New Trip Report posted by TreeBear

Trip Name: Our Voyageur Challenge - The Pace Canoe.

Entry Point: 12

Click Here to View Trip Report

Bravo!
I like the idea of rotating sleeping shifts, but was the sleeping man getting completely soaked the whole time? Were you just so tired that it didn't matter?
Way to persevere after such a sleep deprived start.
What can be done to minimize the wet foot damage?
Very inspiring.

Way to go! Sounds like you guys accomplished multiple goals on that trip. I laughed out loud when you wrote about the Fowl Portage as I remember cursing as I trudged along a few years back that this portage was made for Hobbits! Congrats!

Tony - Border Route Challenge Class of 2020

What a thrilling read! Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your amazing accomplishment!

Well done!

CatchMe: "Bravo!
I like the idea of rotating sleeping shifts, but was the sleeping man getting completely soaked the whole time? Were you just so tired that it didn't matter?
Way to persevere after such a sleep deprived start.
What can be done to minimize the wet foot damage?
Very inspiring.
"

We kept the duffer pretty dry. The Northwind 20 was a pretty dry boat to begin with. With proper trimming, we weren't taking that much water inside even in the big whitecaps. That said, we had a sleeping pad with a sleeping bag and a bivy sack for the duffer which kept them mostly warm and dry. We also had a sponge to help as bilge and remove excess water as needed. The wet foot damage is totally our fault. It's so important to get your feet out of the socks and shoes for long paddle stretches, but when you are tired and sore it's hard to force yourself to do it. Here is my case. I slept a shift at Gunflint Lake where I had taken shoes and socks off. We stopped at the beach at the end. Despite my best attempts, that does mean I got a small amount of sand inside which acted as an abrasive later. Even though I had other sleep shifts at Rove/Watap and at Moose, I didn't take my shoes off again before the end some 16 hours after leaving Gunflint. I should have taken them off at Moose at the very least, it's just hard to justify to yourself when you're just exhausted and it's an "out of sight, out of mind" problem. My feet are fine a couple days later, but I'd rather avoid that in the future!

Nice job an amazing accomplishment for sure. Thanks for sharing, excellent read.

Wow!!! Congrats!!!

What a grueling adventure that (per usual) you did an awesome job of recounting, truly an amazing tale and accomplishment.

I recall the dramatic changes in the Pine River about a decade ago. We went in back-to-back years and the water levels were so dramatically different that it was disorienting to say the least. And, added significant distance to the portages. I think some of my old maps even had a warning (from the map company) about this on them.

I must mention that there's a line in your report that made me laugh out loud. "We calmly tried to reassure them that we were just normal people passing through the portage at two in the morning."

Implying that "normal" people portage at 2 in the morning. :)

Anyways, thanks for sharing.

TuscaroraBorealis: "What a grueling adventure that (per usual) you did an awesome job of recounting, truly an amazing tale and accomplishment.


I recall the dramatic changes in the Pine River about a decade ago. We went in back-to-back years and the water levels were so dramatically different that it was disorienting to say the least. And, added significant distance to the portages. I think some of my old maps even had a warning (from the map company) about this on them.


I must mention that there's a line in your report that made me laugh out loud. "We calmly tried to reassure them that we were just normal people passing through the portage at two in the morning."


Implying that "normal" people portage at 2 in the morning. :)


Anyways, thanks for sharing."

Wait, what? Normal people don't portage in the middle of the night!?! I have been getting that so wrong all this time? Haha

It was all kind of an unavoidable situation. Those portages around Rat are RIGHT on the portage which is irritating any time of the day for all parties involved. The one from South is separated a little bit by a spur trail, but the one going into Rose (described above) that grate can't be more than 20 feet from the portage in my recollection (previous visit in daylight.) Campsites like that never have made sense to me since there are plenty of other places the forest service could stick them. As a campsite visitor, I wouldn't want to stay in one that has groups passing through it and it's always awkward to feel like I'm portaging through someone's "home." The feelings get even worse at night, but what can a person do? I'd bushwhack around, but that wouldn't ease the boogeyman imaginings when they wake up. So, portage as quietly as possible... Haha

Quite the accomplishment! Not sure I could deal with that kind of sleep deprivation. I ended up doing that portage out of Clove at 4:30am on a rainy morning and was very turned around and confused at the mud flats...took me awhile. The river was definitely not that low there last year, I also wonder exactly what changed in that spot.

Wish your work schedules had allowed you time to do it along with the border challenge...you would have been a great addition to our celebrations in GP afterwards!

There is actually a portage on the Canadian side of the Rat-Rose passage that doesn't have a campsite, but the landing on Rose is very steep and awkward. But I do use that one if the campsite spot is occupied.

By the time I went through the Pigeon this year, the water had risen from the bony 110 cfs you suffered through to 170 cfs on Thursday 9/7. We were delighted to be able to run almost everything...but a 3-person boat would have had a tough time.

Congratulations!

straighthairedcurly: "Quite the accomplishment! Not sure I could deal with that kind of sleep deprivation. I ended up doing that portage out of Clove at 4:30am on a rainy morning and was very turned around and confused at the mud flats...took me awhile. The river was definitely not that low there last year, I also wonder exactly what changed in that spot.


Wish your work schedules had allowed you time to do it along with the border challenge...you would have been a great addition to our celebrations in GP afterwards!


There is actually a portage on the Canadian side of the Rat-Rose passage that doesn't have a campsite, but the landing on Rose is very steep and awkward. But I do use that one if the campsite spot is occupied.


By the time I went through the Pigeon this year, the water had risen from the bony 110 cfs you suffered through to 170 cfs on Thursday 9/7. We were delighted to be able to run almost everything...but a 3-person boat would have had a tough time.


Congratulations!"

Thank you, and congratulations to you as well! I was watching and cheering on you and the other groups from my computer when I checked back into work about 29 hours after finishing the thing. The trip sure made the wilderness canoe longing even worse.

Good to know about the other portage from Rat to Rose! I have never used it and I wasn't about to try to find the thing in the middle of the night, but I'll look for it the next time through there for reference.

And yes, the Northwind 20 is about the furthest thing from a good bushwhacking/river canoe. It's long, turns like a school bus, and I can feel it in my bones every time I knick a rock with it! That said, on the open water I was beyond impressed with how it handled the weight. I'm glad the Pigeon came up some for you. It's only fair that you get some reward for weathering that storm.

Great job on your accomplishment this year!

Too bad your schedule wouldn't coincide with the Border Challenge group. You would have really enjoyed the comaraderie. This year was my favorite one of the 6 challenges I've completed. Maybe it was because I got done early
Thursday afternoon,( I started at LIS instead of Sha Sha,) and was able to visit more with old and new friends. Grandma L. is too good to us with all the snacks and pans of brownies. I gained 3 & 1/2 #'s! And of course it didn't help, that the casino had a prime rib "all you can eat" buffet, Friday evening. I think this will be my last border challenge, electing instead to take the tour version. My 75 year old legs are getting too wobbly late in the day on the portages, and a fall traveling alone could be problematic. I won't miss doing the Granite River, the Pigeon River, ( it was 110 cfs on Wednesday and I spent 70 minutes wading) or the Grand Portage. Congratulations, I always enjoy reading about your accelerated trips, crammed into your limited available time.

Voyager: "Too bad your schedule wouldn't coincide with the Border Challenge group. You would have really enjoyed the comaraderie. This year was my favorite one of the 6 challenges I've completed. Maybe it was because I got done early
Thursday afternoon,( I started at LIS instead of Sha Sha,) and was able to visit more with old and new friends. Grandma L. is too good to us with all the snacks and pans of brownies. I gained 3 & 1/2 #'s! And of course it didn't help, that the casino had a prime rib "all you can eat" buffet, Friday evening. I think this will be my last border challenge, electing instead to take the tour version. My 75 year old legs are getting too wobbly late in the day on the portages, and a fall traveling alone could be problematic. I won't miss doing the Granite River, the Pigeon River, ( it was 110 cfs on Wednesday and I spent 70 minutes wading) or the Grand Portage. Congratulations, I always enjoy reading about your accelerated trips, crammed into your limited available time."

Thanks for the praise, and congrats to you as well! You give the rest of us inspiration for many hopeful years of tripping ahead! And yeah, the Pigeon was rough. The wading just kept going. Gratefully, there were three of us so we could pass the canoe along and get it through the rapids as a team. My spot gen says we spent 6 hours on the Pigeon River alone. I won't sugarcoat it, I was a tad grumpy there for a bit. I'm usually up for anything on a canoe trip, but spending 6 hours mostly walking a river with the perspective of how much lake mileage we covered in 6 hours was a little defeating. It's weird for me to look back on. The grand doesn't seem so bad in my memory, but the pigeon sure does!