Agnes - LLC - Ge-be-on-e-quet Loop
by TominMpls
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
06/30/2017
Entry & Exit Point:
Moose/Portage River (north) (EP 16)
Number of Days:
8
Group Size:
2
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (14 messages)
Day 7 of 8
Wednesday, July 05, 2017 (day 6, Oyster to Nina Moose)
I woke up super early on Wednesday, about 5:15, and decided I wasn't going back to sleep, so went ahead and got up and made breakfast. We ate spam, eggs, and scones with our coffee as we watched the lake come alive with morning. We talked through the day's plan, packed up, and were on our way by 8.
I prepared M for the possibility that we might need to do the 190 rod portage from the Oyster River to Lake Agnes, if it turned out that the lower section of the Oyster River was impassable, but especially with the early start we decided that it was worth trying and seeing if we could get through.
Our original plan had been to spend the next night on Ramshead Lake. M and I both agreed that we'd rather head back toward Nina Moose. I was a little nervous that, with Nina Moose Lake as our target, we might have trouble finding a site - lakes so close to the entry are often full of base campers and first-timers who don't move, and I'd been on Nina Moose before when it was crowded. If we got to Nina Moose and found all the sites occupied, we'd have to make the difficult choice of either taking a pair of long portages to go onto Ramshead Lake from the south, or else exiting a day early, which neither of us wanted to do. So we were both motivated to get to Nina Moose early in the day.
M was good to her word, taking the canoe on both portages on the Oyster River, and we quickly found ourselves navigating the section I'd thought might be impassable. The channel kept narrowing, and we got to really test another aspect of the canoe's - and our capabilities, as the open channel looped around and around in a series of sweeping, meandering turns. M was using a bent paddle for the first time on this trip, and found that besides the obvious power benefits, she enjoyed the additional options for controlling the bow as she deftly dodged rocks, beaver dams, and other obstacles on the river. I found that, with several days' practice, the canoe was much more maneuverable that it had seemed on the first day, when I was just beginning to learn how it handled in comparison to all the We-no-nahs I've paddled over the years.
This section of the trip, buried in a very narrow channel in the middle of reeds and marsh, was phenomenal for nature viewing. Besides the wide array of flora we got to see, we saw lots of evidence of beavers working, and lots of waterfowl, including a family of three loons, the junior of whom was much larger than any other loon families we'd seen on this trip, and who was swimming on its own. This presented a bit of a challenge for us, since loons usually fly off or dive if you approach them, but we had to assume this little one was too little to do that. So we tried to give them a wide berth, but the narrow channel meant that they kept swimming in front of us, and we moved at a loon's pace for maybe a quarter mile before we finally found space to paddle around them. Sure enough, even as we passed them they didn't dive or fly off. I'd like to know why the junior in this family appeared awkwardly old for this time of year - like it was three or four months older than all the loon chicks we saw riding on their parents' backs elsewhere.
Anyway, though the channel kept narrowing, it never gave out on us, and as the Oyster River met the Nina Moose River we eventually found a super narrow channel that allowed us to avoid pushing our way through the reeds for the final 200 feet or so - at M's request we followed it, although I'd already resigned myself to just pushing through. So there *was* an open channel the entire way, though I can't imagine how anybody would ever find it if they were trying to go *up* to Oyster Lake from the Nina Moose River via that channel.
Despite being so close to the entry point now, the Oyster River had been so secluded and isolated that we'd been able to pretend we were in a highly secluded place again, not seeing another person the whole time up to now. As we arrived at the first portage on the Nina Moose River, that was shattered as we came upon three canoes coming the opposite way. By this time in the trip our portaging routine was down to every last detail, and M took great pleasure in expertly and efficiently portaging the canoe past three adult men struggling with their canoes coming the other way, two of whom made well-meaning but stupid comments to me about my daughter portaging the canoe. Yes men, carrying an ultralight $2000 rental canoe over your head for a third of a mile may be more work than you do at home, but it's nothing a reasonably fit 12 year old girl can't also do - don't be so incredulous, or so full of yourselves.
Given that we'd done this section of the route the opposite direction just once, five days ago, and I hadn't been in this part of the BWCA in 15 years before that, I was surprised at how well we recalled and recognized every little detail of this short section. It reminded my why I prefer loop routes over out-and-back routes, and why I'd originally planned to go over to Ramshead to avoid doubling back on our route, but it was uneventful, and we got down the Nina Moose River really quickly.
Fifteen years ago, on a trip with three friends that may have involved a greater amount of mood-altering beverages than I now would take into the BWCA, my group had decided to switch from a site on the west shore of Nina Moose to the northernmost site on the peninsula in the middle of the lake, the first site visible as you come down the river onto the lake. It's a beautiful site, with a small sandy beach next to a giant boulder that sits right off the shore. We had just moved all our gear (and we had a *lot* of it because we didn't really know or care how to pack better then), and instead of immediately tying down our canoes, had decided to relax and have some whisky. One member of the group was back in the woods and the other two were in a heavily altered state; I had been standing close to the shore when a giant wind gust came along and picked up one of our two kevlar canoes. I couldn't rationally think through what to do - I only knew that with four people and one canoe we'd have a terrible trip, so without thinking more I reached up over my head and grabbed the canoe. My two friends who were watching wouldn't have been able to do anything, and in the intervening years the event has grown to legendary status about my quick reflexes and massive strength - and of course I downplay how massively sore my shoulder was for days after that.
Anyway, I told M the more basic version of the story as a cautionary tale of why you should tie down your canoe, but also said it would be fun to stay at that site. Unfortunately it was taken, but as we paddled by she got to see the site and understand how dumb we'd been to leave a canoe untied in that location. It's my goal to make sure that when *she* leads trips out here with her friends when she's in her 20s, she knows better and makes better choices.
Despite my fears there were several sites available on Nina Moose, and we chose the first site north of the mouth to the Portage River on the eastern side of the lake. It's a fairly broad, open site with lots of wind to keep the bugs down, and we really enjoyed the site. Being well before lunch time, we decided to have lunch early anyway, and settled in for a long day in camp.
We hadn't been there too long before a relatively large group of 20-somethings showed up at the site directly across from us, and the combination of their being very loud and the wind blowing from their site to ours meant that our beautiful, quiet site became full of their chatter for a little bit. They never really set up camp, and after several hours on the site they went on their way; maybe they were on a day use permit, or were fishing away from their base camp, or something, but we weren't sad to see them paddle off.
This was by far the hottest day of the trip, and the only day that was actually *hot*. Nina Moose is really shallow and has a mostly sandy bottom, so I changed into water shoes and went out into the lake while M put a tarp over her hammock and played with tying knots and making bracelets for a while. I'd packed Trailtopia meals for our dinner this night, and more to the point, one of their Apple Crisp desserts, to celebrate our last night of the trip, and when it came time to have dinner that was the most delicious dessert either of us could ever recall eating, at least at that moment. A beautiful, sunny day led to a gorgeous sunset, and the cool, clear sky that evening made for an excellent night's sleep.
~Oyster Lake, Nina Moose Lake
I woke up super early on Wednesday, about 5:15, and decided I wasn't going back to sleep, so went ahead and got up and made breakfast. We ate spam, eggs, and scones with our coffee as we watched the lake come alive with morning. We talked through the day's plan, packed up, and were on our way by 8.
I prepared M for the possibility that we might need to do the 190 rod portage from the Oyster River to Lake Agnes, if it turned out that the lower section of the Oyster River was impassable, but especially with the early start we decided that it was worth trying and seeing if we could get through.
Our original plan had been to spend the next night on Ramshead Lake. M and I both agreed that we'd rather head back toward Nina Moose. I was a little nervous that, with Nina Moose Lake as our target, we might have trouble finding a site - lakes so close to the entry are often full of base campers and first-timers who don't move, and I'd been on Nina Moose before when it was crowded. If we got to Nina Moose and found all the sites occupied, we'd have to make the difficult choice of either taking a pair of long portages to go onto Ramshead Lake from the south, or else exiting a day early, which neither of us wanted to do. So we were both motivated to get to Nina Moose early in the day.
M was good to her word, taking the canoe on both portages on the Oyster River, and we quickly found ourselves navigating the section I'd thought might be impassable. The channel kept narrowing, and we got to really test another aspect of the canoe's - and our capabilities, as the open channel looped around and around in a series of sweeping, meandering turns. M was using a bent paddle for the first time on this trip, and found that besides the obvious power benefits, she enjoyed the additional options for controlling the bow as she deftly dodged rocks, beaver dams, and other obstacles on the river. I found that, with several days' practice, the canoe was much more maneuverable that it had seemed on the first day, when I was just beginning to learn how it handled in comparison to all the We-no-nahs I've paddled over the years.
This section of the trip, buried in a very narrow channel in the middle of reeds and marsh, was phenomenal for nature viewing. Besides the wide array of flora we got to see, we saw lots of evidence of beavers working, and lots of waterfowl, including a family of three loons, the junior of whom was much larger than any other loon families we'd seen on this trip, and who was swimming on its own. This presented a bit of a challenge for us, since loons usually fly off or dive if you approach them, but we had to assume this little one was too little to do that. So we tried to give them a wide berth, but the narrow channel meant that they kept swimming in front of us, and we moved at a loon's pace for maybe a quarter mile before we finally found space to paddle around them. Sure enough, even as we passed them they didn't dive or fly off. I'd like to know why the junior in this family appeared awkwardly old for this time of year - like it was three or four months older than all the loon chicks we saw riding on their parents' backs elsewhere.
Anyway, though the channel kept narrowing, it never gave out on us, and as the Oyster River met the Nina Moose River we eventually found a super narrow channel that allowed us to avoid pushing our way through the reeds for the final 200 feet or so - at M's request we followed it, although I'd already resigned myself to just pushing through. So there *was* an open channel the entire way, though I can't imagine how anybody would ever find it if they were trying to go *up* to Oyster Lake from the Nina Moose River via that channel.
Despite being so close to the entry point now, the Oyster River had been so secluded and isolated that we'd been able to pretend we were in a highly secluded place again, not seeing another person the whole time up to now. As we arrived at the first portage on the Nina Moose River, that was shattered as we came upon three canoes coming the opposite way. By this time in the trip our portaging routine was down to every last detail, and M took great pleasure in expertly and efficiently portaging the canoe past three adult men struggling with their canoes coming the other way, two of whom made well-meaning but stupid comments to me about my daughter portaging the canoe. Yes men, carrying an ultralight $2000 rental canoe over your head for a third of a mile may be more work than you do at home, but it's nothing a reasonably fit 12 year old girl can't also do - don't be so incredulous, or so full of yourselves.
Given that we'd done this section of the route the opposite direction just once, five days ago, and I hadn't been in this part of the BWCA in 15 years before that, I was surprised at how well we recalled and recognized every little detail of this short section. It reminded my why I prefer loop routes over out-and-back routes, and why I'd originally planned to go over to Ramshead to avoid doubling back on our route, but it was uneventful, and we got down the Nina Moose River really quickly.
Fifteen years ago, on a trip with three friends that may have involved a greater amount of mood-altering beverages than I now would take into the BWCA, my group had decided to switch from a site on the west shore of Nina Moose to the northernmost site on the peninsula in the middle of the lake, the first site visible as you come down the river onto the lake. It's a beautiful site, with a small sandy beach next to a giant boulder that sits right off the shore. We had just moved all our gear (and we had a *lot* of it because we didn't really know or care how to pack better then), and instead of immediately tying down our canoes, had decided to relax and have some whisky. One member of the group was back in the woods and the other two were in a heavily altered state; I had been standing close to the shore when a giant wind gust came along and picked up one of our two kevlar canoes. I couldn't rationally think through what to do - I only knew that with four people and one canoe we'd have a terrible trip, so without thinking more I reached up over my head and grabbed the canoe. My two friends who were watching wouldn't have been able to do anything, and in the intervening years the event has grown to legendary status about my quick reflexes and massive strength - and of course I downplay how massively sore my shoulder was for days after that.
Anyway, I told M the more basic version of the story as a cautionary tale of why you should tie down your canoe, but also said it would be fun to stay at that site. Unfortunately it was taken, but as we paddled by she got to see the site and understand how dumb we'd been to leave a canoe untied in that location. It's my goal to make sure that when *she* leads trips out here with her friends when she's in her 20s, she knows better and makes better choices.
Despite my fears there were several sites available on Nina Moose, and we chose the first site north of the mouth to the Portage River on the eastern side of the lake. It's a fairly broad, open site with lots of wind to keep the bugs down, and we really enjoyed the site. Being well before lunch time, we decided to have lunch early anyway, and settled in for a long day in camp.
We hadn't been there too long before a relatively large group of 20-somethings showed up at the site directly across from us, and the combination of their being very loud and the wind blowing from their site to ours meant that our beautiful, quiet site became full of their chatter for a little bit. They never really set up camp, and after several hours on the site they went on their way; maybe they were on a day use permit, or were fishing away from their base camp, or something, but we weren't sad to see them paddle off.
This was by far the hottest day of the trip, and the only day that was actually *hot*. Nina Moose is really shallow and has a mostly sandy bottom, so I changed into water shoes and went out into the lake while M put a tarp over her hammock and played with tying knots and making bracelets for a while. I'd packed Trailtopia meals for our dinner this night, and more to the point, one of their Apple Crisp desserts, to celebrate our last night of the trip, and when it came time to have dinner that was the most delicious dessert either of us could ever recall eating, at least at that moment. A beautiful, sunny day led to a gorgeous sunset, and the cool, clear sky that evening made for an excellent night's sleep.
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