Kawishiwi Lake Solo with LG - 2014
by paddlinjoe
What a beautiful morning, calm, clear and quiet. I want to be on the water alone as long a possible before traffic kicks in. Since I’m already dressed, it doesn’t take long to break camp. A couple hundred rods worth of portages are to be crossed before I will have much paddling to do. I enjoy a slow purposeful paddle through Kawasachong, and the Kawishiwi River, exploring little inlets and streams as I go. It isn’t until I am leaving the portage into Square that I see anyone. It is two guys geared up to the hilt, a rack of fishing rods attached to the canoe, they come charging around the corner. Apparently trying to match the speed of the bass boat that it looks like they typically use. They are eager to get wherever they are going, I can’t blame them, it’s a beautiful day. A while later I realize the two gentlemen were probably just anxious to secure a campsite. Turned out they were at the head of a parade of canoes. the most interesting group I passed started with “grandpa” in the front of a canoe with his son and toddler granddaughter in back followed by a husband/wife canoe with another 4-5 year old granddaughter accompanied by a teenage son in a kayak. Wow, 3 generations, very cool. They were on their way to Square to see if any campsites would accommodate their crew of nine. A fourth canoe was waiting to secure at a campsite on Kawishiwi that was about to clear out. I let them know that Square was mostly burned over. I didn’t know the size of one of the sites that had been occupied the morning I went into the BWCA, but wished them well. I little while later as I approached Kawishiwi Lake I saw a bright orange shirt topped by a bright yellow hat sitting in a canoe waiting for a campsite to empty. This had to be the fourth canoe from the previous group. It was, Grandma in the stern with a 10 year old granddaughter in the bow accompanied by the family dog. What a crew, I stopped to compliment grandma on having three generations out in the BWCA. What a lovely lady, full of joy and life. I really enjoyed our 20 minute conversation. She’d been coming to the BWCA every year for over 50 years and I don’t think she’ll be stopping that trend anytime soon. When the 9 person youth group left the campsite we parted ways. There are people you meet only briefly in life, but you know you’ll remember them for the rest of your life, she is one of them.
All that was left of my trip was the paddle across Kawishiwi Lake and a bird bath at a campsite in preparation for my drive home. What a great trip. I’m learning that if I want to be on a solo trip for an extended time, I need to plan a very large loop. I enjoy the paddling, and portaging, but once I get near my entry point, there is no turning back.
Post Trip Lost Paddle Report:
Based on the BSA Voyageur decal I called the boy scout camps in Ely, no luck finding the owner. Posted a note for the lost paddle on bwca.com. That did the trick. Fellow member PinkCanoe owned the lost paddle. The paddle had not been abandoned, rather it was cherished. It had accidentally been sat on while laying across the thwart.
The first attempt to ship the paddle via UPS was stopped by a $40 shipping charge and a $30 packaging charge. Had no idea it would cost that much. A trip to the local canoe/camping outfitter with an explanation about returning the paddle to it’s owner scored a used box and bubble wrap made for the job for free. (Thank you Hoigaards) Then a box modification at the post office dropped the price from an oversized package to “normal” sized one, dropping the overall shipping/packaging price of $9. Finally (three weeks after our first exchange, the paddle was on it’s way back to it’s rightful and appreciative owner. PinkCanoe generously sent $25 to cover the cost of shipping and what not.
It felt good to be able to return the paddle, but I felt bad for having taken it when PinkCanoe had intended to pick it up on their way back from their day trip. All ended well though.
Donate - BWCA.com