Granite River Route - Summer Revisited
by BWPaddler
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
08/03/2011
Entry & Exit Point:
Magnetic Lake (EP 57)
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
4
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (18 messages)
Day 3 of 5
Friday, August 05, 2011 
We woke early, and enjoyed the glassy water - it was still clear and calm. We had toasted egg sandwiches with ham, onions, and cheese.
We packed up camp after breakfast and had a swim to cool off. It was gonna be another hot one! I could swim in Clove Lake all day long. The lake was shallow near the campsite, the water clear and warm. We left before 11am.
Our first portage we had been told we could "line left", and sure enough we waded the left side of the river until we could see a clear shot through the rapids, then climbed in for the ride. Wheeeeee! dd2 was hooked, she then wanted to run every portage from there on... :) This rapids makes a sharp right turn, hence the nickname "Elbow Rapids". I wonder if I couldn't actually make the turn while paddling, but didn't dare try to find out :) We passed a group from Luther College off and on that day - it was fun to see young adults spending their time paddling.
We were all happy to find that "Swamp Portage" was NOT knee deep in muck, in fact it was a breeze. We found the portage just after 12:30pm and the Luther team caught up to us there, so we chose to eat lunch and let them "play through". Peanut butter and blueberries on tortillas was the menu. Good thing we accidentally forgot the jelly!
dd2 rescued a PFD someone left at the beginning of Swamp portage, and wore it the rest of the trip as we searched for its owner. We never did find the right "Kennedy", and thus it is now hers.
Up next was a short (rocky) "Granite River Portage". After every portage (sometimes before too), I would swim - at least to my neck. The air was so hot and the water so warm, I couldn't stay out of the river. After this portage I got some cool pictures of a large tree growing out of rock. I also got a hitchhiker on my foot. A small leech attached itself to me and I didn't spot it until we were on the water. After I pulled it off, my foot bled and bled and bled. I still have a mark from that leech today!
After that portage, there were two small chutes of rapids not marked on the map. Thanks to Tuscarora Borealis at bwca.com I knew they were coming and were runnable. They were FUN! Both canoes ran them smoothly, but it still baffles me why they are not marked on the map - they would be hazardous in lower water, we were lucky to shoot right through.
The Gneiss Lake portage was also a breeze to paddle, in fact we barely noticed that there was a portage. Probably you'd need to take the trail in low water.
The landscape was eerie with some green islands and charred mainland areas. The Ham Lake fire scars were evident in the exposed granite, tall black tree "sticks", and new green ground cover.
We found many campsites taken and some that didn't look appealing at all. At one point, we split up to try to find a more favorable site, but ended up making do with a site on the Maraboeuf Lake side of Devil's Elbow. Skies were threatening to rain, and we got three tents set up on an open point (before 5pm) with no place for a tarp - we chanced it and made dinner.
After filling our bellies, we sat around a nice fire for a bit, until turning in for the night. dd2 slept in her own tent, nestled between the other tents and became the first of my kids to do so. Wahoo for dd2!!
We woke early, and enjoyed the glassy water - it was still clear and calm. We had toasted egg sandwiches with ham, onions, and cheese.
We packed up camp after breakfast and had a swim to cool off. It was gonna be another hot one! I could swim in Clove Lake all day long. The lake was shallow near the campsite, the water clear and warm. We left before 11am.
Our first portage we had been told we could "line left", and sure enough we waded the left side of the river until we could see a clear shot through the rapids, then climbed in for the ride. Wheeeeee! dd2 was hooked, she then wanted to run every portage from there on... :) This rapids makes a sharp right turn, hence the nickname "Elbow Rapids". I wonder if I couldn't actually make the turn while paddling, but didn't dare try to find out :) We passed a group from Luther College off and on that day - it was fun to see young adults spending their time paddling.
We were all happy to find that "Swamp Portage" was NOT knee deep in muck, in fact it was a breeze. We found the portage just after 12:30pm and the Luther team caught up to us there, so we chose to eat lunch and let them "play through". Peanut butter and blueberries on tortillas was the menu. Good thing we accidentally forgot the jelly!
dd2 rescued a PFD someone left at the beginning of Swamp portage, and wore it the rest of the trip as we searched for its owner. We never did find the right "Kennedy", and thus it is now hers.
Up next was a short (rocky) "Granite River Portage". After every portage (sometimes before too), I would swim - at least to my neck. The air was so hot and the water so warm, I couldn't stay out of the river. After this portage I got some cool pictures of a large tree growing out of rock. I also got a hitchhiker on my foot. A small leech attached itself to me and I didn't spot it until we were on the water. After I pulled it off, my foot bled and bled and bled. I still have a mark from that leech today!
After that portage, there were two small chutes of rapids not marked on the map. Thanks to Tuscarora Borealis at bwca.com I knew they were coming and were runnable. They were FUN! Both canoes ran them smoothly, but it still baffles me why they are not marked on the map - they would be hazardous in lower water, we were lucky to shoot right through.
The Gneiss Lake portage was also a breeze to paddle, in fact we barely noticed that there was a portage. Probably you'd need to take the trail in low water.
The landscape was eerie with some green islands and charred mainland areas. The Ham Lake fire scars were evident in the exposed granite, tall black tree "sticks", and new green ground cover.
We found many campsites taken and some that didn't look appealing at all. At one point, we split up to try to find a more favorable site, but ended up making do with a site on the Maraboeuf Lake side of Devil's Elbow. Skies were threatening to rain, and we got three tents set up on an open point (before 5pm) with no place for a tarp - we chanced it and made dinner.
After filling our bellies, we sat around a nice fire for a bit, until turning in for the night. dd2 slept in her own tent, nestled between the other tents and became the first of my kids to do so. Wahoo for dd2!!
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