Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Some KEKEKABIC & a bit of JASPER with a CHERRY on top
by TuscaroraBorealis

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 05/29/2010
Entry Point: Saganaga Lake (EP 55)
Exit Point: Seagull Lake (EP 54)  
Number of Days: 10
Group Size: 2
Trip Introduction:
This would be my girlfriend Vickies' 1st trip into the wilderness. She had experience camping. But nothing quite like this, what with the portaging & being a long ways from civilization. Needless to say, I was a bit concerned about the outcome of this trip & how we would interact etc. Looking back, perhaps this route may have been a little too aggressive for a 1st timer? I figured if we got through the first day the rest would be all downhill. Much to my relief, everything worked out in fine fashion. The plan going in was to get a tow across Saganaga then head for Cherry lake for a few nights, then Kekekabic & then finish up on Ogishkemuncie before heading out through Seagull.
Day 1 of 10
Friday, May 28, 2010 We got up fairly early, double checked that we had everything, and were northbound before 8. It wasn't too far out of the way, so we stopped in to visit my parents on the way up. They still live on Lake Esquagamah in Biwabik township where I grew up with my brothers & sister. A side bonus of this visit was the fact that we avoided Duluth & all the road construction there. We took St. Louis county road 16 east which, at the county line, turns into Lake county 15. Eventually connecting with state highway 1 then finally 61.

I always enjoy turning up the Gunflint Trail. Gives me the "we're gettin' close now" feeling. There are some spots along the way that are interesting to see the green underbrush contrasting with the charred pillars left behind from the fire. It was still before 5 when we pulled into Tuscarora outfitters on Round lake. We watched the video picked up our permit and settled into our bunkhouse. After settling up with Sue, we decided to head out to sightsee a bit & go grab a bite to eat at Trail Center. I had the Bull Moose burger which sure was tasty.


We drove around stopping at various lake accesses (Gunflint, Seagull, Gull) just seeing what there was to see. I did a solo trip out of Round lake last year in May and couldn't help but notice how drastically much lower the Cross river is. Driving up the gravel road to Tuscarora also produced an inordinate amount of dust for driving so slowly.


Back at our bunkhouse a grouse flew under a nearby spruce tree & entertained us for a while. Later, we walked down to the dock and just enjoyed what was left of the daylight hours.