Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

OUR FIRST LOOP
by paddelingruth

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 08/20/2018
Entry & Exit Point: East Bearskin Lake (EP 64)
Number of Days: 6
Group Size: 2
Day 3 of 6
Wednesday, August 22, 2018 We decided to head to Pine Lake. We were ready to do the huge portage. Packed up the camp and were headed to Pine Lake. We had planned to get a camp on Pine Lake and then the next day explore Johnson Falls. We double portage. Dan carries a pack with our tent and daily gear and the canoe on the first trip, I take a pack with our chairs and sleeping bags and carry the canoe poles. We leave our canoe chairs in the canoe with our life jackets hooked in. The second trip we each take another pack, one is our food and cooking pack the other is our gear bag etc. I almost forgot to tell you our dog Lil is with us she is a Welsh Springer Spaniel, she carries her back pack with her own food and dish. She loves the portaging part, she runs and has a great time but stays close to us and if others are around she is on her leash. While we were doing the huge portage, let me tell you we had to stop and rest few times, we first met a lady and her elderly mother, found out they were on the camp beside us on Canoe Lake. The lady was 78 and we later would meet her husband who was 80 with the other daughter. They had taken their girls in the boundary waters when they were as young as 3. Just guessing the daughters where probably in there late 40’s early 50’s. What an inspiration we had a nice visit with each of them along the portage and later saw them at Johnson falls. We came across another group as we were portaging and we had started with this crew when we put in, they were on a day trip to the falls, and camping on Alder, they had a cute little girl who was 3 her first time in the boundary waters they said she was doing great. We changed our plans after doing the big portage and decided to go ahead an see the falls. They say it is about a mile back to the falls. We heard and saw many people coming and going from there. It was a beautiful day and the falls were gorgeous. They were saying they had been short on rain so the falls weren't as full as they usually are. But the water felt great and the water fall was awesome. We got to visit with the couple canoeing with their two daughters. They said they were staying in the BWCA for a week. The couple had done a trip by themselves last year to see if they still could do the canoeing and then had this trip planned with their daughters. As we saw people on the portage and at the falls we questioned where they came from and where they were going. We had planned to go on over to Little Caribou after the falls but found out that camp spot was already taken as well as most or all the spots on Caribou. We then decided we better get a camp on Pine; the wind had started to blow and we put on our life jackets and headed out into the rough waters. We stopped at the first camp site on Pine #2061 rated as a 2. The camp is way up high. I held the canoe while Dan went up to check out the site. The way the wind was blowing us into camp we had a heck of time getting the canoe into the rocky shore. It was a nice spot on top of the hill. We enjoyed our evening, we found one flat spot for our small tent. We had Mountain house meal tonight. Neither one of us said anything to the other but we both felt like we were camping close to bears etc. We just felt very uneasy that night. That night our dog was acting un easy in the tent and wanted out we thought oh no she is smelling something, then we realized she needed out to eat grass and you guessed it promptly purged and then drank and drank water. Three times this happened and we had to exit the tent find the puke and take care of disposing of it properly!