We brought my niece and her husband (“C and J“) on their 2nd BW trip. We wanted to do Agnus for half the trip and then Oyster but they told us they just didn't feel it was a trip they could do this year. That's OK. I appreciated the honesty. I would much rather bring them to a spot they feel comfortable with and make it enjoyable for them rather them be miserable and never want to go again. Some day they won't need or want us with so I will take what I can get.

We put in at Brule Lake on Saturday May 28th. It wasn't raining so that was a plus. My husband and I are minimalists when it comes to the BWCA. One pack for each, a food pack and day pack for exploration trips. After much thought I decided to put the screen tent in as a surprise for “C and J” just in case the bugs were bad. I have never been so grateful for that one item. The bugs were in full swing. We had one very nice but slightly windy day and took advantage and did some fishing and exploring. The wind picked up so we didn't go too far which was unfortunate because we didn't get much fishing in.

The temps dropped. The winds stayed strong. A very nice man and his dog Zoe pulled up on shore asking if it would be OK to re-position his loaded canoe. It was nice to meet him and his pretty dog. We wished him well and he was on his way. He told us the forecast called for storms the following night. Rain. Cooler temps. Wind. We are outdoor people who don’t skimp on proper gear. I had my base layer, long sleeved heavy warm shirt, zip up hooded jacket, black winter coat and my rain gear coat on my upper half. The lower half I had long underwear, heavier outdoor pants, snow pants and my rain gear bibs on. Oh I also had my winter hat and glove on and my buff to help with the bugs and wool socks and Keens. I was comfortable. “C & J” were not. To be fair, I was starting to feel to chill myself. Did I mention rain? HA…everything was wet. We moved the screen tent back at bit into the shelter of the trees and used the tarps to create a bigger tent of sorts to get out of the rain and wind. That helped for a couple days until the weather radio called out for temps to drop into the 30’s, or low 40’s for sure. After much discussion it was decided to leave the BWCA early. Although it made me sad to leave I am glad we did after watching all the rain go through there after we left. “C & J” didn’t want the trip to end and brought up going to the Dells for the remainder of our trip. My husband and I have never been there and it’s not something that we would ever think to do but life is short…we went and we had such a good time! Best of both worlds. Feels good to know I broadened my horizons. Thanks for reading my report. My husband did a video for me that I love. If you would like to see it click the link or copy into your browser. If it doesn't work, go to YouTube and put in BWCA 2016 and it's under Bob Schultz. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

https://youtu.be/s_bXA7E0vLw

Safe Travels

~Lisa