Wednesday, July 21
Gear before packing up Gear after packing up
I am trying to learn butterflies on this trip, but it is really hard. I did have a definite siting of a Mourning Cloak butterfly today. It is very distinctive with the yellow edges and the row of white dots. But I have trouble with all the different little orange butterflies flitting about. Later in the day, Stew captured a great photo of a Compton Tortoiseshell butterfly. I need some better resources that include behavior, habitat and range as well as more images of key markings.

Once we passed the inlet to South Arm Knife, the traffic quieted down significantly. We didn't see anyone between there and the turn off to Amoeber. Before the portage to Amoeber we pulled over on a smooth rock to eat some lunch. We watched a couple come over the portage. As they paddled out, they stopped to chat because they noticed our Mad River canoe and wondered if we were from out east. They were super nice folks from New Hampshire on their first BWCA trip. They are the kind of people you could chat with for a very long time...chatted fishing, Northern Forest Canoe Trail (they have section paddled all but 2 sections), other trips we have done, Maine (my husband lived there for awhile), and much more. We chatted for over 30 minutes before heading our separate directions.

The portages in and out of Amoeber are short, but rocky. They parallel rocky brooks among dark, mossy cedar forests. Quiet and scenic. One of the two sites on Amoeber was occupied. We saw one group passing through, and then met another group just as they finished coming over from Topaz. We were open to camping on Topaz or Cherry so when the site on Topaz was open, we took it. Nice to have a lake to ourselves for the night. I had a peaceful swim while Stew napped.

On this trip, I am reading "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer. This morning, I read a chapter about the animacy of language. The author discussed how English focuses more on nouns than verbs: about 70% nouns and 30% verbs. But Potawatomi (and other indigenous languages) are the reverse: 30% nouns, 70% verbs. So instead of a noun for a bay, they use a verb "to be a bay". This gives animation to a bay. Instead of just a definition of water with land on 3 sides, it becomes a living thing with relationships to what is in, around, and above it. "Be a bay" captures so much more of the reality of the place. Sometimes this concept is easier to understand if you try out the difference being calling someone "a human being" versus describing them as "being human". The verb provides so much more depth. So today, I tried to think with more animacy. What does it mean to be wind, to be lake, to be tree, to be lichen? Try it! It adds a depth of relationship to what you see, hear, and experience. I think this idea of natural objects being animate is what draws me to the wilderness. I am not drawn simply by seeing a tree or a lake, but by witnessing what it is to be tree, be lake, or be rock.

We had a cute little visitor to our campsite. A young woodchuck decided we were no threat so it kept hanging out nibbling aster leaves.

Dinner was a new addition to our traditional menu plan, beef stroganoff. I generally assemble all our meals versus buying commercial products. This recipe was one I pieced together with various ingredients I had in my ingredient inventory and it was a HUGE success. Absolutely delicious!

Topaz was a lovely lake to stay on. Very little traffic came by, just one canoe passing through around 2:30. Peaceful evening. Swimming was nice, too.

Distance: 10 miles Portages: 40 rods Time: 3 hours, 10 minutes of travel time plus a relaxing hour long lunch and chat

~Knife Lake, Amoeber Lake, Topaz Lake