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 4 of 5
Saturday, August 06, 2011 
Waking about 7am, we had a lovely blueberry pancake breakfast, with no need to scrimp on the blueberries!
The blueberries we picked on the first day of paddling were holding up well - thanks to the hard sided plastic containers we kept them in. I'd hate to see what they looked like in just a plastic bag. Blueberry juice?
dd2 was pretty proud of sleeping all night long in her own tent - she posed for some rockin' pictures with the perfect "I pitch my own tent" T-shirt on!
After we packed up, I needed to do one last thing for dd2. She really wanted to see if the campsite had a "jump rock". We thought we found one, but I insisted on scoping out below it before she could jump. A resident snapping turtle had discouraged my exploration the previous night. S stood on the only rock obstacle and dd2 caught some serious air! Summer in the BWCA is fun!
We were on our way before 11am. Today we had only two portages, but I expected Horsetail Rapids to be a doozy based on Spartan2's description. We landed there at about 12:30pm. I was pleasantly surprised, but it was still a challenge with downed trees making an obstacle course for us all.
The 2nd portage would be around Saganaga Falls (at about 1:30pm) - a short up and over some rocks with a tricky put-in below the falls. Some young'uns with no PFDs simply lowered their metal boat stright down the falls and made it look easy! Not gonna do that with my boats!
Below the waterfall was another popular place accessible by motor. We caught the current and shot out away from the falls to a calm bay where we had lunch and S cast his fishing line. This time, S had some luck and caught a bass for us to admire! On the stringer it went after being captured on camera several times. Hope that snapper isn't around for his lunch :)
Now we entered the infamous "Big Sag". I was nervous about wind and waves, but it was blessedly calm. dd2 was nervous about finding a spot to camp, and tired of traveling all day every day I think. As I paid her some attention inside the boat (parent-speak for trying to re-regulate kiddo), I failed to pay attention outside the boat, even as I kept paddling.
Next thing you know, I was sure that S & B were headed the wrong way; and they were sure I was headed the wrong way. We were too far apart to hear even a whistle from each other - although we could see paddles waving and arms beckoning. dd2 & I let the wind blow us to S & B. We compared maps and sure enough I was headed the long way around Conner's Island. Thanks guys!
As we approached the south end of Camper's Island, the 1st site was available, though there was no decent landing. S and I went to check out the southernmost site for comparison. In the end, S selected the southern site for the tent pad with a view - the "Penthouse Suite".
This site also had no reasonable landing, but we made do. Skies were darkening and we hustled to set up camp about 5:30pm. S & dd2 paddled to "Filet Island" to carve up the bass, and we ate it as an appetizer. Mmmmm, good. When it started to sprinkle, we decided once again to take down dd2's tent and bunk together for the last night - I was glad, even though it had taken me a while to get her tent up using logs and roots as tie-downs! We had dinner and sat by a nice fire enjoying each other's company and not wanting the trip to end.
Waking about 7am, we had a lovely blueberry pancake breakfast, with no need to scrimp on the blueberries!
The blueberries we picked on the first day of paddling were holding up well - thanks to the hard sided plastic containers we kept them in. I'd hate to see what they looked like in just a plastic bag. Blueberry juice?
dd2 was pretty proud of sleeping all night long in her own tent - she posed for some rockin' pictures with the perfect "I pitch my own tent" T-shirt on!
After we packed up, I needed to do one last thing for dd2. She really wanted to see if the campsite had a "jump rock". We thought we found one, but I insisted on scoping out below it before she could jump. A resident snapping turtle had discouraged my exploration the previous night. S stood on the only rock obstacle and dd2 caught some serious air! Summer in the BWCA is fun!
We were on our way before 11am. Today we had only two portages, but I expected Horsetail Rapids to be a doozy based on Spartan2's description. We landed there at about 12:30pm. I was pleasantly surprised, but it was still a challenge with downed trees making an obstacle course for us all.
The 2nd portage would be around Saganaga Falls (at about 1:30pm) - a short up and over some rocks with a tricky put-in below the falls. Some young'uns with no PFDs simply lowered their metal boat stright down the falls and made it look easy! Not gonna do that with my boats!
Below the waterfall was another popular place accessible by motor. We caught the current and shot out away from the falls to a calm bay where we had lunch and S cast his fishing line. This time, S had some luck and caught a bass for us to admire! On the stringer it went after being captured on camera several times. Hope that snapper isn't around for his lunch :)
Now we entered the infamous "Big Sag". I was nervous about wind and waves, but it was blessedly calm. dd2 was nervous about finding a spot to camp, and tired of traveling all day every day I think. As I paid her some attention inside the boat (parent-speak for trying to re-regulate kiddo), I failed to pay attention outside the boat, even as I kept paddling.
Next thing you know, I was sure that S & B were headed the wrong way; and they were sure I was headed the wrong way. We were too far apart to hear even a whistle from each other - although we could see paddles waving and arms beckoning. dd2 & I let the wind blow us to S & B. We compared maps and sure enough I was headed the long way around Conner's Island. Thanks guys!
As we approached the south end of Camper's Island, the 1st site was available, though there was no decent landing. S and I went to check out the southernmost site for comparison. In the end, S selected the southern site for the tent pad with a view - the "Penthouse Suite".
This site also had no reasonable landing, but we made do. Skies were darkening and we hustled to set up camp about 5:30pm. S & dd2 paddled to "Filet Island" to carve up the bass, and we ate it as an appetizer. Mmmmm, good. When it started to sprinkle, we decided once again to take down dd2's tent and bunk together for the last night - I was glad, even though it had taken me a while to get her tent up using logs and roots as tie-downs! We had dinner and sat by a nice fire enjoying each other's company and not wanting the trip to end.
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