New Trip Report posted by Portage99

Trip Name: Sawbill Loop Solo Adventure.

Entry Point: 38

Click Here to View Trip Report

Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed reading the great report. I'd imagine the sense of accomplishment with your first solo behind you is a solid feeling. Hopefully one of many more.

What a great trip and great accomplishment. Thanks for sharing it! I hope you are able to do more. When I read that you were tired but going to press to Cherokee, I thought, "uh -oh... Sitka..." :) Ada Creek can be rough going as well -- muck, rock, balance and tug!
Thank you for the photos too. Really enjoyed your report.

Great report. Great photos.

Congratulations on your first solo! Well done! Thanks for writing it up and sharing what you were going through. A fun read and great photos. I stayed on that campsite on Jack a few years ago and had a moose walk into camp (and abruptly leave) as well as a grouse that just sat and watched me eat oatmeal. And you’ll find more than a few members hear who are less than fond of that portage into Cherokee.

Awesome!!! I had so much fun reading your trip report. I loved that you were so open about the challenges both physical and mental. It helped me feel like I know a little more about what I might experience on my first solo...3 weeks and counting.
Thank you!

straighthairedcurly: "Awesome!!! I had so much fun reading your trip report. I loved that you were so open about the challenges both physical and mental. It helped me feel like I know a little more about what I might experience on my first solo...3 weeks and counting.
Thank you!"

I really appreciate your comment! That is why I decided to show the warts and all. “ Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to overcome it.” Or something like that. Enjoy!! I look forward to hearing your report.

jillpine: "What a great trip and great accomplishment. Thanks for sharing it! I hope you are able to do more. When I read that you were tired but going to press to Cherokee, I thought, "uh -oh... Sitka..." :) Ada Creek can be rough going as well -- muck, rock, balance and tug!
Thank you for the photos too. Really enjoyed your report.
"

SITKA.... A name that will live in infamy. : )

Jaywalker: "Congratulations on your first solo! Well done! Thanks for writing it up and sharing what you were going through. A fun read and great photos. I stayed on that campsite on Jack a few years ago and had a moose walk into camp (and abruptly leave) as well as a grouse that just sat and watched me eat oatmeal. And you’ll find more than a few members hear who are less than fond of that portage into Cherokee.


"

I never considered a moose, because I had heard they’re so shy. Such a cool story about the moose coming in the camp. I love snakes, and they usually take off so fast. This one stuck around for a while and actually circled me. What is it about that site? Ha ha

Enjoyed reading your report. There's anxiety and trepidation with a solo, but you gain a lot of confidence from the first when it's finished and you have a lot less worry the next time. As you become free from those worries, you'll have more "moments with the universe" when you solo. The freedom from distraction is hard to explain to others sometime. Now you are free to go when, where, how you please.

Oh, and congratulations on your "baptism by mud". It may happen again. :)

Great report. I love that area. That portage into Cherokee is brutal. I'm encouraged by your strength and stamina to just keep going... Good job!

Nice going and great report! Who among us has not taken a mud dip? And fortunate that you had qualified medical personnel along on your solo to help with the foot issue!

I’ll be taking that same loop For the first time the end of August with my 16 year old son I sure do love solo trips though

boonie: "Enjoyed reading your report. There's anxiety and trepidation with a solo, but you gain a lot of confidence from the first when it's finished and you have a lot less worry the next time. As you become free from those worries, you'll have more "moments with the universe" when you solo. The freedom from distraction is hard to explain to others sometime. Now you are free to go when, where, how you please.


Oh, and congratulations on your "baptism by mud". It may happen again. :)"

Yes, I think the first time you do anything is always the most nerve-racking. I’m looking forward to many more solos. I’ve always love to be alone in the woods. So, it’s just getting more comfortable just relying on myself. Thanks so much for your help!

Wow, good for you! After we met on the portage, I wondered if you made it to Cherokee Lake. You are one strong willed person which I could tell from our short conversation. Hopefully you decide to do another solo trip and I get to meet up with you again. Congratulations!
FISHONFISHOFF

fishonfishoff: "Wow, good for you! After we met on the portage, I wondered if you made it to Cherokee Lake. You are one strong willed person which I could tell from our short conversation. Hopefully you decide to do another solo trip and I get to meet up with you again. Congratulations!
FISHONFISHOFF"

Hey!! I was wondering about your progress as well. You’ll have to write a trip report or give an update. It’s interesting we were out there the same time going opposite directions. And how cool and strange to meet on the portage Trail. Good to meet you.

Thanks for the report. That portage to Cherokee dose suck. I stayed at the same campsite on Cherokee

Huge success! Way to go!
I’m glad to hear that you had a great trip. My 1st solo was just to see if I could do it and I ended up loving to solo.
When I stayed on Jack with big duckling a few years ago there were moose all over the place. A bull and 2 different cows with calves were hanging out. One of the sets was on the little island in front of our site each morning and wandering around back by the latrine each night.
I’m so glad your trip was a success and can’t wait to read your trip report on the next next one

Great trip report and photos. Thank you for sharing

This was awesome thanks for writing it up. Congrats on the solo - super jealous. Always curious to read about loneliness because I know that’l be the toughest part for me. Hope the toe is better.

That trip report was a pleasure to read! And your first solo to boot. Sounds like you had a great trip. You had weather, animals, hard portages and even an injury to deal with. How does if feel to be self sufficient? Sounds like you have confidence in your ability to get the job done. A great trait to have. Hey, no fires to deal with!!! I envy you guys that live so close to canoe country. My plan was to do my 10 solo trip this summer. Doesn't look like that will happen, at least this summer!

Great report and thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed hearing what you were experiencing. With my children getting close to graduating college and beginning careers, I will either need to stop tripping or go solo. Candidly, I have some trepidation about soloing. Your story, "warts and all", with your courage, helps.

I also enjoyed your trip report. Sounds like a good trip too.
Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for all the comments. I created a video with some more photos if anyone cares to check it out.

Trip Video

I enjoyed reading your report. My first and, so far, only solo was this exact route, only in reverse. I also stayed at site #928 on Jack Lake. I wrote a trip report about that trip, if you're interested. Great route. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good route.

Enjoyed the slideshow.

movington: "I enjoyed reading your report. My first and, so far, only solo was this exact route, only in reverse. I also stayed at site #928 on Jack Lake. I wrote a trip report about that trip, if you're interested. Great route. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good route. "

Great trip report. I really enjoyed reading it and playing over in my mind the same route. Sounds like you had some baptism by mud as well. It is a challenging and beautiful route. I’d like to do it again and add a Northern lake or two. Thanks for sharing!

I really enjoyed your trip report. I regularly visit the bwca with fishonfishoff and he recommended that i check out your report. I admire your courage in doing your first solo, which i haven't attempted yet. My wife won't be very pleased with me when i go, but hope to do a solo sometime. Great story and loved the pics. Well done!

tommygun: "I really enjoyed your trip report. I regularly visit the bwca with fishonfishoff and he recommended that i check out your report. I admire your courage in doing your first solo, which i haven't attempted yet. My wife won't be very pleased with me when i go, but hope to do a solo sometime. Great story and loved the pics. Well done!"

Thanks for reading and commenting. Nice to “meet” you. I’m really glad I did it. It seems like once you get the first one out-of-the-way, they seem easier. It was a strange feeling to just rely on me. But, I started to feel more comfortable.

Plus the confidence transfers to other areas of life. It was a great experience. I hope you are able to do one soon!

PS-This week, I finally lost both my big toenails and one little one. The new ones were already growing underneath. Fresh toenails! They look as good as can be expected. I thought I had salvaged one, but no luck.Ha ha

Just read your report, don’t know how I missed it earlier. Anyway what a great report with such good photos. Your comments on loneliness reminded me of the first few solo trips. While loneliness on solo trips doesn’t concern me, I am leery of meeting other travelers especially when approached at portages or campsites. Since I am so severely hard of hearing (deaf in R ear with only about 60% in L ear) and I have to travel w/o wearing my hearing devices. So I can’t wear them on the water (very expensive to replace) and often don’t use them on land since I am alone. But I find it quite startling when I suddenly realize someone is nearby. Can’t hear their approach and if I don’t notice them all of the sudden there they are.

So I came back and read this trip report a 2nd time now that I had completed my 1st solo and I appreciated this even more. The irrational fears that can crop up when you are alone, especially when alone AND nursing an injury are powerful as I also discovered. Your description of your stubbornness to just find the portage cadence and just get it done is what I like to term "beast" mode. You feel like nothing can stop you when you get in that zone.
Thank you again.

Thanks for posting your report. I am just catching up on reading reports and yours made me go back and look at my report of my first solo from Snowbank lake. When you mentioned getting camp set up and feeling cold, I had the same feelings on my trip. Only difference is your trip went well, and my trip almost ruined the BWCA for me. However, I have had more trips and thanks to other members of this community helping me out, I believe I am finally able to enjoy the trip by myself, but I still yearn for companionship out there, someone to share the experience with. I have also learned, that I can enjoy solo as long as I am free for the time there. Hard to enjoy if worried about all the stuff to do at home, etc. So it has taken about three tries, but I believe I am set up for enjoying solo trips on my terms. I am happy that you were able to have the success on the first trip and the sense of being able to "do it"! Thanks for a report that brings back so many memories of my own.

You're very welcome. Thanks for the comment. I did feel ready for this trip. However, I can't wait to keep going and learning more things about tripping and about myself.