Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Kicking Back on the Kawishiwi
by thlipsis29

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 05/17/2011
Entry & Exit Point: Lake One (EP 30)
Number of Days: 6
Group Size: 4
Day 2 of 6
Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Got up at 4:30 and finished packing a few odds and ends and made it to Britton's by 5:15. It was weird how much faster things went with only four guys. Usually we're there for almost an hour with eight, but this year we were in and out in less than 40 minutes. Stopped at TGO's place to pick up rainbow chubs and some herring and spent some time chatting with him about the DNR and their new restrictions on untreated ciscos because of VHS (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia). Interesting conversation to say the least. One last stop at Canadian Waters to rent a cast aluminum skillet and off to entry point 30. We were there by 8:00 a.m.

I honestly don't think I have entered the BWCA with such perfect weather. Temps were in the low 50's with sunshine and calm winds. All of us were in shock and this was the first time in five or six years that I didn't have to wear my rain gear during the trip in. Because we were a smaller group, we had toyed with the idea of heading east into Insula, figuring we could make some good time, but for a variety of reasons we decided to stick with our original destination near the split in the Kawishiwi River.

As we paddled, we were really awed by the beauty of the river; it was nothing short of serene. What was even stranger is that every campsite we went by was vacant. We eventually decided to claim site 1148 just after the river splits into the north and south branch; it is a beautiful peninsula site with a lot of space. The only drawback to this site was the lack of dry downed timber. A few trees must have blown over this winter or spring, but they were really green.

After getting camp set up, we headed back up to a set of rapids we had portaged by on our way in and managed to land some nice walleye and several northerns over 30". Not a bad way to start the trip. Cooked up the steaks for dinner and fished another set of rapids in the evening without a lot of success. But we already had a start on Thursday's dinner, so we weren't too concerned.