Recently back from another "dream come true" trip to the BWCA. It's no small undertaking for us to plan and execute a vacation such as this, especially since it is so far from home.

Wow, it was incredible. Here are some things I miss:

Placid mornings with lakes like glass. Cool temps and afternoon breezes that turn into afternoon storms. Loons waking me in the middle of the night-ahweeahooo! Having breakfast with bald eagles. Enjoying a whole lake all to ourselves. Gigantic stands of trees that touch the clear blue sky. I miss the local character wildlife that comes with each new campsite-be it feathered or furry. A fish grabbing my line hard while i notice the log that moved near me is really a snapping turtle. I miss the "nature channel"-sitting on a rock by the water having dinner while the painted turtles give you the stink eye and scurry around making their nests and false nests. The cool squish of my boots and the smoke in my clothes. Warm water shower or cool swim, drying off sitting on a rock in the sun. The discovery of animal tracks..big wolf, big cat, big moose. Discovering Indian pictos and knowing they thought this place is as special and as magical as I think it is. Seeing a pine tree so enormous you have trouble believing something so grand just lives on nutrients from the soil. I miss digging into a storm tossed lake to make it to our next destination, waves crashing..rain pouring..Mosquitos on hold till the rain ends. Dig, dig, dig! Watching the rain come across the lake like a curtain, buckets on one side, calm glasslike water on the other. Drying my socks on a hot rock. The safety of my tent, my microcosm, my world-which like a turtle I bring with me on my back.

Other than getting on my local lake and rivers or setting up my hammock in the backyard...I can't recreate beautiful Minnesota here. I'm going to have to head North. Soon.

Thank you to the people here for their knowledge on gear-proven or otherwise. Thank you to John & Lynn at Voyageurs North for their great bunkhouse, canoe and transport. I don't miss Zup's brats yet, because I stopped and brought home a bunch in our cooler! Hot bologna! Ooh yah ewe betcha!

Tell me what you miss...

Very eloquently put, swampturtle.

So where is home?

I agree with OneMatch. That was pure purtiness!

Poetry.

quote OneMatch: "Very eloquently put, swampturtle.

So where is home?"

Thanks, I really wish I could get a Blueberry Ale and a Walleye sandwich right now....Long Island, NY

VN ! every trip i do it's nice to get home to a hot shower and soft bed BUT a week later i wish i was there again !

very fine description.

very fine description.

quote Swampturtle: "Tell me what you miss..."

i miss the twelve days i spent with suncatcher, cowdoc, and kiporby...and all that it entailed. good thing is, we will trip again, spring 2014. :)

I miss the smells of: hot cedar in the sun, old wood smoke, cooking food mixed with pure air, forest duff, dust from fresh cut wood and kirks Castile.

I miss the sounds of, Ruffed Grouse, song birds, waves lapping, paddles dipping, strained breathing on the trail and fire crackling with hushed voice accompaniment.

I miss being dead tired at night and stretching out flat on my back.

I miss it all. What did I miss?

Excellent, very good. Got all my senses going there. Your post reminds me of one more thing i miss. The chick-a-dees! We have chick-a-dees here, but their calls and voices are harsh, rushed and hurried.
Minnesota has the laid back version...bee burrr...deeee..deeeee...deeeee.

Well said. Thanks.

Excellent post. I miss the quiet. It's always a shock to my system spending my first night usually in a bunkhouse and noticing how still everything gets in the evening. Where I live there is always the distant hum of the traffic. Add the call of the loon to that stillness and you get magic.

quote Thwarted: "I miss the smells of: hot cedar in the sun, old wood smoke, cooking food mixed with pure air, forest duff, dust from fresh cut wood and kirks Castile.


I miss the sounds of, Ruffed Grouse, song birds, waves lapping, paddles dipping, strained breathing on the trail and fire crackling with hushed voice accompaniment.


I miss being dead tired at night and stretching out flat on my back.


I miss it all. What did I miss?"

You would make a trustworthy witness.

quote TomT: "Excellent post. I miss the quiet. It's always a shock to my system spending my first night usually in a bunkhouse and noticing how still everything gets in the evening. Where I live there is always the distant hum of the traffic. Add the call of the loon to that stillness and you get magic.


"

ditto...

Thanks for taking the time to write that!

I'm missing the sense of adventure along with the other things already mentioned. I miss watching Bernice do her thing out there. The captain of the Black Perl knows what I'm talking about. :) I live in the country, so I hear the loons at home and stuff like that. But out there your in a different groove and life is at it's best.

I miss when you're jigging for walleye and you set the hook and sure enough, there's a beast down in the coffee-colored deep, but afterward, you can't even recall what it was that prompted you to set the hook, so slight was the bite. I miss paddling in the rain and my glasses are freckled with drops, so the smudged, wet world is even moreso, but you're there and it's your sacred duty to witness, so you smile and nod. I miss the hot cocoa. Sure, I can drink it here, but on the cool, wet rock, it's the God's nectar. I miss rising at four and making my way into the ghosty gray.

Regarding a love of language, I once went fishing with 19 men and they were Type A: a fighter pilot, bouncers, a race car driver, a college linebacker, Harley boys, etc. Nearly all of them loved language. They could be coarse at times, but they were also clever and inventive.

Now I want to go back...

Oh my long lost thread!
The chick-a-dees are talking, but their voices are shrill & rushed

Got my permit for this year...11 glorious days!
At long last I will return to the beautiful Boundary Waters in Minnesota
A place that is so incredibly special, my memories have sustained me
So accessible, yet so far from home
Very much a part of me, yet others don't understand my attraction
In the 2 years since I have visited, I've tried to recreate it elsewhere
Nothing compares to the wide open space and nearness to nature
My sense of wonder is wide open to soak in the experience
Whether sunshine or rain, I'm prepared for an adventure
Creating my menu & dehydrating, preparing gear old & new
Checking off & adjusting lists, every day that passes I am closer to my goal.

Prior to my first trip, I searched these pages..You all have enhanced my camping experience ever since. A magical lure, a simple coffee mug, a yummy recipe, a different route. Gear evolves or stays the same forever. I'm long out of brats, Zupps is calling...soon but not soon enough.

Me too. Where are you going this year?

Well said Swampturtle - permit bought and plans in process!

This makes me think of coming out of the BWCA hibernation I am in. Reading the posts on this board offer a temptation to come to, but this missing post may be the alarm clock needed to begin the process of getting ready again for sure. Count down to July 3 anyone?

quote SaganagaJoe: "Me too. Where are you going this year?"

Looks like ....Bottle portage to Iron & Crooked, not necessarily in that order.

Last trip was Nina moose up thru LLC, fish stake narrows to finger & down thru Gebe, Oyster....that loop. Was on Finger July 4th, beautiful site on the island facing the rock wall & cut...all to ourselves. First trip (6 years ago) was lake one to sawbill via the frost River, we didn't see another soul for a few days in the middle there till we hit Frost Lake.

I enjoy the solitude, but expect to see people, especially in the more popular areas. I want to see the waterfall & features & big water. Anything I shouldn't miss if heading up there?

Its cold and rainy outside...I wish I was in the warm sun paddling on a glass smooth lake....

quote TomT: "Excellent post. I miss the quiet. It's always a shock to my system spending my first night usually in a bunkhouse and noticing how still everything gets in the evening. Where I live there is always the distant hum of the traffic. Add the call of the loon to that stillness and you get magic.


"

Exactly well said.

I miss how the BWCA grounds my family. The kids seem to get along so much better and they talk about their trip all winter. I can't wait to get back

Oh my long lost thread..once again, I am going to experience the magic!

The chick-a-dees are talking here, but their voices are shrill & rushed around my soon to be empty feeder. The only loons are locals at the 7-11. The pine barren forest fills my nostrils with promise until I can travel to the land of the towering pines. Ronkonkoma, my home town & the largest kettle hole lake on Long Island, was once shared by tribes as a sacred water source. It is a soothing place to walk, dream of big water & imagine the elusive walleye swimming in the deep that are giants.

Got my permit for this year...6 glorious days traveling the Agnes-LLC-Oyster loop with a good soul I met on this site. Kanoes was right, the friendships along with the experiences are what make a trip enjoyable & memorable for me too. Although I never met him, I miss his posts, "Every step counts"...damn right Jan! You live on in everyone you helped along the way, thank you. I will forever be extra careful picking up firewood & grateful to you for sharing your painful tale.

At long last I will return to the beautiful Boundary Waters in Minnesota. It's been 2 years, seems to be my magic number. The time that has passed since my last trip has been filled with sadness & loss. I am determined to return to the place I fell in love with to heal my heart & soul. Ever since the first time my boots hit the water on lake One, so many years ago, I was hooked. Traveling by canoe over the endless lakes & rivers, topping impossible beaver dams & trudging thru the slick mud over portages to the ultimate destination...a simple campsite with a fire grate & biffy, seems like the edge of the world. Traversing where the voyageurs lugged their back breaking loads of pelts & supplies, stepping nimbly over thick roots where tribes made the first trails to get to their resources...I'm walking thru time & layers of history.

Planning a trip takes my mind away from the doldrums of the everyday. I've got the maps out, food prepped & gear ready. I have only 1 more package of Zupps smoked cheddar brats! I want a blueberry ale, cheese curds so hot they burn my mouth & that elusive walleye sandwich while my body & mind buzzes with anticipation of tomorrow's put in. Soon. In the meantime I am reading "A Year In The Wilderness" by Amy & Dave Freeman, so many great observations & fantastic pictures. Places I have enjoyed in the BW with what feels like my own familiar commentary.

I'll leave you with a snippet of a poem called "This Quiet Place" from the book by Jerry Vandiver, Eric Frost & Amy & Dave Freeman.

"The birch, cedar, white pine & spruce
That whisper a timeless chorus
With their deep and far-reaching roots
That echo the steps of all those before us"

I hope you all have joy in your lives, a canoe trip in your future & the BW in your heart. Peace.

Great post Swampturtle. I don't think that I had read it before but you nailed it.

Double double.

nice feel-good post! i miss it terribly some days. other days my ankles hurt so bad i can't imagine portaging!

I hope you have a good trip, swampturtle - there's a lot to see where you are going, and a lot of diversity. It was my first trip. Be sure to see the pictos on LLC.

What a great post! I live here, but your post helps remind me how lucky I am and why I should not take it for granted. Lots of other nice places too, but that does not make this one any less special. Sounds like you have another great trip planned. Enjoy!

boonie: "I hope you have a good trip, swampturtle - there's a lot to see where you are going, and a lot of diversity. It was my first trip. Be sure to see the pictos on LLC."

Thanks so much Boonie & all. I've done this loop...4 years ago & saw the amazing pictos & epic warrior hill on my way to Finger Lake, but my new tripmate has not been this way & I am excited to revisit it all again. We also couldn't find the pictos on Rocky the first time I went, it was raining & I don't believe we were in the right place (I believe they are midlake). Gebe alien chairs on the list too, maybe to have lunch, even though they are man-made. After reviewing those old growth maps, it makes sense now that the trees in this area seemed so lush & extra tall when I first traveled through. I've learned so much from the good people on this site, it helps my confidence & therefore my ability.

I miss all of the things you mentioned, plus- wolves howling, a smallmouth hurling itself out of the water to shake my hook, pushing myself to my limit and finding I still have more, the night sky in all it's glory and maybe most of all, no cell phones or computers.

I miss all of the things you mentioned, plus- the loons calling at night, wolves howling, a smallmouth hurling itself out of the water to shake my hook, pushing myself to my limit and finding I still have more, and the night sky in all it's glory.

We found the pictos on Rocky - just paddle down that side of the lake and watch the rocks. I don't remember from 2002 just how far or how high, but they are not pictures of animals/people/canoes like the other pictos - they are a small display of circles and bars grouped together.

After reading thru this thread I will say I miss Kanoes, his wisdom and his guidance on all things BWCA was something that should not be forgotten. REQUIEM aeternam dona ei , Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei . Requiescat in peace for in our hearts you live on....

boonie: "We found the pictos on Rocky - just paddle down that side of the lake and watch the rocks. I don't remember from 2002 just how far or how high, but they are not pictures of animals/people/canoes like the other pictos - they are a small display of circles and bars grouped together."

When he says bars, it's pictos of like the chain saw sister's. Haha.

nctry: "

boonie: "We found the pictos on Rocky - just paddle down that side of the lake and watch the rocks. I don't remember from 2002 just how far or how high, but they are not pictures of animals/people/canoes like the other pictos - they are a small display of circles and bars grouped together."

When he says bars, it's pictos of like the chain saw sister's. Haha."

Haha, thanks, those chicks must have been bada**es...I came out Mudro my last trip, but I was never at the BW when they were still operating.

I went ahead & checked the Rocky maps & pictures on this site, looked like bars, lines, a cross etc. Thanks for the chuckle.

I learned Latin in school, last class before they scrapped it, as hard as it was, I continue to find the "base" in other languages & scientific names and it has served me well throughout my life.

Dum spiro spero. Translates to "while I breath, I hope".