Day 1 of 7
Sunday, August 20, 2017 We camped at East Bearskin Federal Campground, not impressed with the campsite, it was way up a hill from where we parked and our camping spot where the tent was supposed to goes was full of ants. We moved our tent to the picnic area. Quite & we slept ok. We didn’t set an alarm, and woke up at 8:30 am. Got a late start. We got to our entry point Cross Creek put in by 9:00 a.m. and ate our breakfast of zucchini bread and Cinnamon rolls and juice and water. We were kind of questioning if this was our entry point or not, the other areas had a nice sign with the entry point number up. We finally found the number 50 on a piece of wood nailed to the sign where people get day passes. We were more relieved then. By the time we got all our gear unloaded and loaded in canoe it was 11:00. It started out blue sky when we first got started, then the clouds moved in and it was over cast. It didn’t start sprinkling until we got to Ham lake which was several portages away. We did put our rain gear on by the time we got done on Ham Lake, we quickly shed it before we got to the next portage. When we were heading on the portage from Ham Lake to Cross Bay Lake we came across our first group who were portaging out. This group had been on Long Island from last Thursday thru Sunday. They indicated it had poured on them Thursday and it had taken until that day for their stuff to dry out. The group indicated they had left around 8:30 and it was 1:30 now. We decided to stop for lunch at Cross Bay Lake at the campsite closest to the next portage to Rib Lake. It was a great campsite, with a huge rock for sitting up on and lots of things to explore. I kind of wish we had stopped there for the night. The Portages from Cross Bay to Rib and Rib to Lower George and Lower George to Karl were very Muddy at spots. I still don’t how my husband manages the canoe on his head and walking the portages, especially when there is so much mud. We started having another group behind us on pretty much the rest of the portages, and older gentleman and his wife and I think he said 3 grand kids and their son. From Rib Lake portage to Karl Lake. They were headed to either Long island or Cherokee they said. A happy and jolly group. The last time we saw them that day they were taking the portage from Karl lake into Long Island. Dan did a great job of navigating us, we decided to take the route from Karl Lake right into Long Island Lake. We were thinking of taking the campsite on Karl Lake, we were beat. Dan had injured his neck on a job back in the spring and it is still bugging him. Speaking of bugs, they were none so far, we had no biting flies or mosquitos. I know that is one of the things people come to see in the BWCA(ha ha)! We paddled on to Long Island Lake we had done something different this time and decided not to pick out a campsite ahead of time, we have been disappointed when we get there and someone else has it. The map has the campsites marked. We floated around a big Island and Dan said there is supposed to be a campsite here. He then got his GPS out to take a reading as to where we are. While we were sitting there waiting for the GPS to work, I said that looks like a fire pit up there. We were just sitting to the left of campsite #2010. Thankfully it was empty it was 6:00 p.m. at this point we needed to be getting camp set up. It had a nice big rock for setting out on to get those cool breezes in the evening and the warm sun in the mornings. We were ready to be done. Just like everyone else you still have camp to set up. Dan said that it will be hard to find a good tree to hang the food bag in. On our first night in we take t-bone steaks from our brother in laws farm in Nebraska and instant mashed potatoes with sour cream and chives in them. It took a while for the fire to get going since a lot of the wood was wet. The meal was wonderful, we both sat there in disbelief that we were back in the BWCA, yet our bodies told us we had done those 6 wonderful portages. We finally sat down after cleaning up from our supper and then the mosquitos moved in, it was 8:30 so we headed to bed, it was warm that night in the tent, we stayed put until 9:00 the next morning.
Day 2 of 7
Tuesday, August 22, 2017 We both got up at 7:30 we planned to head to Gordon today. We had fished there in 2013 when we were on Cherokee. Today we had biscuits and gravy. Beautiful blue skies today but it was very windy, reminded me of when we tried to go across Brule Lake. We headed to Gordon by 10:00 am., We were a little lost where the portage is from Long Island to Gordon. We had a fisher map, Dan had used other maps in the past but wanted to take one for navigating so he didn’t have to put 3 together to use the others he had. He is not crazy about Fisher maps for details. It was too windy of a day to have to canoe extra around the lake looking for the portage. We did check out the campsite just before the Long Island creek, it had a sandy beach landing, but it was far to enclosed for my liking. We then found the creek it had 3 places we had to get out of the canoe to get around where the beavers had been working. We met another canoe coming into Long Island Lake who went ahead and walked their canoe thru the tree limbs etc. We fished the creek for quite a while and we both caught a northern, the time had ticked away so we didn’t make it to Gordon on that trip. We decided we better get back to camp and get our fish clea
ned and eaten. Our dog was interested in the fish floating behind us she wouldn’t stay in her spot in the canoe. While we were fishing we saw a canoe with a mom and her two sons probably 8 and 12 year old’s. I was in awe of her making this trip with her boys. She was doing a great job of having them figure out what to do where the Beavers had put trees in the way. They worked at it as a team and got it figured out. They were headed to Long Island and had been on Cherokee. We really enjoyed talking to them. What an adventure for those boys. It was still very windy, we canoed back to camp with fish in tow. A small rain shower came thru on our way back to camp and then again after we got to camp. It only lasted a short time, we got on with our early fish dinner. Lil was having a heck of time staying in the canoe when we were trying to get thru the creek with the beaver dams in the way, we would get her mud rinsed off and put her in the canoe and the Dan would have to get out for one reason or another and out she would go. The Loons put on quite a show for us on the way back to camp there was 4 to 7 of them dancing across the lake and calling to each other. It was quite a show. We had fresh fish and mashed potatoes for supper, yummy. The wind had calmed now. I did the dishes and then the sun came out and shone, glories’. We saw (2) sets of canoes pass our camp tonight. About 7:30 it started raining so headed into the tent. It softly rained all night. More of our book. The looms were singing to
us. 
Day 4 of 7
Tuesday, August 22, 2017 We both got up at 7:30 we planned to head to Gordon today. We had fished there in 2013 when we were on Cherokee. Today we had biscuits and gravy. Beautiful blue skies today but it was very windy, reminded me of when we tried to go across Brule Lake. We headed to Gordon by 10:00 am., We were a little lost where the portage is from Long Island to Gordon. We had a fisher map, Dan had used other maps in the past but wanted to take one for navigating so he didn’t have to put 3 together to use the others he had. He is not crazy about Fisher maps for details. It was too windy of a day to have to canoe extra around the lake looking for the portage. We did check out the campsite just before the Long Island creek, it had a sandy beach landing, but it was far to enclosed for my liking. We then found the creek it had 3 places we had to get out of the canoe to get around where the beavers had been working. We met another canoe coming into Long Island Lake who went ahead and walked their canoe thru the tree limbs etc. We fished the creek for quite a while and we both caught a northern, the time had ticked away so we didn’t make it to Gordon on that trip. We decided we better get back to camp and get our fish cleaned and eaten. Our dog was interested in the fish floating behind us she wouldn’t stay in her spot in the canoe. While we were fishing we saw a canoe with a mom and her two sons probably 8 and 12 year old’s. I was in awe of her making this trip with her boys. She was doing a great job of having them figure out what to do where the Beavers had put trees in the way. They worked at it as a team and got it figured out. They were headed to Long Island and had been on Cherokee. We really enjoyed talking to them. What an adventure for those boys. It was still very windy, we canoed back to camp with fish in tow. A small rain shower came thru on our way back to camp and then again after we got to camp. It only lasted a short time, we got on with our early fish dinner. Lil was having a heck of time staying in the canoe when we were trying to get thru the creek with the beaver dams in the way, we would get her mud rinsed off and put her in the canoe and the Dan would have to get out for one reason or another and out she would go. The Loons put on quite a show for us on the way back to camp there was 4 to 7 of them dancing across the lake and calling to each other. It was quite a show. We had fresh fish and mashed potatoes for supper, yummy. The wind had calmed now. I did the dishes and then the sun came out and shone, glories’. We saw (2) sets of canoes pass our camp tonight. About 7:30 it started raining so headed into the tent. It softly rained all night. More of our book. The looms were singing to us.
Day 5 of 7
Wednesday, August 23, 2017 The sun is shining glories this am. We ate pancakes with the last of our blueberries, sat on our rock for a good while soaking up the sun, it was probably in the 60’s this am. We packed a lunch and headed out to enjoy and explore some more of Long Island. We also needed to pump some more water. We went around the NE corner of the lake. We fished all the way back there. Dan caught 3 Northern today that he let go. We also put different lures and hooks on for crappie and blue gill fishing no luck at all. We did gather some fire wood and found a different camp to check out for lunch, it had a good rock on one side with the warm sun shining we were warm in no time. We both decided to take a dip in the lake, the water was cold but refreshing. We saw 3 different canoes in the area, one of those canoes were also fishing. We also saw 2 other canoes loaded and headed out. NO RAIN TODAY! Yea! We did see bear scat that at camp and decided to move on. It was windy at times today but did great canoeing. Our dog Lil thought she should help Dan catch fish and assist him anytime he looked like he was getting a bite, which causes some concern when all the sudden the canoe shifts. She leans out of the canoe and it feels like the canoe is going to tip. When we were fishing the loons were around us. We had a family of 12 Merganser ducks right outside our camp, all week. They are so fun to watch. When we got back from fishing about 5:30 someone had moved in across the lake from us, unfortunately he likes to prance around his camp naked. Probably a 60 to 70-year-old guy. He just kept prancing! Just don’t want to see some guys naked butt even 250 yards away! We love to sit on the rock and that is the only place to look and be away from the mosquito's that time of evening. I figured we would probably have to move in the morning. While we were eating our Mountain House supper a family with two canoes came by our camp at about 6:00 p.m., looking for this camp-site, you could tell they were disappointed we were there, I am surprised Dan didn’t tell them they could have our site and we would move (naked butt). The family had entered thru 50 also. Tonight, we had Raspberry crumble w/ chocolate crunch on top. YUMMY! Dan decided to make a fire tonight, it felt so good. We Usually cook and eat on our big rock, to many mosquito's by the camp kitchen. The camp kitchen is a disaster, the logs are not for sitting on, or using they have rotted and roll away. I said many times how I wish I had a table. We used the big flat rocks on our big rock by the water to cook and do dishes on.
Day 6 of 7
Thursday, August 24, 2017 Thursday, August 24th: Foggy morning, but the sun came out right away. It was a calm beautiful day. We ate oatmeal & trail mix this am. So far, the neighbor guy had a least a shirt on. We contemplated our day, should we move or what? Dan really wanted to get over to Gordon and we both wanted to at least take the portage to Cherokee. We decided to make a day of it and head to Gordon. We packed a lunch and headed out by 10:00 a.m. We fished Long Island Creek again. Wow it was grand central station. There were 3 canoes day tripping headed to the Gordon portage. There is a cool water fall by the Gordon Portage. Also, there are 3 places you must get out of your canoe on between Long Island Lake and Long Island Creek due to the Beaver’s busy work. We know now but didn’t know at the time, when we were fishing on Long Island creek, there was a canoe that sat for a while at the Gordon portage, waiting for another group of canoers, every now and then they would yell to the group we couldn’t see is everything okay are you coming? We just kept fishing and waiting for them to all get off the portage but had no idea what was going on. When all 3 canoes finally got on Long Island creek headed to Long Island Lake there was one canoe pulling another canoe and the guy in the front of the last canoe had dark glasses on and wasn’t paddling. No one in the group said anything but hello to us. When we got home I read the story of a Medical emergency on Ham Lake and learned they were getting there friend out of the BWCA due to medical emergency and trying to get him to Ham for help. I did read that the guy is okay and his friends did a great job getting him help. We finally made it to Gordon Lake. It was so beautiful. We fished and fished. I did catch one northern on L I creek but let it go. We had lunch on the campsite closets to Cherokee portage. It was all uphill campsite but had a nice face with the water’s edge. We then went on the portage to Cherokee. We were there in 2013 so we just had to go back and visit. In 2013 we took shelter from a storm on the portage between Gordon and Cherokee. It was just like we remembered now it was time to get back to fishing. We saw several Beaver lodges on Gordon that we wanted to crappie fish on the way back out. We first had to go back to the area we fished on Gordon in 2013. We weren’t there long and at first I thought I was snagged and then I realized I had a fish. Dan saw the fish first and guided me thru getting it reeled in. It was a huge Northern. I got it close to the canoe and was about to swing it back toward Dan at the back of the canoe, Dan said don’t give it to me yet, it is going to realize he is hooked and take off. Our dog Lil was watching all of this in the section in front of Dan in the canoe, about that time the fish jumped up in the air and landed in the canoe in the section where Lil was sitting, she without even touching the sides of the canoe jumped out on the opposite side of the canoe that the fish jumped in. She was in the water so quick, I saw all this out of the corner of my eye, but Dan had a great view. Dan had all his fishing gear laying on the floor of the canoe. Dan is trying to get the dog back in the canoe and the fish is flopping all over the canoe in the section in front of him. Dan got her in the canoe and she was so afraid of the fish she was climbing on Dan’s lap. So now the dog is soaking wet, Dan is soaking wet and the fish is flopping everywhere. I want to bust out laughing but I wasn’t sure Dan would think it was very funny, but all at once he started laughing. We sat there and laughed and he got the fish under control and got his tackle all picked up. Lil wants to see the fish on the string but not anywhere close to her. We should have had a video of that whole thing. It was already 4:30 and Dan said we got supper we better get back to camp. It was 6:00 p.m. when we got back to camp. We would both just burst out laughing on the way back thinking about the flying fish and dog. Dan cleaned the 30.5 inch Northern and we had it for supper with mashed potatoes. YUMMY! It wasn’t windy and it had been 48 hours without rain! YES! We cleaned up camp tied up the canoe for the night upside down up at camp, and headed to bed it was 9:00 p.m. What a DAY! WE LOVED IT!
Day 1 of 1
[paragraph break]This was my first time going out of Snowbank. I got to the parking lot for the canoeists and as I rounded the corner I was greeted with a full parking lot.
I have to admit; this was a shock to my system! I was thinking that people would be all over me while in the woods and water.[paragraph break]
The wind was blowing and I had to decide to leave now or wait until early morning. I opted to get going! I got the canoe down and loaded and headed North from the dock. I felt very quickly that a solo canoe is not a tandem canoe! I got a late start and was looking for the first empty campsite. I passed a boat of fishermen who said the fishing was slow and that I was lucky to be going now, the wind had laid down a bit. As I paddled past the shelter of the land I was hit with a left to right cross wind. I was glad I had the kayak paddle because I was able to keep a paddle in the water and stay on track...mostly! [paragraph break]
I got up to the island just north from the entry point and was happy to be out of the wind. The first campsite was occupied. I was hoping the next was available otherwise I would have some open water to cover with a fairly decent wind blowing. The next site was open and I pulled in. Open site with lots of space. I picked an area for the tent and got camp set up. Heard some deer snorting and moving through the woods. Started a small fire and broke out the flask just as the moon was rising. 
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Woke up early, like 0430, but decided it was too early to get out of the bag. It was a chilly night and I was glad I had my poncho liner with me. Loons called all night, I don't recall experiencing that before. I was sooo happy I purchased one of those new fangled Exped sleeping pads!! I eventually got up, got the coffee water boiling and had my coffee and some poptarts. Packed up and was on the water by 0700, excited to see some new sights! 
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I really didn't have a plan but decided to go North towards Boot lake with Ensign being my destination. Got to the first portage and decided I would be doing double portages. No issues till I was pushing off into the little, no name lake between Snowbank and Boot. I was trying so hard to drain my feet before getting back into the canoe that I somehow tipped over!! How embarrassing! I quickly looked for witnesses and after seeing none, emptied my canoe. What a dumb mistake! I didn't concern myself with keeping water out of the canoe from then on! (I hope you all appreciate me including this in my report! I could have easily left it out and preserved my sense pride! But, perhaps, someone will benefit!) Lesson learned: don't worry about keeping water from your feet out of the canoe and always have everything lashed![paragraph break]
Got into Boot lake. Seemed like a nice little lake. Arrived on the South side of the Boot Lake to Ensign Lake portage. 220 rods...straight up!!! Actually it seemed like there were 3 walks up and 3 walks down with a tree lying across the path about 4 off the ground. 20 minutes to the end, dumped my pack and headed back. I was wearing my brand new Keen water shoes which very promptly gave me blisters on the back of my feet. On the second trip the blisters turned into open sores! Oh, what fun! Another dumb mistake; always break in new footwear before serious use! 
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Arrived into Ensign Lake. My feet hurt, my back hurt, much of my gear was wet and I knew I wasn't drinking enough water. I wonder where that lean, mean, fighting machine went to??? Got the canoe loaded and started looking for a campsite. Headed N/E and grabbed the peninsula campsite on the North shore. Wonderful site with a bunch of wood already stacked (thank you). Set up the tent, layed out all of my equipment and headed out to get water. Layed around the site and drank water. Ate some food and started exploring. Lots of trails behind camp. Someone marked the trail to the latrine, which was nice.(see photo) Fished, smoked a cigar, relaxed. 
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Slept in until about 0600. Layed in my bag looking out over the water. Got up and started boiling water for coffee (liked the starbucks instant coffee). Thought I would try some dehydrated eggs, this was my first trip where I tried store bought dehydrated food. The eggs were a disaster! Inedible! Yuck! Where did I put those poptarts? Lesson learned: don't bring any food along that you haven't tried at home first. Slowly did chores and cleaned myself up a bit trying to figure out what to do. Should I stay at this lovely site again or should I move?? I ended up packing up and heading towards Ashigan Lake. I thought I could find a site there or maybe spend a few nights on Disappointment.[paragraph break]
Arrived at the Ashigan portage and this one was all uphill from Ensign! I decided to wear socks with my Keens today to help protect my feet. I didn't think the mole skin in my kit would stay put. No issues at all besides the sun shining bright and the wind blowing strong from the South (headwind!). Saw the falls at Cattyman. Got muddy in Jitterbug and had a hard time finding the exit portage (not my favorite lake). Arrived at the North side of Disappointment around 1pm. 
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Paddling South in Disappointment with a fairly strong wind from the South. I hug the shoreline and use the islands for wind breaks. Get to the first campsite and see a group leaving. I'm not sure if they spent the night or just stopped for lunch. Doesn't matter because I wasn't staying there knowing of all the bear issues it has had. Next island site was occupied. I crossed over to the other side of the lake after a hard paddle. I start rounding the large peninsula to the west and come to a empty campsite, #3. I pull in, unload the canoe, ground the canoe and head for the shade with water in hand. It is HOT! I drink my water, get more water and drink that. After a bit I take my camera and scout the site. I find the latrine and walk the other trails looking for a food bag tree. During this look around I find 3 separate piles of bear scat. I know I am on a bear route. I go back to the shade, grab my journal and start writing. No food is out. About 20 minutes later I look over to my left (north) and see a bear cub walk by within 15 feet of me! (circled in yellow, trust me). I grab the camera and pursue! Eventually the bear cub climbs on top of a rock and looks back trying to find me. I start to whistle and finally the cub looks at me...of course I miss the photo! But I get a great one of the cubs butt! The bear cub walks towards the latrine trial and joins another cub. Shortly the sow bear appears, walking straight down the latrine trail towards me, sniffing and shifting around. She stops but continues to try to assess me and I try to assess the situation myself! After thinking I have enough photos I start yelling and the bear family goes off towards the latrine. I return to my journal. Within 20 minutes the sow is back!! I confront the bear, take a couple of pictures but quickly put the camera away once I figure out that the bear isn't scared of me! I start yelling and making a fuss and she lumbers off but I know she will be back. She knows she will be back! 
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Decision time. It is 3:30pm, I am on Disappointment and I am sure all of the campsites are full by now. There is a strong wind from the South. I am 1 or 2 portages from my truck. I know there will be bear issues the entire time I am at this site. I am fairly sure that if I do stay I won't get much sleep! I had some difficulty making this decision but I opted for leaving the site to the bears. I suspect that in my younger and dumber years of life I would have stayed and there would have been a confrontation. I loaded the canoe and headed out in what I would guess was 20-30 mph wind. It was an adventurous paddle; putting it mildly!![paragraph break]
I got to the canoe dock, loaded up the truck and was off to Ely; a room, a shower and shave and then off to the Steakhouse for steak and beer and water. It was a shorter trip than planned but I saw much and learned much. [paragraph break]
Lakes Traveled:
Snowbank Lake,
Boot Lake,
Ensign Lake,
Ashigan Lake,
Gibson Lake,
Cattyman Lake,
Adventure Lake,
Jitterbug Lake,
Disappointment Lake,
Parent Lake,
Day 3 of 1
Saturday, August 26, 2017 It was 47 degrees at 6am. We quickly packed up our tent and hit the road. We stopped in Grand Marias at the municipal camp ground & took a $3.00 shower it was heaven. Clean clothes too. We then stopped for breakfast along scenic highway 61 at Cascade Restaurant it was great & reasonable. Had my first cup of coffee since Thursday before we left. We also had a great view of Lake Superior. We then headed to Tofte to drop off the canoe. The sky was dark and gray looking like it could rain any minute. We stopped at Ranger Station to feed our dog & re organize the truck, boy does it stink. Just as we left Tofte it started pouring rain. We made all our necessary calls that we were safe & headed home to Nebraska looks like we will be home around 9:00 p.m. We will sleep in our own bed tonight. What a great trip!
Lakes Traveled:
Snowbank Lake,
Boot Lake,
Ensign Lake,
Ashigan Lake,
Gibson Lake,
Cattyman Lake,
Adventure Lake,
Jitterbug Lake,
Disappointment Lake,
Parent Lake,
