Friday, May 28, 2021

It’s another cool & crisp morning but, there’s barely a cloud in the sky as we crawl out. Aurora has wanted to try for some walleye but, were not in an area that has many lakes that harbor that species. I had planned this trip before confirming that she would be coming along so, unfortunately, I didn’t get any pre-trip intel from her. Wanting to try to make up for this egregious blunder, I tell her North Temperance is supposed to have some but, we’ll have to do a few tough portages to get there. She agrees to give it a whirl.

Before committing to those goat paths, we paddle into the southernmost portion of Cherokee lake. One of the primary motivators for doing this trip was to finally gaze upon the famed (to me) ‘Spartan’ site located here on Cherokee Lake. We’d planned on visiting Cherokee a few years previous but, the weather conspired against us and we were forced to spend that day in camp. So, still being on my bucket list, this was an opportunity to check that one off.

I have never actually met the Spartans and, may not ever do so. Yet, they have garnered, and hold, a special place in my heart. Perhaps more so than any non-public figure I have not met. Having been something of a bwca.com junkie for the past dozen years or so, over the years I have inevitably come to ‘know’ many of the colorful cast of characters that frequent the site. While they are two separate people, certainly Spartan2 has provided most of the color commentary on bwca.com but, as with most successfully married couples, they are so tightly intertwined I consider them as one. And have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them through the forum and the many excellent trip reports that have been shared.

Here’s a link to the wonderful trip report where they spent time at this site. https://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=trip.report_view&sel_trp_id=5657

The Spartans.

Without going into extensive detail, I would say the primary reason I want to visit this site is simply to walk on the same paths, gaze upon the same views and possibly experience similar feelings as these 2 extraordinary people. Something of a canoe country pilgrimage if you will.

So, Aurora and I work our way down the lake, passing several occupied sites along the way on this gorgeous cool morning. Providentially, the Spartan site is open, and we turn into the convenient little lagoon and pull up. I think the Spartans themselves would say that this is not a true 5-star site and, I wouldn’t necessarily rate it that high either as the fire grate area is lacking. But it’s immediately understandable why they grew so fond of this site. The view to the north is breathtaking and there are 2 separate rock walkways jutting out into the lake, which provide great sitting spots and/or fishing piers. There are numerous trails spiderwebbing around camp, some leading back to a neat overlook of the creek behind camp.

Aurora enjoys taking advantage of the amenities this site provides and, to my amazement, spots some well camouflaged leeches while exploring the shoreline waters. I tell her if we had a container, we should keep them for walleye fishing. She seems quite pleased to learn this little nugget of information for her advantage on future trips. Speaking of walleye fishing… Contented; we leave this special site behind and paddle out way back up to the Sitka portage.

This landing is pretty much a hole in the wall here on Cherokee. However, there is a nice staging area a short climb up from the lake. The adjective I’ve heard thrown around the most when describing this portage is “roller coaster”, and I’d would have to concur that is a most fitting description. There are a few spots that twist and climb all at once, where foot placement is critical. Glad were just on a day trip. Also, I tell Aurora in no uncertain terms that she shouldn’t be afraid of taking a break if she gets tired – just let me know. I feel she’s doing a great job as we make it across without any serious complaint on her part.

It’s a short paddle to the next portage, which is about as long but much more forgiving as the previous trail. The bluebird skies continue to grace us as morning gives way to afternoon. While this makes for an enjoyable outing in the paddling sense, I believe it’s detrimental to our success enticing the walleye to bite. And our results (or lack thereof) bear that out.

The northern island site is vacant, and we pull in there to take a break and grab a snack. Just behind camp there’s a neat overlook of the northern part of this breathtakingly scenic lake as we gaze upon the lush, green, rolling hills of the Laurentian Divide while we lounge in bug free comfort.

Fishing remains slow but, Aurora is delighted to find a forgotten new pair of fishing pliers at the southernmost site as we take a brief rest stop here. There’s a ton of downed trees downed trees just outside of camp and, visibly discernible just across the lake. I wonder to myself if these are still remnants of the ’99 windstorm? Aurora requests that on our next trip, we camp on a lake that has a good population of walleye. I concur.

Having made it back to Cherokee, we paddle up the east side closer to shore than we had on our trip down. Eventually we happen upon the well concealed campsite there. It offers a beautiful sandy beach with a large area of shallow water stretching out from shore. The campsite itself is nothing to write home about but, there is a tremendous old cedar tree sentinel a very short walk down the shoreline. It’s not quite on par with the ones at Johnson Falls, The Enchanted Forest portage or Basswood etc. but, it is still quite awe inspiring to see such a furrowed old fellow still going strong.

Back in our camp, with all the cedar chips & dried out branches, Aurora easily gets another one match fire going to grill our steak. It’s a comfortable night around a warm fire with the occasional snap, crackle & pop flame up before we flame out for the evening.