The original plan had been to drop off my son and his friend at Camp Menogyn on June 28th and then spend a night at my sister's cabin. However, camp switched the long trip campers to meeting in the Twin Cities and then going straight to Jay Cooke State Park for a couple days of whitewater training. So I dropped my son in town and took off for the Sawbill Campground around 4:30 pm the day before my entry permit. That meant I was ready to slip into the water early this morning. I left the Sawbill dock at 5:45 am. One other couple ahead of me...speaking of using bent shaft paddles incorrectly, one was, the other wasn't.

Beautiful still water this morning as I headed to the portage for Alton Lake. Last year, I tried single portaging, but didn't feel safe. This year, I worked hard to really trim down my gear weight. It helped that I invested in a used Wenonah Advantage which significantly cut down on my canoe weight. I also kept the base weight of my pack at about 23 lbs. and was more thoughtful about food which I kept under 11 lbs. for my planned 8 day trip.

On the first portage, I decided to start trying single portaging since it was a short distance commitment. It was a cloudy day and plenty humid. The plants were all damp so I quickly soaked everything I was wearing as I walked through the brush. I liked my paddle set up for portages (using BDBs), but I didn't like how "futzy" it was to attach the daypack to the bigger pack. Alton Lake was very quiet early in the morning and not all the campsites were full on a Tuesday. I passed one occupied site and saw some rangers having their morning coffee...wait, did I see rangers?! Yep, first time in the last 10 trips. We exchanged waves and I paddled on.

I decided to double portage to Beth since it was a longer portage and I wasn't totally confident yet. But then I decided to single portage to Ella. I kept having weird interference with the pack and the sliding seat. When I set the canoe down at the end, I discovered I had put the yoke on too far back. Lesson: always double check yoke position before hefting the canoe up.

Ella was empty which I hear is common. It is a pretty little lake and my original plan had me staying there the first night. However, with my earlier than planned start, I was not ready to set up camp yet. So I paddled around and then headed for the portage to Grace. I double portaged and was glad I did. The footing was terrible. The portage seemed like it just followed an old stream bed...rocks, rocks, and more rocks. The Grace landing was especially bad with nowhere to load the canoe and then I had to walk the boat through a slimy, partially submerged rock garden before there was finally enough water to paddle. I had a few choice words unsuitable for young children to hear.

I was considering heading to Phoebe, but some storms were brewing so I camped at site #830 on Grace. It was a good call. I set up the tent, cleaned/rinsed my feet and ate lunch. As I laid back on the rock slab to nap, it started to sprinkle. I quickly finished setting up camp and read/napped in the tent. Thunder and lightning and intermittent showers made for a lazy afternoon for me. Lots of time to stare at clouds, listen to the birds, and daydream. Such a great change of pace.

Distance traveled: 7.3 miles, Portages: 399 rods, Time: 5 hours

~Sawbill Lake, Alton Lake, Beth Lake, Ella Lake, Grace Lake

Whew! I am tired this morning. Glad I had a break-in trip with the family last month. I definitely feel stronger than I did on my solo this same time last year. I have also been training more in an effort to prep for the border challenge this fall, but not ready for 20 miles a day...yet.

Since I'm ahead of my planned itinerary, I checked the map for some options. Got out of camp at 7:00am and reached Malberg in 1.5 hours. The 4 portages were the first time (and turns out last time) I ran into any people on a portage...a couple guys on the 2nd portage out of Polly and then a father and 2 kids on the portage into Malberg. Everyone was going the opposite direction from me. All 4 portages from Polly to Malberg had easy landings. The campsite I wanted on Malberg near the start of the Louse River was open, so I stopped and set up camp. I made some oatmeal for breakfast and took a little rest.

At 9:30, I set off to paddle the 6 miles to see the Fishdance Lake pictographs. On the portage from Malberg to the Kawishiwi River, I made the mistake of putting the canoe down at the normal landing on the Kawishiwi side. It looked a bit muddy, but I thought I could shove off fine. DO NOT make this mistake! There is a little path through the grass on the right that takes you to a much better landing for low water situations. But I was committed now. I hopped rocks as far as I could go and then made the mistake of putting my feet in the mud to give a shove. Down I went in the boot sucking mud. Nerve wrecking trying to cling to the canoe and get myself free. This same portage has a beaver pond in the middle of it. When traveling from east to west, you have to step down off a 2 foot high rock into opaque water of unknown depth. Not a move my knees appreciate. I stood near the tree next to the rock and started to step down. I swear, the tree punched me and knocked the canoe clean off my shoulders! On the bright side, it made stepping down easier. The water on the path through the beaver pond reached just past my mid-thigh. The footing is not too bad but there were some hidden tripping rocks to keep you awake. Time to recruit a wolf to take out that beaver.

LOTS OF BAld eagles soaring the thermals today. The paddle to the pictographs was quiet with only one campsite of people and they were packing up to leave. The pictos were cool to see since I haven't visited any in the BW before. I had a pleasant floating lunch while I looked at them. The paddling made for good training since it was the longest, uninterrupted stretch that I would have until my final day.

Back at the campsite, I made creamy alfredo noodles for dinner and it was delicious! The wind shifted and picked up in the evening which resulted in a lovely, bug-free evening with beautiful temps.

Distance traveled: 15.5 miles Portages: 377 rods Time: 5.5 hours

~Polly Lake, Koma Lake, Malberg Lake, River Lake, Fishdance Lake, River Lake, Malberg Lake

Whew! I am tired this morning. Glad I had a break-in trip with the family last month. I definitely feel stronger than I did on my solo this same time last year. I have also been training more in an effort to prep for the border challenge this fall, but not ready for 20 miles a day...yet.

Since I'm ahead of my planned itinerary, I checked the map for some options. Got out of camp at 7:00am and reached Malberg in 1.5 hours. The 4 portages were the first time (and turns out last time) I ran into any people on a portage...a couple guys on the 2nd portage out of Polly and then a father and 2 kids on the portage into Malberg. Everyone was going the opposite direction from me. All 4 portages from Polly to Malberg had easy landings. The campsite I wanted on Malberg near the start of the Louse River was open, so I stopped and set up camp. I made some oatmeal for breakfast and took a little rest.

At 9:30, I set off to paddle the 6 miles to see the Fishdance Lake pictographs. On the portage from Malberg to the Kawishiwi River, I made the mistake of putting the canoe down at the normal landing on the Kawishiwi side. It looked a bit muddy, but I thought I could shove off fine. DO NOT make this mistake! There is a little path through the grass on the right that takes you to a much better landing for low water situations. But I was committed now. I hopped rocks as far as I could go and then made the mistake of putting my feet in the mud to give a shove. Down I went in the boot sucking mud. Nerve wrecking trying to cling to the canoe and get myself free. This same portage has a beaver pond in the middle of it. When traveling from east to west, you have to step down off a 2 foot high rock into opaque water of unknown depth. Not a move my knees appreciate. I stood near the tree next to the rock and started to step down. I swear, the tree punched me and knocked the canoe clean off my shoulders! On the bright side, it made stepping down easier. The water on the path through the beaver pond reached just past my mid-thigh. The footing is not too bad but there were some hidden tripping rocks to keep you awake. Time to recruit a wolf to take out that beaver.

Lots of bald eagles soaring the thermals today. The paddle to the pictographs was quiet with only one campsite of people and they were packing up to leave. The pictos were cool to see since I haven't visited any in the BW before. I had a pleasant floating lunch while I looked at them. The paddling made for good training since it was the longest, uninterrupted stretch that I would have until my final day.

Back at the campsite, I made creamy alfredo noodles for dinner and it was delicious! The wind shifted and picked up in the evening which resulted in a lovely, bug-free evening with beautiful temps.

Distance traveled: 15.5 miles Portages: 377 rods Time: 5.5 hours

~Polly Lake, Koma Lake, Malberg Lake, River Lake, Fishdance Lake, River Lake, Malberg Lake

I slept in this morning and my body clearly needed it after yesterday's longer paddle. I had some trouble finding the portage from Malberg to Frond. I blame the low water...that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I saw a landing on the shore of Malberg right across from the campsite I used. But when I got there, it dead ended with a bunch of fish skeletons and was clearly just the spot everyone uses to clean their fish. Stumped for a bit, I finally waded through the shallows into the stream a little way and voila! there was the portage. Probably would have been more obvious in higher water.

The 14 rod portage from Frond to the puddle was strange. I never saw a landing on the south side as indicated by the map. After I pulled over some shallows, I found a very nice portage landing on the north side of the stream and it came out on a nice landing at the pond. As I paddled away, I noticed another big, beautiful landing a bit closer to the stream. Not sure where that pops out on the Frond side.

No problem finding the portage from to Boze. When traveling west to east, you come to a fork at the top of the hill. I chose left since cowdoc's notes said he had walked on cliffs overlooking the stream. It followed the stream and then turned right sharply and dropped down into the edge of the campsite. I'm guessing you could take the path to the right, but it would probably take you through the middle of the campsite.

Cowdoc's notes really helped on the next portage. He warned me the portage was divided into 2 parts due to a beaver dam. Based on time, the first stretch was about 40 rods and then I put the boat back in the water to paddle the stream/beaver pond. Then I took out and portaged about 60 rods more to the Louse River. These trails are not well traveled so it is a big timesaver to paddle that middle section versus trying to continue on the faint portage trail that goes around the pond.

In general, this stretch of the Louse R. from Malberg to Boze Lake was shallow. I had a couple extra pullovers. The rocks were very sneaky in some of the narrows. After Boze, the river is generally deeper and weedier, instead of rocky, but I still had a few spots I had to pullover. Northern Purple Pitcher Plant [paragraph break] Louse River tamarack bog [paragraph break] The next 4 portages to reach Trail Lake were all very straight forward. Some of the landings were very rocky, but easy to find. None of them are well traveled but are in decent condition. This is a pretty area to paddle, lots of tamarack bogs mixed with rocky areas. I started to notice a lot of really stinky scat on the big rocks I paddled past. It smelled like rotten fish and had lots of crayfish bits in it. Otter? Mink? Fisher?

I was tired and dull witted today. The sun and heat was getting to me. I had to be slow and deliberate to make sure I didn't forget anything or injure myself. Glad it was a short mileage day. I camped at the northern site on Trail Lake and had the lake to myself until after dinner when a group of 2 canoes showed up and took the southern site. It was a very hot afternoon! Swimming was a great relief. All types and sizes of flies were very active today. Since I had reached the site at 1pm, I had plenty of time to swim, rest, swim, and rest some more.

While I was setting up dinner, I heard an animal bounding past. Thinking it was just a chipmunk or red squirrel, I glanced up and was shocked to see a mink bounding past about 4 feet in front of me. It bounded from the trees to my right across in front of me, then past the fire grate and into the thick shrubs near the lake. Then it quickly bounded back the way it had come. So cool! I have never seen a mink in the wild! And so close!

Near sunset, I was hanging out on the rocky slope near the water enjoying the evening and watching the sun go down. When I turned to head back to the tent, I startled the mink again, but this time it had a baby with it. They scurried into the thick brushy area between the fire grate and the water where I am sure there was a den. I respected their privacy and quietly slipped off to my tent to let them get out and about to catch some dinner. Now I was wishing I had brought the game camera.

Distance traveled: 5.0 miles Portages: 270 rods Time: 3.5 hours

~Malberg Lake, Frond Lake, Boze Lake, Trail Lake 

Layover day today. I forced myself to plan one and to use it. I have a hard time not traveling in a day, but it is good for me...I guess. After a cherry-chocolate smoothie for breakfast, I got up and made a paddling circuit of Wine Lake to see if I had any company. Nope. Empty. The site in the bay south of me was very hard to find. It looks like it never gets used and had small shrubs growing through the fire grate. The site near the portage to Frederick looked like it probably gets the most use out of the three, but was empty on this July 4th. Who says the BWCA is crowded?! I had a 3 campsite lake within a few hours paddle from one of the busiest entry points all to myself for the July 4th weekend.

After a rest back at the campsite, I took lunch and paddled over to explore the blue line and pond that leads toward Mug Lake. Maybe I could see the waterfall on Mug. It was a fun paddle exploring the bog area. It ended at a massively long beaver dam. I crashed through the brush and down a steep hill to Mug. I found where the water should be flowing from the pond to the waterfall, but it was all dried up this year. On my way back out through the bog, I had a chance to photograph the little Rose Pogonia orchids that were everywhere. blooming pitcher plant [paragraph break] Rose Pogonia Orchid [paragraph break] orchids and pitcher plants together [paragraph break] Hung out at the campsite all afternoon, swimming and playing solitaire. I had finished my book a day ago and was missing having reading material. No bugs again today...this site is fabulous! I am ready to be home. I planned the last 2 days to be rather short in case I had run into delays or I had bad wind trying to paddle Sawbill. But if the wind is favorable tomorrow, I will plan to just head out. I have a HUGE craving for the crack tater tots at Trail Center so I might drive there even though it is the wrong direction.

Distance traveled: layover day so just paddled around the lake a couple times

~Wine Lake 

I was eager to get moving today after a rest day yesterday. Smoke has settled this morning and the smell is strong. I left the campsite at 6:05am after snacking on some almonds. Saved my cold soak oatmeal for just before the big portage. The 90 rod portage into Frederick was straight forward. Then there was a little 10 rod portage that wasn't marked on my map that got me into Zenith. Ate my oatmeal and got ready for the 460 rod. I was eager to see if I could single portage the whole thing without a rest break.

I made one mistake. Since my main pack was emptier, I decided to stuff my daypack inside it. Never mess with a known system that works. I started out and the pack was too tall. It kept whacking the seat and making me crazy. So 10 rods in, I quickly stopped to set things back to normal and continued on my way. Made it to the end without another stop! I was close to needing a break, and had told myself if I didn't see evidence of the lake around the next bend then I could take one. But I came around the bend and could see the trees starting to open up and soon after spotted the lake.

The stream out of Lujenida was beautiful. The sun was shining on hundred of dew covered webs hanging in the bog. They looked like silver hammocks. Then I spotted sundew plants! Okay, I admit, I just love bog plants and this trip had been fantastic for them. I had been hoping to see some sundews and I finally did! Oblong-leaved Sundews [paragraph break]

The wind was at my back and that cemented my idea that I should end the trip a day early. I made it to the dock on Sawbill by 10:05am. I was glad I had started the day early because the wind was starting to pick up. The gusts were getting much stronger and even though it would have been at my back, I was glad I didn't risk ending up with big rollers.

Did I end up driving all the way to Grand Marais and up the Gunflint Trail just to eat at Trail Center? Why, yes indeed! I stuffed myself with a juicy BLT and a big order of the crack tater tots. I nibbled on leftover tater tots all the way to Duluth. So yummy!

Conclusion: I really enjoyed single portaging. It was very freeing to only need to take one load across. I never had to worry about unattended gear or blocking a landing. I never had to worry about whether I had what I needed with me in case I got hurt. I liked that my decision to single portage forced me to trim back on what I brought. Fewer things to unpack and repack was nice. I didn't miss anything except I would have liked another book. I brought my watercolor paints but was never in the mood to use them, so next time I think I will exchange them for that 2nd book. The Louse River was a great choice for a route. It was off the beaten track, provided some challenges and some unique experiences for me. I also learned that with single portaging, I can plan some longer miles than I did this trip. Some of my days were definitely too short. But I liked that I planned a trip that had some flexibility and options.

Distance traveled: 9.3 miles Portages: 560 Time: 4.5 hours

~Wine Lake, Frederick Lake, Zenith Lake, Lujenida Lake, Kelso Lake, Sawbill Lake