We were up early excited about our trip. My wife made us a nice breakfast. The car was packed the night before so we needed to only grab the stuff from the freezer and refrigerator. We hit the road at 8:15 a.m.

We traveled up the Wisconsin side (HWY 53). It was a hot day, well over 90, but still the ride was enjoyable. Two hundred sixty miles later, at about 12:45 p.m., we pulled into Duluth and headed for the Lake area. We visited the Duluth Pack store and had lunch at Little Angie’s Cantina. The weather was very pleasant here from the breeze and lake effect cooling. Very pleasant indeed.

We continued on arriving in Ely at 4:30 p.m. Not bad at all – 8 hours and 15 minutes and that included a quick break the Northern Wisconsin Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery Wayside, an extended lunch stop in Duluth, and a gas stop. The Blueberry Festival had just ended in Ely a half hour before. The street was crowded with vendors dismantling their booths.

We checked in at VNO; got our permit; dropped off our stuff in the bunkhouse; and went to the Ely Steakhouse for supper. It reminded Julie and I of a Supper Club. Even though she now lives in Illinois and I live in Minnesota, we both were born and raised in Wisconsin, and therefore are experts in Supper Clubs and those things associated with them such as brandy old fashion sweets, euchre nights, and smelt frys. Julie and I never run out of things to talk about.

Julie loves the bunkhouse at VNO. She’s been in many of them, but VNO is the best. She is totally impressed that sheets and blankets are supplied as well as cable TV. We watch the weather and find that we are in for a very hot day tomorrow – 100 degrees!!! 

Monday, August 12, 2019 Stew commented that we should have planned this trip to have 1 day of bushwhacking, 1 day of rest. But alas, onward we had to push. Portaged to Din was quick...less than 30 minutes. Waterway from Din to Mass was completely blocked with plants/trees but it was a quick lift over the rocky point.

Notes I had read before the trip mentioned portaging through the marshy area from Mass to Ell. We didn't feel that would have been the most logical route. We opted to make our way through the woods which are relatively open in that area. We checked out a number of start points before settling on a likely route. We used the same team work approach that had worked yesterday. Stew and Joey scouted a route, selecting good staging points along the way. Then I carried each canoe through with a pack carrier acting as a guide so I didn't miss any turns. The route was not muddy...there were slippery rocks and some weird holes in places and plenty of tight squeezes between trees with the canoes. The sound of gunwales squealing as dragged through the trees echoes through my brain.

Doing this type of portaging, you get really good at using every tool. I rarely had both hands resting on the canoe gunwales as I walked. Instead, my hands would reach out for trees to steady myself as I balanced on rocks or to pull myself up a big step up. I spent a lot of time clambering over downed logs that were waist high thinking how glad I was our canoes were both very well balanced.

After three legs of this bushwhack, we all walked to Ell to refill water bottles and have lunch. We had 2 more staging points planned, but then Joey left lunch early and brought the "beast" pack to the end in one stage. While he collapsed at the end to rest, Stew, Jose, and I went back for the canoes. I carried the heavier and wider canoe while Jose carried the yellow pack and Stew acted as my guide. I had my first dropped canoe for the trip just as we started out. Stepped wrong, canoe went on wrong side of a tree. When I took a step backward, the canoe slammed into the side of a tree and just got knocked right off my shoulders quick as could be. Fortunately no harm done. I got good at fancy footwork and at tilting the canoe sideways to fit through some spots but I made it to the end in a single stage.

It was a hot afternoon so I wetted my head buff and neckerchief and headed off for the other canoe. We had found by this point in the trip that my short, squat body was best suited for the canoe carrying. My husband had discovered that his hips weren't flexible enough to clamber over downed trees like I could and his height was a distinct disadvantage with all the low tree branches. Fortunately, carrying the canoe puts me in my happy place and I could do it all day long.

Since it was 4pm by the time we reached Ell Lake with all the gear and we were facing another unknown bushwhack to reach Iris, we decided to camp on Ell. Good choice, it started raining soon after we camped

Total time: 6 hours (5 bushwhacking, 1 paddling)

~Sora Lake, Din Lake, Mass Lake, Ell Lake

I woke up at 7:00 a.m. What a great night! I slept warm and dry. I love my new(er) Big Agnes pad. Ahhhh … 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I never get that at home!

Breakfast was bacon, eggs, coffee, and tea. Three eggs each! We plan for breakage but have never had one break. We wrap extra cardboard around the egg container. Traditionally we make the first supper and breakfast a little more fancy (and heavier) than the rest of the meals. Then we settle into “BWCA” food.  

Between the extra cardboard, bulky eggs, and last night’s steak and salad, there is now a lot more room in the food pack, which gets filled with some back-jabbing items from the other packs. We start packing at 9:00 a.m. and are paddling by 10:00.

The 280-rod portage to Ruby Lake is only a short distance away. The portage is well worn with good footing. Most of the portage isn’t too bad, however, there is one big hill that is a “heart thumper”. One-way portage time is 25 minutes.

We meet a soloist traveling the opposite direction, however, since he is double portaging too, we wind up walking the portage together twice. He is very friendly and talkative. Sometimes he’s with me, sometimes with Julie, but always in a conversation. The results, I’m sure, of soloing. When he finds out we are heading to Emerald Lake his response is, “Isn’t that a dead end?” I guess that seems strange for some, but we often seek out those kind of places.

After paddling across Ruby we easily find the 15-rod portage to Hustler. However, we make note that when we come back this way in a couple days it may be harder to find. The landing on the Hustler side is obscured by over hanging branches. In fact, the soloist we met mentioned he had a hard time finding the portage. Once on the water we make mental notes of the landmarks near the landing.

A downed tree in the water blocks the 48-rod portage from Hustler to Emerald Lake. Unloading and landing was a challenge. Good thing I had a youngster along to help me. Once gear, canoe, and people were on shore, the rest of the portage was easy. 

We arrive on Emerald Lake at 1:00 p.m. The water is clear with a green tint. We check out both campsites and both are open. It’s our choice of which to take. The southern site looks good, but the northern site looks great. The northern site is closest to the portage but a small island blocks sight of the portage. The site is high up on a cliff face. It’s a beautiful overlook of the entire lake. The water appears to be deep out in front of camp. The weather is beautiful. This is home for two-nights. Others calling this lake home are 2 loons, 2 gulls, and at least one beaver.

We get the camp set up and then take time for a swim. There is a throne area at this site. It is an elevated rock shelf that overlooks the fire pit and the rest of the lake. It is the perfect size for Julie’s and my chairs to sit side by side. We look like a king and queen holding court sitting there. It is a perfect spot for lounging. Actually the entire site is about as perfect as you can get, and we’re the only ones on the lake.

Supper tonight is Lipton Side Dish – Creamy Chicken Noodle - with a foil package of chicken stirred in. This is a recipe/technique I picked up from Jim Balow on our BWCA trip earlier in the year. It was great.

I cooked. Julie did the dishes. I nodded in my chair while she washed.

We didn’t have many bugs, but this night a few mosquitoes came out. Since I was sleeping anyway, I let the bugs be my excuse to head to bed at 9:30. I read for about a half hour, and then … ZZZZZZZZ. 

I was up at 7:30. No hurry today. Today is our layover day, so we had a morning fire (Julie likes a morning fire). We have coffee, tea, and breakfast, all very leisurely. Followed by wood gathering, reading and napping. The string hammock had been strung up for the later. It was an absolutely beautiful day -- partly cloudy, very warm, a nice breeze -- a perfect day for a layover.

This is a very nice campsite. The tent pads are limited but adequate for our needs. However, there are lots of “areas”. Pine trees dominate with nice shady areas under them. There are areas for the tarp, clothesline, hammock, dishwashing area, sitting places, and lots of area to spread out into. There are many trails to explore. Much of the woods behind camp is carpeted with moss. Firewood is plentiful. The air is perfumed with pine needles. This site is also covered with blueberry bushes, but there are no blueberries on them. It looks like a very bad year for blueberries. I haven’t seen one in the BWCA on any trip this year. I wonder if this will make the bears more troublesome in the fall.

The resident loons are very comfortable with us, often appearing just yards off our campsite. Beavers, too, make appearances late in the afternoon.

At some point I know we had a swim. I’m also certain I made a few casts from shore, but as usual I don’t catch anything. Later we paddle around Emerald Lake just to “explore” our lake. It is small. Our site is on the “good”, deep end where the water has the emerald tint. The other end is marshier, and though the water still has a greenish tint, it is more algae-ish.

Supper was Lipton Teriyaki Noodle Side Dish spiked with dehydrated hamburger.

Ten o’clock rolls around – my bedtime. The pattern for this trip is: to bed at 10 and up at 7. I read a bit before sleeping.

It’s 7:00 a.m., I’m awake, and it’s raining. It doesn’t last long, though. We wait for it to stop before having a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and tea. Still, we are on the water by 9:30 backtracking through the portages we have done previously.

We run into 9 girl scouts on the 280-rod portage from Ruby to Lynx. They were very nice, with a great attitude, but slow. We gave them plenty of time to get ahead of us, but we caught up with them at the end of the portage. They were taking a break and congratulating each other on completing the portage. When we arrived they congratulated us, too. I guess that we did an “awesome job” on the portage. I told you they were nice.

Our plan was to spend our next night on Shell. We passed a couple of sites that were filled and decided to head to Con Island to see if anything was available. Oh, the lake was looking full already. There were people at the southern most site, so we decided to circumnavigate the island counterclockwise. The next site was occupied. We rounded the northern point, and that site, too, was taken. We decide to continue around the island and head for the southern shore of the lake to check out those sites. When we reached to the southern end of Con Island again we noticed the people there before were gone. Either they had just stopped for lunch or had just pulled out. We claimed the site.

We were lucky. Within 10 minutes we had two groups stop by to ask if we were leaving. Nope. Over the next few hours we had several groups come by looking for an open site. I think it safe to say that Shell had no vacancies that night. In fact I’m sure it was filled well before 2:00.

By 1:00 p.m. we were setting up our home. It is a huge site! It is very pretty, open, and spread out. You could probably set up six, state-park-family-size tents at this site. Julie and I each had our tents pitched well away from one another in grassy areas under huge pine trees.

The kitchen/fire pit area is on an open spot on the point. Our “living room” is on the point with a view. We have both sunny and shady areas and a great breeze. The stuff we packed up wet in the morning dries quickly. Our home also has the best swimming pool ever. On Emerald Lake we were king and queen, here on Shell Lake we are simply filthy rich. I actually feel guilty having this entire site for just the two of us.

Supper tonight is Lipton Chicken Rice Side dish and foil chicken. Dessert is another Jim Balow idea – a “lunchbox” cup of chocolate pudding. Good stuff. I also made bannock in the reflector over. Previously on this trip we’ve also made garlic cheese biscuits, and brownies. The reflector oven is getting good use.

The sky tonight is fairly clear and the moon is out. We stay up “late” to watch it a bit. I’m not in bed until 10:30.

http://www.bwca.com/upload/thumbnails/Bannock-150806-050624.JPG http://www.bwca.com/upload/thumbnails/Bannock-150806-050736.JPG

Friday, August 16, 2019

Packed up in the rain and headed for Snipe Lake. Pretty paddle. I have been amazed at how few people we have seen. Only around Missing Link and then again at portages from Frost to Long Island Lake. Today, we only saw one party of people and Snipe Lake was completely empty when we arrived around noon. It was almost empty last time through too...only one party camped on opposite end of lake from us.

We climbed up to the middle campsite to eat lunch because Joey wanted to see if any late blueberries remained. He camped here a couple years ago. Then we went to the northern campsite where we had camped the 1st night. Yep, birch trees still stripped of bark, but this time the abandoned yellow bear rope was already stowed in our pack and had been put to good use all trip. We joked about putting it back into the tree where we found it and leaving it for the next group.

Since it had only taken us 2.5 hours to get here and the previous day had been lax also, Joey and I were feeling antsy. He really want us to continue to Missing Link and camp at a site that he loved from that trip a couple years ago. So we left Stew and Jose to shore fish while we portaged over to Missing Link. That site was open, but the portage was very slippery from the rain (Joey actually slipped on a rock and skinned up his knee and ripped his pants). So we decided it would not be a popular decision to drag the others over from Snipe. So we paddled back and settled in for the night...at least feeling like we had worked a little harder.

Total time: about 4 hours including the side trip to Missing Link and back ~Long Island Lake, Karl Lake, Lower George Lake, Rib Lake, Cross Bay Lake, Snipe Lake

It is a beautiful morning though a bit breezy. We have a quick breakfast, pack, and are on the water by 8:45. This time we take the longer, 40-rod, portage to Upper Pauness. The portage is flat, and very easy. Soon we are paddling the LIS again. Very beautiful. There are lots of ducks and their young out today.

The trip is relaxed and uneventful. Of course, now we are paddling upstream and the portages are uphill. We are to the entry point parking lot with all our gear by 11:00 a.m. I retrieve the car.

This is the moment of truth. Julie and I left a small cooler in the car with a couple beers in it. Would they be cold? We stored the cooler with ice in the freezer at VNO to have it as cold as possible before we left the bunkhouse. I open the cooler. No ice, just beer bobbing in the water … but the water, and beer, is still cold!!

Even with our beer break, changing shoes, etc. we have the car loaded by noon. It is 33 miles to VNO in Ely and we arrive shortly after 1:00 p.m. for showers and souvenirs. We do lunch at Vertin’s at 2:00, and are heading down Hwy 169 out of Ely at 3:00.

We stop in Duluth at 4:45 for gas. Gas prices have risen 24 cents a gallon since we were through here six days ago. It is now $3.14. It could be worse. We drove my Toyota Corolla wagon and got 31 mpg with the canoe on the roof. That fill up was enough to get us home. It was 9:15 p.m. when we pulled up, still early enough that the family was awake to greet us.

Another great trip!

I decided to add this mainly because I didn’t have a detailed equipment list. Oh, I have a list with things like “sleeping bag” and “tent”, but nothing with the name/model of those items. So for archiving sake, I thought I’d make this list. Most are NOT new items that I am reviewing; just a list of what I have and perhaps what I think about them. The list is haphazard because I jotted the stuff down on a scrap of paper as I put it away.

Julie had her own tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc. I won’t comment on her stuff except to say she seemed to like them and they seemed to work well. I know her tent is an REI, two-man with two vestibules; her sleeping pad is a thermarest; and she got a new, lighter weight and more compact sleeping bag.

Sleeping Pad -- Big Agnes Insulated Air Core 20 x 78 x 2.5 Primaloft. This air mattress is about the size of a qt. Nalgene bottle when deflated. It is very light as well. Takes 2 minutes to blow up by mouth. I get just the best sleep on it! Great performer. Its purchase is the best recommendation I have ever gotten.

Water Filter -- PUR Hiker Another great performer. Last year I had a small piece break and the filter gave off some black stuff (carbon I think). Katadyn (new owners of PUR) gave me a new housing and new PRO filter. The PRO filter includes a protective membrane that wraps around the filter element that makes cleaning super easy, helps prevents clogs, and helps the filter to last longer. Great! 

Food Packs – I took two food packs for this trip.  The first was my standard “solo” rig; the Garcia Bear Barrel inside a Kelty day pack. I like this set up very much. In addition to the barrel, there is enough room for my utensil roll, saw, water filter, some other things, and two water bottles in the side, mesh pockets. I carry this pack with the canoe for portaging.

The other pack is a military, canvas rucksack with a 5-gallon, gamma-sealed bucket for food. The pack is large enough for some other things around the bucket. It has two side pockets where I put my stove, extra fuel bottle, string net hammock, and other smaller items. Of course as the food disappears other items go into the bucket starting with the cook kit and other “back-jabbing” items. BTW – I not only don’t hang my food packs, I don’t even hide them.

Stove – I have a few, but the one I took this time (and the one I usually take) is the Coleman Peak 1 Model 400. It is an old model with foldout legs and two levers – the normal RED lever and the additional BLACK lever for cleaning and simmer control. It takes Coleman fuel (naphta). What can I say … it works well.

Fuel Bottle – Normally I wouldn’t mention it, but I believe these are rare. It is a red, Nalgene Fuel bottle that has a built in funnel. They stopped making them. I have no idea why. Mine works great.

Fishing Stuff – The rod & reel is a Zebco something (not a “Barbie” or “Sponge Bob”, more normal looking). I have a canvas bag with strap and Velcro tabs (to attach to a thwart) as a tackle bag. Inside is: a small, two-sided box with lures, hooks, and jigs; white Twister Tails; brownish, worm-like Power Baits; needle nose pliers; folding filet knife; cord stringer; and a rod tip repair kit. None of it matters. I never catch anything. I figure someday I’ll run into some kid who just lost his fishing stuff over the side of his boat, his dad is po’ed, and I’ll just give my stuff to him, and, thus, get to heaven (it’s my only hope).

Reflector Oven – It a Freden Aluminum Folding Reflector Oven that I bought from Rutabaga. It is THE best campfire baking gizmo, IMHO. 

Hatchet – a Browning. Looks like a Gerber. It’s OK.

Saw – a Sawvivor. I like it!

Thwart Bag – a Cooke Custom Sewing thwart bag with detachable map case. Great! I added a couple of Velcro tabs to attach/detach quickly.

Tarp – For this trip it was a Guide Gear, 10 x 10, nylon, ellipsoidal tarp. It worked well. I also have a 10 x 10 square nylon tarp I take sometimes and a Eureka VCS 16 for group trips.

Cook Kit – Open Country Cook Kit. Stainless Steel. Two Pots with lids & a measuring cup. I added a Walmart fry pan with the handle knocked off and an 8” round bake pan. It all fits in the carry bag that the cook kit came with.

Tea Pot – Nesters Tea Pot Stainless steel with a detachable handle. I think it is one quart. I made a carry bag for it. Works very well.

Water Bottles –Nalgene Bottles quart-size, wide mouth. I have other Nalgenes for other stuff.

Coffee Cup – A PDQ (convenience store) Cup. This is one item I will really be sad about when it’s gone. You just can’t get them like this one anymore. It is one of those short, squat, lidded car coffee cups circa 1980. It’s not one of those high, skinny ones that tip over easy when not in a molded-into-the-consul-of-your-car cup holder. You could safely give this one filled with steaming hot coffee to a nursing home resident. Great cup!!!

Utensil Roll – made by Cooke Custom Sewing. Good. Most of my utensils are plastic or lexan. However, I have metal forks (Walmart 8 for $1). The tines on the lexan forks tended to curl when hot.

Map Case – In addition to my map case on my thwart bag I have a Granite Gear Map Case. It’s good. I have two so there was a map for my bow partner. She needed one to keep me from getting lost.

Rain Coat -- the good, ol’ Stearns (teal color) Rain Coat, the one I was wearing in the Howard Sprague documentation of my moose hunting escapades. I went back to it after my fancy, new Red Line coat failed on my June trip. This Stearns rubbery thing kept me nice and dry and warm.

Kitchen Sink – Granite Gear Collapsible Sink . I forgot my collapsible bucket and purposely didn’t bring my inflatable kitchen sink on this trip. My partner was disappointed on both accounts since she was washing the dishes and filtering most of the water. So I pried open my wallet and bought the Granite Gear Sink in Ely. It works well as a sink; less well as a bucket. When I have to bring a sink I’ll probably bring this one over the inflatable one.

Sleeping Bag – Woods Otter 1 rated to 35 degrees. Works well. No problem. No need to replace it.

Packs – Camptrails Canoe Pack and Guideline #3. The Camptrails is good. Nothing wrong with it. The Guideline is fine as well. It is an absolutely no-frills, cordura, #3 pack I bought from Thrifty Outfitters many years ago for next to nothing.

Tent – Eureka Spitfire. I’ve grown to like this tent. It is small set up and packed up. It’s lightweight. It is not freestanding, but it only takes two stakes to keep it up, and after two BWCA trips with it I never had a problem staking it out. While small, I find it big enough to sleep in and hold my book, flashlight, clothes, and has a place for my glasses. The small vestibule is big enough for my shoes and socks. I CAN get dressed in it but it is a challenge, so I don’t. It stayed nice and dry and believe me that was tested on this trip. I didn’t use a ground cloth at all, neither an innie nor an outie.

PFD – A Stearns PFD. It’s fine. This is probably an item that I could upgrade.

Paddles – I probably have a dozen to choose from. For this trip Julie selected a Wenonah, wood, straight shaft. She seemed to do well with it. We had a Wenonah aluminum/plastic, T-handle (probably made by Carlislie) as our back up -- a good, functional, durable, spare paddle (though it didn’t get used). I used a Red Tail beaver tail paddle that I bought from Old Scout Products. I liked it a lot.

Canoe – Wenonah Prospector 16. I really like this boat.