From my journal - “A Beautiful Morning! Woke before the alarm and listened to the weather (on the radio). Looks great from here on out with rising temps. The sunrise was directly across the lake with zero wind and a gentle mist on the water. Fish were rising in many spots. Absolutely gorgeous.”

The squirrels are making the only noise as they cut and gather their pine cones. Several of them are scurrying around here. They don’t seem to mind me at all.

After breakfast I change into shorts and get set for a day trip into Green and hopefully a bushwhack into Pecan for fishing. I’m also hoping to see the rock chairs. I pack a lunch and take my small tarp to gather firewood in. *I always bring an old 1980's blue rain poncho with me to use as a pack cover at night or to gather up firewood. This poncho has been with me on all my trips since 1983 and still going strong. At 8:00 I’m off.

I fish my way over to the Green Lake portage with little luck. I single portage over the 120 rod trail to Green. There are northerns in here as I lose two lures that were bitten clean off. I switch to a #5 mepps spinner with a wire leader but only catch a small northern.

I stop at the only site here and check it out. It’s small but nice. Supposedly there’s a trail that leads over to Pecan Lake from the back of this site but all trails just peter out. I’m not in the mood to bushwhack. I search the shoreline for any likely looking trail landings that would reach Pecan but come up empty. Maybe I need to hire a guide… It’s too bad because I’ve heard good things about that little lake.

I fished some more on Green but soon headed back to Gebe and went directly across the lake to the peninsula site on the western shore. I ate lunch here at the fine fire grate set up.

Very much a stone kitchen. Really nice. I know this is the site which has the rock chairs so off I went down a trail to the north. I came to a granite hillside and way at the top I could see the row of rock “recliners”.

These took some doing. Out in front of the chairs someone constructed a creepy looking alter of sorts.

My outfitter Mike figured this table in front of the chairs to weigh approximately 700-800 pounds. There’s been discussion about these chairs on the BWCA.com message board and there are people that don’t appreciate man made object like this in a wilderness setting. My feeling is that this one site is cool but I wouldn’t want these chairs springing up all over the park. This is a nice little tourist spot per se and it’s well away from the actual campsite. I’m sure there are people who camped here and never knew about these chairs.

So I left and fished the bay to the west with little luck. One small mouth bass is all. On the way back rounding the point I had a large fish on for maybe 10 seconds before it came loose. This fish never surfaced so it most likely wasn’t a bass.

I also stopped at a few spots to gather driftwood for a fire tonight. When I got back it was dinnertime so I made up a Chicken with Rice dinner. I built a big fire but it was warm out now. No bugs on this trip which is really nice but not a lot of wildlife sightings either. I miss hearing the loons. I think most migrated south by now. Tomorrow will be all travel. We’ll see how far I can go. It’s the homestretch now.

From my journal - “Fire is dying down. It’s beautiful out. Much warmer and calm. No clouds. .A ¾ moon is rising across the lake. I think I’ll just sit and watch the sunset. I saw a beaver swim by with a branch and there was a lone duck squawking right out front before flying off. I wonder if he missed his flock somehow. Fish are dimpling the surface. The sky is pink."

Day 7 Thursday Sept. 27, 2012

Today started very cold. No wind but the weather radio said it was 25 degrees in Ely at 8:00 AM. I slept well and my improvised insulation worked perfect. But - an underquilt is on my list for the future.

I tear down camp quickly and make my usual oatmeal with dried cranberries and a clif bar. I use my French coffee press to make 2 perfect cups. I brought beans that I ground before the trip and it’s so much better than the instant stuff I brought last year.

Some people call this a “Bear Taco”. For me I get a much better night’s sleep than in a tent. It’s also lighter and smaller in the pack. For soloing it’s the way I like to go.

It warmed up quick and there was no wind or clouds all day. I am on the water by 10:00 and headed into Green.

On Green I photographed this sweet beaver lodge with curb appeal.

A large bolder stuck out and attracted seagulls. Somehow there were small trees growing out of it.

I did the 85 rod into Rocky then 75 rods into Oyster. I stayed in the north bay and hit the landing leading to Hustler Lake. About 70 rods on the trail here and I came to a flooded section. I had read about this on the message board so wasn’t surprised.

I poled myself through and resumed the trail. It’s a long 240 rods so I was pretty well beat after this. Here’s a break on the trail to Hustler.

I researched sites on Hustler and the consensus was that if I could make it to Ruby Lake then go for that site. So this is what I did. At the landing to Ruby I parked out front while two guys from Green Bay loaded their canoe. We had a very friendly chat. I said "Go Bears!" as they paddled away. :) After this I made the short carry over to Ruby. The campsite was a few yards on the other side of the stream along the portage.

I set up my bed in the cozy little site. Tonight is supposed to be warm and clear with no wind so I decide I will leave the tarp off.

The view from the Blackbird.

I really want to have a fish breakfast tomorrow so with about an hour and ½ of good light left I went out and trolled the NW shore. After 15 minutes I boated a 20 inch northern pike. Perfect! I went to some large rocks on the east shore and filleted up the fish. I left the skin and carcass on the rocks. I’ll check to see if it’s still there tomorrow.

Back at camp I double zip lock the fish and put them in a mesh bag with some rocks. I tie a line to the bag and heave it out in 6 feet of water. Now I just have to hope the turtles don’t find it.

Tonight there’s no good place to sit along the shore and I decide I need to bring my chair on future trips. I left it back home and took the depth finder instead. A couple of grey jays or “camp robbers” are flitting around camp. These are very bold birds and it’s possible to feed them from your hand. I don’t feed them but get a kick out of their company. There’s also 2 squirrels chasing each other and go right through my sitting area at one point. I also have a mosquito land on me. Weird.

I settle in with my book “Beyond Band of Brothers” The memoirs of Major Dick Winters.

Day 8 Friday Sept. 28, 2012

Well, sleeping under the stars was ok. I wouldn’t want to do it in a wind but I wasn’t cold and it was cool to look up through the trees and see tons of stars as I lay in the hammock.

I pulled in the fish filets and set about poaching them.

It was good but a little bland. It’s the first time cooking them that way for me. I clean up and walk the shoreline with my camera. It’s beautiful out. No wind and the water is like glass. The trees are at peak color now.

I’m packed and shipping out at 9:30. I paddle over to where I left the fish on the rocks and sure enough there's no trace of it. I’ve got a couple of long portages before my destination today at Lower Pauness Lake. The one out of Ruby into Lynx Lake is 240 rods and not a good way to start the day.

The trail is fairly level and scenic. The squirrels are out in force today.

After this long portage it’s a lot of paddling through Lynx to a short 15 rodder into Shell Lake. The landing on shell looks like this.

With 10 campsites Shell is a busy destination. The water is calm and it’s warm out maybe low 70’s now. I hit the 216 rod trail that leads to Lower Pauness. I’m thankful that will be the end of the road for today. I find that this trail also has a flooded section. I run into a Father/Daughter team here and the teenage girl wasn’t looking too thrilled.

On Lower Pauness I go left and grab a nice spot in the narrows.

I soon realize that both of these lakes are basically swamps. The water depth only goes to 10 feet except for in the northern section. I don’t like drinking out of shallow water so after setting up camp I take all my water bottles and fishing gear and head to the deep end. It’s another perfect evening. I troll around the shore and catch two small northerns before I meet 4 guys coming in to the bay. We talk campsites and fishing for awhile. Then an older couple comes through and I pointed them to the nice peninsula site here instead of making that crazy portage to Shell. It was almost 6:30 and they would have been portaging in the dark if they tried it.

I certainly have a nice view from the porch tonight. I’m gonna sleep under the stars again. My last night of the trip.

Day 9 Sat. Sept. 29, 2012

It was warm last night untill maybe midnight and then it got cold. The stars were out big time and I think I saw Saturn and it’s rings in the northern sky. It was an amazing sight with the rings on a diagonal and clear as a bell.

The moon rose later and was so bright it cast shadows. The air is very clear now with this high pressure front of the last few days. And today is no exception. Just another perfect morning in the BW.

I thought I heard wolves while taking pics. It was far away but it could have been. I also saw a pleated woodpecker in camp this morning while walking the trails. Last night I heard two swans making a huge racket and flapping their wings on the water. They were upset about something just down the shore. They kept up the honking for about 10 minutes and it echoed all around the lake.

I don’t waste much time after coffee and a clif bar. I’m ready to go by 8:00. This trip has been a good one. The clear weather after Sunday was great. The fishing could have been better but I think the high pressure system had something to do with it. On the way down the Little Indian Sioux I notice this wild rice field.

I pass lots of canoes just coming in. Most are hunters now. On the portage on the river I stop to shoot a little falls. Not much water at this time.

I worried about what the mice would do to my truck for no reason. Everything is just as I left it and it starts! I load up and the drive to Ely is fantastic. Wall to wall colors in the trees now and the sun lights it all up. I charge my phone a little then call home. All is good. In Ely I have my traditional breakfast at Brittons. After, I walk the town a bit, get an ice cream cone and then hit the road for home.

The Echo Trail Sept. 29th 2012.