Monday, May 17, 2010

We got up early and had a breakfast of pancakes. Once again it was shaping up to be a warm day with little or no wind.

We liked our camp so much that we made the decision to stay here and just do a day trip to Mesaba and points beyond. Also to cut out a day earlier as well, thus insuring I wouldn't be late meeting my friends at Baker lake on Wednesday. I prepared our day pack while Kelly boiled some water so he could shave and clean up.
We headed straight for the Mug lake portage. It was close to our site and fairly easy to find. There were several signs of moose in this area, but we had yet to see one. We continued on down a very nice mostly flat trail. As we neared Mug lake there was a nice overlook before the trail dropped steeply down to the lake. The footing here was a bit tricky, even though it was dry.
We paddled to the SW end of the lake. While expecting to see the small waterfall, what we didn't expect to see..........was SNOW!!! We lingered about around the area, reveling in the oddity of 70+ degrees almost sweating a bit and having snow nearby. We took a few pictures and just enjoyed the scene. Soon we pushed off. Lest the Black Pearl suffer the same demise as the Titanic! What with a huge glacier hanging precariously on a rock slope! Onward to Poe!!!
The portage into Poe was short, but very rocky. (I see a trend developing here) As we were about to get back in the Pearl, I looked down the east end of the lake. Maybe a quarter mile??? I told Kelly that the dark object almost looks like a moose. Being so far away and not seeing it move, I dismissed it as an uprooted tree. Kelly pulled out his binoculars. Initially he agreed. "Yeah, I don't see any movement.........WAIT A MINUTE!!!!" Into the canoe we jumped and started singing, "Row Row Row your boat!" As we got closer I could make out that it was a cow. She started headin' for the woods and I figured we'd never get down there in time to be close enough for a good look. She walk away's towards the woods but she kept coming back. The rusty wheels in my mind took awhile to start turning. Finally I realized why she kept coming back and didn't just walk off into the woods. We never got any closer than maybe 100 yards. We soon realized that she had not 1 but 2 calves. I took several pictures and some video. Never really got a good look at the youngsters. They seemed to be struggling mightily to get through the bog? They eventually made it. Kelly had finally seen his moose & then some. What a treat!
We paddled west down the length of Poe. If it weren't for the fact that we ran out of navigable water I would've never guessed where the start of the portage to Louse lake was. An absolute rock garden! Not that long, & no tough climbs. This portage was hopscotch on the rocks as you had to leap from boulder to boulder. Finally a faint trail emerged and the size of the rocks diminished. There were at least a couple spots where I thought I lost the trail. But apparently common sense prevailed and we eventually came out at Louse lake.
Louse was another small pretty secluded lake. Once again if not for lack of navigable water.......... This trail was a bit longer and a little less rocky. There is a nice section where you pass along literally 2-3 feet from the banks of the Louse river. Still it was a mostly disagreeable portage. In higher water it likely is even worse?
Now we paddled down the Louse river. I had expected to see a bit more wildlife in this section but all we seen, or noticed anyways was a beaver dam. We soon came out on Bug lake.
Once again the portage is right where my Voyageur map showed it to be. Still we had our doubts until Kelly got out and walked up the hill a bit confirming that indeed this was the trail. Not overly long or difficult.........there was just something about this trail that seemed unique to me. There was a short walk with uniformly tall brush on both sides of the path before finally emerging onto a rock slope with little or no ground vegetation. We had to follow the rock cairns aways before coming into eyeshot of Dent lake.
We paddled over to the easterrn campsite on Dent to have our lunch. What a gorgeous site! There was even a serviceable hatchet left behind which Kelly claimed. As I was unpacking I became a bit alarmed. I asked Kelly if he had thrown the pot into the pack after boiling water this morning. EXPLETIVE. We only had small plastic collapsible bowls. No way to heat the water for the chicken noodle soup that was to be our lunch. After pondering quietly for a solution, I mentioned that maybe someone also left a pot or pan behind that we could boil some water in. After a few laughs, (What else can you do?) We decided on cold chicken noodle soup. The chicken was already cooked and in a foil pouch. We emptied that and the nooodles and broth into our bowls and let it sit awhile. The noodles were mostly crunchy, but edibile. Besides, I dont think trail mix and granola bars were gonna cut it? After lunch we explored this great site which had 2 flat plush tent pads with a grassy/mossy bedding. There were short trails to explore and the shoreline could also be easily walked.
Considering the last few portages we did, I didn't think it would get "much" worse? Well.....the Dent to Chaser trail started with a moderate uphill. The trail leveled off for awhile, then had a few ups and downs. One of which had a small creek running across which made for an incredibly slippery trail on a slope. Then dropping down to a swamp. In higher water it looked like you could float your canoe for about 15 rods or so across this swamp. There was maybe 6 inches of water in the creek? A trail lead off around the swamp, so we took that. It started off fairly dry, but soon we were calf deep in waterish muck. Finally we emerged on a rise, a quick up and over, then a very steep decent down to Chaser lake.
A short quick and fairly easy portage and we were on Mesaba. The first "big water" we had seen since leaving Wine. Kelly said he felt nature calling just as we were about to pass the southern most site. This was not the most desireable site. But it served it's purpose. We didn't stop there, but we could see the site just across the lake. It was definitely better than the one on the south end, but still we were glad to have chosen to stay at the site on Wine for our entire trip. Especially also considering the several tough portages we would have needed to cross to get here. [paragraph break] Going into Hug there was a really neat little stream alongside the trail. We hung out here for awhile and basked in the moment. For the most part the trail itself was dry, and coming from Mesaba there was a long gradual climb most of the way to Hug.
Hug to Duck wasn't much more than a liftover. Of course there were plenty of rocks close at hand. Also there was an old dead craggly tree that a bald eagle was perched in. But he took off before I could get a photo.
Heading into Zenith from Duck was a cool portage. While very similar to the Mesaba to Hug portage. The long gradual climb. There was a neat spot where a wooden bridge was constructed. A small pond was located on the upstream side. Like I said, just a cool spot. The landing on the Zenith end was also scenic.
We were back on familiar water. I had heard about the airplane wreck on BWCA.com. So we went looking for that. It was no problem at all to locate. Looks like just what's left of the cockpit and one of the wings? We paddled a little further down the lake to the lone campsite on Zenith. It was a little difficult to tell where the landing was. I'm sure it doesn't get alot of use. The site was elevated nicely above the lake. It was very small and not very flat. But I surmise it would work for a solo or group of 2? Once again we pulled out some trail mix & drinks, and continued to enjoy another glorious day.
The Frederick portage wasn't much easier this time around either. At least now we knew what to expect. A bald eagle was fishing on the Frederick side of the very small rapid. I was hoping he'd swoop down right in front of us & nab a fish. Oh well? We'd had an absolutely fabulous day never the less. We portaged back into Wine, went back to camp had supper (chicken quesedillas) and enjoyed a few beers & blackberry brandy.

Wine Lake, Mug Lake, Poe Lake, Louse Lake, Bug Lake, Dent Lake, Chaser Lake, Mesaba Lake, Hug Lake, Duck Lake