New Trip Report posted by Koda

Trip Name: Snowbank to Lake One and N. Kawishiwi River.

Entry Point: 27

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Koda - Very nice trip report and great photos. I especially liked the beautiful sunset photo. I'm interested in your approach to hiding your foodpack. When you leave your foodpack tucked into rocks, do you have problems with mice, squirrels, etc. trying to get into the pack? What do you do with your foodpack when there aren't rocks along the shore? We had bear activity on Lake Three which is why I'm looking for other ideas besides hanging a foodpack in a tree.

We were base camped on Lake Three the week of September 6th and recall the early morning fog which delayed us putting in at Lake One. We couldn't see across to the other side - had to wait until the sun burned off the fog. It's a beautiful area.

quote alpine525: "Koda - Very nice trip report and great photos. I especially liked the beautiful sunset photo. I'm interested in your approach to hiding your foodpack. When you leave your foodpack tucked into rocks, do you have problems with mice, squirrels, etc. trying to get into the pack? What do you do with your foodpack when there aren't rocks along the shore? We had bear activity on Lake Three which is why I'm looking for other ideas besides hanging a foodpack in a tree."

Thanks, alpine. I haven't noticed any rodent damage. The pack is essentially a big dry bag, and all the smelly stuff is inside a Bear Vault, inside the pack. So I imagine the outside is pretty much scent-free. My dog loves the smell of jerky but ignored the pack before the trip.

If there are no rocks I stash it under a low-growing tree or inside a clump of trees so it isn't visible.

Thanks Koda! We have used a Duluth Food Pack with a thick plastic liner for over 15 years with success. This was the first year we had bear activity - so I'd like to ditch the Duluth Food Pack and try something different. I may just have to splurge and buy the blue barrel container!

Hey Koda I read your report with interest because I was in that area in June. Then I saw the pictures of the campsite on Insula and thought they looked familiar. We basecamped there for several nights and thought that campsite was a gem. Great kitchen, pack hanging, landing, open area, tent pads, everything. I see you don't fish but we caught some walleye, smallmouth, and rock bass from shore too.

Sounds like a great trip and that loop would be really nice. I ran into a group at a portage and they pointed at me and said he's a wet footer too! Welcome to the club you know the secret handshake right? :)

quote alpine525: "Thanks Koda! We have used a Duluth Food Pack with a thick plastic liner for over 15 years with success. This was the first year we had bear activity - so I'd like to ditch the Duluth Food Pack and try something different. I may just have to splurge and buy the blue barrel container!"

Remember: bear barrels are not blue barrels. They are much smaller and are apparently even harder to get into.

quote DTrain: "Hey Koda I read your report with interest because I was in that area in June. Then I saw the pictures of the campsite on Insula and thought they looked familiar. We basecamped there for several nights and thought that campsite was a gem. Great kitchen, pack hanging, landing, open area, tent pads, everything. I see you don't fish but we caught some walleye, smallmouth, and rock bass from shore too.

Sounds like a great trip and that loop would be really nice. I ran into a group at a portage and they pointed at me and said he's a wet footer too! Welcome to the club you know the secret handshake right? :)
"

I chose the Snowbank-LakeOne loop because I liked it so much when I did it the other way a year earlier. The site on Insula is the same one. The red circle marks a stump that was a tree when you were there.

I've updated this trip report with some very nice pictures by my paddling partner. He says he doesn't have an "eye," but methinks otherwise.

I enjoyed your informative trip report and nice pictures, Koda, but important questions remain unanswered from the lessons learned section of your report...

Did you pack enough TP?

What was the precise formula you used?

And how accurate was it, i.e. how many sheets did you return with?

quote boonie: "I enjoyed your informative trip report and nice pictures, Koda, but important questions remain unanswered from the lessons learned section of your report...

Did you pack enough TP?

What was the precise formula you used?

And how accurate was it, i.e. how many sheets did you return with?"

LOL!
Yes, we packed enough TP.
The precise formula was one large double roll per person plus one large double roll in reserve.
We came back with about 1-1/3 large double roll. I didn't count the sheets. And that's no sheet!

:)

I was also wondering how you like your new Sierra Designs tent?

And how about the food - the Hawk Vittles - anything you didn't like? What was the best?

I always take ProBars for lunch - they're whole food bars and about twice the calories of other bars, so they're more satisfying. I always round out with nuts/gorp, which is a calorie-dense food as well as a good mix of carbohydrate, protein, and fats.

quote boonie: ":)
I was also wondering how you like your new Sierra Designs tent?
And how about the food - the Hawk Vittles - anything you didn't like? What was the best?
I always take ProBars for lunch - they're whole food bars and about twice the calories of other bars, so they're more satisfying. I always round out with nuts/gorp, which is a calorie-dense food as well as a good mix of carbohydrate, protein, and fats. "

The Sierra Designs Zeta2 is ... OK. It's a bit slow to set up, esp. compared to my Campmor popup tent, but it's easy because there are no pole sleeves, just clips. It's more than big enough, with two vestibules, and I can leave the center panel of the fly open or partly open most of the time.

I love HawkVittles. The Linguini with Mushroom Sauce is very highly caloric (1,100 cal/serving). Most of their meals I've had are quite filling and nutritious. They're all good, too. But I get the ones lower in fat so I don't have a representative sampling.

At $3.00+ each, Pro Bars are expensive. And there aren't even any dark chocolate or fudge versions. Now, why would I want such a thing? :-)

Yeah, ProBars are more expensive, but they also have about twice as many calories as most bars, so they are more of a meal than a snack. Definitely more satisfying and lasting. They do have a bar - Koka Moka - with chocolate. Clif Bars are good, too, and less expensive, but have fewer calories per bar.

very nice report and thanks for the wonderful pictures

Great trip report, beautiful photos. Thanks. Belated happy birthday.

quote lars54: "very nice report and thanks for the wonderful pictures"

quote Spartan2: "Great trip report, beautiful photos. Thanks. Belated happy birthday."

Thanks! :-)

quote alpine525: "Thanks Koda! We have used a Duluth Food Pack with a thick plastic liner for over 15 years with success. This was the first year we had bear activity - so I'd like to ditch the Duluth Food Pack and try something different. I may just have to splurge and buy the blue barrel container!"

I use CampTrails pack and thick plastic liner. I've stashed food bag for 5 years (2-3 shorter trips/year) with zero rodents and zero bears, including Lake Three where bear was in camp and got our water bag, but not the stashed food bag. Usually paddle the bag to an area away from campsites and not on obvious trails between campsites. Don't necessarily hide under rocks, just somewhere I can find it again.

Koda - outstanding report as usual. CELEBRATE the birthday friend, it's not a number, but an acknowledgement of what you are still capable of in this life. Great pics, funny bear story, love the descriptions, I must find a way to do same with map cases, AND I'd like to reserve a tarp setup lesson now... please?

Lake One navigation is tricky with the water so low that islands are now peninsulas (took me and sis and two brands of maps and a lot of luck, but it was a fun challenge).

quote alpine525: "Thanks Koda! We have used a Duluth Food Pack with a thick plastic liner for over 15 years with success. This was the first year we had bear activity - so I'd like to ditch the Duluth Food Pack and try something different. I may just have to splurge and buy the blue barrel container!"

Please remember, as many here have pointed out, that the blue barrels are not bear proof. Get a BearVault or something similar, and keep stashing out of the way.

quote BWPaddler: "Koda - outstanding report as usual. CELEBRATE the birthday friend, it's not a number, but an acknowledgement of what you are still capable of in this life. Great pics, funny bear story, love the descriptions, I must find a way to do same with map cases, AND I'd like to reserve a tarp setup lesson now... please?

Thanks. Yes, let's play tarps some time. I don't suppose you ever get near Madison.... Maybe the Isabella River next May?

edit: I expect to go there with a master tarper who is hands-down more finicky than I am. We could both learn a few things!

Speaking of tarps, today I finished a fun little project. Still needs a bit of tweaking to get the wrinkles out, but the dog won't care.

Lake One navigation is tricky with the water so low that islands are now peninsulas (took me and sis and two brands of maps and a lot of luck, but it was a fun challenge)."

Lake One may be tricky, but when you're looking for the place where you made a mistake the previous year, and then make the same mistake, it's no longer the lake's fault. :-)

Keeping Isabella option open, sounds like fun. Amazing with all the traffic Numbered Lakes have that we saw concrete discrepancies between Fisher/McKenzie (didn't have your Voyageur along), and that there was often a question about whether we were on the right track (hence comment on "luck" because we never faltered).

We also had two fellows change direction and paddle up to us to ask us where the heck they were on Lake Three (in an area that I thought was well differentiated).

I blame the maps and mother nature. The "islands" are there all the time, but sometimes bigger and sometimes smaller depending on water levels - think the map-makers could earn a bundle by selling maps unique to current water conditions :-)

Koda - read your lessons learned. As to wet footing, skip the socks too maybe? Keep pants dry and skip the socks if possible. Tried that this late Sept trip and water was not much warmer with socks than without. Alternative is to keep changing into dry ones between events (like AM/PM paddling or something) and stuff the wet ones in a bag until you have time to dry them out.

Yes, when you do put on dry socks/shoes, it is HEAVEN :-)

quote BWPaddler: "Koda - read your lessons learned. As to wet footing, skip the socks too maybe? Keep pants dry and skip the socks if possible. Tried that this late Sept trip and water was not much warmer with socks than without. Alternative is to keep changing into dry ones between events (like AM/PM paddling or something) and stuff the wet ones in a bag until you have time to dry them out.

Yes, when you do put on dry socks/shoes, it is HEAVEN :-)"

I wouldn't go without socks, given all the sand and gravel that gets in the shoes, plus the risk of blisters. Yes to rolling up pants legs for getting in and out of the boat.

(Note edit about tarps in my previous post)

Nice tarp project, sure the dogs appreciate it!

No blisters for me, and feet appreciated not being trapped in soggy socks. Admittedly, it was a warmer Sept than some.

Koda,
Enjoyed your trip report very much. It had some of the best sunrise/sunset photo's that I have ever seen. Enjoyed your style of tripping with regards to food selection and hiding. Thanks for sharing.
Boppa

Thanks, Boppa. I'll pass your compliment on to Steve. He took a lot of the nicer shots, including all the sunrises.

Thanks Koda, well done and nice pictures. I was just on Insula and the numbered lakes lake this year and nice to relive the trip.

Bravo!

Both photographers were excellent and the Koda writing top notch!

Thanks again for all the kudos. Beemer, I'll take your comment as a suggestion on how to write up future reports. That kind of feedback is really useful (not to mention head-swelling).

On this trip we came upon a couple of structures between Hudson and Fire Lakes. They're built of logs, bolted together and piled with rocks. The rocks are higher than the top logs, so they don't seem to be bridge supports. Does anyone know anything about them? They're located at the narrows just south of the pond leading to Fire Lake.

quote Koda: "On this trip we came upon a couple of structures between Hudson and Fire Lakes. They're built of logs, bolted together and piled with rocks. The rocks are higher than the top logs, so they don't seem to be bridge supports. Does anyone know anything about them? They're located at the narrows just south of the pond leading to Fire Lake.


"

i noticed them too. thought maybe they were to keep beavers from making dams????

great report by the way!!

Koda - Those date back to the logging Era - these guys routinely would dam streams and for that matter chains of lakes to raise the water levels so they could float out logs.

The Dam at Prairie Portage is an excellent example - the original dam (long since gone) raised the system water levels - so today you can paddle non-stop from Moose Lake to PP - before the dam I'm certain there were multiple liftovers. Now imagine trying to transport 600,000 logs down the lakes..... Building dams was a no brainer for our forefathers.

Beemer, thanks for the feedback. If you don't mind, I'll include that in my report, which will read: "On the upper part of Hudson Lake we pass a couple of structures that look like piers for an old bridge. They're a bit anomalous in such a wild setting. (After returning from the trip, someone seasoned in BWCA lore told me that those structures date back to the logging era when loggers would routinely dam both streams and lakes to raise the water levels so they could float out logs.)"

Let me know of any edits I should make.

I'm still trying to imagine dragging a forest full of large pines over a portage in June -

You've got it right. In this issue of BWJ they have a great picture of one of the forged iron (or steel) rings which were also part of that era - anchored into rock, these were used to securely tie off the rafts of logs in staging areas.

Up at High Falls on the edge of Quetico, if the water is low enough, you can also see a length of that hand forged chain lying on the rocks.

Lot of history up there if you look carefully.

Another great report Koda!

great report. loved the pics. i cant wait for spring!!

Hi Koda - Great report and photos! I am just now able to sit back and read trip reports now that the weather is keeping me indoors for the most part.

I really like the photo of the rain drop on the cedar leaf. I really enjoyed looking at the route on the map.

It sounds like Steve had a great time too. It must have been great for him to see a landscape so much different than his own.

I made the same navigational error as you last September when exiting Lake One to get back to the Entry Point. I should have listened to Mary Jo because she wanted to go the right way. We ended up back tracking just like you.

Looking forward to seeing you again at a Wing Night event.

Zulu

Thanks, Zulu (and Chazz and ducks and all).
Steve was beside himself with excitement and enjoyment. It was great tripping with an 8-year-old. :-)
The nav error on Lake One was the second time I'd done it. I'm hoping the third time will be the charm. Funny thing, when approaching the channel for the first time it doesn't look obvious. But after making the correction it's just as plain as day. I still don't get it.

"This evening I ignore the photo ops in favor of checking in with myself. I see how a steady program of doing has kept me from being present. I briefly consider bailing out in the face of the challenge ahead, and then a loon calls, and for the first time in three days I really hear it. Something awakens inside, but it takes several more days to emerge."

This is, you'll no doubt recall, a quote you made in your trip report of Sept. '09 when you soloed Lake One to Snowbank. I couldn't find a place to reply to that trip report, so I'm doing it here. I also read this trip report. I enjoyed both of them. I especially like your organized mind. It makes following along with you on the trip easy and intersting. I also followed along with your map and my own, too.

I already mentioned in reply to one of your comments on my trip report through the falls chain this year, that I admired your courage in chasing a bear out of camp. Here are a few other comments.

On your solo trip, I enjoyed your solitude, so to speak, in that out of your solitary activity some intersting reflections emerged. I did a lot of solo trips in 1989, 90, and 91 when I was living each summer in a cabin on Gull Lake at the end of the Gunflint Trail. I went east, south, north, and west of the cabin on two and three-day trips with a beloved dog. As much as I wanted to enjoy these trips, I always enjoyed the one's with human companions more. Your trip this year with Steve was an intersting contrast to your solo trip last year of the same area.

I very much like the way you organize your report with the pictures. I should have done that on my falls chain report, and maybe I'll amend it. Certainly in furture reports I'll use your method.

Your artistic pictures are quite good, too. I enjoy them, and I enjoy being able to look at pictures taken by someone who has real talent and devotion to his subject.

I haven't read the Dharma link on your website yet, but I suspect that has a lot to do with the quote I started this reply with.

I'm curious as to where you stashed your canoe when you went to Madelaine Island. Just curious.

You had enviable weather on your solo trip. I love trips with few or no thunderstorms and light winds.

We've kicked the age thing back and forth a bit. I was reenergized by doing the falls chain again this year after a ten year hiatus in which I did a lot of Florida rivers, mostly base camping and easy river camping on the sand bars of the Suwannee. I also did some BWCA base camp trips, mostly in Saganaga. I also do a lot of camping on the Wisconsin River sand bars, easy trips and nice camping. But nothing matches the 8 to 10 day wilderness trips in the BWCA or Quetico. So, at age 72 I'm getting back into the more energetic stuff, and will continue as long as I can. I still feel good, but I had help from my 40 year old son on the portages, so that was definetly a factor.

I also enjoy your generous descriptions of food and supplies. My son and I like to fish, so we take pretty basic stuff for food, mostly noodles and freeze dried vegetables that go good with the fish. I bring summer sausage to go with the noodles when we don't catch fish, also for use with tortillas for lunch. I liked the looks of your bannock.

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the nice feedback. Mark Twain said, "I could live a week on one good compliment." I think I'll be good for a month. :-)

I started going on 3-day retreats in about 1997. Most of my solo canoe camping trips, beginning about 10 years ago, have been set up as retreats, typically 3-4 days. Before that I would have gone nuts to be alone that long. The concept of a retreat provides the purpose of my trips these days, which is to quiet my mind and just be with whatever comes up. Sometimes there's a more focused agenda, sometimes there are random insights, sometimes just a quiet flow of experience, and sometimes unrelenting internal chaos - and sometimes all of that. The two 10-day solo BW trips created enough space that I could see into the process of how a longer retreat works. During my trip last June, I laid it out this way:
- Anticipation/excitement
- Resistance
- Acceptance
- Involvement/participation
- Absorption
Seeing how it works made the trip easier, and I expect it will help in the future.

Yes, the trip with Steve was a big contrast. I enjoyed having company, but there were times I missed being alone. I guess I'll just have to do more trips!

You're right that there's a connection with the dharma talks; they play an important role in retreats. I have all of them on my MP3 player so that if something arises and I'm drawn to listen, I have them handy. They help me cultivate the mindset that's reflected in the statement you quoted. Basically it's about paying attention with a non-reactive mind. As you may guess, this is a life's work.

When I was on Madeline Island I just left the canoe at my campsite.

As for how I handled the bear, thanks, but courage wasn't really involved because there was no fear. I've dealt with rearing and bucking horses, so an overgrown dog presented no threat. I just hated to run the poor thing off, knowing it was really harmless.

Thanks again. It's nice to know someone "gets it."

Dave

Photography is outstanding. Had to catch my breath a couple of times.

We used that same low clearing behind the tent pad on the North island site on Ima when we were there in mid August. We played cards down there for 3 days trying to escape the wind, only coming up to the main campsite to look at the waves and chase canoes that had been blown off the beach and were floating away (that only happened once)! Great pictures, props to Steve the photographer.

Hi I just read your report I am going this route for the first time ever next week just me and one other person, but we are doing it in 7 days 6 nights, after reading your report is this possible?

It's a "routine" loop. It's been almost 13 years since I did that loop, i recall a fair amount of time on the water. From Lake One to Snowbank, there are no real shortcuts.

7 days on the water by my estimate gets you 4 moderate travel days, 1 layover day,and 2 weather days. I'd go 5 easy travel days with 2 weather/layover days.

Because of recent comments, your report must have been bumped up front. I'm glad, because it jumped out and I read it. I found myself laughing out loud at your bear encounter! We've had a few in our camps. I especially loved the tarped BOX!! I have been at the box in the rain and thought "Why haven't we tarped here???" hahahahaha.... Thanks for sharing1