Friday, June 08, 2012

Was up quite early considering the late night. Clouds were moving in as we began to tear camp down. Didn't quite get 'er all packed away before the light showers started. It was hard to complain, considering the fantastic weather we'd had up until now.

Of course the rain made the portage back down more tedious. The West Pike ~ Clearwater trail presents challenges of it's own. But, I must admit, once we reconnected with that trail (though not exactly considering it smooth sailing) there was a definite sense that the worst was indeed behind us. And, I'm happy to say, we all made it back to the Clearwater landing without serious incident.

Kelly had the foresight to squirrel away 3 beers for just this moment. So as we recuperated from the completion of the portage we were each able to enjoy a semi-cold one.

About the time we were preparing to push off the rain really started coming down.

Fortunately the Clearwater landing is a very accomodating spot with several large white pines & cedars that provide protective cover from just such an occurence. So we hung out here awhile waiting for the rain to let up, which it eventually did.

Out on the lake, the rain stopped then started several times. Eventually it quit altogether.

The wind was slowly gaining some momentum. But, we reached the EP landing without much trouble. Once there, we retrieved the 3 celebratory beers that we had stashed before departure that were now ready for consumption.

Once we were loaded up, we made a bee line for Trail Center. There we enjoyed the spoils of a successful trip.

An ironic coincidence....Our waitress had just been up to Gogebic a week earlier & was singing it praises. She also mentioned that her understanding is that Gogebic is an Assinoiboine word meaning "Lake in the Clouds." We couldn't argue with that definition.

Of course it helped that we had phenomenal weather. But, that doesn't change the fact that Gogebic is really a special lake. How many places in the BWCAW can you go one portage from a reasonably popular EP lake and see a grand total of 3 people (one group) on a lake in 4 days? The appeal doesn't end there. As they say in real estate, Location! Location! Location! Being about the perfect size, it has an unmistakable intimate, almost mountainous, feel. And, we barely scratched the surface of what the BRT had to offer. It would be nice to go back one day and invest more time in exploring that trail in both directions.

In my final analysis. Of course the portage up provides a substantial challenge. But, beyond that, Gogebic doesn't offer up much fodder for any would be critic to chew on. So if your looking to get away from it all reasonably quickly? Check out Gogebic lake.