Day 5

I woke and had took my time having hot oatmeal and a few cups of coffee. It was again cloudy and with a cooler mist. I came to the conclusion that I had accomplished everything I had wanted out of this trip, and I would leave the wilderness today. I had an unused layover/weather day built in to my planning and It seemed kind of wrong to leave a day early, but I was okay with that and I was excited to see the family and tell of my adventures- plus have an extra transition day before going back to work. I broke camp for the last time and took off around Fourtown lake.

It was nice paddling Fourtown in the light mist/fog, as visibility was limited, and I really couldn’t see much of anyone else. I had noted some places to explore on Fourtown, and figured I wouldn’t mind another historical treasure hunt. I paddled the Southeast shore in the area of the old resort, and first spotted a large piece of rusted wire cable up on the rocks. I tied up the boat to go explore on foot. The magic canoe/time machine had one last trip for me:

1940-1970:

I tied my boat at the shore of Fourtown Lake, so named because of the four townships that once claimed its shores. The rock pile remains of crib docks jutted out onto the water in a pattern too regular to be part of the natural landscape. I imagined the lacquered wooden chris craft and fishing boats that once slipped in and out; taking clients to harvest fish they had never seen so large or numerous. The end of the pier had a brand-new DeHavilland Beaver aircraft, which connected the resort to Ely in a matter of minutes. I ventured further inland and came across the iron scraps of a time when the resort business was booming. A riveted boiler was almost intact- probably once providing steam heat to keep things running in the shoulder seasons. Another wrecked car, though not beautiful like the first. A lot of thick twisted cable amongst the brush. There was a flat clearing extending to the east- a former skid road that may have brought guests to the resort. Birch and maple saplings were taking advantage of the sunlight and trying to make the old road their home once again. I walked up on a hill and noted evidence of an old foundation. From here the view of Fourtown lake stretched out before me was wonderful, and I imagined people on summer vacation relaxing on the lawn of the resort.

Satisfied with the find, I decided to get back to my canoe and head home. I powered south on Fourtown, and then finally got to travel the Fourtown-Mudro portages I’d been warned about. They were steep, but not too bad, though rather busy with people coming and going, and a crew doing some trail work. I got several envious comments on the no-hands-single-portage from base campers and scout groups and I’ll admit: I felt a little like a rockstar. On the final little channel from Mudro lake to the EP, I saw a beaver hut and a ripple in the water triggered me to slow to a silent drift. As I glided between him and his home, a beaver attempted to hide amongst the rocks on my right. I stared-not 5 feet from the wet creature holding completely still except for his eyes which kept sizing me up. It was the largest animal I’d seen the entire trip (except maybe that fish). From there it was one final carry to the car.

I was back in town around 2 and returned the boat/Delorme to Piragis, and came away with a new paddle. I had a burger and a blueberry-blonde ale at the boathouse and took a growler to bring home to my wife: she loves that beer. I headed home, but by the time I got there the kids were asleep already. I was excited to be back to the future- what a fantastic trip.

Notes:

-Everybody says solo trips are longer/slower because you have to do all the portage work/ camp chores yourself. This is true, but my experience was somewhat the opposite: I think because I planned meals and sleeping gear to require minimal prep time, and carefully packed everything for easy portaging. This trip taught me how to really pack intentionally. I made a spreadsheet and weighed everything. Not just minimizing weight, but being careful about the bulk of things was a factor, too. Future trips solo and group will benefit from this.

-The simplicity of Freezer bag cooking is awesome. I ate good meals, too. For the menu, see this link: http://www.bwca.com/index.cfm? fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=879223&forumID=18&confID=1

-Solo cookset and alcohol stove worked well, but I think a pocket rocket stove would add more simplicity for shorter trips like this. Cookset and stove discussion in solo forum: (I couldn't get the link to publish) http://www.bwca.com/index.cfm? fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=876211&forumID=120&confID=1

-Magic canoe: yes, see above. Main pack sat right behind the seat and small pack/food bag up in the bow to trim it out.

-Water: I love the miniworks filter i’ve had for 15yrs. It can suck clean water from a mudhole and the whole screw-to-the-top-of-a-nalgene thing has always worked well for me. I think a light hollow-fiber squeeze bag system would be good for fast water on travel days, though.

-There were a lot of ‘unknowns’ with the first solo- and traveling speed/ability was one of them. I had planned 4 days for this loop, with an extra day available for weather layover if needed. I did at least a solid 6 hrs of paddling each day. Generally on the water by 8am and in camp by 2-3. I could have easily done it in 3 days(2 nights) with time to explore- and if I physically trained for it it might make an epic overnighter trip sometime.

-Early mornings are the best. Funny, because I’m a natural night owl and not a morning person at all- unless I’m in the wilderness. I didn’t have any fires at night, but I enjoyed having breakfast and coffee in front of a fire while watching the day break on a cold morning.

-The solo trip is cool in that I got to follow my own whims, and schedule, and sidetracks. It is a little bittersweet that I can’t really share the memories with anyone else, though. Maybe that’s why this report ended up kinda long and wordy.

- Meeting the personal challenge of a first-time trip is fun, but I’ll definately solo again. I think the time alone in nature is good for the soul.

-The berlinnerweisse beer is still doing a 12-month ferment with a brettanomyces yeast. I cleaned and dehydrated the rose hips, and plan to add them to the beer for the last 3 months of fermentation. It’ll be ready by July 2016.