Zach (Indiana), Emily (New York) and myself left the Chicagoland area at 6am so we could pick up Nate in Janesville, WI by 7am.

Part of the Group

Once this was completed its pretty much a straight shot up to Superior, WI where we met up with Sara and Gerardo who were coming from Oshkosh, WI. We met at the Culvers for lunch, which is fast becoming a tradition for our trips to the BWCA. We had our canoe reservations through Latourell’s, however there was no room at the inn due to a blueberry festival in Ely, MN that weekend. So, we found and reserved a campsite at Fenske campground which was pretty nice albeit 40 mins from the outfitter…. it would be an early morning. On the way to Ely we traveled a route that took us through some of the burn area from last year’s fires that shut down the BWCA and canceled our trip. We arrived at Fenske campground about 3pm and set everything up and went back into Ely to explore and have dinner.

Burn area

Boathouse Brewpub & Restaurant

The campsite was a little small but we smashed our tents in the tent area and I hung my hammock off to the side since I don’t need level ground (big plus to hammock camping). No fire that night as we turned in early so we could get an early start tomorrow morning. Anticipation hung thick in the air as we disappeared one by one to our sleeping arraignments.

First Nights Accommodations

Heading North

Departed Danbury, WI about 3:00 PM with the canoe on top of the pop-up truck camper. The Warden forgot a rain jacket so we stopped at Wal-Mart in Superior, bought a jacket, 12 pack of MGD plastic bottles, chips and dip. We were on our way not knowing where we were going to spend the night.

I had been on a BWCA trip two years before with our PE teacher and six high school boys. I had never been on a trip liked that before. After the first night I didn’t think I would ever go back. It had something to do with the portage between Missing Link Lake and Tuscarora and the cold fronts passing through. But after 6 days of paddling, fishing, portaging and relaxing I made it a goal of mine to get the equipment and set up my own trips. It took two years of researching and buying equipment and asking a lot of questions before I was ready to plan my own trip. Beymer, Furtman, and Jacobson’s books were a super source of information. Being parents, teacher, school counselor, and coaches, my wife and I do not get the 3 month summer vacation like most people believe. Summer vacations need to be flexible. This type of vacation works well for us.

After stopping at Fallapart, we drove the North Shore. We thought about staying at Cascade State Park since they had plenty of sites but we wanted to hit Grand Marais and get some supper. On the edge of town we discovered the Municipal Campground. It was about 7 PM and for $25 we had a site on the lake. It seemed like a good deal. We set up the camper and then walked downtown for supper. I would not normally camp in town but this worked out well. We decided on supper at the Gunflint Café/Raven Bar. I had a pork Sandwich, Blue Chips, and Lake Superior Ale; the Warden had a Lake Trout Wrap, Blue Chips and Lemonade. The Warden didn’t like her sandwich so I traded and took one on the chin. The Pork sandwich was awesome. I picked up a Honey Cigar for the walk home even though I have not smoked a cigar in years. After walking off supper we were in bed by 10:30 PM. This turned out to be a quiet town with a relaxing atmosphere. Gas $2.81 in Two Harbors.

Lakes: Newfound, Moose Distance traveled: 2 miles

Packing up

We took our time today since we weren’t going as far so we fished along the way. We basically followed the US Canadian border the whole time with several smaller portages around smaller waterfalls and rapids, it was a beautiful day! Over the Big Knife Portage onto the Knife River also known as Seed Lake (no idea why, it’s just what the map says) to Melon Lake and then to Carp Lake. It was on one of these smaller portages that we found a pack that someone had left behind. We had a discussion on what to do, take it with us or leave it. We decided to leave it in case the person(s) who left it came back for it as we didn't know which direction the group was traveling. I am glad we did because we ran into the group a short while later that was coming back for it. Turns out they had to exit quickly because a member of their group broke their leg and they had taken him back out to civilization for treatment and were on there way back to continue and finish their trip, hopefully with no more incidents. It was also on one of these smaller portages where Sara would portage her first canoe. After a quick lesson she flipped the canoe onto her shoulders with a little help and off she went, no issues although she said she didn’t have to do it again unless she had to. Before to long we were on the portage from Carp Lake to Birch Lake. While on the portage we ran into another group that told us of the waterfall that needs to be looked at so we took the detour and did some sightseeing. Just a word of caution, just off the trail we took to see the waterfall, up in a tree was a pretty decent sized beehive (or hornet or something that stings, I didn’t stick around to find out) so watch out for that.

Waterfall

Back on the water we paddled down Birch Lake which actually turns out to be a really long lake. After we rounded the corner out of the area immediately after the portage we decided to start looking for a campsite as we noticed the canoe traffic starting to pick up again. We passed a couple of occupied sites and grabbed the first available one we happened upon.

The campsite # 1279. This site has a nice landing in a little bay (if you could even call it that) however it did have a slanted rock surface that was a little slippery which made things challenging. Once up in the site it sprawls out in all directions with tent pads spaced out decently including one just off the trail that leads west off the back off the site. It was like a little bedroom surrounded on the sides and top by forest with a window to the lake. There is an absolute awesome bear hang tree back behind the site (south) a little way, best bear hang tree I have ever encountered. It was a HUGE pine on a slope that had one branch parallel to the ground. If you stood up on the hill and threw your rope over said branch it was perfect! Our food was a good 20 feet off the ground but still at least 10 feet down from the branch and a good 20 feet off the tree!

Campsite # 1279

Since we were arrived so early there was plenty of time to explore, fish and just hang out. I really cherish these times. The conversation is easy and all manner of topics are discussed, heavy, light, serious, crazy, etc… I don’t remember any specific conversations at this campsite but we talked a lot. It makes one realize the distractions from technology in our everyday lives that prevent us connecting with each other on a more personal level. I always feel so refreshed after these trips. Throughout the afternoon some fish were caught and lures were lost. We had some rumbles of thunder but fortunately no storms materialized. We also had a really large rabbit frequent the area, scared several of as we tromped off to the latrine. The evening progressed, we had a fire and off to bed looking forward to another shorter day.

Lakes traveled: Big Knife, Knife River/Seed Lake, Melon, Carp, Birch Distance traveled: 6.5 miles

We were up around our usual time and started to break down camp to get a start on the day. I really enjoyed this site! Today’s goal was to get a site close to our exit point of Latourells. So we left around our usual time of 8:30am and went straight down Birch Lake to the portage to Sucker Lake. This was to be our last portage on the trip! Sometime over the last couple of days, I believe it was the night we stayed on Portage Lake, the wind switched from the north to west south west. And once again we were back to fighting the wind. As we got through the portage and caught a glimpse of Sucker Lake, white caps once again greeted us. Oh well, nothing we haven’t already done before. Bow into the waves and go!! It really wasn’t too bad as we battled across the open water towards the sheltered water of the opposite shore. There is really not much to tell about today’s travel as it was all paddling however we did pass some pretty nice campsites, at least they looked nice. But we wanted to get closer to make our final day easier. We ended up paddling through Sucker and onto Newfound Lake and took one of the campsites in the bay on the northern side of the lake. We arrived again before noon. I am starting to like these shorter days!!!

The campsite # 1311. This site has probably one of the easiest landings of any campsite in the BWCA. Shallow and an easy transition onto land. The site itself is on a slight incline with several flat tent pads and plenty of trees for hammocks. Once you get off the back of the site the landscape climbs at a pretty good clip with plenty of options for bear hang trees. The latrine was a way off up the hill in a little opening with lots of wildflowers that was pretty peaceful and warm if you visited during the time of day when the sun warmed the seat for you.

Once camp was set up, we had lunch and as the food was being pulled out Sara innocently asked if anyone wanted a cliff bar. What ensued was a good laugh as we estimated that Sara and Gerardo brought enough food for another 3-4 days and were carrying around all that extra weight. So we discussed how to meal plan for a wilderness trip so next time we would be lighter and more efficient. Although we were all thankful for the 3-ply toilet paper that Sara brought with and shared generously. That is a luxury item that may take up some space but is light and totally worth it! You don’t know what you don’t know until you know it. Every experience in life teaches us something to make us better educated on that topic.

We were also planning to have a fish fry later that evening so we were planning a concentrated effort at catching some fish. The only problem is all our leeches were gone at this point in the trip and I never really have had much success with artificial lures, in the BWCA or anywhere really. I believe we started fishing around 4:30pm, Zach and I were in one canoe and Nate and Gerardo were in the other. We fished for about 2 hrs and caught a bunch of smaller yet keeper sized smallmouth and northerns but with no way to communicate we ended up releasing all the fish because we didn’t think we had enough for a fish fry. Nate also lost a large Smallmouth at the canoe. Well…. It turned out that if everyone kept their keepers we would have had enough. Back to camp for more freeze-dried food and a campfire before turning in for the night.

Lakes: Birch, Sucker, Newfound Distance traveled: 5 miles

Lakes: Newfound, Moose Distance traveled: 2 miles

Conclusion With the conclusion of this trip, Nate and I surpassed 100 miles of canoe travel in the BWCA in 3 yrs. Thinking back to our first trip in 2019 that started out as a pipe dream has morphed into an annual event while introducing multiple first timers along the way. Every single trip has been a unique and challenging experience in and of itself. Each trip has presented unique challenges to solve and overcome allowing personal growth to become a better human. It doesn’t matter how far you go, where you go or who you go with. There is something really special about the true wilderness. In the wilderness, the quiet, the lack of distractions, the landscape with its raw beauty and subtleties that require your attention lest a lesson be learned through pain and suffering. These trips always leave me with a sense of accomplishment as well as a need for more. However, I think the days of pushing to do miles are behind me. The downside is I will need to take longer trips to get deeper into the BWCA where I enjoy the solitude and comradery experienced with family and friends. Next year’s trip will be shorter to allow more time for fishing! But that’s also what I said last year……