BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
September 13 2025
Entry Point 27 - Snowbank Lake
Snowbank Lake entry point allows overnight paddle or motor (25 HP max). This entry point is supported by Kawishiwi Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 24 miles. Access is a boat landing or canoe launch at Snowbank Lake. Many trip options for paddlers. This area was affected by blowdown in 1999.
Number of Permits per Day: 8
Elevation: 1191 feet
Latitude: 47.9716
Longitude: -91.4326
Snowbank Lake - 27
Number of Permits per Day: 8
Elevation: 1191 feet
Latitude: 47.9716
Longitude: -91.4326
Snowbank Lake - 27
Making Memories at a Milestone- EP 27 Solo Loop
by naturboy12
Trip Report
Entry Date:
September 03, 2025
Entry Point:
Snowbank Lake
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
1
Trip Introduction:
I turned 50 just two days before entering the BWCA but had started planning this trip a few months back, looking for something a bit different for this visit. This solo was meant to "break the mold" for me, with a more challenging route that would require daily movement to complete. I purposely did not do much research on this loop before I left (other than estimated daily travel times) as I wanted to explore this area "on the fly". A loop of 37 unique lakes, none of which I had ever visited before, lie before me on the map.
A few tips and pointers, along with a compass, map, some extra weather related gear and a determined attitude saw me through some cold weather, lots of wind and rain and a whole mess of portages that I wasn't entirely sure how they would play out. The end result was a trip I won't soon forget, perhaps my favorite excursion yet into this canoeing wilderness. To add to the milestone memories, my car hit 200K miles on the way home as well, opening the debate of whether I or the vehicle will be the first to no longer make trips to the BW.
Day 1 of 7
Wednesday, September 03, 2025[paragraph break] After a day filled with construction zones seemingly stretching every mile along my route through WI and MN and arriving to Ely on a sunny and pleasant early September day with temps in the mid 70's, I now find myself standing at the entry point, looking out to a dreary, windy and rainy Snowbank Lake. 
The temps had dropped 30 degrees overnight and today was to the warmest day of the next three. Oh joy. My trek across Snowbank lake to Boot Lake was quite unenjoyable and as soon as I reached the end of Harri Island, I was greeted with the whitecaps I had hoped to avoid with my 7 AM start time. Not to be dismayed, I pointed the bow of my Northstar Solo N/NW into the wind and pushed ever so slowly towards Three Sisters Islands, then up near Half Burnt Island, before turning east and quartering the now smaller waves of Snowbank's north end all the way to the portage. 
Now that I was already an hour behind the pace I hoped to set, I knew this was going to be a long day. I caught a couple bass on Boot Lake just to break up the paddling and saw quite a bit of wildlife on that lake- loons, trumpeter swans, great blue herons, mergansers and a solitary bad eagle. Even little Boot Lake had occasional whitecaps, and the rain was now coming at me in sheets, not really the ideal start to a week long visit to the BW. I otherwise passed as quickly as possible through Boot, into Ensign and then across my last portage of the day into Vera. I had hoped to make it to Missionary Lake today, but after 6 hours of fighting the wind and rain (which had now stopped), I took site #1243 on the NE portion of the lake and started the process of setting up camp. [paragraph break]The rest of the day on Vera was quite enjoyable, light sprinkles came and went a few times and the winds calmed down until after midnight when they again kicked back up. 
I did a little fishing (no luck), gathered what little dry firewood I could find, took a much needed late afternoon nap and started reading my book for the trip- The Lure of the Labrador Wild (highly recommended). Some of the best pictures from this trip came during that afternoon and evening on Vera, including a long look at the soon to be full moon rising directly south across the lake from me later that evening. 
The misery of the early 1/2 of the day was easily washed away! Listening to the weather radio before bed that night, I discovered there was a frost advisory for that night, with forecasted temps expected to hit the low 30's. Little did I know at that time that the same advisory would take place the next 3 nights as well. I was ready though, with my rain tarp pulled in tightly around my hammock, my underquilt securely in place and a bevy of cold weather sleeping gear at my disposal. To be honest, I never noticed the cold during any of the nights on this trip, although I was always extremely careful to keep that sleeping setup dry, as without it I would have been in serious trouble. [paragraph break] 
Lakes traveled: Snowbank, Boot, Ensign, Vera.
The temps had dropped 30 degrees overnight and today was to the warmest day of the next three. Oh joy. My trek across Snowbank lake to Boot Lake was quite unenjoyable and as soon as I reached the end of Harri Island, I was greeted with the whitecaps I had hoped to avoid with my 7 AM start time. Not to be dismayed, I pointed the bow of my Northstar Solo N/NW into the wind and pushed ever so slowly towards Three Sisters Islands, then up near Half Burnt Island, before turning east and quartering the now smaller waves of Snowbank's north end all the way to the portage. Now that I was already an hour behind the pace I hoped to set, I knew this was going to be a long day. I caught a couple bass on Boot Lake just to break up the paddling and saw quite a bit of wildlife on that lake- loons, trumpeter swans, great blue herons, mergansers and a solitary bad eagle. Even little Boot Lake had occasional whitecaps, and the rain was now coming at me in sheets, not really the ideal start to a week long visit to the BW. I otherwise passed as quickly as possible through Boot, into Ensign and then across my last portage of the day into Vera. I had hoped to make it to Missionary Lake today, but after 6 hours of fighting the wind and rain (which had now stopped), I took site #1243 on the NE portion of the lake and started the process of setting up camp. [paragraph break]The rest of the day on Vera was quite enjoyable, light sprinkles came and went a few times and the winds calmed down until after midnight when they again kicked back up. I did a little fishing (no luck), gathered what little dry firewood I could find, took a much needed late afternoon nap and started reading my book for the trip- The Lure of the Labrador Wild (highly recommended). Some of the best pictures from this trip came during that afternoon and evening on Vera, including a long look at the soon to be full moon rising directly south across the lake from me later that evening. The misery of the early 1/2 of the day was easily washed away! Listening to the weather radio before bed that night, I discovered there was a frost advisory for that night, with forecasted temps expected to hit the low 30's. Little did I know at that time that the same advisory would take place the next 3 nights as well. I was ready though, with my rain tarp pulled in tightly around my hammock, my underquilt securely in place and a bevy of cold weather sleeping gear at my disposal. To be honest, I never noticed the cold during any of the nights on this trip, although I was always extremely careful to keep that sleeping setup dry, as without it I would have been in serious trouble. [paragraph break] Lakes traveled: Snowbank, Boot, Ensign, Vera.
Day 2 of 7
Thursday, September 04, 2025[paragraph break] As expected, waking up to 32-34 degrees made for a chilly morning, but at least there was no frost, likely due to the already somewhat windy morning. I have no idea what the wind chill was, but I was not a fan. My goal was to make up the hour of travel time I had lost yesterday and make it all the way to Wisini as I had originally planned for day 2. Crossing Kekakabic was the only real challenge of the day, other than reminding my legs to keep moving on the portages, but by zig-zagging back and forth into the waves and then letting them push me forward, I was able to keep my canoe steady. Other than on Kekekabic, I did not see a single occupied campsite during my travels this day. Mission finally accomplished 6 plus hours later (only thanks to a pretty good tailwind) when I arrived on the Wisini wind tunnel exhausted. 
Temps stayed in the mid-40's all day and while the winds did settle down a bit in the early evening for a couple hours, they renewed their vigor again after dinner. Perhaps choosing the cliff campsite that faced directly into the winds wasn't my smartest choice, but it was too unique of a site to pass and I made due. Getting the canoe up into the site that sits well over 20ft above the water (there is no canoe landing available whatsoever, so this is the only choice) was a bit of a challenge in the wind, but the views from the surrounding cliffs were amazing and the sidewalk like rocks lining the top of the cliffs were quite enjoyable to explore. I did not have a fire that night due to the winds, but I did a lot of climbing, exploring, wood gathering and firewood processing just to keep myself warm. Bonus for the next visitor I guess! 
Lakes traveled- Vera, Trader, Missionary, Skoota, Dix, Spoon, Pickle, Kekakabic, Strup, Wisini
Temps stayed in the mid-40's all day and while the winds did settle down a bit in the early evening for a couple hours, they renewed their vigor again after dinner. Perhaps choosing the cliff campsite that faced directly into the winds wasn't my smartest choice, but it was too unique of a site to pass and I made due. Getting the canoe up into the site that sits well over 20ft above the water (there is no canoe landing available whatsoever, so this is the only choice) was a bit of a challenge in the wind, but the views from the surrounding cliffs were amazing and the sidewalk like rocks lining the top of the cliffs were quite enjoyable to explore. I did not have a fire that night due to the winds, but I did a lot of climbing, exploring, wood gathering and firewood processing just to keep myself warm. Bonus for the next visitor I guess! Lakes traveled- Vera, Trader, Missionary, Skoota, Dix, Spoon, Pickle, Kekakabic, Strup, Wisini
Day 3 of 7
Friday, September 05, 2025[paragraph break] Guess what's back? Yep, its the wind, already gusting over 20mph at 5:00 AM when I wake up in my hammock and start the process of changing out of my warm and dry sleeping gear and back into my wet portage gear. I slip on my portage shoes (I wet-foot, even in this weather) knowing I only have so much time before I need to change out of this uncomfortably cold gear and get warm. Two last minute grabs from my car have proven invaluable these last 2 days- my salt life hoodie sweathshirt and a pair of gloves left under a seat in my car from early this past spring. I used them both when they would stay dry around camp and would have been quite uncomfortable without them. 
An intermittent rain fell throughout the morning and afternoon hours and the thick brush along these seldom used portages was literally dripping with rain and the only choice was to walk through it. I didn't notice the coldness on the first few lakes, but by the time I was in the home stretch to my site for the day, I was cold, soaked to the bone in mid 40's temperatures and in a generally miserable mood, a fine recipe for hypothermia if I wasn't careful. My biggest challenge for the day included paddling right past the portage from Roe into Cap, then ending up in a nasty, thick, boggy area with narrow paths leading every direction. To turn around from this, I had to get out of the canoe and into the muck, which is about as fun as it sounds in those conditions. Another challenge arose between Cap and Boulder, where you have multiple options to go, all fraught with challenges thanks the ever industrious beavers in the area. I made a few bad choices, but pushed through them (literally) to right the path. [paragraph break]Eventually reaching Boulder Lake, I see my first "beautiful" lake of this portion and instantly wish A) that is wasn't so cold and still raining and B) that I could spend more time than the afternoon/evening I have slotted for this lake. But alas, the plan must be seen though, and I make the most of my short time here. The site faces S/SE and is thus mostly spared from the wind. Firewood is plentiful on this island (likely due to the rugged routes required to reach it keeping visitation low), but of course its all wet from the day's rains. I find enough to keep a fire going for about an hour and get to sleep through my first non-rainy night of the trip. 
Lakes traveled- Wisini, Ahmakose, Gerund, Fraser, Shepo, Sagus, Roe, Cap, Boulder
An intermittent rain fell throughout the morning and afternoon hours and the thick brush along these seldom used portages was literally dripping with rain and the only choice was to walk through it. I didn't notice the coldness on the first few lakes, but by the time I was in the home stretch to my site for the day, I was cold, soaked to the bone in mid 40's temperatures and in a generally miserable mood, a fine recipe for hypothermia if I wasn't careful. My biggest challenge for the day included paddling right past the portage from Roe into Cap, then ending up in a nasty, thick, boggy area with narrow paths leading every direction. To turn around from this, I had to get out of the canoe and into the muck, which is about as fun as it sounds in those conditions. Another challenge arose between Cap and Boulder, where you have multiple options to go, all fraught with challenges thanks the ever industrious beavers in the area. I made a few bad choices, but pushed through them (literally) to right the path. [paragraph break]Eventually reaching Boulder Lake, I see my first "beautiful" lake of this portion and instantly wish A) that is wasn't so cold and still raining and B) that I could spend more time than the afternoon/evening I have slotted for this lake. But alas, the plan must be seen though, and I make the most of my short time here. The site faces S/SE and is thus mostly spared from the wind. Firewood is plentiful on this island (likely due to the rugged routes required to reach it keeping visitation low), but of course its all wet from the day's rains. I find enough to keep a fire going for about an hour and get to sleep through my first non-rainy night of the trip. Lakes traveled- Wisini, Ahmakose, Gerund, Fraser, Shepo, Sagus, Roe, Cap, Boulder
Day 4 of 7
Saturday, September 06, 2025[paragraph break] Another frost advisory overnight, yet another morning waking up snug and warm in my Ridgerunner Hammock. Temperatures are supposed to move into the mid 50's today, which will feel like a heat wave when it happens. Getting from Boulder Lake to Adams lake proved quite challenging, as both paper maps show 2 portages (one in the 40/50 rod range and one in the 10/12 rod range), but neither of these are correct. Online maps show differently (and are much more accurate in this case), but with no knowledge of that at the time, I just followed the route others have used as best as I could, did a few beaver dam pullovers, and made it through. The area between the stream leading into the north end of Adams and Adams Lake itself would have been a terrible slog in low water conditions, which I was very happy was not the case on this trip. There is supposed to be a portage somewhere in that area, but I could find no sign of it. 
Adams Lake, just as Boulder before it, left me wishing I had left more time for exploration and enjoyment along this route. Making my way though the northern portions of the Kawishiwi River, I spot and the first humans I have seen in nearly 48 hours, marking my return to a bit more popular route. I fish my way down the Kawishiwi River without luck, but I do get to see 3 very playful but nervous otters, bobbing up and down from under the water as though they were playing a game of visual whack-a-mole with me in my canoe, less than 30 feet away. [paragraph break]Uncharacteristically, I somehow completely forget about the Fishdance pictographs as they are off the bottom of my map (and thus out of mind) and make the turn west towards Alice Lake without heading south to see them first. That's ok, I now have a tangible reason to return to this route again in the future.[paragraph break] At this point, i make what to some may seem an irresponsible choice. I ignore the portages into Alice Lake, choosing instead to pick my way through each of the 3 rapids in order to fish the bottom of each. It's slow, wet getting in and out in the middle of the rapids, and definitely gave my Northstar Solo more than its share of character scratches, but it was so much fun! I did almost dump sideways once, but even that was somewhat exhilarating and taught me some good lessons for future attempts. Fishing below the rapids was a very good choice, as it seemed to the the only place the smallmouth bass were active. I landed a nice 18 1/2" bass and a few smaller ones as well and lost what was definitely the largest SMB I have ever seen. It jumped twice within just a few feet of my canoe and was nearly in my net when it gave one last effort to escape and did just that. I've personally measured 20" smallmouth before, and this made those fish seem small. My best estimate is that is was somewhere near 22", but I'll never know for sure. The image has been inscribed in my mind though and was a definite highlight of this whole trip. [paragraph break]I ended up taking the second site on the east shore as I entered Alice Lake, as the rest of the lake was fully whitecapped and unsuitable for travel at that point of my day with my current energy level. The site was catching a lot of wind, but I found a way to arrange my tarp that I didn't even notice it while inside. Despite the warmer temps, the evening still feels cool and damp and a heavy 30 minute rain forces me temporarily under cover just before dinner time. Clearing skies soon followed and I was treated to the best sunset views of the entire trip. 
Note to others- this camp site is completely overrun with mice and I could hear them all night climbing on my stuff under the hammock. Two of them even managed to crawl inside the "dirty" bag for my gravity filter and die there in the cold overnight (GROSS!), so I had to wash that out very well in the morning in order to still use it. If you stay here, make sure your gear is secured from these mini-bears. [paragraph break]
Adams Lake, just as Boulder before it, left me wishing I had left more time for exploration and enjoyment along this route. Making my way though the northern portions of the Kawishiwi River, I spot and the first humans I have seen in nearly 48 hours, marking my return to a bit more popular route. I fish my way down the Kawishiwi River without luck, but I do get to see 3 very playful but nervous otters, bobbing up and down from under the water as though they were playing a game of visual whack-a-mole with me in my canoe, less than 30 feet away. [paragraph break]Uncharacteristically, I somehow completely forget about the Fishdance pictographs as they are off the bottom of my map (and thus out of mind) and make the turn west towards Alice Lake without heading south to see them first. That's ok, I now have a tangible reason to return to this route again in the future.[paragraph break] At this point, i make what to some may seem an irresponsible choice. I ignore the portages into Alice Lake, choosing instead to pick my way through each of the 3 rapids in order to fish the bottom of each. It's slow, wet getting in and out in the middle of the rapids, and definitely gave my Northstar Solo more than its share of character scratches, but it was so much fun! I did almost dump sideways once, but even that was somewhat exhilarating and taught me some good lessons for future attempts. Fishing below the rapids was a very good choice, as it seemed to the the only place the smallmouth bass were active. I landed a nice 18 1/2" bass and a few smaller ones as well and lost what was definitely the largest SMB I have ever seen. It jumped twice within just a few feet of my canoe and was nearly in my net when it gave one last effort to escape and did just that. I've personally measured 20" smallmouth before, and this made those fish seem small. My best estimate is that is was somewhere near 22", but I'll never know for sure. The image has been inscribed in my mind though and was a definite highlight of this whole trip. [paragraph break]I ended up taking the second site on the east shore as I entered Alice Lake, as the rest of the lake was fully whitecapped and unsuitable for travel at that point of my day with my current energy level. The site was catching a lot of wind, but I found a way to arrange my tarp that I didn't even notice it while inside. Despite the warmer temps, the evening still feels cool and damp and a heavy 30 minute rain forces me temporarily under cover just before dinner time. Clearing skies soon followed and I was treated to the best sunset views of the entire trip. Note to others- this camp site is completely overrun with mice and I could hear them all night climbing on my stuff under the hammock. Two of them even managed to crawl inside the "dirty" bag for my gravity filter and die there in the cold overnight (GROSS!), so I had to wash that out very well in the morning in order to still use it. If you stay here, make sure your gear is secured from these mini-bears. [paragraph break] Lakes traveled- Boulder, Adams, Beaver, Kawishiwi River, River, Fishdance, Alice
Day 5 of 7
Sunday, September 07, 2025[paragraph break]Finally, a night that the temps "only" got down into the upper 30's! I went back to the rapids in the early morning as soon as I woke, but only one 12" SMB had any interest today, so I headed back to camp, made breakfast and packed up to head north. My trip through Alice was slow with a north wind in my face, but I knew today was a short travel day and didn't mind. The long skinny arm of Alice was more like paddling a remote river and passed quickly. Cacabic was mostly lily pad covered, but was a pretty stopover point before hitting the bigger waters on Thomas. The portage between Cacabic and Thomas again decided to throw a curveball at me. There are 2 sections that are completely underwater, flooded between knee and upper-thigh deep. I did not take the time to float these, instead slowly walking through with my gear. The bottom is hard packed, so as long as you avoid the larger rocks and logs, it's not a bad walk, just cold. 
As soon as I reached Thomas, i started the search for an open campsite. The first 3 I checked were full and the next 2 I checked were not something I wanted to use, so I settled on what turned out to be a great site on a point just outside the bay that leads to Kiana Lake (site 1391). When the sun finally came out just before lunch, it was the first time on the entire trip that I truly felt warm while outside, and temps pushed up near 60 that afternoon. I did try some early afternoon trolling in the areas south and east of my site, but despite over 60 gulls hanging out in that area consistently grabbing bait fish off the surface, I had no luck. 
Around 3:00 the clouds returned, and shortly after I headed back out to the lake, trolling an almost 4 mile route E/NE from my site until I finally hooked into a nice fish- a 26" lake trout, my first ever in the Boundary Waters. I photographed and quickly released the fish to the depths and returned to my camp elated at the experience. 
Bucket list item finally checked off after many many previous failed attempts over the last few years! I finished the day with a nice campfire and a beautiful view of the now full moon. What an end to an ideal September day in the Boundary Waters! 
Lakes traveled- Alice, Cacabic, Thomas
As soon as I reached Thomas, i started the search for an open campsite. The first 3 I checked were full and the next 2 I checked were not something I wanted to use, so I settled on what turned out to be a great site on a point just outside the bay that leads to Kiana Lake (site 1391). When the sun finally came out just before lunch, it was the first time on the entire trip that I truly felt warm while outside, and temps pushed up near 60 that afternoon. I did try some early afternoon trolling in the areas south and east of my site, but despite over 60 gulls hanging out in that area consistently grabbing bait fish off the surface, I had no luck. Around 3:00 the clouds returned, and shortly after I headed back out to the lake, trolling an almost 4 mile route E/NE from my site until I finally hooked into a nice fish- a 26" lake trout, my first ever in the Boundary Waters. I photographed and quickly released the fish to the depths and returned to my camp elated at the experience. Bucket list item finally checked off after many many previous failed attempts over the last few years! I finished the day with a nice campfire and a beautiful view of the now full moon. What an end to an ideal September day in the Boundary Waters! Lakes traveled- Alice, Cacabic, Thomas
Day 6 of 7
Monday, September 08, 2025[paragraph break] With much more "normal" temperatures and aided by a slight breeze from the south, I wake and pack quickly this morning, knowing I have another lengthy journey ahead of me today. I pass through the northern sections of Thomas Lake quickly, landing at the first portage only to catch site of a small black bear. The bear moves from a small stream out of sight, but directly towards the short portage trail. I know if I don't see it cross the trail, it will likely be a bit too close for comfort, so I unload my boat loudly and watch. Nothing. Then I hear the bear moving directly towards me, close enough to see tree branches moving. I slap my paddle on the ground and that gets his attention. The bear bolts from the brush 10 yards from me, heading perpendicular to the portage trail and crosses in plan view not 15 yards away. It wasn't a big bear, but I'm glad it eventually dropped its curiosity and decided to clear out of my path. 
The rest of my travel that morning is much less exciting, although I do get to chat with people from 2 larger groups, one on Jitterbug and one on Ahsub. Hopefully you all had wonderful trips! 
By the time i get to Disappointment Lake, the light south breeze had become quite steady, around 10 mph with higher gusts, so travelling south is slow going. I pass a couple occupied sites and choose the first open one I find, site #1385, which is mid-lake on the north shore and completely exposed to the current wind conditions. Oh well, I don't want to push my luck and head to Parent Lake as I have already seen the other 2 sites in this area are full, so I call it mine for the night. I have the site set up by 1:00 PM and after eating lunch, I take a short nap. I wake up to see a big storm front setting up to the south and flip on the weather radio. Thunderstorms incoming! It rains heavily from around 3:30-7:00, with frequent lightning including one strike that was a bit too close for comfort, practically blowing out my ears in the process. 
Thankfully this is my last night in the BW, because the heavy rains created a mini-flood under my hammock and my ground tarp pooled much of that water among my gear (dumb mistake). With the winds now completely gone, I had enough time to get out of the tarp for a while, clean up my poor gear storage choices and eat dinner, all while prepping for an early morning exit. Rains returned about 9:00 PM, but just light and steady this time, helping to put me to sleep. [paragraph break]
The rest of my travel that morning is much less exciting, although I do get to chat with people from 2 larger groups, one on Jitterbug and one on Ahsub. Hopefully you all had wonderful trips! By the time i get to Disappointment Lake, the light south breeze had become quite steady, around 10 mph with higher gusts, so travelling south is slow going. I pass a couple occupied sites and choose the first open one I find, site #1385, which is mid-lake on the north shore and completely exposed to the current wind conditions. Oh well, I don't want to push my luck and head to Parent Lake as I have already seen the other 2 sites in this area are full, so I call it mine for the night. I have the site set up by 1:00 PM and after eating lunch, I take a short nap. I wake up to see a big storm front setting up to the south and flip on the weather radio. Thunderstorms incoming! It rains heavily from around 3:30-7:00, with frequent lightning including one strike that was a bit too close for comfort, practically blowing out my ears in the process. Thankfully this is my last night in the BW, because the heavy rains created a mini-flood under my hammock and my ground tarp pooled much of that water among my gear (dumb mistake). With the winds now completely gone, I had enough time to get out of the tarp for a while, clean up my poor gear storage choices and eat dinner, all while prepping for an early morning exit. Rains returned about 9:00 PM, but just light and steady this time, helping to put me to sleep. [paragraph break] Lakes traveled- Thomas, Hatchet, Ima, Jordan, Cattyman, Adventure, Jitterbug, Ahsub, Disappointment
Day 7 of 7
Tuesday, September 09, 2025 On this final morning the wake-up temperatures were actually higher than the best temperatures I had on my first 4 days, spurring the last remaining mosquitoes into action. In order to escape their kamikaze efforts, I was on the glassy waters of Disappointment Lake less than 1 hour after waking up. The only sounds of the morning are my paddle dipping in the water and the canoe gently gliding across the lake. An occasional "quark" from an overhead raven and a final send-off from a loon near the portage into Parent Lake completed my journey through Disappointment. [paragraph break]On the portage to Parent Lake, I'm greeted by the distant hum of a motor boat cruising across nearby Snowbank Lake, a gentle reminder of my impending return to a world of hustle and bustle, where taking time for reflection often means nothing more than a quick glance in the mirror. This quick glance does nothing to address the uncertainties present in an every changing world that I understand less and less with each passing day. This is precisely why I come to the Boundary Waters- to remind myself to slow down, breathe in life deeply, enjoy every last moment and allow much needed reflection and introspection to happen unhindered. [paragraph break]Despite the cold and the wind, this has been one of my most memorable trips to date. Perhaps it was turning 50, starting a new job in the last couple months after 21 years of doing what I truly loved, or seeing my youngest child heading into his senior year of high school. Whatever it was, it all hit me at once as I exited. I was fully overcome with emotions and had to recompose myself before finishing the last leg of my final portage. I had a good solid wilderness cry, something my soul apparently desperately needed and something I am not uncomfortable allowing to happen. The ultimate message shines through afterwards- I can't wait to return home to my family! [paragraph break]
Lakes traveled- Disappointment, Parent, Snowbank [paragraph break] Trip distance estimates including double portages, not including fishing and exploring- 48 miles paddling, 24 miles portaging
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