Saturday, August 25, 2018

Knowing we had a big day ahead of us we woke relatively early and had a quicker breakfast. As we got on the water, the day was the same gray overcast as the day prior, and we hope we were not in store for more rain. Given the distance we planned to paddle for the day we packed light, just food, fishing gear, and personal bags.
The short rapid proved to be much easier to paddle down than up, and we made quick progress down the Kawishiwi. Wanting to make quick progress given our longer day, we set a quick pace to start. This meant that I forgot to look for the fishing shack and wooden boat supposedly located in a bay on the Kawishiwi just before reaching Clear Lake. Guess I'll have to come back on a future trip to find it. As we reached the portage to Clear Lake, we noticed that there was gear left front and center at the landing. The gear included cookware, a big pot, and camp chairs. It seemed to have been there for a while, but not wanting to lug it with us all day we left it there, hoping another group might find it and pack it out.
The paddle across Clear Lake was uneventful. Overcast skies seemed to threaten rain, but none came. We quickly reached the portage to the Kawishiwi River. The portage itself wasn't bad, just long and it sure was buggy. This would not be the longest portage of the day. Before long we were paddling NE on the Kawishiwi, and as we looked behind us we saw a group of people on the shore in the bay just East of the one we had exited. They had their gear unloaded from their three canoes so it way clear they thought they were on the portage that we had just left. Maps incorrectly mark the location of this landing. Thankfully, the group was sending out a search party in one canoe and they were headed in the right direction, so we continued on.
Ahead of us were two very short portages around small sets of rapids. The first portage we get out and begrudgingly walked. The second we decided to try to walk the canoes up the rapids. In the end it probably would have been easier to complete the portage, as the combination of slick boulders underfoot and a strong current pushing us back made for tough going.
Before long we had reached the most challenging portage of our trip, a 209 rod carry with a few difficult elevation changes to keep things interesting. I wish I could have portaged the kevlar Spirit II rather than my 60+ lb Penobscot. Jazzywine broke the monotony of the carry with song as we worked our way down the trail, and just when shoulders and backs were feeling ready to give in we reached the waters of the Kawishiwi once again. We weren't quite done with the portage, however. We backtracked about half of the portage to a small waterfall just south of the trail. We spent a while there at the waterfall, washing off sweat from the portage with the icy current below the falls.
Back on the Kawishiwi we decided it was time for lunch, and stopped at the campsite just before the portage to Conchu Lake. Perched above the river it offered a beautiful spot to sit and eat. The sun finally started to break through the overcast skies while we ate.
It wasn't long after we were back on the water that on member of the crew decided that a trip to the latrine at a local campsite was necessary. Heeding their warnings, one canoe peeled off to a campsite on the shore, while two of us drifted on the river. A loon surfaced nearby, and we watched it dive, resurface, and clean its feathers while we waited.
It wasn't long until we reached the point where the Kawishiwi bifurcates. We turned south to continue or loop on the South Kaiwishwi River. Shortly after splitting, there are two sets of small rapids with a pool in between them. We were able to navigate a small chute through the first set, but chose to hand carry the short portage around the second. It was there that we stopped and took out our fishing rods. It wasn't long until we found the local population of smallmouth bass in the pool between the rapids.
Eventually we determined that we had caught all the smallies the pool had to offer and we continued our paddle on the S Kawishiwi. Tired from a long day of paddling, we slowly made our way southwest on the long, unbroken stretch of river. This stretch of river featured what appeared to be stands of old growth forest including some towering white pines. We paddled mostly in silence, simply enjoying our surroundings as the afternoon waned. The day featured two more small sets of rapids, the first of which we ran in the canoes. We finally returned to camp late in the afternoon, having completed our circumnavigation of the Kawishiwi Triangle. We enjoyed dinner and a fire as we watched the sun set on our last night in the BWCA.

Daily Summary:

Lakes traveled: S. Kawishiwi River, Clear Lake, Kawishiwi River
Distance paddled: 12.16 mi
Distance portaged: 1.64 mi (525 rods)
Number of portages: 7