Short report since we just got off water today. Still in Ely tonight.

Yup it’s busy! We passed a sight on Robbins Island on Knife lake and I was starting to regret that. Some dude actually came down and offered that we could camp with him in the 4 Star short of Thunder point. We found an empty sight just into the North Arm past Thunder point. Long day, Figured out my wife and daughter couldn’t really handle much weight portaging. Next time we’ll pack 2 more packs to keep things lighter. We paddled into a hard wind all that day out of the Northeast.

Next day Thunder Point over to little Knife. We got a late start after the previous long day on water and waited a while for a Northern Tier crew to finish lunch up on Thunder point. Multiple groups were waiting down below trying to not mix groups and follow the rules. WePaddled up to Little knife and decided to try for Amoeber. Both campsites were full so we portaged back out to Little knife. Stayed two nights.

Worked our way over to SAKnife by paddling back to NAKnife and then down the bay through the 51 rod portage. Actually got an early start this day since it had been an issue. Most sites were filled, we got the nice campsite right near Eddy Falls. That was great visiting again. Enjoyed the evening.

Next morning up early through Eddy Lake to Kekekabic. Got the campsite we wanted. Enjoyed the day.

Next day through the small lakes. We call them the “Dirty 30” but that might just be a Northern Tier thing. Worked our way over to Vera Lake and got a nice campsite.

Paddled in today from Vera through Ensign and Splash to meet a tow at 3:00 p.m..

Bugs weren’t bad. We didn’t get bothered by any flies. I had bought longer socks which I like better anyways and Picaridin in case the flies were bad. Never needed it.

No issues with bears but we hung the bear bag every night. I heard footsteps rustling one night not sure what it was at the SAKnife near Eddy Falls Campsite.

We. Learned we need quicker breakfasts to get on the water quick. Get to the area you want to camp early and get a campsite. More snack stuff. More bags so we can pack them lighter and just plan on double portaging.

Ryan

Thanks for sharing. Sounds busy out there, but then again, first 2 weeks of August usually are.

I don't like double portaging, family could be just as tired from that. Any chance you can just lighten your gear? Shave 5-10 lbs per pack off?

Always room to shave some weight off. I certainly went lite last year single portaging with Northern tier. Pretty sure no matter how much I shave I’ll be double portaging though. I’d like to know how lite the packs were for the the girls at the end of the trip and how heavy the 2 heavy packs were.

I’m going to enforce some better training next year before the trip. I tried this year but just couldn’t get them acclimated to the idea of getting ready physically for packs.

Next year I’m trying to plan a slightly easier trip. Kind of leaning right now towards the crooked lake, Basswood river area. Trying to figure out best entry and exit to keep portaging a little bit less next year. Portage distance for my son and I was just shy of 10 miles which I didn’t think was bad.

Not sure if a Mudro entry and exit is the right choice avoiding the long portage. Basically not doing the loop. Not sure how a Back Bay Tow on Basswood works. Not sure where the tow starts from.

Ryan