when I can't see in more than about a foot of water.


We had LOTS of chicken for dinner. MD trusted the butcher on portion size and really one breast would have fed two people - not one. But It made for a good laugh.


The food really has been very good this trip. We have oatmeal and coffee in the morning along with bacon one morning and 'trinkets' most other mornings.  Trinkets are muffin mix cooked like pancakes. So good! Usually I can't eat a trinket after I have had my share of oatmeal so we pack them up in a ziplock and I eat it on the lake as we are paddling to our next desination. They are a little wet coming out of the ziplock but still tasty. 


Lunches are usually tortillas with chicken or tuna or PB&J. Then we broke out the GORP, nut bag,  or granola bars and drink lots of crystal light flavored water. 


Dinners - Steak, Chicken, Chili, Wild Rice soup - all really good as well.


We usually ate lunch around 2p so that left the afternoon and early evening today free to do things around camp or go out in the canoe. We all did a bit of everything but late afternoon found us all in our canoes - fishing the shore. R&D headed south and MD and I headed northish. It was a fun bit of fishing. We were casting in toward the shore and as we were reeling out line in - we were getting glimpses of fish. 


We each had a really good hit on our line just a cast in between. I was reeling in and a big northern swooped in to get my lure just as I was about 2 feet away from the canoe. Scared the bejeepers out of me but it was SO cool! To see a fish come up out of the depths and right there next to me - very cool.  Then MD was pulling his lure up out of the water for another cast and another fish jumped out of the lake at his lure. I didn't see it but I heard it. It was fun to be getting some fishing action after lots and lots of casts at previous sites with little or no bites. 


We ended up heading back to camp due to some rolling thunder to our south. It seemed to be really far away but the sun was covered with clouds and the weather can change pretty quick up there so we thought we better get dinner going.  The thunder lasted a bit but we didn't get any rain so we ate our HUGE chicken breasts as best we could and then did a little more fishing/reading/swimming and headed into bed.  

After dinner the nice breeze we had that day disappeared and we really felt the heat that night.  It was about 80 degrees and it felt pretty tropical to me, especially when we got in the tent. The tent mesh is built to keep out really small bugs but it also kept out very light breezes. So we were laying on top of our sleeping mats in few clothes until about 3am that night. Then little by little it cooled off and I was in my sheet, then eventually unrolled my sleeping bag and through it over myself. 


The frogs sang all night too which I liked because it kept all the other noises from making me wonder 'What was that!?'. 

BWCAW - Days 2 & 3

Day 2  
Nina Moose Lake, Nina Moose River, Oyster River, Oyster Lake


We had a cold night last night. I also found myself sliding down the VERY small hill that our tent was pitched on. So sleeping wasn't very good as I was trying to keep on my mat  and keep warm. 


Breakfast was good. Coffee, Oatmeal, probably a trinket. We got packed up and headed out. We had a very light breeze this morning. As we paddled through Nina Moose Lake and into the Nina Moose River - it was pretty familiar. But we had decided before we headed out that we would head into Oyster Lake for something new. Oyster River was a nice paddle. Pretty twisty-turny again but deep water and a clear path. Blue sky overhead and a light breeze made it another beautiful day in the BWCAW.


We did one 70 rod portage, one 96 rod portage, a short 20 rod portage, and then ended our portaging with a beautiful 60 rod portage into Oyster. With a bubbling stream on one side and a nice wide path, pine duff, and open enough that you could look through the forest and see the stream. 


We paddled across the eastern side of the lake and saw that the site we were hoping to get for the night was open. R & D had paddled by on a previous trip and looked at it as they went by. It is situated on a peninsula with the lake on either side. We paddled to the rocky shore and landed our boats while D and I jumped out and took a look around. It was a very interesting site. On the side we landed on there was a grove with pine duff on the ground that was dense enough to be cool and shaded. Then further on there was the kitchen up on a rock and a open space that was in full sun and on the opposite side of where we landed - the other side of the lake.  We decided to stay.

Oyster Lake - Day 2 and 3

Getting camp set up is a pretty methodical process. Picking out the tent site and unpacking the packs, getting the fire going if dinner is within a few hours, setting up the hammocks, taking off the wet boots and socks... There isn't much to do and soon we were all ready to read a book, cast off the shore to catch a fish, or nap in the hammock. What a life. 


We were all ready for bed fairly early and after dinner we tried to stay out to watch the sunset and stars come out. We were successful in the first endeavor - the sunset was okay but once the sun was almost gone - the mosquitos came out in the hundreds. I kept wondering what the hum was in the forest and i was told that the bugs make the sound. It was amazing. One night as MD and I lay in our tent reading, the mosquitos were dancing in the light against the rain fly and there must have been about 50 of them.


Day 3
We decided to stay another day at this campsite since it fit us so well. The wind coming off the lake out of the south was pretty strong. MD's hammock was down in the pine grove and laying in it was very comfortable but got kind of cool after a while.  I read a lot of this day. We all played some 500 and did some fishing. I caught a northern which knocked itself around a little and finally spit out the hook. I think it was about 20 inches long. 


We were playing a game to make the fishing even more fun on this trip. Biggest, Most, First - I think was the game. I don't remember much about it because I never won any part of it. That northern was the only fish I actually landed. But MD did pretty well from shore. He caught a few bass at this site and R did as well.

The Back Country Pre Trip - Day 1

Usually my trips to the BWCAW are filled with excitement, relaxation, and lots of physical work. Getting excited about the trip was really hard this time around. The older I get, the harder it is to let responsibilities and worry fall away. I found I was worrying about factors that were either within my control but I wasn't going to change or outside of my control and not worth worrying about.  The trip was off to a rocky start. 


Saturday we traveled to my in-laws and our trip mates met us there to pack bags and consolidate those items like kitchen supplies. We ended up with 5 packs, 3 of which I could handle.  I packed a clothes bag that consisted of 3 t-shirts - 1 cotton and 2 polyester, 2 long sleeve shirts, one long sleeve poly shirt, one long sleeve fleece top, one pair of shorts, 2 pair of zip-off pants, underwear and socks for everyday. (In hindsight - I would have liked one more short sleeve poly t-shirt). The poly shirts are nice because they dry quickly.


Sunday we were on our way about 7:30a and drove through some of the areas that were experiencing flooding. Aiken and the surrounding areas had high water and while I had heard a lot about Duluth - this area was news to me. 


We made it to Ely around 12p and stopped for a quick Subway sandwich for the road, our permit, fishing license, and some odds and ends. We had to run out to the rangers station to get our permit instead of getting it in town due to their internet connection being down. The ranger station was beautiful. We also got were talked through the permit and rules surrounding being in the BWCAW instead of watching the dumb video which made me sleepy every time anyway.

Echo Trail to Entry Point 16

Back on the road - it took us about 45 minutes to get to our entry point. The road is mostly gravel and quite twisty-turny as you can see in the picture above. We met other cars coming from the other direction a few times and that was a bit scary sometimes as the road went down to one lane at some points. This trip we planned to travel in through Entry Point 16. Moose River, Nina Moose Lake, Nina Moose River and so on. We got everything out of the cars, packs on backs, canoes on shoulders, and double-portaged the first 160 rod portage. 

Before the Trip Starts
 at the top of the first portage

Here is a picture of us. I knew I should have worn my contacts and sunglasses. No one else is squinting into the sun! Plus it must not have been to warm that day considering I am in my t-shirt, fleece, AND life jacket. Whoa.


That first portage isn't so bad on the way out as it is downhill most of the way going in. But as the packs are at their heaviest and most awkward - it did make it a little challenging. This is when the packs are at their most awkward because we have kind of thrown everything in and it sometimes take a repack or two to make it set nicely. 


Nothing spectacular or noteable to report about the portages between here and Nina Moose Lake except the portage that isn't marked consisted of a beaver dam and small rapids and a very muddy 5 rod portage. The other canoe in our group pulled over the beaver dam and navigated through the rocks and we were able to canoe up onto the portage and pull through a spot and get back into the river about 1 rod into the portage. 


We ended up finding a site on Nina Moose to stay the first night. It was a northwest site on the lake facing east. I can't remember much about this site so it must not have been very memorable. But we took a picture. 

First Campsite on Nina Moose Lake

This ends the first full day of our BWCAW trip.