Tiger Bay/LLC – Boulder Bay – Lake Agnes Paddled 4 miles – Portaged 89 rods

Even though we were awake, the girls were nice and let me stay in bed until 7 am. Then up and packing we went just after a morning rain shower. We were on the water at 8 am. Calm waters and quietness were this stretch of paddling. The loons and birds are moving about (and of course the mosquitoes). Our first portage notes showed a difficult, rocky terrain for the 65 rod. We overshot the portage by one little bad and paddled a nice little bad before getting back on track.

The portage had a little rocky climb to start but was not bad as bad as the reviews had made it sounds. The landing had a partially fallen tree but not too bad. We loaded up and paddled out far enough to escape most of the mosquitoes then enjoyed a morning snack and did a map check. This little pond is pretty clean for being so small.

Our next 24 rod portage brought us directly across the downward end of the rapids so we were able to enjoy the view as we paddled out from the portage. This portage had a pretty good landing with a fairly steep and rocky uphill climb but then a nice trail to a nice landing. The water was flowing pretty fast here.

Back in the canoe and just a few minutes later a small set of rapids to paddle appeared (no portage needed). We paddled up stream and continued on to Lake Agnes. Our goal is the site I had originally wanted on our way in. The wind that had been at our back now is coming at us from the side and picked up in intensity. Still no rain though the clouds do threaten it today.

Around the point and YES, the site is open! 10:30 am as we pull in to check it out. We have our home for the night. We work as a team to set up camp and make oatmeal with dried fruit and hot coffee/chocolate for brunch. Exactly what our tummies needed! With dishes done and no rain yet, we each find our place in nature to relax and reflect on why we are here.

By 5 pm we had sprinkles again. I headed to the tent to read and let my bug bites which had turned into two inch wide rashes around my calves dry out. Our first aid kit has seen a lot of action on this trip but fortunately only from bug bites, leeches, bumps and bruises; nothing serious. We have noted a few things to add for next year.

By 7 pm we were all forced into the tent and decided to prepare for our final route and then spent the evening playing cards mosquito-fee (after killing the ones who wanted to reside in the tent with us). The poor tent has a lot of DNA on it from this trip. Just as we all snuggled down for the night we heard a noise outside…. I, being closest to the zipper and designated critter watcher, unzipped the tent to peak outside. And that “bear” that was sneaking around our site… well, it was a nice little hare hopping around looking for an evening snack. It continued on its way and all was quiet. Back to bed for my first good night’s sleep on this trip – my mind is finally on vacation.

Campsite #1816 - I have posted a campsite review

Lake Agnes – Oyster River – Oyster Lake – Rocky Lake – Green Lake – Ge-be-on-e- quet Lake Paddled 8 miles – Portaged 490 rods (double portaged at all portages)

This non-morning person who is camping with two morning people was once again up at 4:45 am and preparing for the day. It looks like we may see rain today but the waters are calm. We packed up, grabbed our breakfast bars and headed for our first portage of the day; 160 rods to Oyster River at 6:00 am. We have given in to the fact that we have to double portage.

This portage offered a little of everything; two large trees to go over, two small streams to cross, a little mud, and a bog at the end requiring teamwork to get to the water. This was my last trip with the canoe as Tauna took over after this as the canoe and I were just not getting along this year.

The paddle on Oyster River was pretty and peaceful. But no moose again today. Only a few rods before the 60 rod portage there is a very well constructed beaver dam that requires a lift over (or you may have two canoes by the time you make it to the other site at this time of year).

The rapids at the portage landing come right next to the very rocky landing. The portage itself is nice once you get out of the water.

Oyster Lake is pretty, yet very deceiving. Even with three of us, we still did some extra wandering to get to the narrows (maybe it has something to do with the time of day???) The narrows itself is very pretty. Not sure if we are just tired today or what but even finding the 65 rod portage was a challenge.

The portage went smooth and we were greeted by Rocky Lake. Definitely a lake worth visiting. We grabbed a snack and went in search of the pictographs. They were very easy to find. From the portage they are on the rock cliff directly in front of you. There is a rock island peninsula just after them. We continued our journey along Rocky and enjoyed the view.

The 85 rod portage to Green Lake had a little terrain but the trail was good. I stayed with the canoe and gear while Tauna and Carolyn went back for the rest of our gear. While sitting in the water cooling off, I noticed a craw fish big enough for dinner! I left him there though. At this portage we also met up with a crew we had seen the day before. They were a family of four who were also enjoying the abundance of mosquitoes on their trip.

We loaded up and had a paddling lunch on Green Lake to get away from the mosquitoes. Our final portage of the day was a 120 rod into Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake. We had been a little concerned about this portage based on forum posts but discovered our concern was for nothing. The trail started out nice and gradually went up hill, then flattened out and finally went back down to a nice landing area. I’m not sure where I saw the post about the 20 rod step drop but is does not exist if anyone else has seen it.

We quickly loaded the canoe to escape the bugs and began scouting for our site. The ones I had hoped for were already taken (of course the “chair” site was taken) so we checked out the next site to the north on the west side of the lake and called it home for two nights. We reached camp about 2 pm and took just about the last site on the lake. After setting up camp we decided we needed to swim if there was any way to handle the smell in that tent tonight! Polar Bear Plunge here we come! Brrrr that water was cold!

Today we had sun, periodic sprinkles, way more mosquitoes than we wanted, and the new addition of deer flies. That goodness for bug nets, gloves and good bug spray! By late afternoon our sunshine had turned to rain and we retreated to the tent for a while.

This site had a ton to offer. Great places for several hammocks, tons of room to explore, great rock slabs for laying around and oh my, animal remains! We found lots of bones on this trip. And of course… mosquitoes. There is a lower marshy area to the south side of this site which does not show on the map but I’m sure contributes to the bug factor. I would not let is keep you away from this site though!

Campsite #118 - campsite review has been posted.

We had thunderstorms last night. My day to sleep in and I’m up at 5 am thanks to the call of nature! No rain at the moment but still a lot of thunder and lightning to our south. Nice sunrise and even more beautiful double rainbow with a single rainbow reflection into the calm waters. What a way to wake up! We enjoyed the view, killed a few thousand mosquitoes, and Tauna and I retreated to the tent to read while Carolyn braved the bugs.

After a few more hours of on/off thunder and rain, the morning cleared and breakfast preparations began. Pancakes with dehydrated blueberries and homemade syrup with hot beverages was just what we needed. With dishes done and laundry up to dry, the hammocks were calling our names. Our site has great hammock trees for all of us to be right by the water. We all bathed in more bug spray, grabbed our water bottles and books and settled in….for about an hour before the rain moved back in.

We played on/off sprinkle threats all day as the weather made circles around us. Fortunately nothing drenching so we were still able to enjoy our day outside by the water. The mosquitoes were terrible and we were covered in red bloody welts, even with the “good” spray. Also adding to the list of unwanted wildlife today was wood ticks and a few black flies. This site appears to have a lot of animal activity as we found several bones and animal furs around the site. But no problems during our stay.

We decided to do our dinner for lunch given the weather so pizza it was with raspberry crumble for dessert. Yummmmmyyy!

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading, killing mosquitoes and trying to forecast the next rain shower. By 6 pm we finally had to retreat to the tent to escape the bugs for a while and plan out our day tomorrow.

We are an “outdoor family” who enjoys backpacking, but canoeing is not something we had any experience with. Despite our lack of canoeing experience, I “googled” Boundary Water and found this site. My wife and I read dozens and dozens of trip reports, gear guides, route descriptions, and watched videos on how to pack, and portage a canoe. We were hooked! We wanted to go without a guide, but needed to rent Canoes. I decided on Jordan’s Canoe Outfitters. Mark Jordon and his wife were great to work with, and helped us select a great route to give us a good taste of the BWCA. Our route started at EP 24 (Fall Lake) and went up to Basswood Lake down by Basswood Falls, up to Crooked Lake, and then back up the Horse River to Horse Lake then out Tin Can Mike, Sandpit, to Mudro to EP 23. We had 5 days which turned out to be perfect.

Day 1, Tuesday After staying the night at Jordon’s Outfitters we were up early and on the lake by 7:00am. I had read some reports that raised concerns about the motor boat traffic on the first part of the route from Fall Lake to Basswood Lake, but it wasn’t bad at all. There were not many boats (especially compared to boats or should I say yachts on the lakes around Chattanooga, TN where we’re from). We made great time and were able to single portage. By 12:30 we made it to a nice campsite overlooking the lake just before the left turn to Basswood falls (C1536 on the GPS Marked sites from the JMU site http://w3.cs.jmu.edu/arch/maps/bwca/). The mosquitoes were not bad that night. I did use a Thermacell which made a noticeable difference. We caught several bass and northern off the rocky point in front of the campsite. We saw several eagles that afternoon which was a treat for my wife who had not seen a bald eagle. One great thing about doing something new like this is that you are always learning. For example, don’t reach and grab the line a few inches above the lure when landing a northern – it’s been 6 days and I’m still wearing a band-aid on that finger.

Day 2, Wednesday A thunder storm came in late that night and continued to rain until about 9:00am. I was so mad at myself for not covering our packs with a tarp or trash bag. I knew better than to trust that a clear sky at night meant no rain. This little slip-up added about 10 lbs of wet pack weight that we had to carry on the 320 rod portage around Basswood Falls. Oh well, that won’t happen again. The 320 rod portage was not bad. We single portaged it, but I must say it was hard with the wet packs and a full supply of food for our 3 teenage boys – they can eat a lot!

There was still a slight drizzle when we portaged around Wheelbarrow Falls. The mosquitoes were out in force so we donned our head nets before hitting land. On this portage my wife met a lady portaging in the opposite direction with her arms full of gear, sweating, with red dots on her face, trying to swat mosquitoes with her shoulders. This is when the lady offered my wife a million dollars for her head net, which I thought was a fair price, but my wife graciously turned her down. I would certainly suggest stopping by VNO and picking up some of their special head nets, so you can help fund your next trip.J Four dollars is a small price to pay for the comfort they provide. We began putting our head nets on before exiting the canoes on all portages. Our guide had suggested slinging a lure below Wheelbarrow Falls. My youngest son had a nice smallie on before we even got the canoes loaded from the portage. We fished there and soon caught several smallies and a couple of northern of which I’m a little gun shy now. I did recall reading that one should grab them by the back at the gill plates which does work wonders.

We then headed down toward Lower Basswood Falls with the hopes of getting the campsite on the point a half mile east of Lower BW Falls (C1547 on the JMU maps). Our guide had circled it as a great location, but warned us that it is very hard to get. I remember praying on the way down that by some miracle it would be open. You can see it out on the point for a good ways off and I could tell no one was there – thank You, God!

> This site fit the description that a good friend and experienced BWCA vetERAN TOLD ME ABOUT, I.E., ON a point, up off the water, facing the wind, good tent pads, and not close to a marsh. The only drawback was that with a popular site comes a well used privy – ugh.

All in all it is a garget="_blank" href="index.cfm?fuseaction=photos.display&img=TRAILHIKER10%2D310712%2D183120%2EJPG&name=TripReport">reat site with great fishing, beautiful views and good swimming. The boys went out, and caught several nice bass for dinner. The only problem with this is our heavy packs of food are not getting lighter with us eating fish every day.

We enjoyed a lovely sunset evening, my wife watching eagles from the campsite, and the boys and I fishing. We cooked dinner late, and realized that was a big mistake. The mosquitoes were out in full force.

Just before dusk, by middle son, Grant, howled like a wolf. To our surprise a wolf immediatELY ANSWERED STRAIGHT ACROSS The lake from our camp. He howled a couple of long howls.

Lessons of the day: 1) put tarp up before the storm, and 2) cook dinner before dusk unless the wind is strong enough to move the mosquitoes out of camp.

Day 3, Thursday We woke to beautiful day and I soon had blueberry pancakes ready to feed the teens. I brought a double batch of pancake mix thinking we may have it two days, but when all was said and done all the pancake mix was gone in one sitting, oh well it will be oatmeal tomorrow.

We grabbed our fishing gear and some snacks and headed up to Crooked Lake to see the Indian pictographs. Our guide had warned us to approach the Lower Basswood Falls portage by hugging the Canadian bank, and being careful to not get too close to the quick moving water at the head of the falls. It worked out fine. That was great advise.

>

Seeing the pictographs was a bit like stepping back in time. – I WONDERED WHAT THEY WERE WANting to communicate, who was allowed to do the drawings, what did they use to stain the rocks, did they stand on the Ice?? I’ll have to do some research on this later. Portaging without packs was really a nice change. We fished below the falls, and my wife quickly hooked a nice northern. After pictures of the big fish I learned that my pliers don’t float. In my haste to unhook the precious Storm Thin Fin, I dropped the pliers in the water. My oldest couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the look on my face as I made one last swat at trying to grab them as the sank into the tanic, brown water. With some careful handling I got the hook out unscathed.

We ate a snack and lazily let the wind drift us back toward the falls. We fished some more and then portaged back toward camp. We decided to stay at this site another night. We had another downpour that afternoon, but I had taken time to put up a tarp to cook under. I cooked dinner under the tarp of spinach/cheese stuffed tortellini with butter and parmesian and romono cheese.

We had a late afternoon storm, and it really let go – those good tenT PADS I HAD IDENTIFIED EARLier now were small rivers. Thankfully, our tents did a good job keeping our gear dry – I was also smart enough to keep our packs covered with a light tarp. The rain stopped about two hours before sunset. The boys and I headed out and fished until almost dusk while my wife read in the cozy tent.

Earlier that day my wife caught this nice smallie:

As I’VE SAID EVERY DAY IS AN ADVENture and learning experience – today I learned pliers don’t float and placing a Thermacell close to the privy about 15 minutes prior to your visit is a good idea. Day 4, Friday My wife has always wanted to see the northern lights and with clear skies she stayed awake half the night looking out our tent window every twenty minutes or so. She knew the chaNCES WERE SLIM, BUT SEVERAL PEople in Ely had seen them the week before.

We awoke to a gorgeous morning with clear skies a low fog on the lake and great coffee – it doesn’t get much better.

> We packed up and headed up the Horse River toward Horse Lake. The Horse River paddle was so different than anything else we had been on – there’s a lane about wide enough for two canoes to pass through the rice and grass (or whatever it’s called). Still it’s beautiful. With the rain of the last couple of days didn’t even see the beaver dams that were mentioned. The two or three rocky areas did require a quick drag. Navigating this river with its diversity was one of my youngest son’s favorite parts. My wife enjoyed all the water lilies.

We made it to Horse Lake by noon, and quickly settled on the first campsite on the right as you come into the lake from the river (C1116). My wife made sure I faced the tent Northwest so she could watch for the northern lights.

The sky was dotted with puffy white clouds on the deep blue background. We had a great time just hanging around camp being lazy, fishing, swimming (there’s a great sandy beach there), and eating. With only one day left, the boys decided to eat everything they could hold so they wouldn’t have to carry it out which meant they really packed away some food that afternoon.

Through the entire trip we have enjoyed watching and listening to the loons. At this site we saw a mother loon with several young ones. We loved watching them.

That evening was so beautiful we decided to sleep with the flies off the tents. It was wonderful to see the stars, and made it easier for my wife to watch for the Northern Lights, which unfortunately didn’t show that night.

The boys have had a great time, haven't complained at all and have worked hard to make single portages.

The lessons for the day: 1) rivers are not always rivers, rather they range from rice and lily filled mashes, to narrow rocky creeks; and 2) relaxing around camp in a hammock is a must do on a sunny afternoon.

Day 5, Saturday We were up early, and on our way out by 6:30 to meet our guide at EP 23 by 10:00. We made it to Mudro by 8:30 and planned on fishing until about 10:00. That’s when we realized we were missing a fishing rod.L Our two oldest sons went back to look for it. They first jogged back the steep portage to Sandpit, but it wasn’t there. They then came back to Mudro Lake, grabbed a canoe and started back at 8:40. They portaged back to Sandpit Lake, paddled across it, ran the 160 rods back to Tin Can Mike Lake and found the rod in the water (it must have come un-bungeed from the canoe). They made it back to Mudro at 9:20. That was pretty fast!

We took our time out to the EP and met the guide at 10:00 as planned. What a great trip!

God’s handy-work was evident throughout this trip: in our getting great campsites; in the scenery; in the power of the thunderstorms; the flight of the eagles; the call of the loons; the howl of a wolf; the abundance and variety of the fish; and most of all in providing me a great family to enjoy this beautiful area with. Although, when I get to heaven, I am going to ask what on earth the mosquitoes were created for.

> [paragraph break]

Lake Agnes – Nina Moose River – Nina Moose Lake Paddled 6 miles – Portaged 166 rods

Up at 4:30 am again and on the water at 5:30 am. The water is fairly calm but rain and wind is definitely coming today. The lake is quiet as we make our way to Nina Moose River, hoping our early morning will bring us a moose sighting. The water is quiet; the birds are singing, but no moose.

Our 96 rod portage arrives and we prepare for the mosquito attack. Tauna has mastered the canoe and we can finally do a single trip portage. I grab Bertha (food and gear pack) and top load the small personal pack for the hike across the portage.

Once across and loaded, we headed upstream again. A few minutes of paddling and I realized my bug net is gone (this is a major problem!) Oh no! I know exactly where it is. I had to take a “nature break” at the end of the portage and my hat caught on a branch… yep that is where it is. Good thing we are really close as this has become one very valuable piece of gear on this trip! Carolyn hops out and saves my day (and several pints of blood).

Back on the water we paddle the calm glass-like water until the beautiful cascading rapids come into view. We hang out for a photo op and have a snack while taking in the sounds around us. Knowing we can single trip this portage is a great feeling as we load up for the 70 road.

This trail is rocky and a little slippery in the on/off rain and has some rolling terrain. We land our gear at Nina Moose Lake and have plenty of time to find our perfect site for our final night in the BW. We paddle east around the shoreline, looking at each open site. After circling the lake the wind began to pick up and we made the decision one of the two sites on the west of the lake would be our final home for this trip. Both sites were nice but we liked the southern best.

The rocks were very slippery and required a crawl out of the canoe and up the slope to prevent falling. We had camp set up and were checking out the surroundings by 10 am. Today is a day of heavy showers and strong wind so it is nice to be at camp.

Carolyn played monkey again to help with the bear hang since the choices were few for trees and I had to use a very brushy pine tree for one side.

Our rain fly is up and getting a work out today as we dodge from it to the water front with the weather. It is definitely a cooler day today. Tonight is the night of the super moon but between rain and bugs, we will not be seeing it. Instead we use our final night to jot down notes about our trip and gear. What works, what doesn’t, what do we want to change, etc.

Campsite #1789

We were up at 4 am since Carolyn could not sleep any more. We began our final gear packing, paying more attention to whose stuff went into which pack to minimize sorting back in Ely. By 5:15 am we were on the water making our way to the river with final hopes of seeing that elusive moose. The skies were clear and the sun was on the rise. We could hear the wind in the trees and were happy to be spending our paddling hours on the river. We did our usual grabbing of a bar for breakfast.

As we made our way to the middle of the lake we saw the Super Moon off to our west still visible low in the clear blue sky.

We paddled on to the overlook along the river where Tauna and I headed up the rock face “mountain” very carefully. I was very happy for the sunny, dry day today to be able to take in this view. I went about 2/3 of the way up, plotting my steps very carefully on the sometimes slippery rock before stopping. Getting to the top was not important enough to risk injury. The view from where I stood was beautiful and I felt at peace. I took a few minutes to sit down and just let my eyes take in the view.

Once back at the water we paddled on to our 25 rod portage which we single tripped without problem. We were able to paddle upstream through the “extra” mud portage and avoid playing in the mud today. Around the corner and we were at the 20 rod portage where we once again could make a single trip. Tauna continued to portage that canoe like a master. I took the gear and one personal while Carolyn took the other personal.

It was a sad feeling to paddle the last few strokes to get to the final 160 rod that brought our trip to a close. At the 160 rod we loaded for a single trip and headed out with the three of us hanging close together. We reached the parking lot at 8 am to load up my SUV and head for Ely to enjoy that much coveted shower at Ely Outfitting Company.

This trip was our first for early in the season and showed us many new things. Butterflies of many varieties, wildflowers of amazing beauty, new growth on trees, and a new respect for bug nets. Until our next trip…... Nina Moose Lake, Agnes, Lake, Oyster Lake, Rocky Lake, Green Lake, Ge-be-on-e- quet Lake, Lac La Croix, Agnes, Lake, Nina Moose Lake