Day One:

After a very different pre-trip week with Spartan1 off on a five-day canoeing and fishing trip with Ramsey Dowgiallo and Spartan2 enjoying the comforts of the Point Cabin at Shagawa Inn Resort, we made our preparations for an early start on Monday. Breakfast at Britton's in Ely on a cool, foggy morning was a good way to begin the day.

We didn’t get off as early as I had hoped. It was 8 A. M. when we left Britton’s, but we didn’t really feel any need to rush. We weren’t going to a super-busy area, we didn’t expect to travel far on our entire trip, and we were on vacation! The back roads were awash in fog, and travel was pleasant.

It was a beautiful morning for a drive along the Forest Service roads and I talked Spartan1 into stopping at the access to Harriet Lake for a stretch break. My mother’s name was Harriet, and I couldn’t help but think that she would have enjoyed standing with me on this shore and seeing this view of the lake with her name.

Then it was back on the road again, headed for our entry point 37 at Kawishiwi Lake.

We loaded up at Kawishiwi Lake Landing and started our canoe trip at 11:00. There was another group dropped off just as we were getting ready, and they managed to get on the water before we did.

It was a beautiful morning for beginning a trip. Bright sun, cool temperature (perhaps 65 degrees), and the brilliant blue that we only dream of in our gloomy, gray Michigan winters. . . .canoe country at its best!

We stopped for lunch at a campsite shortly after starting our trip, and then we were back on the water again, paddling the stream that leads to Square Lake. It is a typical small stream, I suppose. It winds along with reeds and vegetation at the sides, water lilies blooming, and those tantalizing places where you know the critters come to rest in the sun and find places to feed—but of course there are no critters when YOU want to see any! We saw one otter just briefly, but he didn’t cooperate for photography! The water lily did.

There are two campsites on Square Lake. Both have pluses and minuses, and we checked them out, since both were available. The first one was quite large and had good shelter, but it was on the open lake and seemed like it would have less privacy. I was drawn to a large curved “sitting tree” at the lake view, but then I was disillusioned quickly as I saw that others had been “drawn” there also. Personally I wish that Genevieve had stayed home!

So we headed off to the other site.

It was much more secluded, in a bay off by itself, and it looked like a more likely spot for seeing a moose or other wildlife. It had one striking feature: a singular tall pine in the center of the site with no other trees nearby, so that it had an almost Christmas-tree shape, only with spreading branches underneath to make a shady shelter. It seemed like a very friendly tree, although perhaps not the best place to be in a thunderstorm, as there were no other tall trees in the vicinity. We didn’t see a cloud in the sky, and the forecasts were for fair weather for several days, making us feel confident to choose this site.

So we moved into our new home.

It was a beautiful afternoon. The site had trails leading to a view of the lake, and we were blessed with bright sun, a clear sky and a refreshing breeze. It was warm in the sun, but cool in the shade—just the kind of weather I like for canoe tripping. We spent a lazy afternoon and evening, and enjoyed the experience of just being together again in the BWCA.

Meals on this trip had an emphasis on “easy”. We probably wouldn’t cook on a fire, as the sites here would be well-used, making firewood difficult to find. (We don’t like to cook over pine.) I don’t dry my own food ahead of time, and we really don’t mind freeze-dried foods, so we don’t bring a cooler, or fresh items along with us, except for eggs. This time I didn’t even think to get the traditional steak and oranges for our first evening meal. Our first meal consisted of Mountain House beef patties and mashed potatoes, Mountain House green peas, and strawberry cheesecake from Packit Gourmet. I rehydrated cups of freeze-dried strawberries to have with the cheesecake and it was a good, balanced meal. We didn’t need dessert after an easy day of paddling and minimum effort expended, but there are some things you just gotta have anyway! We savored our usual cups of instant decaf (Starbucks Via) after our dinner, and enjoyed the sunset on a chilly evening just to our liking—a wool-shirt evening!

Loons were calling on Square Lake as we drifted off to sleep. It was 45 degrees, according to my little thermometer.