2021 BWCA Wildfires Force a Sylvania Trip
by Ausable
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
08/22/2021
Entry & Exit Point:
Other
Number of Days:
9
Group Size:
2
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (4 messages)
Day 5 of 9
Thursday, August 26, 2021
I awoke at 3 AM to a strong smoky smell and I got out of the tent to investigate. The smoke seemed to be everywhere, but it was not coming from our thoroughly-drowned campfire. The smell and the red Moon made me think the MN wildfires might be the cause of this smoke. The morning was very hazy and the smoky smell persisted although it had lessened somewhat since 3 AM. The haze would continue throughout the day wherever we went. We paddled to Loon Lake today. The portage from Clark to Loon was a bit tricky to find, but the 99 rod trail is fairly decent.
Fishing in Loon Lake was only so-so. We caught nothing by trolling deep. We caught 2 Small Mouth Bass by jigging deep in the narrows between the two halves of the lake. We were unable to catch any fish over the two parts of the lake marked as 50 feet deep.
We pulled out at the portage to Deer Island Lake to eat lunch. The area is, again, characterized by open, old growth forest. There were signs of beaver activity. A Loon came close to the canoe while we were there, but it dove before I could get the camera out of the bag.
Back on Crooked, we saw a group of female and juvenile Mallards feeding near the portage in the duckweed. They were not bothered by our presence. Earlier, we had seen the Loon family and a Bald Eagle in a dead tree on Crooked's southern shore. We had another close encounter with an adult Loon on Crooked as we returned.
Rain was expected overnight, so we made sure that all equipment was secured under the tarp before we turned in. The neighbors in the Ermine-1 campsite were noisy this night, and that site was close enough that we could see a portion of one tent.
I awoke at 3 AM to a strong smoky smell and I got out of the tent to investigate. The smoke seemed to be everywhere, but it was not coming from our thoroughly-drowned campfire. The smell and the red Moon made me think the MN wildfires might be the cause of this smoke. The morning was very hazy and the smoky smell persisted although it had lessened somewhat since 3 AM. The haze would continue throughout the day wherever we went. We paddled to Loon Lake today. The portage from Clark to Loon was a bit tricky to find, but the 99 rod trail is fairly decent.
Fishing in Loon Lake was only so-so. We caught nothing by trolling deep. We caught 2 Small Mouth Bass by jigging deep in the narrows between the two halves of the lake. We were unable to catch any fish over the two parts of the lake marked as 50 feet deep.
We pulled out at the portage to Deer Island Lake to eat lunch. The area is, again, characterized by open, old growth forest. There were signs of beaver activity. A Loon came close to the canoe while we were there, but it dove before I could get the camera out of the bag.
Back on Crooked, we saw a group of female and juvenile Mallards feeding near the portage in the duckweed. They were not bothered by our presence. Earlier, we had seen the Loon family and a Bald Eagle in a dead tree on Crooked's southern shore. We had another close encounter with an adult Loon on Crooked as we returned.
Rain was expected overnight, so we made sure that all equipment was secured under the tarp before we turned in. The neighbors in the Ermine-1 campsite were noisy this night, and that site was close enough that we could see a portion of one tent.
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