A post on the trip planning forum about Basswood and evil got me thinking about something I read on here a long time ago about certain parts of the BW possiblly being haunted. DOn't get me wrong,, I beleive there is a natural explanation for over 99% of the weird stuff/noise we experience in the sticks at night. But I do believe that very small % of it is unexplained. Just like anywhere else. I beleive the area I'am thinking about is W of GUN Lake around the Bear Trap lake area or in the vicinity from what I remember reading. Just curious what people have experiecned. As for myself--- scary at the time only to be explained later as a barred owl or other nocturnal animals. Just curious thats all......

I, and many others, have some unusual stories about Fishdance lake and the pictos there. After performing at Canoecopia, I had several people come up and tell me about their experiences. I wouldn't say it was "haunted" but definitely a feeling of not being alone.

my two days in the fishdance/kawishiwi area was the most peaceful time i've ever had on a canoe trip...anywhere.

heebie jeebie lakes? Jenny (BW), Oriana (Q), parts of the Maligne river

Shakespeare Cramer, murdered in his shack, Mrs Robinson, burned alive by her husband, Mike Baker dying horribly from bad moonshine, "Frenchie" Laveau, disappeared, probably murdered for the gold in his money belt? No particular reason for haunts.

In our own family, there is my mother's uncle, gut-shot by an unknown party. He walked a mile, holding in his intestines, but when found, he was in shock and could no longer speak.

Then there's her young cousin, lost while blueberry picking and never seen again - so if you see a young boy with a blueberry bucket - looking bewildered....

quote OneMatch: "I, and many others, have some unusual stories about Fishdance lake and the pictos there. After performing at Canoecopia, I had several people come up and tell me about their experiences. I wouldn't say it was "haunted" but definitely a feeling of not being alone."

We felt it when we were there as well. Can't put my finger on it, but it was something palpable.

The campsite on a small island in the west central part of Tuscarora...faces west, has a sort of harbor, nice little spot. We had lunch, thought about staying, and left. Felt like we were being watched, something there. Never felt that way about another campsite in many trips. That fall talked to a woman who had many trips in the BW and she identified the same island campsite as spooky feeling without me naming it. Both of us felt this way in broad daylight.

Home Lake. Weird stuff up there.

A site on Winchell a few years back had my wife and I in a bit of a dither. A beautiful site and we were poised to spend two nights there.

In the morning we both had an overwhelming feeling that we were not wanted at the site and that we were invading a sacred space. During the night we had not spoken to each other once about this pervasive feeling, but it was overwhelming in the morning when we awoke, and we packed up and left as soon as we could.

I was unable to sleep the night we were at the site, and that in itself is an anomaly.

jitterbug. on a solo trip years ago i put in this lake and instantly i was uncomfortable. i had a lot of trouble finding the portage into ashub (altho when i calmed down and paid attention i found it right away!) and had the most uneasy feeling all the time i was on the water. creepy.

ive never felt any strange vibes up there.

quote walllee: "Home Lake. Weird stuff up there."

+1 --Angleworm/Home Lake Area.. Weird vibes.

quote RaisedByBears99: "Shakespeare Cramer, murdered in his shack, Mrs Robinson, burned alive by her husband, Mike Baker dying horribly from bad moonshine, "Frenchie" Laveau, disappeared, probably murdered for the gold in his money belt? No particular reason for haunts.


In our own family, there is my mother's uncle, gut-shot by an unknown party. He walked a mile, holding in his intestines, but when found, he was in shock and could no longer speak.


Then there's her young cousin, lost while blueberry picking and never seen again - so if you see a young boy with a blueberry bucket - looking bewildered...."

hey raised by bears, you are a treasure trove of northern backwoods lore, kind of like a faulkner character with out all the ick. i love reading your posts. my aunt was raised on a farm outside embarrass, her childhood was hardscrable, but she was not a storyteller.

one of my haunted places is in wabakimi park. we had just made a two day bushwack down an essentially non navigable creek on our way from the albany river to lake nipigon. we got to cliff lake, beautiful and very remote. not a sound to be heard, no birds, bugs or wind disturbed the quiet. no one in our group spoke, we all felt it. at the end of the lake we were surprised to find a trappers cabin. the very low ceiling meant this was a serious structure designed to help it's occupant survive the bitter winters. who ever had lived here was familiar with the north, this was not a frivolous person. yet in the woods surrounding the cabin we found many face masks attached to the spruce trees, and other inexplicable art work that i cannot even explain. we left everything and hurried out.

on another, very far north trip, we were canoing a river that was maybe paddled every other year, if that. the caribou kept the trails open. we were in a canyon formed by ancient basalt and the sands of a huge, miles long, white sand esker, the very few stunted trees at this latitude made for breath taking scenery. again our group became quiet. we had been singing voyageur songs in our most offensive french accents. but from the hills we noticed that we could hear chimes and or bells, at this point the nearest settlement is three hundred miles away. eskimos do come here for salmon, when they need to, but they have huge herds of caribou that kept them very well supplied. we all stopped paddling and let the current carry us along. none of us said anything about the bells, but this was a very special, peaceful place.

i won't mention angleworm, something is up here and it not a happy thing.

for the record i am not crazy, at least i wasn't then. i did live in a house in mendota village, across the river from fort snelling. this was a nasty, cheap house built in the later 1880s, as far as we could tell. this house came with a ghost. weird stuff would happen all the time, we would unplug the stereo at night, otherwise it would turn itself on. everything would be rearranged in the morning. one evening, i had the house to myself, with my german shepard. we both saw her, a young woman, dark hair in white robes, transparent, just like in the movies. she was coming down the stairs, probably the wolf spiders in the bathroom scared her. my dog and i both stood when we saw her, then she faded. that part of my life my friends punk rock band, husker du, was becoming fairly famous. these guys were over all the time. so with these punk rockers around, playing the latest circle jerks or dead kennedys at full volume, the poor ghost dissapeared. without sounding like a stupid steven king (novel), the village is built on scared dakota indian land, some say it was a burial ground, that fact that mendota is sacred to the dakota is well known. also, per a buddies historic research, he found that a girl had been murder in this house in the early century.

the house is still there, a hmong family lives there. hmongs are very well versed in ghosts and how to deal with them, they didn't teach us that stuff in catholic catechism.

I'll third the strange, palpable sensed experience of being watched at the pictos on Fishdance Lake.

JWartman... Wow! I love your stories.

quote jwartman59:

one of my haunted places is in wabakimi park. we had just made a two day bushwack down an essentially non navigable creek on our way from the albany river to lake nipigon. we got to cliff lake, beautiful and very remote. not a sound to be heard, no birds, bugs or wind disturbed the quiet. no one in our group spoke, we all felt it. at the end of the lake we were surprised to find a trappers cabin.
"

I agree Cliff Lake in Wabakimi is a bit spooky. A buddy and I passed through there in May 1986, while enroute to James Bay in his wood-canvas canoe. We stayed two days at the lake, checking out the many pictograph sites there. We saw no wildlife and heard no birds chirping. The only thing breaking the silence was the hum of black flies and mosquitoes.

On that same trip we were camped along the Witchwood River on a black, overcast night, when all of a sudden there was splashing and crashing outside the tent along the river. Whatever it was banged into the canoe and then disappeared into the night. We assumed it must have been a moose, but it sure got our blood flowing. That area was not part of the park yet, and was a remote, seldom visited country.

We went to the pictos on Fishdance once and did not have any strange vibes, just the sense of awe of such an amazing place. We were respectful and quiet while looking at the rock and eventually went ashore down a ways and climbed up on top. There appears to be a lot of visitors there and as we were sitting looking over the lake we heard voices. It was a little odd and we continued to listen for it sounded like the voice of a child. Soon, we figured out it was another canoe down looking at the paintings but it really didn't sound like it was coming from that direction. I crawled to the edge and looked down at a couple with a little girl in the center and eventually, she looked up and saw me. Poor kid jumped and with a shriek, pointed at me and scared the adults a little...sorry.

Very first trip we did a day trip to the pictos on Fishdance. No weird vibes or anything. Caught a few nice walleye and a pike for dinner. On the takeout to head back to Alice, i went to pull the stringer in and there were no fish. We just thought the Pike must have chewed through the stringer and we lost the catch.

After hearing these stories, maybe the pike didn't chew through the stringer. :-)

quote jwartman59: " i won't mention angleworm, something is up here and it not a happy thing.


one evening, i had the house to myself, with my german shepard. we both saw her, a young woman, dark hair in white robes, transparent, just like in the movies. she was coming down the stairs, probably the wolf spiders in the bathroom scared her. my dog and i both stood when we saw her, then she faded. that part of my life my friends punk rock band, husker du, was becoming fairly famous. these guys were over all the time. so with these punk rockers around, playing the latest circle jerks or dead kennedys at full volume, the poor ghost dissapeared.
"

I know those Hüsker Dü guys too. I was never at your house but I know the area. Certainly enough history in that village to support a ghost story or two.

I am begging you to mention Angleworm... what is up with the Home Angleworm area and why is everyone unwilling to talk about it?

I solo hiked the angleworm trail a few years ago, and am glad that I was ignorant of this unhappy thing roaming those woods!

All I experienced was a great trail, with a lot of very big trees. Perhaps the entity was over on Fishdance during the short time I was wondering around Angleworm.

+4 on the Fishdance vibes. Wife and I daytripped there from Insula to see the pictographs. I didn't want to stay long, thought it was because of the travel time back to camp. But there was something disconcerting about Fishdance.

artic- i am surprised to hear that others had been on this route, ours was from petawanga lake on the albany river down (up) petawa creek, atwood river, whitchwood river, whiteclay lake and then down the pitikigushi river to lake nipigon, which we then paddled across to the road to armstrong. easily the toughest canoing i have done anywhere. we were here in 1976, paddling wood/canvas peterborough (chestnut) prospectors, the only canoe i would ever paddle on lake nipigon. the hut was dilapidated in 76, and the weird chairs/thrones probably rotted and reclaimed by the forest by 1986.

as for angleworm, here is the link to my sole trip report, unfortunately, the link in my report to the bigfoot forum seems to have disappeared. solo trip, spring creek

i have been back in this area probably a dozen times since that trip, on one trip, with my daughters boyfriend from san diego,CA, we paddled the south shoreline of crystal clear Gull lake searching for human remains. i think i did this just to creep out this poor kid.

Obviously I was wrong with my memory thinking Bear Trap-Gull area,, it must have been Angleworm/Home. I do know an individual "Lyoyd" was his first name,,, hiked the Angleworm trail in spring about 5-7 years ago and never returned. I can't remember if they found his body or just articles of clothing. The Fishdance pictos is interesting. Not that I don't beleive one single repsonse on this form,, but that SEVERAL people/groups have experienced the same Mr Yuck (cold)feeling is quite convincing. Does anyone know what the pictos on FIshdance are saying?? Might be clue,,, likely nothing.
NEver had that MR YUCK feeling in the woods (or that eerie feeling that you just know someone is watching you,,, or both),, but a handful of times at parties growing up and such and such,, so I know what your feeling. CAn't imagine that in the B-Dub. I would pack up and leave and join the bears....

Edit: Nevermind

I've never gotten the heeby-jeebies up north. Not even a cold whiff on a warm day. And I'm a ghost magnet. I'm nectar to the Bees of the Inexplicable.

Sigh.

it is not heeby jeebies. it is a sense of something otherworldly. you'll know it when it happens. my prior post was open for a long time. sorry.

quote jwartman59: "it is not heeby jeebies. it is a sense of something otherworldly. you'll know it when it happens. my prior post was open for a long time. sorry."

Sadly, I'll probably never know it. I've spent about two years up north and it hasn't happened and I'm honey to the Flies of the Otherworldly. Heck, I'm the Big, Naked Butt to the Skeeter of the Supernatural too!

I've always had a sense of peace when I'm on a trip...it's at work that I feel an uneasy feeling....:)

I don't know if any of these places are haunted, but there are a few lakes that I could not wait to get off of! The biggest one that I think of is McKenzie in the Quetico. I have traveled through there twice and camped on night on the lake. It gave me the willy's the entire time i was on the lake.

The other one was Williams Lake (also in the quetico). Could not paddle fast enough to get to the next lake!

There are others that may be "haunted" in a pleasant way. The first one that comes to mind is Jackfish in the BWCA. I have had some wonderful expereinces in there that I will cherish forever (eagle dive bombing canoe, wolves howling and standing on a point, phenomonal fishing).

quote CrookedPaddler1: "I don't know if any of these places are haunted, but there are a few lakes that I could not wait to get off of! The biggest one that I think of is McKenzie in the Quetico. I have traveled through there twice and camped on night on the lake. It gave me the willy's the entire time i was on the lake.

Yeah, McKenzie Lake can feel weird. I know of a human skeleton lying on an island there and I have seen it twice. I pass through there humbly.

Did a little research on the pictos on Fishdance. Comments are from Michael Furtman. Makes sense from what people have experienced.

Above: Another possible human or Maymaygwayshi (mysterious, mischievous spirit people thought to inhabit cliff areas such as the location of this pictograph.

More on Maymaygwayshi; this info was retrieved off an Ojibway dictionary.

The supernatural figure named Maymaygwayshi was a trickster and practical joker, much like the Anasazi Kokopelli. He lives in the shallow caves and cracks which appear along a waterway. Shaman believed that he could be bribed with tobacco to grant the power to enter rocks. Enormously fond of fish, Maymaygwayshi often steals it from the traps the Ojibwa would place. He is depicted as a short creature with a large head which sometimes has horns.

Anyone ever heard of Windigo?

Windigo

On our first trip into the Q, we were on Agnes heading to Kawnipi. We were told there were picto's on the two islands in the center of the lake but to make sure we had our rain gear out if we went there. We entered Agnes from the S chain and it was a beautiful day. Only 2 of the nine in our group listened about the rain gear, me not one. Half way to the islands it suddenly got very dark, and windy and rained like no end. It rained the whole time we were at the islands including lunch on the beach. As soon as we headed north, away from the islands, it cleared up and was beautiful for the next 5 days.

The pictos were cool, on a cliff on the west island with a beach on the east island oposite.

quote WhiteWolf: "Obviously I was wrong with my memory thinking Bear Trap-Gull area,, it must have been Angleworm/Home. I do know an individual "Lyoyd" was his first name,,, hiked the Angleworm trail in spring about 5-7 years ago and never returned... "

Here is a good write up years after Lloyd Skelton went missing.

Trant Lake in Quetico. Nothing I can put my finger on, but definitely some weird juju going on there.

That time of year?

Haven't really been anyplace haunted in the BWCA, but I did run into a very scary large burly individual with an icepick one late evening in the ice-house at Beatty Portage. He didn't say anything, just kind of grunted, but not before I took note that he also drinks E&J on the rocks! Guess he can't be all bad..

No haunted places for me either,but will admit that when doing solo trips I see and pass up certain sites that just look spooky and creepy to me even at my old age.

I have no spooky stories of the northwoods. Never camped in a place that gave me the heeby-jeebies either. Wish I had a story for this cyber-campfire. I did own a rocking chair that shot across a level floor and banged against a door, but that was in a city. I took a hammer to it.

Neglige lake- Was told a story about a girl being mudered/raped in that area and her family hunting down the people who did it and hanging them from the trees somewhere in the general area of Neglige lake. Not really haunted but erie none the less.

Do a search for Neglige lake on this site and CCBB and you will find the story. A couple of different version are out there but the same outcome happens in all versions.

quote Neglige: "Neglige lake- Was told a story about a girl being mudered/raped in that area and her family hunting down the people who did it and hanging them from the trees somewhere in the general area of Neglige lake. Not really haunted but erie none the less.


Do a search for Neglige lake on this site and CCBB and you will find the story. A couple of different version are out there but the same outcome happens in all versions."

Wow! That would make for a good book. The storyline is vaguely similar to a book I read once called "The purification ceremony"...it had me looking over my shoulder for quite a while after I read it!

Nothing haunted, just a creepy bearded spider on Basswood.

BEWARE!!! SOLO CAMPING IN BWCA!!! THOSE NOISES YOU HEAR AT NIGHT SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY!!!!!!!!BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

quote OBX2Kayak: "Nothing haunted, just a creepy bearded spider on Basswood.


"

Wow,how many eyes do you have?

quote OBX2Kayak: "Nothing haunted, just a creepy bearded spider on Basswood.


"

That's one of the Duck Dynasty dudes.

quote missmolly: "

quote jwartman59: "it is not heeby jeebies. it is a sense of something otherworldly. you'll know it when it happens. my prior post was open for a long time. sorry."

Sadly, I'll probably never know it. I've spent about two years up north and it hasn't happened and I'm honey to the Flies of the Otherworldly. Heck, I'm the Big, Naked Butt to the Skeeter of the Supernatural too!"

I hear ye, MissMolly... I am sometimes a sniffing post to the runaway dogs of imagination.

quote rtallent: "

quote missmolly: "

quote jwartman59: "it is not heeby jeebies. it is a sense of something otherworldly. you'll know it when it happens. my prior post was open for a long time. sorry."

Sadly, I'll probably never know it. I've spent about two years up north and it hasn't happened and I'm honey to the Flies of the Otherworldly. Heck, I'm the Big, Naked Butt to the Skeeter of the Supernatural too!"

I hear ye, MissMolly... I am sometimes a sniffing post to the runaway dogs of imagination."

Funny, funny lad!

quote rtallent: "

quote missmolly: "

quote jwartman59: "it is not heeby jeebies. it is a sense of something otherworldly. you'll know it when it happens. my prior post was open for a long time. sorry."

Sadly, I'll probably never know it. I've spent about two years up north and it hasn't happened and I'm honey to the Flies of the Otherworldly. Heck, I'm the Big, Naked Butt to the Skeeter of the Supernatural too!"

I hear ye, MissMolly... I am sometimes a sniffing post to the runaway dogs of imagination."

Funny, funny lad!

When I started reading this post I thought, this is dumb, nothing ever spooks me, but I kept reading and then I remembered the night we spent on Glimmer. Tiny, lake, nobody goes there. At the only campsite on the lake, grass was growing in the firegrate, the site hadn't been used in many years. My wife was totally spooked by the site but it was too late to leave so we stayed awake all night, didn't even get in the tent, we just talked and tended the fire and got out of there at first light.

quote OneMatch: "I, and many others, have some unusual stories about Fishdance lake and the pictos there. After performing at Canoecopia, I had several people come up and tell me about their experiences. I wouldn't say it was "haunted" but definitely a feeling of not being alone."

Been on Fishdance Lake a number of times, never overnight and each time I felt that something was watching over the lake.

Ridge behind camp on SE Ensign. The bluff just east of the privy. Felt watched. A member of our party swears he saw a 3' tall hairy man while on the throne well after dark. We figured a bear cub, but he's sticking to it. He insisted we move camp the next night. He won the debate. He was genuinely afraid.

Any new funny feelings that may of made you say I am not camping here-it has a spooky feeling?

Like a site on Island river it just seems creepy and something is lurking. Especially when alone.
Also it is weird that thin layer of nylon called the tent is a security blanket to me at times. Yes I may be weird at times.

creepy

I read thru these. I remember the ely outfitter telling us once when we went if we are heading thru firedance lake not to stay. He said there's weird strange things that have happened to him while camping on that lake. We never stayed on the lake but both my brother in law and myself felt weird there. Just wanted to get out of the area.
I hope I forget about some of these stories when I do my first solo this spring
:-)
Mike

There have been several times my oldest son and I have been walking a campsite and one or both of us will look up and say "we are being watched" or "I have a bad feeling here." We don't even question it. We just get back in the canoe and keep paddling. Not always, but usually we leave the lake too. Can't explain it. Sometimes it is a hair standing up on the back of your neck. Other times it's just an oppressive feeling. We've encountered this phenomenon at the ends of portages as well. That one is more of a "It's time to leave now" sort of thing.

I camped across from the pictographs on my 40 day trip in 2012. I was the one watching you. Hahahaha!

I've had a couple of weird experiences over the years. Not sure I'd call them "supernatural" but definetely weird.
First one was in 2011. First campsite on the Isabella River after leaving Bald Eagle. After unloading I headed back to the latrine. On the way I come across a raven standing motionless next to a tree. On the return trip I found it laying on its side dead. I have a thing about ravens. To me, ravens mean death. Probably watched too many horror movies growing up, lol. Spent a very uneasy night convinced I was going to die. Needless to say I survived. This was two weeks before the Pagami Creek fire....

The second "incident" was last year on Moosecamp. First site to the right of the portage from Bullit. It was about an hour after dark. My buddy and I are big Stephen King fans. We were discussing the book "It." Out of nowhere about 20ft behind us, just inside the treeline came the loudest, strangest sound I've ever heard. Not really sure how to describe it. I guess the closest I can get would be a cross between a maniacal laugh and a screech? I've never heard anything remotely like it in 45 yrs of vacationing in the woods of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stood up and at the same time said "what the #$&! was that?" grabbed our flashlights and headed to where the sound seemed to come from. Saw nothing. Not on the ground, not in the trees. Never heard anything coming or going. We made a pact that night to never again discuss King books in the woods.

quote nakor: "The second "incident" was last year on Moosecamp. First site to the right of the portage from Bullit. It was about an hour after dark. My buddy and I are big Stephen King fans. We were discussing the book "It." Out of nowhere about 20ft behind us, just inside the treeline came the loudest, strangest sound I've ever heard. Not really sure how to describe it. I guess the closest I can get would be a cross between a maniacal laugh and a screech? I've never heard anything remotely like it in 45 yrs of vacationing in the woods of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stood up and at the same time said "what the #$&! was that?" grabbed our flashlights and headed to where the sound seemed to come from. Saw nothing. Not on the ground, not in the trees. Never heard anything coming or going. We made a pact that night to never again discuss King books in the woods."

Aaron? He was known to be in that general area.

Could have also been a rabbit. I hear they sound spooky when being killed.

Could have been a big Kitty.

quote MNLindsey80: "

quote nakor: "The second "incident" was last year on Moosecamp. First site to the right of the portage from Bullit. It was about an hour after dark. My buddy and I are big Stephen King fans. We were discussing the book "It." Out of nowhere about 20ft behind us, just inside the treeline came the loudest, strangest sound I've ever heard. Not really sure how to describe it. I guess the closest I can get would be a cross between a maniacal laugh and a screech? I've never heard anything remotely like it in 45 yrs of vacationing in the woods of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stood up and at the same time said "what the #$&! was that?" grabbed our flashlights and headed to where the sound seemed to come from. Saw nothing. Not on the ground, not in the trees. Never heard anything coming or going. We made a pact that night to never again discuss King books in the woods."

Aaron? He was known to be in that general area.

Could have also been a rabbit. I hear they sound spooky when being killed."

Thought about Aaron. I mentioned to my buddy while we were searching for whatever it was that it almost sounded human. It sounded like an insane laugh more than anything else.
Just did some research on rabbits. Definitely creepy and louder than I would have expected. Not quite what we heard though. I would think if it was a predator/prey thing we would have heard a struggle or found some blood or something. We searched for quite awhile and found nothing. Whatever it was it came and went in total silence and left no trace.

quote nakor: "I've had a couple of weird experiences over the years. Not sure I'd call them "supernatural" but definetely weird.
First one was in 2011. First campsite on the Isabella River after leaving Bald Eagle. After unloading I headed back to the latrine. On the way I come across a raven standing motionless next to a tree. On the return trip I found it laying on its side dead. I have a thing about ravens. To me, ravens mean death. Probably watched too many horror movies growing up, lol. Spent a very uneasy night convinced I was going to die. Needless to say I survived. This was two weeks before the Pagami Creek fire....


The second "incident" was last year on Moosecamp. First site to the right of the portage from Bullit. It was about an hour after dark. My buddy and I are big Stephen King fans. We were discussing the book "It." Out of nowhere about 20ft behind us, just inside the treeline came the loudest, strangest sound I've ever heard. Not really sure how to describe it. I guess the closest I can get would be a cross between a maniacal laugh and a screech? I've never heard anything remotely like it in 45 yrs of vacationing in the woods of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stood up and at the same time said "what the #$&! was that?" grabbed our flashlights and headed to where the sound seemed to come from. Saw nothing. Not on the ground, not in the trees. Never heard anything coming or going. We made a pact that night to never again discuss King books in the woods."

perhaps a screech owl.

quote airmorse: "Could have been a big Kitty."

Hope not! That is the only animal that I fear up there because you don't know it's there until it wants you to.

quote Goldenbadger: "

quote nakor: "I've had a couple of weird experiences over the years. Not sure I'd call them "supernatural" but definetely weird.
First one was in 2011. First campsite on the Isabella River after leaving Bald Eagle. After unloading I headed back to the latrine. On the way I come across a raven standing motionless next to a tree. On the return trip I found it laying on its side dead. I have a thing about ravens. To me, ravens mean death. Probably watched too many horror movies growing up, lol. Spent a very uneasy night convinced I was going to die. Needless to say I survived. This was two weeks before the Pagami Creek fire....



The second "incident" was last year on Moosecamp. First site to the right of the portage from Bullit. It was about an hour after dark. My buddy and I are big Stephen King fans. We were discussing the book "It." Out of nowhere about 20ft behind us, just inside the treeline came the loudest, strangest sound I've ever heard. Not really sure how to describe it. I guess the closest I can get would be a cross between a maniacal laugh and a screech? I've never heard anything remotely like it in 45 yrs of vacationing in the woods of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stood up and at the same time said "what the #$&! was that?" grabbed our flashlights and headed to where the sound seemed to come from. Saw nothing. Not on the ground, not in the trees. Never heard anything coming or going. We made a pact that night to never again discuss King books in the woods."

perhaps a screech owl."

That was the first thing I looked into. Didn't really sound like what we heard. Maybe some other kind of owl??

Flying squirrels have an unusual call.

Owls make some creepy noises.

quote WhiteWolf: "Owls make some creepy noises. "

The Barred owls we have here sound like some kind of a "Goblin" when they start doing that "Caterwauling" noise especially.

Barred Owls

The BWJ had an article many years called the Bell Lake Mystery, about Bell Lake in the Q. Find it and read it....everybody. It will scare the poo-poo out of you. I solo and don't find the woods scary at all. But this account of a father and son camping one night will scare you!

You've been warned.

Mike in Minneapolis

quote WhiteWolf: "Owls make some creepy noises. "

I'm guessing that's what it was. It would have been hard to see in the dark if it wasn't looking right at us. I've seen some big owls up there.

The first time my hubby and I went to the BW was with my brother and sister in law. We stayed on Agnes. I fell in love with the BW when I heard the wolves howling across the lake. When night fell I started feeling uneasy thinking of the wolves I heard and thinking of any potential bears that may be in the area. My camp mates started having cocktails but I passed on that. I had second thoughts on that decision when I was the only one who was woke up by the noises and the sound of feet or paws running through our camp and past our tents. I have no idea, nor want to know what it was that I heard.

Flash forward several years....

There were four of us staying on Agnes. I woke in the night to the beating of drums in the distance. It's the only way I can explain it. It was rhythmic. Consecutive....BOOM BOOM BOOM,,..and then (I know it sounds weird) three loud cracks..like a stick hitting a tree but LOUD. BOOM BOOM BOOM...CRACK CRACK CRACK...I can't figure it out. I was dry mouth scared as I lay there in the dark listening to it. My hubby had earplugs in so heard nothing. My brother in law is so hard of hearing he is almost impaired and my nephew had cocktails and slept soundly. I know what I heard. It matters not what others think. I wish I could have asked others camping on that lake that night if they heard anything.

quote nakor: "I've had a couple of weird experiences over the years. Not sure I'd call them "supernatural" but definetely weird.
First one was in 2011. First campsite on the Isabella River after leaving Bald Eagle. After unloading I headed back to the latrine. On the way I come across a raven standing motionless next to a tree. On the return trip I found it laying on its side dead. I have a thing about ravens. To me, ravens mean death. Probably watched too many horror movies growing up, lol. Spent a very uneasy night convinced I was going to die. Needless to say I survived. This was two weeks before the Pagami Creek fire....


The second "incident" was last year on Moosecamp. First site to the right of the portage from Bullit. It was about an hour after dark. My buddy and I are big Stephen King fans. We were discussing the book "It." Out of nowhere about 20ft behind us, just inside the treeline came the loudest, strangest sound I've ever heard. Not really sure how to describe it. I guess the closest I can get would be a cross between a maniacal laugh and a screech? I've never heard anything remotely like it in 45 yrs of vacationing in the woods of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stood up and at the same time said "what the #$&! was that?" grabbed our flashlights and headed to where the sound seemed to come from. Saw nothing. Not on the ground, not in the trees. Never heard anything coming or going. We made a pact that night to never again discuss King books in the woods."

This reminds me of when I was a kid, camping with my family on an island in a river, and telling ghost stories. Some critter was killed on the island and its death scream moved us all closer to the campfire.

The owls are not what they seem....

Voices in the night-I can't explain it?

We were on a small lake north of North Bay in Basswood my brother and I were laying in the tent when we both heard voices(at least it sounded like it) and we both got up and looked at each other and went outside. From the location it would of been deep into the woods. Looked also down by the lake,nothing. Being the logical rational people we chalked it up to hearing something-well it couldn't of been a person? So we went back to bed. I still don't know what the heck we heard. I am sure it was a weird sound of nature-right?
We chalked it up to imagination and not hearing what we thought. What else?

quote missmolly: "

quote nakor: "
The second "incident" was last year on Moosecamp. First site to the right of the portage from Bullit. It was about an hour after dark. My buddy and I are big Stephen King fans. We were discussing the book "It." Out of nowhere about 20ft behind us, just inside the treeline came the loudest, strangest sound I've ever heard. Not really sure how to describe it. I guess the closest I can get would be a cross between a maniacal laugh and a screech? I've never heard anything remotely like it in 45 yrs of vacationing in the woods of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stood up and at the same time said "what the #$&! was that?" grabbed our flashlights and headed to where the sound seemed to come from. Saw nothing. Not on the ground, not in the trees. Never heard anything coming or going. We made a pact that night to never again discuss King books in the woods."

"

I'm so glad someone described this. In Quetico last September I heard the same thing. I've been going up there since the early 80's and never heard anything like it before. It was definitely a rhythmic animal call most likely a bird. Just crazy sounding like something out of the Amazon. It definitely got my attention, it was right after dark as I lay in the tent.

quote missmolly: "

quote nakor: "
The second "incident" was last year on Moosecamp. First site to the right of the portage from Bullit. It was about an hour after dark. My buddy and I are big Stephen King fans. We were discussing the book "It." Out of nowhere about 20ft behind us, just inside the treeline came the loudest, strangest sound I've ever heard. Not really sure how to describe it. I guess the closest I can get would be a cross between a maniacal laugh and a screech? I've never heard anything remotely like it in 45 yrs of vacationing in the woods of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stood up and at the same time said "what the #$&! was that?" grabbed our flashlights and headed to where the sound seemed to come from. Saw nothing. Not on the ground, not in the trees. Never heard anything coming or going. We made a pact that night to never again discuss King books in the woods."

"

I'm so glad someone described this. In Quetico last September I heard the same thing. I've been going up there since the early 80's and never heard anything like it before. It was definitely a rhythmic animal call most likely a bird. Just crazy sounding like something out of the Amazon. It definitely got my attention, it was right after dark as I lay in the tent.

There is a few birds can give a good scream even a fox can do a good scream once in a while.

quote BSW: I woke in the night to the beating of drums in the distance. It's the only way I can explain it. It was rhythmic. Consecutive....BOOM BOOM BOOM,,..and then (I know it sounds weird) three loud cracks..like a stick hitting a tree but LOUD. BOOM BOOM BOOM...CRACK CRACK CRACK...I can't figure it out.

"

My husband and I listened to something very like this on Wonder one evening and into the early dark, however, there was an almost metallic component in the cracking noises. I still don't know what to attribute it to, but at the time I chalked it up to us being on a lake that was not all that far from the BW border where perhaps there was some sort of machinery use or other activity going on to our south. Agnes is a bit remote for that.

I had a somewhat unsettled feeling this past fall up on LBW falls. There are two campsites, one on a hill sitting above another that is close to the falls. At the lower site, there is what looked likes fishing tackle that has washed up on shore. It left me feeling rather uneasy for the entire time I camped there --- can't say why. I didn't even really want to disturb the gear although it looked like it had been abandoned....anyone else come across that stuff at that site?

quote MikeinMpls: "The BWJ had an article many years called the Bell Lake Mystery, about Bell Lake in the Q. Find it and read it....everybody. It will scare the poo-poo out of you. I solo and don't find the woods scary at all. But this account of a father and son camping one night will scare you!
You've been warned.
Mike in Minneapolis"

I remember that story. Scary.

Footsteps

Squatch....the North American woodland ape.

quote ozarkpaddler: "

quote MikeinMpls: "The BWJ had an article many years called the Bell Lake Mystery, about Bell Lake in the Q. Find it and read it....everybody. It will scare the poo-poo out of you. I solo and don't find the woods scary at all. But this account of a father and son camping one night will scare you!
You've been warned.
Mike in Minneapolis"

I remember that story. Scary. "

Spring 2000, page 59.

quote fadersup: "

quote ozarkpaddler: "

quote MikeinMpls: "The BWJ had an article many years called the Bell Lake Mystery, about Bell Lake in the Q. Find it and read it....everybody. It will scare the poo-poo out of you. I solo and don't find the woods scary at all. But this account of a father and son camping one night will scare you!
You've been warned.
Mike in Minneapolis"

I remember that story. Scary. "

Spring 2000, page 59. "

Thanks. I didn't have that info handy. It's a spooky story told in a very matter-of-fact manner, no embellishment or drama. I think that's what makes it spookier.

Mike in MInneapolis

As I've read this thread and thought about the inexplicable events in my life, I'm thinking this thread is a winter cyber-campfire, where she share stories to give each other goose pimples, but I'm wondering if anyone here wonders if there's really something out there that goes bump in the night beyond a bird or other critter we can't identify. I think about the times that the experts have been wrong, such as with the Florida panther and cougars in the Midwest, and times when animals have been found in the deep sea that were considered long extinct. Then too I wonder if sometimes a supernatural door doesn't open and something slithers through from yonder. I'm not nearly smart enough to comprehend string theory, but I read that they're testing the theory around the world now, both nations and corporations, and coming to believe it's so, that our reality is one of many dimensions, both similar and dissimilar, and that some interplay seems possible. This is a fantastic idea and if it's true, then it seems so much more could be true, there could be something behind the bumps than a mere bird. What do all y'all think?

Can you just buy that article or do you have to purchase the entire journal? Just curious.

quote HighnDry: "Can you just buy that article or do you have to purchase the entire journal? Just curious."

Not sure. I assume you'd have to purchase that edition. If you haven't subscribed to the BWJ, I'd highly recommend it. I'll bet Stu would probably throw that in if you subscribed.

Or just give him a call, he might be able to forward you a copy. Wouldn't hurt to ask.

Mike in Minneapolis

back issues

I'm a susbscriber so I'll give him a call. Thanks.

I don't want this to be buried upthread, so I'm posting it again here:

As I've read this thread and thought about the inexplicable events in my life, I'm thinking this thread is a winter cyber-campfire, where she share stories to give each other goose pimples, but I'm wondering if anyone here wonders if there's really something out there that goes bump in the night beyond a bird or other critter we can't identify. I think about the times that the experts have been wrong, such as with the Florida panther and cougars in the Midwest, and times when animals have been found in the deep sea that were considered long extinct. Then too I wonder if sometimes a supernatural door doesn't open and something slithers through from yonder. I'm not nearly smart enough to comprehend string theory, but I read that they're testing the theory around the world now, both nations and corporations, and coming to believe it's so, that our reality is one of many dimensions, both similar and dissimilar, and that some interplay seems possible. This is a fantastic idea and if it's true, then it seems so much more could be true, there could be something behind the bumps than a mere bird. What do all y'all think?

Deep missmolly,

I need to chew on this one for a while, people used to say I was a deep thinker but that was 25 years ago.
I'll see if I can dig back into the cob-webs of my memory, but right off hand the only one I can think of was a time that we were camping illegally on a lake in Itasca State Park.

We were having a few drinks out by the campfire and that may explain alot of it.
I was with a Native American and we began beating our drums, when suddenly the feeling of another presence started to surround our campsite.

We were sure it was an alien being and we called out for it to take us away.

I am currently writing to this blog from our home base, on the planet Aakritijian, my friend and I were transported here 27 years ago.

OK, the last paragraph was BS, but I have always felt that there is an alien presence amongst us.

Again deep, Missmolly, and food for thought, but most of it went over my head, I think the probing's may have had something to do with that. :-)

LT3, that was ME who oversaw that initial probe! Good times, good times.

This guy who's called "Shug" tells a story about Bigfoot in the BW while camping solo on the Sioux Hustler Trail at the 4:35 mark on this Video

We stayed at the far north campsite on Kelly lake a few years ago. The site by the small Rapids. We were at the end of our trip and were only there one night before exiting. I thought it was a nice site we had great fishing by the Rapids. But for some reason during the night I felt very uneasy. As others have said about other places, like there was something else there. It just felt spooky.

quote airmorse: "We stayed at the far north campsite on Kelly lake a few years ago. The site by the small Rapids. We were at the end of our trip and were only there one night before exiting. I thought it was a nice site we had great fishing by the Rapids. But for some reason during the night I felt very uneasy. As others have said about other places, like there was something else there. It just felt spooky.
"

Its like something is in the air and you just feel funny or something is not normal.

quote Pinetree: "

quote airmorse: "We stayed at the far north campsite on Kelly lake a few years ago. The site by the small Rapids. We were at the end of our trip and were only there one night before exiting. I thought it was a nice site we had great fishing by the Rapids. But for some reason during the night I felt very uneasy. As others have said about other places, like there was something else there. It just felt spooky.
"

Its like something is in the air and you just feel funny or something is not normal."

Yep-- like the Mr Yuk stickers, something is out of whack.

Many things that were once thought to be "supernatural" have been "explained" by science. However, like missmolly states, science is not always correct.

If we, as many on this forum believe, have a spiritual aspect to our being, then what is "super"-natural? Wouldn't it be natural?

While not in the BWCA we have had similar feelings of unease. My wife felt something "off " while on a trip to Haiti. She mentioned it to her guide who pointed out that they were in front of the home of a local voo-doo priest. Another time was in the Mall of America when we were in a shop that had a lot of African tribal carvings. Good and evil are a discussion for another day.

peoples affinity for being outside what they deem "normal" drips of nothing else but egoic seperation.

quote : "peoples affinity for being outside what they deem "normal" drips of nothing else but egoic seperation."

Your post isn't so provocative that it requires protective anonymity. Rather, you raise a valid consideration. The desire for egoic separation might be a near universal proclivity. However, let's say you and I were in Tibet a thousand years ago. I walk behind a rock to do a number two and I spot a white leopard. I call for you, but my yelling causes the snow leopard to bolt before you too can witness it. I saw something rare and new and you didn't, but my seeing wasn't egoic separation.

quote missmolly: "

quote : "peoples affinity for being outside what they deem "normal" drips of nothing else but egoic seperation."

Your post isn't so provocative that it requires protective anonymity. Rather, you raise a valid consideration. The desire for egoic separation might be a near universal proclivity. However, let's say you and I were in Tibet a thousand years ago. I walk behind a rock to do a number two and I spot a white leopard. I call for you, but my yelling causes the snow leopard to bolt before you too can witness it. I saw something rare and new and you didn't, but my seeing wasn't egoic separation.
"

Here's an interesting piece for consideration.

let us not all compare war stories we learned in philosophy 101 as it further proves the first egoic point.

Mr. Dry, speaking of green = good health, I recently read a piece about how trees produce chemicals to thwart mold and bacteria and when we're in the woods, we inhale and ingest them, boosting our immune systems. A walk in the woods each day keeps the doctor away!

quote Pinetree: "

quote airmorse: "We stayed at the far north campsite on Kelly lake a few years ago. The site by the small Rapids. We were at the end of our trip and were only there one night before exiting. I thought it was a nice site we had great fishing by the Rapids. But for some reason during the night I felt very uneasy. As others have said about other places, like there was something else there. It just felt spooky.
"

Its like something is in the air and you just feel funny or something is not normal."

Exactly

I have a family friend who's lived in MN his whole other than when he was deployed in korea with my dad. This friend lives to fish and camp, goes to the bwca every year but nowadays he just rents a cabin and fishes entry lakes.

Anyways, this friend and his brother usually go on trips together. One night we got these 2 brothers talking about scary stories. The brother went on to tell us about a time he and his brother (family friend, we'll call him Jim) were pursued by a light in the sky one evening while fishing in their canoe. They said they had seen it in the distance and that it wasn't a star because it moved side to side and appearef to get closer. A sense of impending doom overtook them an they were paddling towards camp frantically, and then they both reported amnesia, and then regained awareness, sitting
In their canoe bumping and scraping against rocks.

What bothers me about their story is how truly reluctant to tall about it Jim is. He's one of those guys that talks and talks even if youre not listening. His obvious discomfort even being present for the story was what stuck with me. If it's a lie, it's his silent performance that sold the show, i don't think he was faking.

quote overthehill: "Ridge behind camp on SE Ensign. The bluff just east of the privy. Felt watched. A member of our party swears he saw a 3' tall hairy man while on the throne well after dark. We figured a bear cub, but he's sticking to it. He insisted we move camp the next night. He won the debate. He was genuinely afraid."

I've heard of that little guy lurking around Ashagon lake.

quote Savage Voyageur: "

quote overthehill: "Ridge behind camp on SE Ensign. The bluff just east of the privy. Felt watched. A member of our party swears he saw a 3' tall hairy man while on the throne well after dark. We figured a bear cub, but he's sticking to it. He insisted we move camp the next night. He won the debate. He was genuinely afraid."

I've heard of that little guy lurking around Ashagon lake. "

Those little fellas have a name...May May Gwayshi

According to lore, they are mostly harmless. I've never seen one.

Hex

In Michael Furtman's book, Magic on the Rocks, Canoe country Pictographs, he mentions these little guys sneaking around,

Campsites in areas of swamps and lot of spruce look haunting-especially when soloing.

I do believe in supernatural powers and that humans are sometimes privy to things on another dimension, but I do also believe that God is watching out for me and nothing can take me before my time is up. So I don't worry about that. Bigfoot stories are ridiculous. And I'm from Washington!

Frankly, the possibility of bad people makes me more uncomfortable than bad spirits and is why I carry a good walking stick and a knife (no gun).

I remember one time I planned a day hike to the Olympics and received an impression that I was not supposed to go there that day. No I don't have voices in my head or anything like that but I do believe that God works with your mind sometimes. I made alternate plans and went to bed deciding to make my decision in the morning. The next morning I got up and not feeling any differently I drove up to Mt. Rainier and had a wonderful day hiking. Never did find out what that was about. I'm going to try to get up to that spot again this summer. We'll see what happens.

quote missmolly: "I'm wondering if anyone here wonders if there's really something out there that goes bump in the night beyond a bird or other critter we can't identify. I think about the times that the experts have been wrong, such as with the Florida panther and cougars in the Midwest, and times when animals have been found in the deep sea that were considered long extinct.

Yes, I agree with that, it's a big world out there.

Then too I wonder if sometimes a supernatural door doesn't open and something slithers through from yonder. I'm not nearly smart enough to comprehend string theory, but I read that they're testing the theory around the world now, both nations and corporations, and coming to believe it's so, that our reality is one of many dimensions, both similar and dissimilar, and that some interplay seems possible. This is a fantastic idea and if it's true, then it seems so much more could be true, there could be something behind the bumps than a mere bird. What do all y'all think?"

I agree with that too. There's more to life than the space and time dimension and I believe when we die we will be privy to that dimension.

Man, this is a crazy thread. Hope I didn't weird anybody out. I need to go hiking. :)

As Saganaga Joe said, "I agree with that too. There's more to life than the space and time dimension and I believe when we die we will be privy to that dimension."

To me - that is having faith. we will get to know the answers when it is our time.

Oh, and when I did a search - those Native American Indian folk lore little guys - lurking around are "Memegwesi" - (there are several spellings) meaning little people, river spirits. Mememgwesi

Since I am planning a trip to take the grandkids to see pictographs, (LLC-Irving Island) I am trying to figure out some of the native lore that surrounds them.

Ooops - the dreaded double post.

quote WhiteWolf: "A post on the trip planning forum about Basswood and evil got me thinking about something I read on here a long time ago about certain parts of the BW possiblly being haunted. DOn't get me wrong,, I beleive there is a natural explanation for over 99% of the weird stuff/noise we experience in the sticks at night. But I do believe that very small % of it is unexplained. Just like anywhere else. I beleive the area I'am thinking about is W of GUN Lake around the Bear Trap lake area or in the vicinity from what I remember reading. Just curious what people have experiecned. As for myself--- scary at the time only to be explained later as a barred owl or other nocturnal animals. Just curious thats all......"

What post might this be? And yes I know the OP is a few years old now...

You weirded me out, Joe, but it's a fun weird.

Personally I think that a lot of the creepy moments and feelings of being watched might have some real truth to them. The woods will go quiet when predators are near. Sometimes we might be the predators that make things go eerily quite, other times it might be something else like a wolf or bear, maybe even a fox or a bird. That feeling of being watched is usually caused by either things being too quiet or a sound that was constant disappearing. If the bugs and/or small animals are alarmed, it could be small predators that we have no reason to fear at all, but the natural instinct to be on alert when you notice that absence is a survival instinct and its hard to resist the feeling.

The other common cause is the placebo effect. If someone knows that people have had experiences on a certain lake then they are likely to experience some paranoia just from that knowledge. If you want to test this idea, tell some kids a ghost story and make it personal about a location where they are or will be staying and see how they react.

The human brain is a powerful thing and it can convince itself that things are happening when they aren't, or when there is a lack of evidence to counter something, it can jump to impossible conclusions. It is impossible to prove that something does not exist at any time or place so there is always a shred of doubt for some people.

That's an A1 post, A1t20!

Agawato Lake, always a different feel to it and never any birds?

Many years ago my wife and I started a backpacking trip into the Absarokas. On the first day I had a feeling I didn't want to do this trip for some reason. Had never had the feeling before or ever since. We stopped early in the day and made camp short of where we had planned. I mentioned the feeling to her and she said she felt the same thing. We turned around the next day and went to a different area.

A while later we learned that some people had a bad encounter with a GRIZ where we were going at the time. Mysterious, but real. Will never doubt that feeling of I get it again.

quote WhiteWolf: "More on Maymaygwayshi; this info was retrieved off an Ojibway dictionary.


The supernatural figure named Maymaygwayshi was a trickster and practical joker, much like the Anasazi Kokopelli. He lives in the shallow caves and cracks which appear along a waterway. Shaman believed that he could be bribed with tobacco to grant the power to enter rocks. Enormously fond of fish, Maymaygwayshi often steals it from the traps the Ojibwa would place. He is depicted as a short creature with a large head which sometimes has horns."

Basspro?

Its fun to imagine. But like we talked about before when alone,I will not camp at certain sites,they seem creepy.

nctry: "

quote WhiteWolf: "More on Maymaygwayshi; this info was retrieved off an Ojibway dictionary.



The supernatural figure named Maymaygwayshi was a trickster and practical joker, much like the Anasazi Kokopelli. He lives in the shallow caves and cracks which appear along a waterway. Shaman believed that he could be bribed with tobacco to grant the power to enter rocks. Enormously fond of fish, Maymaygwayshi often steals it from the traps the Ojibwa would place. He is depicted as a short creature with a large head which sometimes has horns."

Basspro?"

Is it this guy? He's got horns.

Whatsit: "I read thru these. I remember the ely outfitter telling us once when we went if we are heading thru firedance lake not to stay. He said there's weird strange things that have happened to him while camping on that lake. We never stayed on the lake but both my brother in law and myself felt weird there. Just wanted to get out of the area.
I hope I forget about some of these stories when I do my first solo this spring
:-)
Mike"

That's the time I just had to go. I also thought Hudson Lake was creepy.

Fishdance lake and the Kawishiwi river east of Alice gives you a funny feeling. Also you go into Quetico,parts of Kawnipi are that way also.
I have been in campsites middle of the night in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden both my brother and I laying in the tents have heard what sounds like voices. After a few minutes we just shrug it off that were hearing something natural. It just so weird it sounded so human. But yeh I know better so it coudn't of been.

A few years ago my paddlin partner and I left the put in at Lake One with enough beer to last the whole 5 days, by the time we hit the portage at Lake Two we discovered all of our beer was GONE. We decided it would be best if we headed back to the truck to resupply but after 6 hours of paddling we realized we was still in the same place, completely unexplicable if you was to ask me.....

nooneuno: "A few years ago my paddlin partner and I left the put in at Lake One with enough beer to last the whole 5 days, by the time we hit the portage at Lake Two we discovered all of our beer was GONE. We decided it would be best if we headed back to the truck to resupply but after 6 hours of paddling we realized we was still in the same place, completely unexplicable if you was to ask me....."

I am so glad you are posting here! Your sense of humor has me feeling like I have kin at bwca.com.

missmolly: "

nooneuno: "A few years ago my paddlin partner and I left the put in at Lake One with enough beer to last the whole 5 days, by the time we hit the portage at Lake Two we discovered all of our beer was GONE. We decided it would be best if we headed back to the truck to resupply but after 6 hours of paddling we realized we was still in the same place, completely unexplicable if you was to ask me....."

I am so glad you are posting here! Your sense of humor has me feeling like I have kin at bwca.com. "

Thank ya kindly, kin of mine is about as easy to find as teats on a horn toad for its been said I was raised by wolves in a den of iniquity...

Sorry I was slow to reply. I was busy milking my horn toad and that can't wait. Her udders become so engorged that she can't even move.

Speaking of teats and wolves, are you Romulus or Remus?

Okay to add to the Home/Angleworm Lake, my buddy and I had something strange happen to us on the portage from Home to Gull. Not supernatural by any means but definitely weird. We were walking along, no wind and middle of August so now ice or snow, when all of the sudden we hear a sapling break and crackle. It was well within 100 yds. of the portage. It was some thicker cover on the sides so we couldn't see that far. We didn't hear anything running either. If it was a moose trying to run away we would have heard it that thick of brush. We didn't think it was a beaver either because it was on a ridge top a half mile from water. Also, when a beaver chews a try down it will fall slowly. This was quick and seemed deliberate. Not sure what it was but it was a strange event. If you want to see the rest of the trip report... Angleworm Trip 2016

bdeck37: "Okay to add to the Home/Angleworm Lake, my buddy and I had something strange happen to us on the portage from Home to Gull. Not supernatural by any means but definitely weird. We were walking along, no wind and middle of August so now ice or snow, when all of the sudden we hear a sapling break and crackle. It was well within 100 yds. of the portage. It was some thicker cover on the sides so we couldn't see that far. We didn't hear anything running either. If it was a moose trying to run away we would have heard it that thick of brush. We didn't think it was a beaver either because it was on a ridge top a half mile from water. Also, when a beaver chews a try down it will fall slowly. This was quick and seemed deliberate. Not sure what it was but it was a strange event. If you want to see the rest of the trip report... Angleworm Trip 2016 "

I don't think they ever found the body of the person who got lost on the Angleworm trail about 10 years ago?

Also wasn't that strange individual who roamed the BWCA with nothing for a couple of summers hang in that area? Showing up at camps asking for handouts?

Kevlar: "The campsite on a small island in the west central part of Tuscarora..."

My wife, son, and I were on Tuscarora in July of this year and camped on the island you're discussing (site #519). I'll preface this with we did not search for any haunted places to visit and were entirely unaware. This is what we experienced:

The winds were coming from the west when we landed on the small island. My son, 9 at the time, said to me "Nature doesn't want us to stay here." This was likely because the wind was blowing and it began to rain.

We set up camp without incident after which I went for a walk up the hill to the east. At the top of the hill I saw a small arm sticking out of the ground. I pulled it up and discovered it was a deteriorated He-man toy. My normal instinct would be to take this and pack it out but I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched from the woods to the north and something inside told me to put it back and bury it (which I did). I did not share with my son or wife I found the toy.

I walked to the eastern side of the island. The sun was shining and some mergansers were playing in the water. I got back to camp and suggested we pack our food and eat on the eastern side to avoid the wind and spend time in the sun.

After dinner we went to bed and I slept soundly through the night. The next morning my wife is already awake and calls to me from her hammock, "Did you hear him (our son) all last night?" I replied, "No, I did not hear anything at all. Did he have a hard time sleeping?" My wife replied with, "I heard him multiple times per hour saying "Help Me. Help. I need help. When I yelled to him he wouldn't answer." It was at this point I expressed to her I had a feeling the day prior I was being watched, that I had found a toy, and couldn't shake the feeling we shouldn't be here. My wife was also concerned because our son never once woke up or answered her. She began to wonder if it was actually him she was hearing.

We talked it over and made the decision we were not going to stay another night. We packed up in the rain and set off for Missing Link when the winds died down.

I am not saying with certainty that #519 is haunted but I and my family will never camp on that island again.

Wow, what a creepy story Hackinator85.

Hackinator85: "

Kevlar: "The campsite on a small island in the west central part of Tuscarora..."

My wife, son, and I were on Tuscarora in July of this year and camped on the island you're discussing (site #519). I'll preface this with we did not search for any haunted places to visit and were entirely unaware. This is what we experienced:


The winds were coming from the west when we landed on the small island. My son, 9 at the time, said to me "Nature doesn't want us to stay here." This was likely because the wind was blowing and it began to rain.


We set up camp without incident after which I went for a walk up the hill to the east. At the top of the hill I saw a small arm sticking out of the ground. I pulled it up and discovered it was a deteriorated He-man toy. My normal instinct would be to take this and pack it out but I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched from the woods to the north and something inside told me to put it back and bury it (which I did). I did not share with my son or wife I found the toy.


I walked to the eastern side of the island. The sun was shining and some mergansers were playing in the water. I got back to camp and suggested we pack our food and eat on the eastern side to avoid the wind and spend time in the sun.


After dinner we went to bed and I slept soundly through the night. The next morning my wife is already awake and calls to me from her hammock, "Did you hear him (our son) all last night?" I replied, "No, I did not hear anything at all. Did he have a hard time sleeping?" My wife replied with, "I heard him multiple times per hour saying "Help Me. Help. I need help. When I yelled to him he wouldn't answer." It was at this point I expressed to her I had a feeling the day prior I was being watched, that I had found a toy, and couldn't shake the feeling we shouldn't be here. My wife was also concerned because our son never once woke up or answered her. She began to wonder if it was actually him she was hearing.


We talked it over and made the decision we were not going to stay another night. We packed up in the rain and set off for Missing Link when the winds died down.


I am not saying with certainty that #519 is haunted but I and my family will never camp on that island again.


"

Whoa.

There has only been one time that I have felt a "strangeness" while in the boundary waters. We were on North Hegman heading up to look at the pictographs. It was early afternoon but that whole day had been overcast with no wind whatsoever. Both North and South Hegman were complete glass. We got to the pictographs and it just felt strange, I can't explain it. The water looked black and my brother and I just felt a strange presence around us while we sat in that narrow corridor checking out the pictographs. We decided to leave a tobacco offering below the pictographs before we left but after we did we found ourselves unable to paddle away. We sat in that area fishing and gazing at the rock for at least an hour before we were able to paddle away. It was just a strange feeling of being drawn to that spot and unwilling to paddle away. We both still discuss this feeling even though it was a couple of years ago.