Friday, July 29, 2011

Hence & LT. Dan were up at first light this morning & immediately headed out fishing. I, for one, was in no such hurry. We had fresh blueberries! Certainly one of my favorite delights while in the BWCAW is the opportunity to eat fresh blueberry pancakes. Only Clay & I partake this morning, as Pam had already eaten some oatmeal & Jodi was still sleeping.

After breakfast it's already starting to get quite warm. Pam & Jodi decide to take a morning swim in an attempt to fend off the heat.

Meanwhile, Clay & I decide to head over to the Pine river to see if the blueberries are of the same caliber we found there last year.

As we approach the rapids running into Gneiss, we can barely make out a canoe at the top of the run. It's Hence & LT. Dan. We walk the Pearl up the rapids to where they have pulled off. We also determine that we could of easily run these rapids yesterday instead of taking the portage. We stop and chat with Hence & LT. and see that their efforts this morning have paid off. They have a handful of northerns on their stringer. We tell them our plans, and say we'll meet up with them at camp later.

As we make our way back to Clove lake it becomes obvious that all of the rapids we bypassed yesterday have sufficient flow to at least walk the canoes up or down.

We pass a canoe fishing where the Pine river washes out into Clove lake. The first other people we have seen today. The campsite nearest the portage into Pine river looks unoccupied but, there are 3 fishing poles sitting near the canoe landing. A large silver & orange spoon betrays there presence. Wonder if someone left them behind?

Larch creek water levels were very comparable to what we encountered last year when we entered there. So I am absolutely stunned when we get to the other end of the portage and see how much higher than water is here. We were literally able to walk out a few hundred extra yards before running into water here last year. And it will be a grueling bushwhack to get to the spot where we picked berries last year without the canoe. Time for plan B......again.[paragraph break]

We decide to walk the shoreline, and it isn't just too long before we hit paydirt.

We find an abundance of tempting bushes, and pick until our backs and knees start telling us it's quittin' time.

Heading back, just after the portage out of the north end of Clove lake is a nice sheer cliff on the U.S. side that rises 20 - 25 feet. There are a couple canoes there and some kids are jumping into the water. I think the lightbulbs above our heads went off at about the same time? We'd be back tomorrow with Hence & Jodi to try this out for ourselves.

We only did Swamp portage and the one right after it on the way back. Otherwise we walked the Pearl down the one out of Clove, and actually ran the rest without incident all the way back to Gneiss.

There is clear, undeniable evidence of the burn all the way back to Clove and Larch lakes. But once you portage north out of Clove.....the scope and magnitude of the damage the fire did really starts to hit home. Once on Gneiss it seems like something out of a science fiction movie. Surreal. And with all of the exposed rock, it becomes very obvious why it's called the "granite" river. But, for me, once my senses are adjusted and become acclimated to the starkness of the landscape. It seems to have a uniqueness and beauty all it's own.

Back at camp we returned just as LT. was cleaning fish. He had some eager spectators nearby waiting patiently for the spoils of his efforts.

Soon they were satisfied as LT. began frying up His & Hences' catch for the day.

After eating, LT. spent a good deal of time with Wilson. I'm not sure what they were talking about? But whatever it was, it must've been exhausting as LT. headed for his favorite hang out after having a lengthy discussion with Wilson.

Afterwards LT. asked if we noticed that any sites on Clove were open. He wanted to move. This was completely baffling to me. Having been to this area the last couple of years I could say was a high degree of confidence that we were already at the best campsite from Devils elbow all the way to the 2 southerly EP's that serve this immediate region. Never did get a responce on why he wanted to move. I just figured Wilson was doin' the talkin'?

I had done a fair amount of reading this past winter. Most of the books dealt with the Voyageurs & their routes. While the Voyageurs certainly covered many lakes, I think here along the Granite river and the narrows between some of these lakes is where a person can achieve the greatest sense of intimacy with the route the Voyageurs of long ago took. It's all but certain we were stepping on some of the very same rocks along the rapids and narrow sections. In fact some of the most productive finds the archealogical dives of the 60's & 70's were right here along the Granite river. "Voices from the rapids" does an excellent job of chronicaling those dives.

While sitting around at camp it didn't take much imagination on my part to envision them cruising by with a birch bark canoe full of goods. Or how quickly they would do the portages with ridiculously larger loads. I wondered how the landscape looked back then. How, perhaps, the route was different with respects to water levels? Trading rum to the Indians for wild rice, bluebrries, & "bustards" (Canadien geese). Along with virtually any wild game they could get their hands on. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I had a new sense of appreciation & understanding for this beautiful & historic area on our visit.

Weather wise this day was almost a carbon copy of the previous. We had few problems with bugs & mosquitos yesterday. So we expected the evening"bite" to be similar as well. But, when evening fell and the harrowing drone of mosquitos overtook us, we were a bit surprised. For the most part, if you had repellent on they didn't bite. But the incessant buzzing was approaching madness. Hence was a bit bolder than the rest of us. Braving the onslaught shirtless. After all was said and done, everyone retreated to their tents prematurely.

Gneiss Lake, Clove Lake