Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Kawishiwi Triangle
by Ho Ho

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 06/30/2009
Entry & Exit Point: North Kawishiwi River (EP 29)
Number of Days: 4
Group Size: 2
Day 2 of 4
Day 2 (July 1, 2009):

When I got up in the morning, I checked for slugs before putting my shoes on. Yep, there was another one! I saw more slugs at this campsite, especially right around the tent, than I've seen in all my other Quetico-Superior trips put together. I kind of have a slug phobia, so I asked David to get rid of the one in my shoe, which he graciously did. Then I climbed out of the tent. There was a light mist, which came and went, and plenty of wind-blown drops from the precipitation yesterday and overnight. We settled in with our first cups of java overlooking the North Kawishiwi:

As we sat there, a pair of Loons flew in. Then two more. Then another one. They all hung out together off the shore of our campsite, circling and occasionally peering under water or diving to find some food:

David wandered around the campsite a little with the camera:





There were some good birds at this campsite. A warbler was singing incessantly, and when I located it with the binoculars, I found a male Chestnut-sided Warbler in full-breeding plumage. It hung around singing from various perches the rest of the time we were there. As David said, it looked like someone had taken a paint brush and randomly applied a bunch of different colors. These warblers are not too uncommon in the Quetico-Superior area, but we had never seen one before. Then, later on, I heard a song similar to but not quite like a Robin's, which I thought was probably a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Yep, there he was at the top of pine, singing in all his colorful glory. And the campsite had many of the usual suspects, including Song Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Brown Creepers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Robins, Grackles, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and others I'm forgetting, while Ravens, Gulls, and Mallards could be seen over by the bog across the water and an occasional Bald Eagle made an appearance.

Our tentative plan had been to move to Clear Lake today, but as we thought it over, we decided to keep our campsite and explore the vicinity. Our route could easily afford a layover day. So after breakfast we took the canoe across the portage to little Conchu Lake and circled along the edge of its shoreline. A piece of the Conchu shore:

Continuing around Conchu, we rounded a little point into a marshy area on the north side of the lake where we came upon a Loon. It went wild with yodels and howling, and we immediately realized we must be near a nest. Yes, there it was, with eggs in full view, on the edge of the reeds ten or twenty feet away. As soon as we saw the nest, we paddled away, forgoing the opportunity to get a great picture so as not to disturb the nesting loons more than we had. At our campsite we had been hearing a lot of loon cries from over on Conchu, and now we knew why.

After we finished our tour of Conchu, we crossed back to the North Kawishiwi. Our first stop on the river was the big bog on the shore across from our campsite. Here we were met by a legion of Pitcher Plants:



And Blue-flag Irises:



We explored every nook and cranny of the bog shoreline, and then decided to just keep going, right next to the shore, back over the portion of the river we had sped through yesterday in the wind and rain. We literally followed the edge of the river within a few feet of the undulating shoreline into every bay large and small. The low grey-white cloud cover did not make for great photography conditions, but here's a few shots from our route zigzagging along the south shore of the river. Rock and Jack Pines:

Beaver marsh:

Old Aspens:

Pine Silhouette:

We decided to have lunch on the little island near the beginning of the North Kawishiwi that has a campsite. This site and another one nearby had been occupied yesterday, but no one was to be seen now. As we ate, the sun managed to send some light and heat through the clouds and I kicked back to soak it up.

We lingered and relaxed. Two guys in a tandem canoe paddled past in the same direction we had come yesterday. They called out from the water that a squirrel was about to climb into our food pack. Good save! Thanks guys. They were the only people we saw this day, and they must have gone well beyond our campsite because we did not see them again.

After a while we packed up and continued our paddle. We finished following the south shore of the river through the narrows to where the North Kawishiwi begins, then turned to follow the north shore back to our campsite. It's amazing how long it takes when you follow the shore around every bay instead of just zipping by, like here:

Random reflection:

There were many Wild Roses blooming. Roses and rock:

Rock abstract:

Abstract expressionism, with plants:

As we neared our campsite, I saw some good downed wood on shore, so we stopped to collect it. I wanted to replace the welcome wood we used last night and also maybe have a fire tonight. Then we returned to our campsite:

We went for a much-needed dip to wash the grime off us, then relaxed the rest of the day. My attempt at a small fire was not very successful. I guess I didn't put enough wood on when I started it, because I wanted to leave plenty for the next person. Oh well, we were cooking on the stove tonight, and we left a nice stack of wood behind, so it was good.

After dinner we enjoyed our Maker's Mark on the rocks overlooking our little stretch of the North Kawishiwi. When the bugs got too thick, we retreated to the tent to read a bit, then slept soundly till dawn.