Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Five Monkeys and Four cat herders maiden voyage
by vnzill

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 07/15/2015
Entry Point: Moose Lake (EP 25)
Exit Point: Lake One (EP 30)  
Number of Days: 11
Group Size: 9
Day 6 of 11
Monday, July 20, 2015

DAY SIX, MONDAY 7/20/2015, 6.3 miles paddling, 1.3 miles portaging, total distance 7.6 miles, - Three portages, Wisini, Ahmakose, Gerund, Frasure, Thomas, campsite #1182.

I had hoped to travel on our trip to go from Frasure due east leading into Boulder then Adams into the Kawishiwi River into Alice, then along the numbered lakes to the take out point 30 at Lake One. I also had envisioned being able to be in the Boulder area by the end of day three. With our slow start and pokiness on portages it was becoming apparent that to go that route would be cause for mutiny as we would not have as much relaxing time. When planning this trip I knew there were a few ways to shave off some time and miles if we so chose, and so we rerouted from my original plan.

I thought the passage from Frasure into Thomas was a really cool paddle with a narrow passageway although we scraped a rock or two that was hiding on the Thomas side of the passage. Paddling into Thomas it appeared a storm was brewing as dark clouds began forming in the distance. Up until this point we had no rain. At this point in our trip we had decided to find a nice campsite to relax and play for more than one night and so we were being picky on site selection. We headed west to check out the two northern campsites battling a strong headwind and then headed toward the lee side of the middle islands on the eastern side. The wind was whipping hard from starboard and it began to rain lightly. The island site was either occupied or not to our liking, I forget which, and so we then headed toward the western shore where the campsites would be protected from the wind. We eventually found a perfect site on a peninsula with a small sheltered cove in front of it. The kids soon claimed this spot as theirs and began their ritual of finding forts and exploring everywhere. In a light rain my daughter started a fire with one match. 

~Ahmakose Lake, Gerund Lake, Fraser Lake, Thomas Lake

Lakes Traveled:   Ahmakose Lake, Gerund Lake, Fraser Lake, Thomas Lake,