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      Trip Report - 21 day solo in August
 
  Last Visit: 03/29/2024 05:36AM

Entry Point 26 - Wood Lake

Wood Lake entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Kawishiwi Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 13 miles. Access to Wood Lake is a 180-rod portage. This area was affected by blowdown in 1999.

Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1361 feet
Latitude: 47.9691
Longitude: -91.6001
Author Message Text
bobcole
membermember
 
09/02/2014 03:25PM
 
New Trip Report posted by bobcole

Trip Name: 21 day solo in August.

Entry Point: 25

Click Here to View Trip Report
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AdamXChicago
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/02/2014 03:39PM
 
Great, detailed report. Nice photos. Thanks for posting.
Looks like the fish were hungry!
AdamX
alpine525
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/02/2014 04:16PM
 
Wow - you covered a lot of miles on your trip! Congratulations on what looked to be an amazing journey. Nice photos and report.

Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace. Dalai Lama
cyclones30
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/02/2014 04:25PM
 
Great report and all places I haven't visited yet. Have to add a few to the list now...


Thanks!
Mocha
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/02/2014 07:28PM
 
thanks for your report, thorougly enjoyed it! what a great treat and reward for finishing your masters program.
boonie
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/02/2014 08:29PM
 
Thanks, nice report and pictures. I really enjoyed reading about it since it was mostly places I haven't been and twice as many days as my longest. It sounds like you really enjoyed a much deserved trip.
cyclones30
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/02/2014 10:21PM
 
My wife and I are hoping to be finishing our master's this coming spring...maybe we should take a trip before we're done too :)
Kiporby
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/02/2014 11:35PM
 
Well done and very cool. Thanks for sharing.

There is a light and it never goes out. Morrissey
cycle003
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/03/2014 12:19PM
 
What a great trip.
Ho Ho
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/03/2014 02:09PM
 

Great trip, great report! Thanks for sharing it. You had great weather considering what it has been like up here most of this summer.


mooseplums
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/03/2014 05:07PM
 
Wow! nice trip....how did you manage to eat all those bass...thanks for contributing to their demise.

"I am haunted by waters"~Norman Maclean "A River Runs Through It"
bobcole
membermember
 
09/03/2014 08:47PM
 
Glad everyone is enjoying the report!


quote mooseplums: "Wow! nice trip....how did you manage to eat all those bass...thanks for contributing to their demise."


Haha, definitely didn't eat all those, I only ate 1 per dinner. Kept them on the stringer long enough to take pictures and then let them go.
builditbetter22
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/03/2014 09:31PM
 
Sounds like a great trip, thanks for sharing

One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning
nctry
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/04/2014 09:37PM
 
Nice trip. I think 21 days is a nice length for a trip. You can really get into it as it sounds like you did. I wish you many more great adventures.

Nctry
plumbbob
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/04/2014 09:48PM
 
Nice trip report and some really great pics.

I will get all the rest I need when I am dead.
cowdoc
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/08/2014 09:36PM
 
Nice report.......neat route.

"What could happen?"
OldFingers57
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/09/2014 02:48AM
 
Great trip report and really nice photos.

"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.” ~A.A. Milne
AndySG
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/09/2014 12:39PM
 

A great report on a wonderful solo. Glad you got-r-done young fellow. You certainly deserved a long trip, and hope you have many more.


PS.....Smallies are tasty.
Northwoodsman
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/10/2014 03:58PM
 
What a great surprise at the end of a trip! Sounds like a great time. After a 3 week trip your were still smiling in every picture.
Legacy13
membermember
 
09/11/2014 07:37AM
 
Excellent report! No clicking on thumbnails, each photo has a caption, perfect!



Thanks for sharing it.


Cary
mjax127
membermember
 
09/13/2014 12:48AM
 
Outstanding!


Ya, we will just canoe in Lake Superior.
crazycanoe
membermember
 
09/14/2014 08:33AM
 
This was a GREAT report. I always enjoy reading these and viewing the pictures shared.


P.S. - I posted a report recently and cannot figure out how to get the pictures to the size you used... how did you do that? Thanks!
"crazycanoe" - Thanks!
cooke350
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/23/2014 08:44AM
 
Great report & loved the pics! What are the odds that you met up with fellow Ohioans?!?
OgimaaBines
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/23/2014 11:52AM
 
Thanks for the report!Very good read and great pics.
Spartan2
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
09/24/2014 08:43AM
 
I really enjoyed your report--it felt like we were taken along on your wonderful solo!


We have been on most of those lakes and portages in our long canoe-tripping history, but certainly not in one trip! It was fun to relive it, and especially to see your great photos! I don't usually bother to click on thumbnails, so I always appreciate the large photos in a report.


Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
bobcole
membermember
 
10/06/2014 10:21AM
 
quote crazycanoe: "This was a GREAT report. I always enjoy reading these and viewing the pictures shared.


P.S. - I posted a report recently and cannot figure out how to get the pictures to the size you used... how did you do that? Thanks!
"crazycanoe" - Thanks! "


Hey, sorry for the delay in a response, I ended up going out on another solo trip! To do the pictures, I host on an external site (imgur/flickr/etc.) and they provide html code to embed your picture on another site. It usually looks something like this (I've deleted certain parts of it so these examples don't actually embed the images in this comment):

a href="http://imgur.com/2lXIyiv" img src="http://i.imgur.com/2lXIyiv.jpg" title="Sunset on Ensign."

Then, to make it fit to the bwca site, I add the "width" property like so:

a href="http://imgur.com/2lXIyiv" img src="http://i.imgur.com/2lXIyiv.jpg" width="800" title="Sunset on Ensign."

As you can see in this example, I set it to 800, which is the width of the reports on this site. To embed two pictures side by side like I did in my report, I do something like the following:

a href="http://imgur.com/N7K4CrZ" img src="http://i.imgur.com/N7K4CrZ.jpg" width="398" title="Sunrise on Ensign." a href="http://imgur.com/TmH5zk2" img src="http://i.imgur.com/TmH5zk2.jpg" width="398" title="After the Ensign/Ashigan portage."

Basically, I just add the width property for two images and set it to 398 pixels. Any more and it'll go over to the next line.
bapabear
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
10/06/2014 12:54PM
 
This was a fun read and a great trip. Up through Thomas Lake I had been on those lakes. The rest were new to me and kept my interest.


So you take a hammock and a tent? Curious to know what you eat/pack for a 21 day journey or isn't it so bad when doing a solo?


Am jealous.

My superhero name is TYPOMAN. Writer of wrongs.
bobcole
membermember
 
10/06/2014 12:59PM
 
quote bapabear: "This was a fun read and a great trip. Up through Thomas Lake I had been on those lakes. The rest were new to me and kept my interest.



So you take a hammock and a tent? Curious to know what you eat/pack for a 21 day journey or isn't it so bad when doing a solo?



Am jealous."



Yeah, I took a hammock and a tent. I'd never slept in the hammock before, so I wasn't sure how I'd like it. I brought the tent along in case I preferred it over the hammock. In the end, I was glad I brought both. It's nice to have a little extra room to move around in the tent on rainy days.


Food/gear wise I brought way too much stuff. I ended up doing fish (with pasta or mac&cheese) for a little less than half of my dinners. Some freeze dried stuff, PB, clif/protein bars. A little food goes a long way when you're just cooking for yourself.
drrick
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
02/08/2015 08:00PM
 
Thanks for the report. Is your canoe a wilderness? Rick
SaganagaJoe
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
02/08/2015 08:47PM
 
What a great trip. You really lucked out on the weather. Man.


I have to do this trip someday.

aka HermitThrush "Such sights as this are reserved for those who will suffer to behold them." -Eric Sevareid
wetcanoedog
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
02/08/2015 09:27PM
 
great report and the map work and photos are about,if not,the best i have seen.

it's just a level trail thru the woods.
HangLoose
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
02/12/2015 04:33PM
 
I truly enjoyed your trip report. Thanks for taking the time to create such a detailed and interesting trip report. Great photos and excellent fishing reports. What a nice surprise to have your dad and a cabin waiting for you upon your exit. I have 28 trips under my belt to BW, Q, and WCPP, but I have never done a solo trip. It is on my bucket list but for now I live vicariously through reports like yours. Nice job.
TallMatt
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
02/12/2015 07:48PM
 
We helped carry eachothers' bags on the long portage from Knife to one of those "pothole" lakes and chatted a bit. Cool to see you are a BWCA.com member, small world!


We are usually preoccupied with moving through those "potholes" but on 2 trips caught numerous pike (late Sept) and walleyes/smallmouth in there.


Thanks for the thorough trip report, especially the campsite reviews. Looks like you had a wonderful trip. We were entering when you were leaving and had drizzly/misty weather for pretty much the whole 6 days we were there. Decided to leave a bit early because our weather radio forecasted a few days of t-storms.
TomT
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
02/14/2015 10:32PM
 
Nice trip report for a cold winter night. I've done most of those lakes but on one trip couldn't find the portage to Cap from Roe. Your sat. pic shows the location pretty good. I ended up going down that clogged stream too far and bushwhacking a bit before giving up. Never made it to Boulder but got one of those great sand beach sites on Alice.


curious you never really mentioned bugs except for the deer flies. How were you able to sleep in the hammock without a screen netting? Also, were you triple portaging?


Thanks for taking the time with the maps and large pics. I may have to try catching crayfish on my next trip. Looks like you had some fun.




"Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." --- George Bernard Shaw
nlong
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
02/17/2015 11:54AM
 
I really enjoyed your trip report. It covered some of the route I took on my solo trip at the end of May. Looks like you had some great fishing!

“There is no greater fan of fly fishing then the worm.” -Patrick F. McManus
opolka
senior membersenior membersenior member
 
02/20/2015 11:49AM
 
"Even though I had a crappy site, I was still in the Boundary Waters and life was good"


precisely. awesome report! loved every bit of it
Guest Paddler
 
02/26/2015 09:19PM
 
quote TallMatt: "We helped carry eachothers' bags on the long portage from Knife to one of those "pothole" lakes and chatted a bit. Cool to see you are a BWCA.com member, small world!



We are usually preoccupied with moving through those "potholes" but on 2 trips caught numerous pike (late Sept) and walleyes/smallmouth in there.



Thanks for the thorough trip report, especially the campsite reviews. Looks like you had a wonderful trip. We were entering when you were leaving and had drizzly/misty weather for pretty much the whole 6 days we were there. Decided to leave a bit early because our weather radio forecasted a few days of t-storms."



Oh yeah, I think I remember that! Seems so long ago now :-( I love fishing the potholes, and especially love fishing Carp where the first pothole flows in.
Guest Paddler
 
02/26/2015 09:22PM
 
quote TomT: "Nice trip report for a cold winter night. I've done most of those lakes but on one trip couldn't find the portage to Cap from Roe. Your sat. pic shows the location pretty good. I ended up going down that clogged stream too far and bushwhacking a bit before giving up. Never made it to Boulder but got one of those great sand beach sites on Alice.



curious you never really mentioned bugs except for the deer flies. How were you able to sleep in the hammock without a screen netting? Also, were you triple portaging?



Thanks for taking the time with the maps and large pics. I may have to try catching crayfish on my next trip. Looks like you had some fun.



"



Those sand beach sites are amazing, I can't wait to go back. The bugs weren't bad at all, surprisingly. Dusk and dawn were obviously the worst times, but I had a bug net I'd throw over my head and they didn't seem to bother me after that. Oh, and I definitely used a screen for the hammock when I was sleeping, but I took it off during the day most of the time. Glad you enjoyed the report. I'm happy people keep reading it because I like going back and looking at these pictures in the dead of winter.
Guest Paddler
 
02/26/2015 09:27PM
 
quote TomT: "Nice trip report for a cold winter night. I've done most of those lakes but on one trip couldn't find the portage to Cap from Roe. Your sat. pic shows the location pretty good. I ended up going down that clogged stream too far and bushwhacking a bit before giving up. Never made it to Boulder but got one of those great sand beach sites on Alice.



curious you never really mentioned bugs except for the deer flies. How were you able to sleep in the hammock without a screen netting? Also, were you triple portaging?



Thanks for taking the time with the maps and large pics. I may have to try catching crayfish on my next trip. Looks like you had some fun.



"



Oh, forgot to answer your question. Yes, I was triple portaging. I decided to live the life of luxury and bring all kinds of shit I didn't need. The portages are a great work out so I have no regrets (except maybe that portage from Boulder to Cap...).
Exo
distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
 
03/27/2015 11:23PM
 
Great report and narrative! I thoroughly enjoyed it. To triple portage Boulder>Cap!!! The misery!! No wonder you were tuckered out a few of those days. Again, nice job.

Ohhh and the Adams> Boulder portage.... We had very high water, so it wasn't nearly as miserable....I think I commented a few times how much it would have sucked if the water was low. We had a stream flowing down the last bit of trail.
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