“The Gathering”

Zach arrived in the early afternoon and Tony was picked up at the airport after a delay or two. Once back at the homestead, packs were emptied as we tried to cut weight and eliminate any duplicate gear that was not necessary and preparations were finalized for the following mornings departure. We were to pick Nate up in Janesville the following morning at 7am. The excitement for the upcoming trip was palpable.

“Are We There Yet?”

We left Elgin, IL at 6am on our way to Janesville, WI to pick up the fourth and final member (Nate) of our party before continuing up to Tuscarora Outfitters on the Gunflint trail. The drive was not bad and we made good time stopping off in Rice Lake, WI at the Culvers for lunch. Once back on the road we were making good time until our not so brief impromptu tour of Duluth. The Grandmas marathon was taking place and it appeared that the inmates were running the asylum. The detour signs were misplaced and we spent 45 minutes trying to get around and through Duluth and continue on our way. We stopped in Grand Marinas for leeches and to fill up the Jeep before making the final 40 or so miles to the outfitter. We arrived at Tuscarora Outfitters about 5pm and checked in with the proprietors Andy and Ada. Andy was a true professional and we settled our account, discussed our trip plans and asked for insider tips on where the good campsites and where the good fishing spots were. We dropped our gear off at bunkhouse number 4 and decided to head to the trail center for dinner and some cold brew. On our way back we stopped off at the Laurentian divide to check it out and take some quick pictures. Once back at the bunkhouse, we went through our packs one last time to cut out any duplicates and weight before heading out the next morning. Lunch at Culvers in Rice Lake, WI Lake Superior, making progress Nothern MN - Tunnel!! Northern MN - still driving..... Bunkhouse #4, we made it!! Laurentian Divide BWCA sunset BWCA sunset

We arrived just after a rain storm and right in time to grab a quick dinner and a "before" photo by the lake. We then headed up the Gunflint trail to Hungry Jack Lodge where we spent the night in the campground. It was cold (low 40's) and misty and we were all freezing cold. Definitely not the weather we were expecting for August. We had warm clothes packed for our trip, but decided to tough it out over night rather than digging to the bottom of our perfectly packed packs. In hindsight that might have been a poor decision. . .

With a very cold, early start we quickly packed up our tent and headed to Rockwood Outfitters to pick up our life jackets and paddles and to arrange to have them transport the Northwind 20 we were renting for the week to Round Lake. They were ready when we got there and we had everything loaded in the canoe and were shoving off the landing at Round by 8:30. The kids had pretty much zero canoe experience, so we spent the trip across Round learning to paddle. After a quick paddle we were across Round and ready for our first portage. That would indeed be the theme for the day-quick paddle across the lake and then portage. While the constant in and out of the canoe drove me a little nuts, for my kids that felt more comfortable hiking than canoeing, it was a great intro to the Boundary Waters.

The first portage was a learning lesson, but we quickly figured out how to get everyone and everything out of the canoe, and then get it all loaded on to our shoulders for the trek across the portage. We had many opportunities to practice during the 8 portages of day 1.

We packed light in hopes of being able to single portage. My husband was a rockstar and took both the canoe and a canoe pack in one fell swoop so we were able to do it. The kids also loved the portaging and felt like 100 rods with a pack was nothing compared to the 8 mile hike we took them on last summer on vacation. I guess it's all a matter of perspective (and how much weight you are carrying on your back-we kept their packs pretty light).

In the end all of the portages kind of blurred together into one memory of rocky, hilly and some tough landings. We also came across three other groups which required some waiting for our turn.

We arrived at Gillis at 12:20 and began the hunt for a campsite. When we arrived all but two campsites were taken. We ended up at campsite 509 right next to the portage into Fern. It was a great campsite, our 12 year old declared it his favorite of the entire trip. We have a pretty big tent (we bought it in anticipation of bringing our younger two along on trips in the future) and there were only a few smallish tent pads, but we made it work. The boys loved the rocky point/peninsula they could fish and swim from.

We quickly got camp set up. After a swim to cool off, the boys tried some fishing from the point and the adults took a nap in the hammock. We ended the evening with steak grilled on the fire and roasted veggies with s'mores for dessert. All-in-all a great first day in the BWCA.

~Round Lake, West Round Lake, Edith Lake, Brant Lake, Gotter Lake, Flying Lake, Green Lake, Bat Lake, Gillis Lake

We got a slightly slower start to the morning, but were packed up and in the canoe by 9. After a quick paddle around the corner from our campsite we were at the portage to Fern. The theme for this day was solitude (we didn't see any other canoers until we got to the portage to Little Sag) and overgrown portages that were a little trickier to find in comparison to the portages from our first day.

It was a beautiful morning. All the lakes we paddled across were smooth as glass. It was very interesting to see some of the burn areas and to see the process of the forest recovering. The area was absolutely beautiful. If you don't need tall trees for hammocks or hanging food, it would be a great area to stay in. You would have the area all to yourself. We saw lots of loons and an eagle.

Overall it was a fairly uneventful day of paddling and portaging. The portages themselves weren't overly difficult, a few of the landings were a bit rocky/tricky to get the canoe out of the water but other than that they included some elevation and lots of overgrown branches and weeds to push through along the way. The only excitement of the day was getting attacked by leaches both coming into and leaving Powell.

We had our first human contact of the day when we reached the portage landing on Virgin heading into Little Sag. We enjoyed a quick snack break while we waited for them to finish loading and then we knocked out our last portage of the day and canoed on in to Little Saganaga.

We entered Little Sag a little before noon and began hunting for a campsite. We were hoping for one of the sites on the island at the north end of the lake, not too far from the portage and we were successful. They were both empty so we chose the one with the sand beach (campsite 821), although we didn't actually find the trail through the woods to the sandy beach until later in the afternoon.

We quickly set up camp and enjoyed the afternoon. My husband (the portaging rockstar) took a well deserved nap in the hammock, while the boys and I swam across the bay to one of the islands.

We had planned a rest day for the next day so we enjoyed a lazy night of fishing and relaxing. We had bacon and cheese quesadillas with rice for dinner and then attempted to make brownies over the fire with our jello mold oven. The mosquitoes came out in full force before the brownies were finished cooking so we enjoyed "lava" cake instead, and then headed to the tent to avoid the bugs.

~Gillis Lake, Fern Lake, Powell Lake, West Fern Lake, Virgin Lake, Little Saganaga Lake

We slept in a bit and then enjoyed a nice lazy pancake breakfast. After breakfast we headed out on a slow paddle/exploration session around the island we were staying on. We explored the other campsite, which was still empty, and did a little fishing. Our son caught the only fish of our entire trip-definitely not a keeper.

We headed back to the campsite for lunch and then spent the afternoon napping, swimming, reading, and playing cards. Late afternoon we hiked the trail through the woods to the sandy beach side of the campsite/island and explored the little cove. The boys found frogs and a baby turtle.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner of Chicken Pad Thai and s'mores nachos and then headed out for an evening paddle. We attempted a little fishing and then found a small rocky island to enjoy the sunset from.

Thanks to our weather radio we knew that wind/rain/storms were in the forecast for the following afternoon, so we packed up everything except our tent and sleeping gear in hopes of an early start the next morning. After a game of yahtzee in the tent we braved the mosquitoes to take in a bit of the meteor shower. We saw a few shooting stars before fleeing the mosquitoes.

~Little Saganaga Lake

“The Easy Day”

We were up again early this morning knowing that not only did we have about 6 miles to the take out point but also a 12-hour drive back to Illinois to accomplish. It was going to be a long day. The morning was still and warm with clear skies and was the perfect sendoff from the BWCA. We packed up, had a quick breakfast and pushed off heading east into the rising sun. Saganaga lake was like glass with the occasional motorboat sending ripples across the surface. Most of the motorboats were considerate and slowed to minimize their wake but a couple caused us to curse and change course to take the wake head on. Boat assignments were Nate and Eric with Eric in the back and Tony and Zach with Tony in the back. Nate and Eric headed out first and got three hundred yards or so into the lake when Nate yelled to slow up but not soon enough as the canoe was grounded on a boulder in the middle of what looked to be a deep channel. Upon further observation there was a boulder field extending north from one of the islands and we happened to find it. Needless to say, Zach and Tony gave it a wide berth to avoid any and all hard surfaces. As we paddled closer to the take out point we started to zig zag between the islands. It was almost like we wanted to prolong leaving the BWCA as long as possible. Once we left Saganaga we had to follow a channel or river down a way to exit point #55. Along the way we saw other outfitters and some impressive establishments. But none were as impressive as the bald eagle perched atop a tall dead tree watching us leave. We paddled as close as we could snapping pictures and saying goodbye as we entered back into civilization. We found the takeout point easily enough and made the call to come get picked up. We unpacked the canoes and made sure everything was accounted for and ready to be loaded up once our ride showed up. After the quick ride back to Tuscarora, we were greeted by warm showers and it was good to be clean. Then it was back on the road for the long ride back. We ended up staying a night in Eau Claire, WI and finishing the drive the next day.

Distance traveled: 6 miles (no portages) ~Saganaga Lake we woke to a calm morning time to go our last morning on the water, the weather could not have been better The BWCA sent us out in style BWCA guardian exit point 55, Saganaga Lake. Sadly our trip has come to an end. on the way back to Tuscarora for some warm showers the road home... go figure, its raining...

What a trip! What started out as a pipe dream in January, was realized by the efforts of a few good men in June. During the trip we faced adversity masked as a monsoon like rain of which this world has rarely seen, wind and waves and all were conquered. I have heard and read that you can’t quite put into words the range of emotions you go through as you travel the BWCA and it is true. A trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area is something you just have to experience for yourself. And when you come out the other side, and you will, you have this feeling of accomplishment that leaves you satisfied yet wanting more. In my 40 years of life there is no place like it. I will be back!!!