BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
July 26 2024
Entry Point 51 - Missing Link Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 5
Elevation: 1498 feet
Latitude: 48.0731
Longitude: -90.8301
Missing Link Lake - 51
Trepidation on Tuscarora
Entry Date:
May 20, 2020
Entry Point:
Missing Link Lake
Exit Point:
Missing Link Lake (51)
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
3
Wake up Friday morning and inspect the damage. Other than everything being wet and a few limbs down, we are in good shape. Over a breakfast of coffee and omelets. we discuss plans for fishing. we fish the North Bay of Cumings with fair results.Mostly small smallies that are still left on the beds.We try and fish the small islands behind our site and have about the same luck. Tonight is steak night and this year we have added a red wine to the menu for this event. Great conversation and campfire and we all retire to bed in hopes that tonight will be better than last.
[paragraph break]We ended up staying at this site over the next two nights and finally started seeing the expected traffic come onto the lake. Some friendly fishermen tossed us a trout they had caught on their way out, thanks for the snack fellas! That evening we had two young men come up to our site asking if we had seen 3 canoes come by. We were off looking for firewood and hadn't seen anything. They said they lost them shortly after coming out of the long portage around 6pm. They said they circled the lake once, dropped their gear off at the sand beach site, and were on their second round of searching. All I could think is 'What the hell is going on on this lake!'. Now we are sitting on the front porch for a while searching out into the lake as we see these two frantically paddle in decent winds looking for their friends. They end up going back to the beach site after an unsuccessful search. How do you lose 3 canoes? Who knows, weird week I guess.
[paragraph break]The next morning we are visited by a forest ranger doing a routine latrine check. He asks to come up and take a look and off he went into the woods. On his way back, I ask if he's heard anything about the missing man. It was at this point he let me know they retrieved the body Wednesday afternoon. My heart shrunk and stomach dropped. It was what we all had been thinking but to hear it spoken felt so final. I was relieved to have closure but it was very sobering. We chatted with this Ranger for a bit. He lets us know it's his first official year as a ranger and that he'd been doing it for 17 years as a volunteer and paid pre-ranger? Anywho, we were all very impressed with his dedication to the job and thanked him for his duty. Those guys and gals are awesome! We also let him know about the two guys who stayed at the beach site searching for their lost friends. Ranger said he'd check it out. He came back not too long after saying there were two chairs and a bag left at the site. We were all confused by this, but hopefully those two guys found their friends and just happened to leave their gear there.
[paragraph break]We decide this would be our final night, one night short of what we had planned. The events that took place were all we could think or talk about and we wanted out. We left swiftly on the morning of Sunday May 23rd, arriving to the lodge at 11am. We spoke with Andy at length about everything and he was very informative about search and rescue and past missions.
[paragraph break]A lot of learning lessons came out of this trip: both life and canoeing related. Main lesson, life is precious and things rarely go as planned. Learn to accept that and go forth with your best effort. Another one being, if you flip your canoe don't try and flip back as it's nearly impossible and retreat to shore immediately, especially if the water is freezing. Everything is easier to judge in hindsight of course. Also, make sure everyone on the trip knows the route plan and what you'll do in certain situations. Keep survival items on/in your pfd. Survival items are only good if you have them on you when you need them. I think I'll also want to make sure everyone has seen or has a map on them.
[paragraph break]I'm excited to get back out there and use the learnings of this trip to guide me to more enjoyable future trips. I have a trip planned in August with a couple newbies. Should be a great way to experience this wilderness for the first time vicariously through them. Happy paddling!