5:00am - I get up early, shower (not sure the next time I'll get the chance), grab breakfast and I'm on the road for my 5 1/2 hour drive to Seagull Outfitters. Having packed my gear and loaded my kayak the night before, I'm all set to get an early start and hope to get a half day of paddling in and make it to Frost Lake for my first night. The drive up highway 53 is quite scenic and I enjoy the sunrise and I even spot what looks to be a large coyote or possibly a wolf once I was near Superior. Upon reaching Superior, I find the bay is full of ice. It is quite the sight. I continue on up the scenic shore on highway 61. I see many vehicles with canoes loaded on top. I wonder to myself if they are headed to the BWCA and what adventures they have planned. Once I reach Grand Marais, I fill up with gas and head north on the Gunflint Trail. Temperatures look to be warming up as I leave the shoreline. I reach Seagull Outfitters at about 10:30am and speak with Debbie and unload my kayak and gear. After parking my truck, paying parking and transport fees, the outfitters load my kayak and gear and we are off to the EP50 - Cross Bay Lake. It's about 7 miles down the Gunflint Trail.

11:15am - We arrive at EP50. It's almost 80ºF and blue skies. I get my kayak and gear unloaded and the outfitter leaves. I'm now alone. It's a weird feeling being miles from nowhere, in unfamiliar land, and alone. Only one way to go now, so I load the gear in the hatches of the kayak, start my GPS recording on my phone to track distance, and off I go. I soon realize that I've started to paddle the wrong way up the river. I check my map, and turn the kayak around. After a short paddle, I'm soon at my first portage.

P689 66 rods - The portage landing is quite rocky. I wonder if most of them will be like this and fear my kayak is going to be a bit beat up after 50 plus portages. I try to pull the kayak in gently. I'm wearing shorts and my Vibram Fivefinger Signas' so I don't mind stepping into the water. Footing is good with the shoes and the water is only mildly cold. I unload a few of the drybags from my kayak hatches and put it in the mesh portage pack and put the pack on my shoulders. I then attach my homemade yoke to the kayak and put the kayak on my shoulders. With over 110lbs of kayak, gear, food for 10 days, and 3 cameras, batteries and charging equipment, it makes for a tough portage. I only get about halfway and have to stop. I've determined it's too much weight to single portage. I let the kayak sit and take the gear in the pack to the end of the portage. I then come back for the kayak and finish the portage. I note to myself that the rest of the portages will be double portaged. Being out here solo, I just can't risk a foot or ankle injury from overloading myself on muddy portages.

Oriole Lake It's a small but pretty lake and I'm soon at the next portage.

P690 37 rods - A rock ledge at the portage entrance was a little challenge, but I'm starting to get a rhythm down on the double portaging. Didn't take long to complete the short portage and I'm now at Ham Lake. 12:30pm

Ham Lake

P072 17 rods The portage out of Ham lake was a little steep at the start but short, and I'm now at the Cross River again on my way to Cross Bay Lake. I pass some rock outcrops that are dappled with a patchwork of bright orange lichens. Once reaching Cross Bay lake, I make my way to the southwest side and get a photo of the small waterfall that empties into the lake. It's obscured mostly by trees, but I still mange to get a photo.

P398 58 rods - The river empties into Cross Bay Lake to the left of the portage. I snap a quick picture before I get out of the kayak. On the portage, I end up meeting a couple from Florida. I pass them and continue on through Rib Lake. Cloud cover is starting to block the sun. No sign of rain though.

P428 35 rods - I meet a dad and his 2 boys from the Twin Cities. They seem to have a good system down with the 2 boys carrying the packs and their dad taking the canoe. I complete the portage and continue on through Lower George Lake.

P436 28 rods - I meet the dad and 2 boys again on this portage and complete the portage before they do. I'm now at Karl Lake. I snap a picture of the rocks to my left and then continue towards the left of a small island. Once I get to the island, I spot a loon. It doesn't seem shy at all. I get some photos and video of it doing some calls.

I continue southeast to paddle into Long Island Lake. I could have taken P107 into Long Island, but It wasn't that much further to paddle to go around and skip the portage. The sun starts to peak out again and I spot a female common merganser. I make my way into the Long Island River and get to my next portage.

P118 10 rods - Short portage, but I can tell I'm getting wore out. I paddle the rest of the way into Gordon lake and stick to the west shore to get to the next portage that will lead me to Unload Lake.

P509 139 rods - Feels like the portage from hell at this point. Steep muddy hills and flat sections are wet and muddy as well. The good part was the landing at Unload Lake was great. Toward the end of the portage was the largest Northern White Cedar trees I'd ever seen, an impressive sight. After completing the double portage, I feel wore out. Unload lake is small with a beaver dam at the end. I paddle up to the dam, step out and easily pull the kayak over the dam. I'm now at Frost Lake and the wind is starting to pick up and so are the waves on Frost Lake.

5:30pm - There is 5 campsites on Frost Lake. I had planned on taking one of 3 sandy beach campsites on Frost. I paddle up to the first one to find it occupied. The next 3 campsites are on the sandy beaches. Next one occupied, and the next. As I approach the 4th campsite, which is the last one with a beach, 2 guys in a canoe are paddling to it from the south and reach the site before I do. I get up to them as they are unloading their canoe and ask if the last campsite is open and they said it looked that way, but if not, they said I could camp at their site if I needed a place. I feel a bit relieved. I get to the campsite and find it empty. No good spots to land the kayak on the south side. Instead I paddle back around to the north side of the point and find where I can pull the kayak in.

C878 - I unload my gear and start to make camp. Tent is setup now and I grab my portable shower bag to gather water. I paddle the kayak out a ways from camp, fill the bag and head back to camp. I then fill my sawyer filter bags and use them with the sawyer mini filter to fill my water bottles. I light my small pop can alcohol stove. Putting my dehydrated tortilla soup in a titanium pot with some water and placing it on the stove, it's not long till it's at a boil. I remove the pot and put it in a pot cozy. While that's sitting, I munch on some dark chocolate and dehydrated fruit. Soon the soup is done and I add some tortilla chips into it and dig in. Tastes so good after a long day's travel. I wash up my dishes and clean up camp, then cut a few small logs from downed trees and start a small fire in the fire grate. Finding a good spot to hang my food pack was a bit of a challenge, but I found a branch overhanging the lake on a tall pine that I was able to loop a rope over and tie it off safely.

As the sun sets, the wind starts to die down. The frogs are noisy and I hear a loon calling as I turn in for bed at about 9:30pm.

12:00am - Awakened to a big spash near my camp, my heart sinks as I fear my food pack dropped in the water from the limb it was hanging from. Raccoons messing with it possibly? Worried that the food pack is in the water, even though it is in a dry bag, I grab my flashlight and rush out of the tent. I point the flashlight at the tree my pack was hanging from, and there it is right as I left it, secured in the tree. A bit confused and not fully awake yet, I wonder what the sound was. Just then I hear a loud SLAP on the water. Beavers. Nothing to worry about, I crawl back into my tent and try to get back to sleep.

1:00am - It seems like I just got to sleep and I'm awakened again. This time by noisy loons having a yelling match across the lake. Where's the earplugs when you need them? Not sure when I actually get back to sleep, but I'm up at 5:30 am with the sunrise.

Day 1 Summary

11.02 miles | 10 lakes | 2 rivers | 8 portages | 389 rods

Cross River, Oriole Lake, Ham Lake, Cross Bay Lake, Rib Lake, Lower George Lake, Karl Lake, Long Island Lake, Long Island River, Gordon Lake, Unload Lake, Frost Lake

5:00 am - I wake up to light rain and decided to wait it out in the tent. Stayed in bed till about 6 am. The rain has now quit and blue skies are starting to show. I eat breakfast and pack up the camp. The nice trail to the pit toilet in the morning light warrants a photo. I stack a few small rocks I find on the rocky point into the shape of A SMALL BEAR. A LOON SWIMS nearby so I grab my camera and take a photo. I have camp packed up and kayak loaded by 8:00am and start the long paddle 2.3 mile paddle across Little Saganaga Lake. Still no sign of anyone else on this big lake.

P445 20 rods - Easy portage into a small pond.

P108 33 rods - Another easy portage, and it's starting to cloud over.

I'm now at Elton Lake. The rock cliffs along shore are beautiful, as is the entire lake. I make it to the far end of the lake to the next portage.

P485 59 rods - Muddy portage with a tree down on the trail. Mosquitoes are bad here too. Glad to get back to paddling.

10:15 am - Makwa Lake is stunning. The black and white striped cliffs are a sight to behold. I wish it wasn't cloudy but I get some nice pictures anyway. I also spot a loon as I paddle toward the portage and get a picture. My phone pings a cell tower briefly, but quickly loses the connectiON AND I'M UNABLE TO GEt a message out.

P505 40 rods P507 22 rods - Steep portage at start up to the top of the hill where beavers have a pond dammed up. P505 and P507 are combined. I get to the end of the portage and notice I have 1 bar of cell signal. I get a text message out to my fiancee to let her know I'm doing good and to let my parents know I'm okay since I haven't had cell service since Saturday morning. I paddle the small pond to the next portage.

P518 86 rods - 11:30am - The sun is starting to peak out. The portage is long and the loading area is quite muddy at the end of the portage. 12:05pm

P521 56 rods - I paddle to the south end of the lake to where my map indicates the portage should be. I paddle along the shore to the right a ways but don't see the portage. I paddle to the left into the inlet of a small stream but still don't notice a portage. I paddle back to the west and find what looks to be a portage at the very south tip of the lake. I unload my gear into my pack and start hiking the portage as this spot matched what my maps showed. I don't get far and the portage is very overgrown. There is no way I'm going to get my kayak through here as there is downed trees and everything is overgrown. I step through a deep creek as well and follow this very old portage. I finally reach Pan Lake and to my right I see the newer portage. Nice and wide and smooth. I drop my pack and one of my paddles and hike the good portage back to see where it comes out as I still need to get my kayak hauled down to Pan Lake. It comes out way on the southwest end of the lake. No wonder I didn't see it as it was tucked into a cove that wasn't visible from where I paddled from unless i hugged the west side of the lake. With paddle in hand, I hike along the dammed up edge of the lake to where my kayak is and paddle it to the good portage. I then easily portage the kayak to Pan Lake. What a big waste of time that mistake was in taking the old unused portage route at the start. It's almost 1:00pm now by the time I paddle Pan Lake. Pan Lake does have a nice dark sand beach to the south of the portage. I paddle southwest and I'm at the next portage in about 7 minutes.

P525 19 rods - I find the portage easily and hike my gear till I get to a deep stream. It's almost to my waist. It appears that the portage trail continues on, but is quite flooded. I hike a ways but it's muddy, flooded, and there's rotted remains of boardwalk that must have been part of the portage. I decide to turn back and cross the stream again and drop my pack and paddles and go back for the kayak. I get the kayak to the stream and load it up as I'll try to navigate through the tag alders into the small pond and maybe pickup the portage further to the southwest. It's tricky paddling a double-bladed paddle in tight quarters though the trees in the flooded pond, but I manage to make my way to where the next portage is.

P528 11 rods - The beavers have the pond damned up so high that it leave limited room to even unload for the portage. I decide to shoulder the kayak with all the gear and get it the 50 yards down the portage. Lots of weight to carry at once, but I manage. 1:50pm - The paddle across Anit Lake is short.

P532 19 rods - Portage is short and I'm now to Kivaniva Lake and it's another short paddle to the next portage.

P536 50 rods - Portage was a bit steep at the start but make it fine and take a picture of the purple butterflies that I keep seeing at the muddy spots on the portages.

3:00 pm - On the Kawishiwi River now. I paddle for a way and notice my iPhone that I'm using for GPS recording purposes is getting low on battery. I stop at the edge of the river and pull out my solar panel and put the phone in there hooked up to the panel in a waterproof map bag. I clip it onto the back of the deck of the kayak and paddle on. I reach my next portage at 3:40pm

P549 23 rods - I complete the portage and meet 3 guys in a canoe that are heading to the portage. First people I've seen since leaving Frost Lake a couple days ago. Spoke briefly with them and continued on. I hit river lake at about 4:20pm and should have taken the first island campsite there, but instead I continue on, wanting to possibly get to Alice lake yet today. The river is beautiful to paddle, but I get about a mile and a half further and am totally fatigued. I grab the campsite on the right which is C1036. It doesn't look used much and not the flattest spot for a tent, but it will have to do as it's about 5:00pm.

I setup camp and get supper made. Beef and bean burritos with cheese. My shredded cheese is a bit soft, but still good yet and goes great with the burritos. It hits the spot as all I had for lunch was a beef stick and a snickers bar.

I cleaned up camp, washed my hair, face, and arms. The bugs are horrible here. Staying in my tent as much as I can. It's about 7:45pm as I finish my journal entry. I'm going to bed early as I'm so wore out and my back is quite sore from the portaging.

Day 3 Summary

13.88 miles | 8 lakes, 3 ponds | 1 river | 12 portages | 438 rods

Little Saganaga Lake, pond, Elton Lake, Makwa Lake, pond, Panhandle Lake, Pan Lake, pond, Anit Lake, Kivaniva Lake, Kawishiwi River, River Lake, Kawishiwi River

5:00 am - I wake up to light rain and decided to wait it out in the tent. Stayed in bed till about 6 am. The rain has now quit and blue skies are starting to show. I eat breakfast and pack up the camp. The nice trail to the pit toilet in the morning light warrants a photo. I stack a few small rocks I find on the rocky point into the shape of a small bear. A loon swims nearby so I grab my camera and take a photo. I have camp packed up and kayak loaded by 8:00am and start the long paddle 2.3 mile paddle across Little Saganaga Lake. Still no sign of anyone else on this big lake.

P445 20 rods - Easy portage into a small pond.

P108 33 rods - Another easy portage, and it's starting to cloud over.

I'm now at Elton Lake. The rock cliffs along shore are beautiful, as is the entire lake. I make it to the far end of the lake to the next portage.

P485 59 rods - Muddy portage with a tree down on the trail. Mosquitoes are bad here too. Glad to get back to paddling.

10:15 am - Makwa Lake is stunning. The black and white striped cliffs are a sight to behold. I wish it wasn't cloudy but I get some nice pictures anyway. I also spot a loon as I paddle toward the portage and get a picture. My phone pings a cell tower briefly, but quickly loses the connection and I'm unable to get a message out.

P505 40 rods P507 22 rods - Steep portage at start up to the top of the hill where beavers have a pond dammed up. P505 and P507 are combined. I get to the end of the portage and notice I have 1 bar of cell signal. I get a text message out to my fiancee to let her know I'm doing good and to let my parents know I'm okay since I haven't had cell service since Saturday morning. I paddle the small pond to the next portage.

P518 86 rods - 11:30am - The sun is starting to peak out. The portage is long and the loading area is quite muddy at the end of the portage. 12:05pm

P521 56 rods - I paddle to the south end of the lake to where my map indicates the portage should be. I paddle along the shore to the right a ways but don't see the portage. I paddle to the left into the inlet of a small stream but still don't notice a portage. I paddle back to the west and find what looks to be a portage at the very south tip of the lake. I unload my gear into my pack and start hiking the portage as this spot matched what my maps showed. I don't get far and the portage is very overgrown. There is no way I'm going to get my kayak through here as there is downed trees and everything is overgrown. I step through a deep creek as well and follow this very old portage. I finally reach Pan Lake and to my right I see the newer portage. Nice and wide and smooth. I drop my pack and one of my paddles and hike the good portage back to see where it comes out as I still need to get my kayak hauled down to Pan Lake. It comes out way on the southwest end of the lake. No wonder I didn't see it as it was tucked into a cove that wasn't visible from where I paddled from unless i hugged the west side of the lake. With paddle in hand, I hike along the dammed up edge of the lake to where my kayak is and paddle it to the good portage. I then easily portage the kayak to Pan Lake. What a big waste of time that mistake was in taking the old unused portage route at the start. It's almost 1:00pm now by the time I paddle Pan Lake. Pan Lake does have a nice dark sand beach to the south of the portage. I paddle southwest and I'm at the next portage in about 7 minutes.

P525 19 rods - I find the portage easily and hike my gear till I get to a deep stream. It's almost to my waist. It appears that the portage trail continues on, but is quite flooded. I hike a ways but it's muddy, flooded, and there's rotted remains of boardwalk that must have been part of the portage. I decide to turn back and cross the stream again and drop my pack and paddles and go back for the kayak. I get the kayak to the stream and load it up as I'll try to navigate through the tag alders into the small pond and maybe pickup the portage further to the southwest. It's tricky paddling a double-bladed paddle in tight quarters though the trees in the flooded pond, but I manage to make my way to where the next portage is.

P528 11 rods - The beavers have the pond damned up so high that it leave limited room to even unload for the portage. I decide to shoulder the kayak with all the gear and get it the 50 yards down the portage. Lots of weight to carry at once, but I manage. 1:50pm - The paddle across Anit Lake is short.

P532 19 rods - Portage is short and I'm now to Kivaniva Lake and it's another short paddle to the next portage.

P536 50 rods - Portage was a bit steep at the start but make it fine and take a picture of the purple butterflies that I keep seeing at the muddy spots on the portages.

3:00 pm - On the Kawishiwi River now. I paddle for a way and notice my iPhone that I'm using for GPS recording purposes is getting low on battery. I stop at the edge of the river and pull out my solar panel and put the phone in there hooked up to the panel in a waterproof map bag. I clip it onto the back of the deck of the kayak and paddle on. I reach my next portage at 3:40pm

P549 23 rods - I complete the portage and meet 3 guys in a canoe that are heading to the portage. First people I've seen since leaving Frost Lake a couple days ago. Spoke briefly with them and continued on. I hit river lake at about 4:20pm and should have taken the first island campsite there, but instead I continue on, wanting to possibly get to Alice lake yet today. The river is beautiful to paddle, but I get about a mile and a half further and am totally fatigued. I grab the campsite on the right which is C1036. It doesn't look used much and not the flattest spot for a tent, but it will have to do as it's about 5:00pm.

I setup camp and get supper made. Beef and bean burritos with cheese. My shredded cheese is a bit soft, but still good yet and goes great with the burritos. It hits the spot as all I had for lunch was a beef stick and a snickers bar.

I cleaned up camp, washed my hair, face, and arms. The bugs are horrible here. Staying in my tent as much as I can. It's about 7:45pm as I finish my journal entry. I'm going to bed early as I'm so wore out and my back is quite sore from the portaging.

Day 3 Summary

13.88 miles | 8 lakes, 3 ponds | 1 river | 12 portages | 438 rods

Little Saganaga Lake, pond, Elton Lake, Makwa Lake, pond, Panhandle Lake, Pan Lake, pond, Anit Lake, Kivaniva Lake, Kawishiwi River, River Lake, Kawishiwi River

6:00am - Clear skies. I got up and attempted to hike to Elk Lake but the terrain was tough. Lots of burnt and blown down trees. After getting half way there I head back to camp. As I get near camp my phone pings a cell tower. I get another message out to my fiancee to let her know my location and that I'm doing good yet. I get back to camp and the signal is lost. That's the last time I get cell signal for the rest of the trip. When I get to camp I eat breakfast and pack up. I decide to wear my long sleeve shirt for the next couple days. After 4 days of being in the sun all day without any sunscreen, my arms are on the edge of burning. They haven't had adequate time to adjust after the long winter we had. I leave camp at 8:30am

P423 11 rods - A short downhill portage with a stone staircase takes me to Strup Lake. The paddle across Strup Lake was peaceful in the calm morning sun.

P412 86 rods - A long fairly flat portage till the end where it went steeply downhill with a rocky staircase. I passed the intersection of the Kekekabic Trail on this portage.

9:30am - Kekekabic Lake is spectacular. Awesome rock cliffs, clear water, and lots of islands. The Kekekabic ranger cabin on the way, so I make a quick stop here.

Then I continued on to the Kek ponds. The short portages are small ponds are time consuming. It feels like I get 2 paddle strokes in and I'm across the pond. Then unloading gear only to walk about 50 yards and then load up again.

P738 7 rods - Small pond.

P737 9 rods - Pond.

P345 21 rods - Small pond.

P342 5 rods - Pulled over the beaver dam and into the last pond. I come across 8 guys in 4 canoes and have to wait briefly for them to clear the next portage around noon.

P336 12 rods - Short 12 rod portage into Eddy lake. I head toward P333 to check out Eddy Falls. Upon reaching the portage, I park my kayak and grab my camera to get some pictures.

I take some at the top and near the bottom of the falls. Eddy Falls is quite powerful.

Upon returning to my kayak, I meet a group of 4 boys from Minnesota with their camp leader. We chat briefly and then I paddle back across Eddy Lake to my next portage.

P338 20 rods - Uphill portage into Jenny Lake.

P352 18 rods - Another short portage to Annie Lake.

P064 16 rods - Portaged into Ogishkemuncie Lake. Ogish was a very long paddle. Over 3 1/2 miles to get to the other end. Towards the end I start to get into the Cavity Lake Fire area. Can see a lot of exposed domed rock due to the fire. Not as pretty here.

P319 34 rods - Portage into Kingfisher Lake. It is 3:30pm. No campsites here so I have to continue on. The wind is really starting to pick up.

P315 30 rods - Portage into Jasper Lake. The wind has picked up strong from the south and is making big waves on the lake. I decide to take the first campsite (C0801) since it is 4:00pm. The site is quite nice and the wind is keeping the bugs at bay. I setup camp and make supper. Tuna salad on tortillas with cheese. Easy to make and I didn't have to cook. I realize I've packed way too much food. I have way over half of it left and this will be my last night here. I set out my solar charger and charge battery packs for my camera and charge my phone. Also set out my shoes to dry in the sun. a> 6:30pm - Still quite windy. I can't wait to get home. It's been a great trip, but I miss my fiancee. Only 2, maybe 3 portages left for the trip. 7:00pm - A big flock of geese fly north overhead. I read a book for a couple hours and get to sleep around 9:00pm. I wake up at about 1:00am and take some pictures of the stars. useaction=photos.display&img=NLONG%2D090%3C%2FA%3E115%2D212941%2EJPG&name=TripReport">2D212941%2EJPG&name=TripReport">

Day 5 Summary

14.23 miles | 13 lakes | 12 portages | 276 rods

Wisini Lake, Strup Lake, Kekekabic Lake, Kekkekabic ponds x 4, Eddy Lake, Jenny Lake, Annie Lake, Ogishkemuncie Lake, Kingfisher Lake, Jasper Lake

6:30am - Looks like a calm morning. I eat breakfast and pack up camp and hit the water at 8am.

P314 38 rods - The portage to Alpine Lake followed some powerful rapids. I paddle across Alpine Lake and take the first portage to Seagull Lake

P308 101 rods - I see an older couple doing a double portage with their canoe. Plenty of room at the landing so I pull in my kayak and start my portage. I chat with them for a while and find out they are from Fort Wayne, IN.

It's about 9:30am when I start the long paddle across Seagull Lake, nearly 6 miles. The rocky islands are picture worthy and I snap a few shots along the way.

I reach Seagull Outfitters at about 10:50am. I get my kayak and gear loaded up and chat with the outfitters for a while. I leave the outfitters and head south on the Gunflint trail to the Magnetic Rock Trail, part of the Border Route Trail.

Once I reach the trailhead, I grab a water bottle and camera and start the 3 mile round trip hike to the Magnetic Rock. This area is burnt from the Ham Lake Fire of '07, but it is still quite beautiful with the multi-colored rocks everywhere. I reach the Magnetic Rock and it looks totally out of place. This tall rock just standing upright on the top of a hill looks like a giant placed it there. It's a 60-foot tall glacial erratic.

I finish my hike and start the long drive back home. I can't wait to plan another trip up here again.

Day 6 Summary

8.78 miles | 3 lakes | 2 portages | 139 rods

Jasper Lake, Alpine Lake, Seagull Lake

Also a 3 mile hike on the Magnetic Rock Trail.

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Total Trip Summary

72.98 miles | 50 lakes and ponds | 4 rivers | 54 portages | 2122 rods (double portaged for a total of 19.9 miles of traversing portage trails)