Thomas Lake in Spring. Windy, Rainy, Cloudy, Wonderful.
by TickMagnet
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
05/30/2018
Entry & Exit Point:
Snowbank Lake (EP H)
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
2
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (6 messages)
Part 3 of 3
The late night feast caused us to get a late start, which for us means we had camp packed up and in the canoe by just after 9. The morning started wet and windy, and it only got worse as the day went on. We ate an apple each for breakfast and set out for what we knew would be a tough, long day. We had no idea just how tough and long it would really be.
It was a generally east wind, so the paddle up Thomas wasn't too bad until we turned the corner to head to the portage which put us facing directly into the wind. At least the channel up to Ima wasn't too bad.
We both knew that Ima was a big lake that would likely be a challenge, starting with the portage landing. I was double portaging and a group of younger guys single tripped it and passed us. We sat up the hill a bit and watched them depart. I was anticipating needing to go into rescue mode watching them get thrown about near shore, but once they got going they managed. So we loaded up carefully and set out. I'd planned to hug the shoreline southwest until we were behind the big island but the wind direction was coming from the northwest so that plan would have had us getting side slammed by whitecaps. Instead we ended up heading almost straight across the biggest part of the lake. It seemed to calm down a bit as we crossed the halfway point, and we pulled around to the portage thinking that the worst was behind us as Ima was the biggest east-West expanse of water we'd be dealing with.
Cattyman is the split where you either go into Gibson and on to Boot lake, or head south to Disappointment. We'd always been leaning towards taking the south route, but there was now no doubt about it. With these winds, our only hope of getting out today would be taking the extra portage into Parent lake and hoping that Burnt Island would shelter Pickerel Bay enough to offer a doable route to the Snowbank canoe landing.
Adventure, Jitterbug and Ashub lakes are on the small. side and oriented differently so w hoped that there would be at least small pockets of relief from the constant headwind. But nope. No matter which direction we were heading, including the West to South turn on Jitterbug and the South to West turn on Ashub, the wind was directly in our faces at all times. We ate our last granola bars before portaging to Disappointment, which we figured was going to be worse than the past few lakes, due to its size.
I'm not going to say Disappointment was calm, but the southward part of the paddle was, relative to most of the day, not too bad. Disappointment has a lot of islands and points that we could hop between and hide behind for quick breaks. But once we turned west for the last stretch, it was right back into unrelenting headwinds right up to the portage landing.
Parent lake was windy, but the route to the final portage keeps you on the northern shoreline, and it was over quickly.
All we needed now was for the "small" section of Snowbank to be navigable, and we'd be on our way. I portage the canoe across first, as we'd been doing the whole trip. The wind that hit me as I approached the landing on Snowbank almost ripped the canoe out of my hands, and the sight of the huge waves crashing onto shore, directly towards us, was completely deflating. We got to the last stretch, could almost see the dock, but couldn't go anywhere. There was no way whatsoever that we could safely attempt to load and depart from that landing, and even if we COULD manage that, the waves coming into the bay between us and Burnt Island were huge and would surely swamp us. There was no choice but to wait it out and hope for a respite before dark. I was wet, and the wind was making me cold. I should have pulled out dry clothes or my sleeping bag but I had it in my head that it could die down any second, and we needed to be ready to go, so I just paced to keep the blood flowing and soaked up the occasional sun shine that peeked through the clouds. We could see the end of the cloud front, and that there were clear skies behind it, so it was just a waiting game. after about two hours, the waves stopped having whitecaps. The sun was close to the horizon, but we felt confident that the wind was letting up for good, so we loaded up and headed out. It was calm enough now to take the shorter route North of the island. As we rounded the point and could see the landing, the lake turned to glass and we paddled the last 10 minutes on a dead calm lake under a spectacular sunset.
The wind and rain had kept the mosquitos at bay the whole trip, but the 20 minutes spent loading the gear into the van was payback. They were out in force and starving, and we donated a good amount of blood to their feast.
That should be the end of the story, but it turns out that Dan and his wife had a communication breakdown before we left, and she was expecting us home in Minneapolis by 4:00. When 8- 9:00 rolled around she called my wife in a panic. I'd always trusted that in a case like this they'd reassure each other that we know what we're doing, and to not let worry turn to panic before it's justified. So much for that fantasy. They both decided that "if SHE's worried, I should be too because she's the one who's used to this". Other family members got involved, someone had heard about high winds causing problems (delays, not actual problems, but the distinction wasn't noted). Sisters and brothers were called, someone decided to call the Ely Sheriff and have him look for us, and we ended up getting pulled over, told to call home and sent on our way. Frustrating as it was to deal with, it gives me a good feeling that if there ever is a true problem, people will be on top of it.
And despite all of this, my love for the BWCA isn't limited to perfect days and trophy fish. Trips like this, and overcoming the hardships they present, are all part of a full wilderness experience. This week will make me appreciate the good days even more, and because of that, it was, as they've all been, a wonderful trip.
It was a generally east wind, so the paddle up Thomas wasn't too bad until we turned the corner to head to the portage which put us facing directly into the wind. At least the channel up to Ima wasn't too bad.
We both knew that Ima was a big lake that would likely be a challenge, starting with the portage landing. I was double portaging and a group of younger guys single tripped it and passed us. We sat up the hill a bit and watched them depart. I was anticipating needing to go into rescue mode watching them get thrown about near shore, but once they got going they managed. So we loaded up carefully and set out. I'd planned to hug the shoreline southwest until we were behind the big island but the wind direction was coming from the northwest so that plan would have had us getting side slammed by whitecaps. Instead we ended up heading almost straight across the biggest part of the lake. It seemed to calm down a bit as we crossed the halfway point, and we pulled around to the portage thinking that the worst was behind us as Ima was the biggest east-West expanse of water we'd be dealing with.
The Jordan narrows were fairly calm and serene, but we could see the whitecaps blowing in from the main lake as we approached the turn. The route across Jordan was directly into the strongest wind we'd felt yet, and we knew that it was going to be an arm burner. We pulled up as close as we could to the main lake while still being sheltered from the wind, took a few deep breaths and dug in. Any switching paddle sides or loss of momentum was going to be a problem, so we powered through the most taxing single stretch of the day with no break whatsoever, and when we got to the portage into Cattyman we took a quick rest and ate a couple of oranges.
Cattyman is the split where you either go into Gibson and on to Boot lake, or head south to Disappointment. We'd always been leaning towards taking the south route, but there was now no doubt about it. With these winds, our only hope of getting out today would be taking the extra portage into Parent lake and hoping that Burnt Island would shelter Pickerel Bay enough to offer a doable route to the Snowbank canoe landing.
Adventure, Jitterbug and Ashub lakes are on the small. side and oriented differently so w hoped that there would be at least small pockets of relief from the constant headwind. But nope. No matter which direction we were heading, including the West to South turn on Jitterbug and the South to West turn on Ashub, the wind was directly in our faces at all times. We ate our last granola bars before portaging to Disappointment, which we figured was going to be worse than the past few lakes, due to its size.
I'm not going to say Disappointment was calm, but the southward part of the paddle was, relative to most of the day, not too bad. Disappointment has a lot of islands and points that we could hop between and hide behind for quick breaks. But once we turned west for the last stretch, it was right back into unrelenting headwinds right up to the portage landing.
Parent lake was windy, but the route to the final portage keeps you on the northern shoreline, and it was over quickly.
All we needed now was for the "small" section of Snowbank to be navigable, and we'd be on our way. I portage the canoe across first, as we'd been doing the whole trip. The wind that hit me as I approached the landing on Snowbank almost ripped the canoe out of my hands, and the sight of the huge waves crashing onto shore, directly towards us, was completely deflating. We got to the last stretch, could almost see the dock, but couldn't go anywhere. There was no way whatsoever that we could safely attempt to load and depart from that landing, and even if we COULD manage that, the waves coming into the bay between us and Burnt Island were huge and would surely swamp us. There was no choice but to wait it out and hope for a respite before dark. I was wet, and the wind was making me cold. I should have pulled out dry clothes or my sleeping bag but I had it in my head that it could die down any second, and we needed to be ready to go, so I just paced to keep the blood flowing and soaked up the occasional sun shine that peeked through the clouds. We could see the end of the cloud front, and that there were clear skies behind it, so it was just a waiting game. after about two hours, the waves stopped having whitecaps. The sun was close to the horizon, but we felt confident that the wind was letting up for good, so we loaded up and headed out. It was calm enough now to take the shorter route North of the island. As we rounded the point and could see the landing, the lake turned to glass and we paddled the last 10 minutes on a dead calm lake under a spectacular sunset.
The wind and rain had kept the mosquitos at bay the whole trip, but the 20 minutes spent loading the gear into the van was payback. They were out in force and starving, and we donated a good amount of blood to their feast.
That should be the end of the story, but it turns out that Dan and his wife had a communication breakdown before we left, and she was expecting us home in Minneapolis by 4:00. When 8- 9:00 rolled around she called my wife in a panic. I'd always trusted that in a case like this they'd reassure each other that we know what we're doing, and to not let worry turn to panic before it's justified. So much for that fantasy. They both decided that "if SHE's worried, I should be too because she's the one who's used to this". Other family members got involved, someone had heard about high winds causing problems (delays, not actual problems, but the distinction wasn't noted). Sisters and brothers were called, someone decided to call the Ely Sheriff and have him look for us, and we ended up getting pulled over, told to call home and sent on our way. Frustrating as it was to deal with, it gives me a good feeling that if there ever is a true problem, people will be on top of it.
And despite all of this, my love for the BWCA isn't limited to perfect days and trophy fish. Trips like this, and overcoming the hardships they present, are all part of a full wilderness experience. This week will make me appreciate the good days even more, and because of that, it was, as they've all been, a wonderful trip.
~Abinodji Lake, Thomas Lake, Boot Lake, Cattyman Lake, Disappointment Lake, Ima Lake, Jitterbug Lake, Jordan Lake, Parent Lake, Snowbank Lake
Lakes Traveled:
Abinodji Lake,
Thomas Lake,
Boot Lake,
Cattyman Lake,
Disappointment Lake,
Ima Lake,
Jitterbug Lake,
Jordan Lake,
Parent Lake,
Snowbank Lake,
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