New Trip Report posted by TuscaroraBorealis

Trip Name: Nor'western waters.

Entry Point: 12

Click Here to View Trip Report

For those that might be interested? Here's our complete photo journal from this trip.

Nor-western waters

what a great trip! Aurora is one lucky little girl. later in life these trips will pop up in her memory just when she needs them the most.
great photos, too!

Thank you!

Of course that is our great hope.

What a great trip report and a very special family. We will watch Aurora grow up over the years on BWCA.com. You are such awesome parents for exposing her to this environment and letting it be her playground. She will be a truly enriched individual.

Meeting the crew of the Black Perl out there was a great highlight of my trip. I was very impressed with how well Aurora had adapted to the enviroment out there. Sorry to delay you on such a nice day. I stayed on the campsite on finger and Bernice had a lot of fun rolling logs into the lake and retrieving them. Your desciption of the portages I'd encounter were right on. We'll have to meet up again out there... :)

Fantastic! Your daughter is less of a baby than (some) adults I have gone with. Making great memories for everyone.

Great trip report. I am amazed that you could do that trip with a baby, but you have been amazing all along in that regard. As others have said, it is fun to watch Aurora grow up in the canoe.

Also, that one sunrise photo literally took my breath away!

Good stuff! Sounds like an area of BWCA that I should check out one day. I'm impressed by the little one, and enjoyed picturing her navigating the various obstacles of a BWCA campsite.

quote nctry: "Meeting the crew of the Black Perl out there was a great highlight of my trip. I was very impressed with how well Aurora had adapted to the enviroment out there. Sorry to delay you on such a nice day. I stayed on the campsite on finger and Bernice had a lot of fun rolling logs into the lake and retrieving them. Your desciption of the portages I'd encounter were right on. We'll have to meet up again out there... :)"

No need for apologies. As I said it was a special treat from our end too. And, yes, hopefully we can meet up sometime somewhere again.

BTW I did find the map we came back for - right on the top of my pack where I left it. :)

Spartan2: While we'd like to take credit for being highly skilled photographers, the one you refer to (and the other sunrise photos) were about 99% Mother Nature's doing. We just had to point our camera's in the right direction. :) Like I mentioned, it was just one of those magical mornings.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

Aurora under the canoe in the light rain is a classic!!!
How many of us have done that with ourselves or gear?? I know I have used the canoe several times as a shelter at a portage or +/- camp is set up. First memories of really roughing for it me was a wooden canoe rack in the back yard (with canoes over) in the winter sleeping in -10F conditions at around the age of 12.

Paul, great trip report. Thanks for the campsite ratings, portage observations and everything.

Well, I disagree with you about your picture taking prowess, some of those photos were more than just "Chance!" Loved those early morning photos especially.

Great trip! Thats really awesome that you took such a youngster up there.

Update: Apparently the SPOT company will reimburse us for the portion of the trip that it didn't work properly. They also claimed that, as long as we had good batteries, (which we did) the emergency signal will ALWAYS go through. They had no explanation as to why the other signals failed to send. All's well, that end's well.

Great write up and pictures! I really enjoyed how you let the evolving events dictate the pace of the trip. I was up in that area in June with my 2 boys and we loved it. Next time you'll have to stay at Trygg a bit longer. Oh and you and Ferris are right about taking the tow up the Loon River, definitely a must do if you have the means.

quote wrestlencanoe: "Great write up and pictures! I really enjoyed how you let the evolving events dictate the pace of the trip. I was up in that area in June with my 2 boys and we loved it. Next time you'll have to stay at Trygg a bit longer. Oh and you and Ferris are right about taking the tow up the Loon River, definitely a must do if you have the means."

Yes, your trip report was a great help in planning our trip.

Perhaps the biggest regret of this trip for me personally, was not being able to give Trygg a fair shake. But, obviously as in life in general, my personal desires take a back seat to what's best for the family (principally Aurora). Makes me/us appreciate when things do work out all the more.

Really nice report and beautiful pictures, TB. It brought back memories of my first two BW trips - the first one a loop from Moose River to LLC and back through Pocket, Rocky, Gebe, and Oyster; the second a trip from LIS North around that loop - Slim, South, Steep, Eugene, Beartrack, Finger, Pocket, Gebe, Oyster, and out Moose River. I missed some of those other lakes you saw though and I hope to see them when i get back to that area. I really liked that area and it sounds like you did too. I was there the same time of year on the second trip and also didn't see anyone for 4 days.

Thanks for the link to all your pictures on photobucket - you took about as many as I did on my last trip, but you got better ones. Do you edit them in photobucket? or just them the way they come out of the camera.

quote boonie: "Do you edit them in photobucket? or just them the way they come out of the camera. "

We may crop a few even before putting them on photobucket but, otherwise what you see is what comes right out of the camera.

And yes, we really enjoyed the area. Especially Gun & the nearby surrounding lakes (Tesaker, Takucmich & Little Beartrack).

They are really good pictures - what kind of camera is it?

Tesaker and Takucmich are a couple I missed that seem nice. Maybe I'll get there again.

quote boonie: "They are really good pictures - what kind of camera is it?


Tesaker and Takucmich are a couple I missed that seem nice. Maybe I'll get there again."

Nikon AW100

Kodak easyshare M580

Paul, I always enjoy reading your trip reports. Your daughter is such a lucky young lady to have parents like you. What a great experience for her. Love the pictures as many others have mentioned. Very well done. TL

It's so cool that you guys were able to take Aurora on this trip. The pic of her bringing you a gift at the campsite on Finger reminds me of 19 years ago on a camping trip my one year old son bending down and picking a dandelion. The picture hangs on our wall.

It's just such a fascinating time for young kids as they explore the world and you two have really given her a great adventure.

So, as we talked about before, I was a day behind you once you left Gun Lake. I pulled in there and to my delight found your huge perfect wood pile.



I planned on lying over but the wind and cold got me to move on to Finger the next day where by extreme coincidence me, you guys, and Ben were all on that lake on the same day. Yes, it was Ben who I saw walking around in camp around 4:00 PM that day. I didn't know it was him (I knew he would be in the general area) so I made a left and checked three other sites before settling on one on the same island on the other side. I also remember that portage going south from Gun to remind me of Quetico. Very rocky and little used. I loved it.

Also, there's a pic of Aurora standing in front of the huge boulder at the Finger site. I bet you didn't notice the hand print pictographs right behind her to the left. My outfitter Bob Olson of Canoe Country Outfitters gave me a heads up about these. Here's a closer pic.



It sure was a good time to be up there. Cold mornings but they warmed up quickly and very little to no rain after the first few days. The wolves howling would have made me extremely nervous with a young baby on board. Man, that must have been nervewracking.

Anyway, love the pics and video and hope you take Aurora on many more in the future. This pic is of the evening that the three parties were all on Finger Lake Sept. 23rd. This is straight from the camera, I didn't embellish the color. What an evening!

TomT,

Gosh had we known (at the time)you were also in the area we woulda just hung out and had a mini-wing night on Finger lake. ;-)

It was a real treat to watch how fascinated Aurora was with the seemingly most mundane (to us)things. Literally seeing through the eyes of a child. Unforgettable memories for sure.

Obviously we stayed at Gun lake for a few days. The large wood stack can be attributed to us (me) having to deal being stuck in camp trying to be productive while we waited out the wind & rain. I think we only had one real fire while there??? Hopefully it will make someone's day.

Had no clue there were pictos on that rock. Maybe next time? I agree, with your weather observations. The mornings were usually cool, but the daytime temps were just about perfect.

We can vouch that your photo wasn't enhanced. We were on Ge-be that evening and enjoyed those same colors. Although, you did a better job of capturing them.

I just read your report and really enjoyed it. Now I really want to take the ride down the Loon River. That area is amazing and I need to see it again.

Awesome report TB. That was a great plan for a trip and I am glad you had a chance to complete it. Traveling with a munchkin by canoe had to give you some appreciation for those who raised their children in those environs.
I still don't share your appreciation of Tesaker but I sure do share your evaluation of Gun. Sweet lake for sure.
Thanks for taking the time to write this report and all the great pics.

Our little voyageur made the testimonial page of Anderson Outfitters! Link

TB: great report. (One of the few areas of the BW that I would really like to do if I weren't so "stuck on" Quetico.) Really appreciated your statement: "Not trying to rub anyone's nose in it. But, I think the way this scenario played out for us is a perfect example of why I research a trip." Amen! Thanks. --Goose

Wow, great trip report. I think tripping is difficult without a baby along and you folks make it seem so easy.

Fresh wolf scat on a portage trail, railroad track portages, running into Ben and Bernice, that tremendous site on Finger Lake, to mention a few, you folks had some neat experiences.

Thanks for sharing. Bapabear

quote moosewatcher: "I just read your report and really enjoyed it. Now I really want to take the ride down the Loon River. That area is amazing and I need to see it again. "

Somewhat of a shot in the dark here. But, are you friends with the Tony T that I work with???? If so, (or even if not) Thank you!

TB. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of the adventure. I love the fact that you and your wife are willing to take your daughter on these excursions into the wild. Up until last year, it has been 27 years since I was in the BWCA or Quetico. I now wish I would have been able to bring my children here when they were younger and have them develop a love for Canoe Country. My youngest was 15 last year when we decided to take a BWCA trip. I still have to write my trip report on that.

I have a lot of trip ambitions for the future, I just hope my body will hold up and allow me to catch up on things that I have missed. In the mean time, I will enjoy your trip reports and use the information that you, as well as others, provide to make my trips better.

Again, thanks for sharing and taking your time to write these excellent trip reports.

quote bapabear: "Wow, great trip report. I think tripping is difficult without a baby along and you folks make it seem so easy."

Yeah, very brave!

We're taking our 8-year old this year. The others (6, 4 & 1) wanted to come but we told them they could come as soon as they can swim and hike a mile without a meltdown.

quote stuporglue: "

quote bapabear: "Wow, great trip report. I think tripping is difficult without a baby along and you folks make it seem so easy."

Yeah, very brave!


We're taking our 8-year old this year. The others (6, 4 & 1) wanted to come but we told them they could come as soon as they can swim and hike a mile without a meltdown. "

There's certainly extra work and sacrifice that are absolutely necessary for tripping with a youngster. I've been blessed with a wife who's willing to do so (as she deserves most of the credit). Thus far, the rewards have far outweighed the extra effort. IMHO

For us, bringing our daughter is just one of the ways we are trying to (hopefully) instill a good foundation of values and educational experiences. Jacqueline Kennedy said it best. "If we're a failure as a parent, then nothing else we do in life really matters." (BTW I'm not trying to imply that others who don't (or haven't) brought their children to canoe country are somehow bad parents.)