Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

LIS Solo
by Bannock

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 05/26/2010
Entry & Exit Point: Little Indian Sioux River (north) (EP 14)
Number of Days: 5
Group Size: 1
Part 2 of 7
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 11:45 am

Morning came early. I slept about 5 hours. I woke to lots of birds singing.

One of the main reasons I decided to leave out of Ely was so I could have breakfast at Britons. I hadn’t been there for awhile. I arrived just after 5:00am and was the fourth person in the restaurant. I ordered my favorite Britons breakfast – eggs, sausage, homemade toast, American fries, and coffee. I’d love to have added a pancake to that as well …. But I just couldn’t, because I know that I would have eaten it all. A few drops of rain were falling as I left at 5:45am.

I stopped at Voyageur North Outfitters (VNO) to say hi to John and visit with Lynn. I thought I had to get a “day-of” permit from the ranger station, but Lynn told me I could get a permit from her. We looked at the availability and decided on Little Indian Sioux (LIS) River North (EP 14). Thanks Lynn! VNO treats their customers so well!

Because I didn’t have to wait for the ranger’s station to open to get my permit, I was able to leave Ely at 6:40am. From Ely to the entry point was about 33 miles and took me just over an hour to drive it.

I changed clothes, unpacked the car, and double portaged down to the river. On my second trip down the skies cleared, the sun came out, and it was hot. But once on the water there was a breeze and it was very pleasant. I was paddling by 9:00am and at Elm Portage at 9:45am.

Elm Portage is truly beautiful. I’ve been through there several times and always find it enjoyable – the cedars, the water, the nice trail, and the falls. I took a short break, a couple of pictures, and was back on the water by 10:30.

It occurred to me that even though I was traveling solo and quietly, so far I had seen only one duck. Even on the Echo Trail I had seen only one deer and one hare. Furthermore, the last person I saw was the cashier at the Holiday Gas Station next to VNO. I hadn’t seen any other cars on the Trail, or any other BWCA travelers. I thought there may be more people who were extending their Memorial Day weekend on the front side.

At 11:30am I finished the 40 rod portage to Lower Pauness and took a snack break. There was no one (that I could see) on Upper Pauness. However, I can add two eagles to my wildlife listing, and although I don’t see any people, I can see that the campsite on the point on Lower Pauness is occupied.

……………………………………………………………………………………………… 9:00pm

At 8:45pm everything is dead calm except for a few birds singing and a solitary yodel from a loon. No wind. I have water set to boil for cider or tea, but I don’t think I’ll bother. I’m sitting in my chair writing this. When it gets too dark to continue I’ll go to the tent. I didn’t set up a tarp or bug net. Hope things don’t get too wet from the dew.

At noon today, after my break on Upper Pauness, I was back on the water and finished a leap-frog portage into Shell Lake at 1:40pm. During the portage I heard a grouse drumming (later I saw one) and saw a large garter snake.

Crossing Shell Lake, the wind kicked up pretty hard from the NW. I wound up being blown to the SE campsite. I checked out the campsite and it looked pretty nice, so I unloaded the canoe. Since the wind was blowing and it was 2:30, I figured I was home for the evening. Then I saw the sign.

The sign was from the Forest Service so I thought maybe there was a bear problem. Nope. It said the campsite was closed because of a prescribe burn in the area. So I had to move. I reloaded the canoe, re-trimmed it for wind, and white-knuckled it to the portage to Little Shell. The lone site on Little Shell was taken, so I paddle through to Lynx and portaged to Agawato Lake (4:15pm).

Agawato is a neat lake! It is a dead end. You don’t pass through or go through accidently. You have to want to go there. It starts off with lots of dead trees in the water – some above and many below the surface. You need to move slowly and pick your way through. It would be a challenge for a tandem canoe to maneuver through this woody minefield.

Once through the obstacle course, it opens up into a very nice lake. There is only one site on the lake and it is a near perfect solo site with just one tent pad. It is not suitable for a group and there is not room for more than one small tent. I landed my canoe at 4:45pm.

I got camp set up and the chores done. I had packed in a Diet Coke with Lime. I added a little rum to it and toasted Jim. Here’s to ya, Jim!

Supper was beef Stroganoff made with dehydrated hamburger. It was OK, but not as good as what Jim would have made. I add a little more rum to the DCL and toast Jim again.

The weather is really nice. The breeze is a bitch paddling on open water, but here in camp it is heavenly. The camp faces west so I should get a sunset tonight. There should be a full moon, too.

Starting at 6:00pm a Forest Service plane buzzed me often. It made me nervous. I didn’t know if he was trying to tell me something, if I had done something wrong, or if he was spotting a fire in the area. I stayed alert.

I decided not to have a fire tonight. The FS plane had me a bit freaked out. I checked my permit again to make sure there were no restrictions. There were no signs at the site saying that the site was closed or anything.

I’ll go to bed early. I’m beat.

I’m going to try to get up early, pack, and leave. I think I’ll head to Ruby Lake. It, too, has a single campsite on the lake. One of my objectives when paddling solo is to also camp on solo sites, that is, choosing campsites that are the only site on a lake.