New Trip Report posted by Mort

Trip Name: Checked off my bucket list .

Entry Point: 52

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Great report that sounded like a blast

Nice report! I've been on almost every lake you were on. Thanks for taking me back. I agree that 9 days is about it for a solo. I always plan for 10 days, but always come back in 9. The wife expects it now.

Tomster

Excellent report!

Congrats on your first solo & kudos for continuing on after the sprained ankle. IMHO Brant lake is one of the tougher entries into the BWCA. So you really earned your stripes.

If possible? Would be nice to see some photos from West Fern, Powell, Virgin area to see how that area is coming back. Was through there some years ago myself. The campsite on Virgin qualifies as the worst I've ever run across.

Anyways, great job on your first trip report. Thanks for taking the time to share your story.

Mort,
Was very glad to meet you as you were finishing the final chapter in your journey. What you accomplished is what I want to do when I finally get to retire. WELL DONE!!!!! Glad everything worked out after the rough start. Take care and hope we cross paths again soon.
FISHONFISHOFF.

P.S. Stay tuned for our trip report as soon as my "honeydew list" gets a little smaller.

I'm glad you finally got to do your long solo, Mort. It sounds like it was a success. I hope you have many more now that you're retired. I also find an 8-10 day solo to be plenty long for me, especially if I don't see too many other people. I do, however, have to travel 2 1/2 times as far to get there, so I have a couple of extra days on the road more or less alone.

I haven't been through any of that area, so I wish there were pictures, but I'll get there some day soon.

Mort! great report, you almost lost me when you said no pictures.. but your story kept me reading... sorry to hear about your ankle, those are some nasty portages past brant lake.

oh, and your 2.5 hours to traverse the tusc portage? imo that's a really good time for a solo..hopefully you'll come to enjoy that portage..it's long but lots to look at along the way.

what's next on your list?

Congrats on your first solo. I like your determination with the ankle sprain right off the bat. I want to try your route someday!

Great report, thanks for sharing!

Mort,

Congratulations. and great reeport. I am glad your ankle got a little better. I can realate to the shower, I took one on my second solo and it is a nice addition at times to have that. I had a pesky beaver like that one time...ALL darn Night!!! slap, slap slap. And Otter's are fun to watch, but I noticed they are MEAN to one another and can be noisy. The critter coming out of the water and up to the tent would have bothered me a LOT. Enjoyed the report very much. Maybe the Austrailan Shepard should make the trip? I also understand the music in your head thing, it happens to me also.
Keep up the soloing

SunCatcher

I enjoyed it. Yeah, it takes a few trips to really get all your gear down. Going solo is hard word. I like the yak paddle as much as you do and wish I had started using one years ago. Huge difference especially in the wind. Thanks for posting.

Now, why don't you like bringing a camera again? I did one trip in the late 80's without a camera and I really regret that. Time does fade your memories and it's so nice to have pics that tell your story. I put my trips on dvd and hopefully inspire my grandkids someday.

Tom, after tripping for 38 years already, I have literally hundreds of pictures that fill one of my dresser drawers. They're good, and I'm glad I took them, but after awhile, there is really nothing new under the sun (unless a Sasquatch was to suddenly appear, and then my whole body would be shaking too much to take a decent photo anyway).
I would have taken pictures on this last solo trip, however as the story goes, I mistakenly left the camera at home and didn't have access to purchase a replacement.
MOSTLY, however, I prefer to go deeply into experiencing and feeling things as they happen in the present moment. Fiddling around and worrying about taking a picture distracts me from being able to do this. Make any sense??

Yeah. Actually I'd like to be able to do that and not worry if I see a real good photo op. Going without a camera and just enjoying the trip for what it is is something that was done routinely 50-60 years ago. Our culture when on vacation has become photo obsessed to the point where it takes away from having a pure experience.

I've been into photography since I was 12 years old. It's just in my blood but maybe one day in the future I will trip like the voyageurs did just to experience it.

Thanks for responding Tom.
In the end, I believe it is definitely an individual decision. I don't feel that it's an all right/all wrong thing, but it simply depends on where a person is at in their life, and what's important to them.

I enjoyed your trip report, Mort, although I did miss the photos. Especially would have enjoyed photos of the Adams-Beaver portage. That is a favorite place in the world to me, and one we tried to get back to a few years ago, but missed the mark on a trip that didn't go quite as far as we anticipated.

(Yes, I have LOTS of "favorite places in the world". I am just that way. There are so many wonderful places, aren't there?)

It was nice to meet you, however briefly. Thanks for writing a report on your good solo adventure.

Mort, I came across your report today. I enjoyed it very much. Thinking about heading back to the Boulder area next summer. We stayed at the north site on Boulder a few years ago. It was getting very dark and it was open, we were heading in from the north. Nice site.

Hey Tom. I had been to Boulder many, many years ago, and all but forgot about it. It's tough to get to, ..but that may be part of what makes it such a special place. It is now one of my favorite lakes. I'd like to get back there again soon.