We paddle and portage our way through the chain of small lakes that will eventually pour us out onto the western most reach of Knife Lake. The series of paddles and portages … Birch, Carp, Melon and Seed … are an easy warm up and break us in gently for the days ahead. 

Leaving the last portage from Seed into Knife we are finally onto some big, and tremendously blue, water. We paddle past Dorothy’s Isle of Pine and stand in awe of one remarkable person. We reach our first campsite on the east end of Robbins Island where we’ll spend the rest of the day setting up camp, fishing, eating and fishing some more. It’s easy to see that this is a popular campsite…as it shows the wear and tear. We caught and released quite a few smallies, none of great size…except for the two that got away of course.

Tonight we were treated to a beautiful night sky and celebrated our time together, and first night in the BW, with two fine Cuban cigars…but don’t tell anybody.  

Aided by a brisk wind, we both enjoy the cool waters of Knife Lake and our refreshed enough for some more evening fishing. Returning just after dark we eat, play some cribbage and retire…this time to a great night’s sleep.

After breakfast we break camp and head out east on Knife, pass to the right of Thunder Point and head down the South Arm. This was one harrowing day of paddling…high winds (which I find out upon return had gusts up to 33mph and sustained max. winds of 24 mph) and huge, rolling, breaking waves make for some interesting moments. Despite the wind being at our backs, it was still a very tense paddle for the some seven and a half miles to our next campsite just past Eddy Falls.

We overshot the campsite landing and had to turn back into the wind and while broadside to that west wind we were nearly swamped on two different occasions. But after a much adrenaline-aided effort, we turned and then dug our way back to the campsite landing…the first one just to the east of where Eddy Falls empties into the South Arm. The campsite sits up on a rocky point and offers a tremendous few down the length of beautiful blue waters of the South Arm. That is, unlike the Robbins Island campsite, an abundance of firewood.

Needless to say we were windbound for the rest of the day and night but did manage to wet a few lines from shore…spending the rest of the day reading, siesta, gathering firewood and playing some cribbage. The wind never let up throughout the rest of the day and night. I began to be concerned because I sure didn’t want to even think about having to paddle back into the teeth of that wind. Tonight the sky was absolutely stellar. A late moonrise preserved a black sky that afforded us a tremendous view of the Milky Way’s brilliance. We also saw many shooting stars and satellites. The night was concluded with more cribbage and cigars and a good night’s rest followed.   

The portage into Wood was pretty easy, but seemed longer than I thought it would be. Joel dropped his knife on his way down the portage, so I went back to try to find it. After making it all the way back to the gravel parking lot, I had not found his knife. As I started back down the portage, I prayed to God that if it was His will that I find Joel's knife, then please let me find it, and if not, then so be it. 2 or 3 steps later, his knife was laying on the side of the portage. Praise the Lord!

Once I arrived back at Wood Lake, the canoes were loaded and we begin to paddle. Noah, Joel, and Colman lead the way.

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As we paddle across Wood Lake, we noticed some large white birds on the island in the south end of Wood Lake. I belive they are Trumpter Swans.

Levi likes to stop and have his picture taken on rocks, so we stop for this one.

The portage from Wood to Hula seemed short and was a pretty easy portage. Our group makes quick work of this portage and we quickly paddle across Hula. The portage from Hula to Good was a little longer, but again we make it across with ease. Once on Good, we paddle down to the narrows to see if the site there is open. We are in luck, and make this site our stopping point for the day. The site at the narrows of Wood is a very nice site with plenty of room for tents as well as good trees for hammocks. It has a great view of the lake from the firegrate. The only down side is the climb from the water up to camp. This site sets up 50-60 feet the above water. In my opinion, it is well worth the climb.

After setting up camp, it rains for about a half hour. After the rain, we decide to try our luck fishing on Good. While fishing we see deer on the shoreline on the west side of the lake. We also saw a beaver swimming along the southern shoreline. Levi made friends with a dragonfly. Noah caught 3 northern pike, Colman caught crawfish and a snapping turtle, Joel caught 11 northern pike and a small mouth bass. Joel's largest northern pike was the biggest of the trip.

After fishing, we head back to camp, and have dinner. After dinner, the it begins to rain again. Levi has had a loose tooth for a few days, and finally pulled it today. Hopefully the Tooth Fairy will find her way to the BWCA. Today was a Great day!!

Sunday, August 5, 2007 + What a great morning to sleep in! We had but a 2.7 mile paddle back to the portage into Sucker to meet our tow…so after breakfast we broke camp and wrote the final chapter…well, almost the final chapter…of one fantastic trip, with one fantastic son, into the BWCA.

Our tow from Williams and Hall was right on time…we loaded up and sped SW into some bouncing troughs and made the trip back in just over twenty minutes. Here is where the story gets ‘interesting’…unfortunately. I say unfortunately because it is the part of the trip that I would definitely leave out if I had the choice. Once the tow boat stopped at the dock, I jumped up and out of the boat onto the dock…hitting my head on the metal bars used to secure the canoes in the tow. I knew instantly that it wasn’t just a ‘bump’; and after stopping the bleeding, and then showering (nothing was going to keep me from that shower) we headed to Ely and the Ely/Bloomenson Community Hospital ER. Thanks to the quick work of Doctor Stephen Park, who by-the-way, is also ‘one of us’, he sutured the laceration in my head with six staples.

My son and I then made our way to the Ely Steak House one more time to each polish off a king-cut of a very succulent rib-eye steak. We finally got way from Ely and made our way back to Rochester…the drive back seemed MUCH longer then the drive up.

I have to conclude my trip report with another story…which from its beginning I thought for sure was going to be anything BUT a story with a happy ending.

Here it is: The last day in the BW…as we broke camp on Birch…I took my wedding ring off (the original ring I was married with 39 years ago) to put some sun-screen on my legs. The ring never made it back onto my finger. It wasn’t until after my shower back at Williams and Hall…after the incident with my head…that I finally noticed that my ring was gone! I knew instantly what had happened. However, I wasn’t for sure if the ring was at the Birch campsite or if it possibly could have fallen out of the canoe at the last portage. Before leaving Williams and Hall for the hospital, I told Blayne about the ring and he told me that he would be going back to the portage area the next day and that he would look for it. Realistically, I didn’t hold much hope…because I didn’t even know if it was there or at the campsite…let alone the likelihood of it being found, regardless of where it was. Blayne called me a couple of days later to tell me that he had had no luck. About a week later Blayne called again with the great news that my ring had been found! Seems as if a fella by the name of Jeff Anders of Hawley, Minnesota had overheard Blayne talking to me on the phone, telling ME the bad news that he wasn’t able to find my ring. Jeff had gone back to purchase a water bottle and fortunately for me was in the right place at the right time. While Jeff’s group was at the portage into Birch he was out looking for some raspberries and said he looked down and there was the ring…under a bush. He recalled the conversation that he had inadvertently overheard, put the ring in a dry bag, enjoyed his stay in the BW and then shared his discovery with Blayne upon his return. I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I was to get that second call from Blayne telling me that a Jeff Anders had found my ring. I called Jeff and thanked him profusely and I can’t say enough about Blayne and Williams and Hall for all their help and effort. When Blayne sent the ring back he included a little note…ending with “I can’t tell you how happy I am that it was found. You are one lucky guy!” Call it luck, call it Providence…I don’t know. But I do know that my gratitude to Blayne and Jeff just can’t be expressed enough.

So this trip to the BWCA, a spectacular trip for my son John and I, a trip booked-ended with the airlines losing my gear and a lost wedding band and a hole in my head…is for sure, ONE GREAT STORY.