BWCA Trip Report - First time in the BWCA- 71 mile solo trip - Frost River, Little Sag, Kawishiwi, Alice, Kek, and more Boundary Waters Trip Reports
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01/10/2015 11:58AM  
New Trip Report posted by nlong

Trip Name: First time in the BWCA- 71 mile solo trip - Frost River, Little Sag, Kawishiwi, Alice, Kek, and more.

Entry Point: 50

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bwcasolo
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01/10/2015 01:17PM  
that was very well done with great photo's.
OldFingers57
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01/10/2015 01:53PM  
Enjoyed your trip report and the photos were great.
01/10/2015 05:30PM  
great report and photos! thanks for sharing
01/10/2015 10:20PM  
Thanks for the report - heck of a trip. I wondered how it went for you. I've done several parts of it on my last three trips, but there's also parts I've never done. They are on the list though.
01/10/2015 10:54PM  
quote boonie: "Thanks for the report - heck of a trip. I wondered how it went for you. I've done several parts of it on my last three trips, but there's also parts I've never done. They are on the list though."


Thanks Boonie! I meant to get the trip report entered sooner, but had a very busy summer and was hard to find the time. If you have any questions, let me know. I tried to be thorough in the report. I also have a couple more videos to add as well that I just found from my trip, just have to get them uploaded.
builditbetter22
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01/11/2015 10:43AM  
Thanks for the report, sounds like you had a great trip
01/11/2015 05:24PM  
Thanks for the great comments. I added a few videos to the report that I got uploaded to youtube. Enjoy!
CrookedPaddler1
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01/12/2015 09:39AM  
excellent trip report! loved the mix of maps, photos, and video's! nicely done
CrookedPaddler1
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01/12/2015 09:39AM  
excellent trip report! loved the mix of maps, photos, and video's! nicely done
SaganagaJoe
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01/14/2015 09:26PM  
Fantastic! What can you tell me about your photo equipment? The pics are simply incredible!
01/14/2015 10:59PM  
Nice loop for your first trip. The photo quality is spectacular. I'm also interested in the gear you brought along for this. The pic on Jasper Lake taken of the tent with the stars behind it is amazing. Several outstanding close up shots of loons too.

I'm curious if your fiancee is into canoe camping? Good luck on future trips. Thanks for the report.

01/15/2015 06:53AM  
Thanks! Equipment as follows. I tried to include everything from what I remember and from my gear list.

QCC 600x kevlar sea kayak, 16 foot 8 inches in lenght, 46lbs

carbon mid-wing paddle and also had a greenland paddle as a spare

Custom Kayak portage yoke

Kelty Grand Mesa 2 man tent with footprint

Tarp and stakes

Thermarest LuxuryLite cot

30 degree sleeping bag and Thermarest pillow

Dry bags for all the gear and food

Kayak Academy XL Mesh Rucksack for portaging the drybags. I added gel shoulder pads for extra comfort.

Kelty Redtail backpack for a daypack

Alcohol stove and fuel

camp chair

Titanium pots and spork

Camp trowel/shovel

Collapsable cup

bunch of 550 paracord

Life straw filter

Sawyer mini squeeze filter and extra bags

alcohol stove and stand and fuel and wind screen

Lighters, matches, and duct tape

gloves

Camp shower

Camp wash cloth, towel, soap, dobie for dish cleaning.

first aid kit including emergency blanket

Camp wipes and toilet paper

Ontario RTAK II knife
Leatherman Sidekick
pocket chain saw

long and short sleeve shirts, Shorts and pants, underwear and socks

Waterproof jacket

Tilly hat



Camera gear:

Canon T2i with 70-300mm IS L lens, 50mm prime lens, and 18-55mm IS lens, and 2 extra batteries but didn't even go through one battery.

Canon S100 point and shoot with CHDK mod for shooting longer exposure than stock firmware allows and in RAW format.

GoPro Hero 2 and 2 extra batteries - Never ended up using it during the trip.

510 lumen zoom-able beam flashlight with extra battery.

Nomad 7 watt solar charger and Goal Zero Guide 10 battery pack and Revive Twin Port usb pack

USB charger for the Canon S100 battery

Pedco UltraPod II Lightweight Camera Tripod

Tascam audio recorder

Headlamp with spare battery - uses the same 18650 li-ion cells as the flashlight I brought.


01/15/2015 08:40AM  
My fiance likes to kayak and camp, but she's only done campground camping and never been in the BWCA. We are going hiking this year in the Porcupine Mountains in the UP this summer. I may go back up to the BWCA at the end of summer with my dad as he'd like to go. I may also do a solo trip this spring again, but haven't decided on any route yet.
01/15/2015 09:49AM  
How many ounces of fuel did you pack for your alcohol stove and how many did you use on the trip?
01/15/2015 10:06AM  
I took 16oz. Only used a quarter if that. I estimated poorly on how much to bring. lol
01/15/2015 12:17PM  
quote nlong: "I took 16oz. Only used a quarter if that. I estimated poorly on how much to bring. lol"


:) Been there, done that. But, hey, you didn't run out ;). And you were planning for possibly several more days.

Did you cook breakfast and dinner each day? Make coffee or other hot drink?

I love the speed and efficiency of my JetBoil, and it's also fairly lightweight and compact. On the other hand, I like the fact there's nothing to go wrong with an alcohol stove - other than spilling all the fuel ;) - and that they are also light and compact.

I'm just trying to figure out if I'll have to carry so much fuel for a longer trip (maybe 12 days) that it'll negate any weight saving. It seems that experiences with fuel usage of alcohol burners varies quite a bit and may also be affected more by temperature and wind. Maybe a combination alcohol/fuel tab/twig burner is the way to go.
01/15/2015 12:46PM  
On the other hand, I like the fact there's nothing to go wrong with an alcohol stove - other than spilling all the fuel ;) - and that they are also light and compact.


Yeah, I liked the fact that the alcohol stove is so simple and compact. I just put the denatured alcohol in a water bottle. I may build a new alcohol stove with a different design that will support the pot so I don't need a separate stand. My stand was just a bent up coat hanger into a makeshift three point triangular platform. Didn't have time to refine it before the trip, but it did the trick.

I only used the alcohol stove to make supper. My breakfast was normally instant oatmeal that I just added cold water to and didn't bother heating and some dried fruit. Lunch items were things that didn't need heating as I wanted to keep it simple as I planned on traveling during the day till supper time.
SaganagaJoe
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01/16/2015 02:03AM  
OK so a Canon....That's why....

How did you get all that stuff in a kayak?
01/16/2015 07:01AM  
I had about 5 separate dry bags, all packed in the front and rear hatches, and my day pack I strapped to the deck behind me.

Camera gear, flashlights and batteries were in a small dry bag. 1 dry bag for food, 1 for clothing, 1 for tent, tarp, cot, pillow and sleeping bag, and 1 for cooking stuff, knives, rope, and other misc stuff. I'd pull out the food bag, clothing bag, and cooking/misc stuff bags and put them in the large mesh bag along with my day pack at the portage. I'd carry these and my paddles to the end of the portage, then come back and portage the kayak with the remaining couple drybags inside. The system worked well.
01/16/2015 07:36AM  
I'd have to heat water for 2 cups of coffee each day and boil water to rehydrate dinner and the occasional hot cereal for breakfast. I usually have cold cereal (muesli) for breakfast and just a ProBar/nuts for lunch. Did you use it to "cook" supper or just boil water to rehydrate in a cozy?

Mine doesn't have a stand - the pot just sits on the stove. That's not the most stable, although the grates in the BW would greatly simplify that. It does have a windscreen. Did you use a windscreen?

I have usually just put my fuel in a water/pop bottle too.

I think something like one of the caldera cone systems by Trail designs would be nice.

But I can do a whole 7-day trip on one small (110 gram) canister with my JetBoil, so I'll have to do some experimenting with the alcohol stove to see how much fuel I'd need for the same.
01/16/2015 07:53AM  
quote boonie: "I'd have to heat water for 2 cups of coffee each day and boil water to rehydrate dinner and the occasional hot cereal for breakfast. I usually have cold cereal (muesli) for breakfast and just a ProBar/nuts for lunch. Did you use it to "cook" supper or just boil water to rehydrate in a cozy?


Mine doesn't have a stand - the pot just sits on the stove. That's not the most stable, although the grates in the BW would greatly simplify that. It does have a windscreen. Did you use a windscreen?


I have usually just put my fuel in a water/pop bottle too.


I think something like one of the caldera cone systems by Trail designs would be nice.


But I can do a whole 7-day trip on one small (110 gram) canister with my JetBoil, so I'll have to do some experimenting with the alcohol stove to see how much fuel I'd need for the same."


I put the dehydrated supper in the pot with water and got it to boiling, then put the pot in a pot cozy. My windscreen was some thicker aluminum foil cut from one of those disposable baking pans. I could fold it up flat for more compact storage. My pot stand looked like the one in this photo.

A windscreen like this would be nice as it comes apart in 3 pieces and packs flat.
01/16/2015 01:05PM  
I really enjoyed your trip report and beautiful photos. I've been to many of the areas you traveled through - but never in one long trip. Congratulations on this solo - what an accomplishment! You'll have great stories to tell for a long time.
callofthewild
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02/26/2015 02:41PM  
A very nice trip report. Thank you for sharing. It was an interesting read on a cold February day. It gets one thinking of open waters.

Happy paddling!!!
02/26/2015 02:56PM  
quote callofthewild: "A very nice trip report. Thank you for sharing. It was an interesting read on a cold February day. It gets one thinking of open waters.


Happy paddling!!!"


You're welcome. I can't wait to get back there. I might get a couple trips in this year.
03/16/2015 11:12PM  
Great report, nice photos. The next week was some terrible weather. First hand experience kind of thing. Glad you had such great weather for your first solo.

Thanks for the report.
 
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