The next day we picked up the soggy camp that had been blown to a mess and we had plenty to talk about how each man had fared overnight. The first-timer had gotten slightly wet feet at the windward end of his hammock, but didn’t seem fazed by it at all. The friend who was up said that his stakes pulled out and while the tarp was flapping around uncontrollably, he was forced to get up and find some other rock or log or something to tie it back down. He had quite a few things to hang up and dry out the next day!

We basecamped for three nights and enjoyed fires, food, whiskey, lake trout, naps, photos, and exploring. There was one more night of storms and heavy rain, though maybe not as intense as the first. I noticed a little 1/2" tear in the middle of my tarp and reasoned it must have been a branch that came down in the storm. I was going to gorilla-tape it, but my friend had some gear-aid tenacious tape; and I cut a small piece for inside and outside the tarp- and you can't even see the repair unless you look closely. It will likely be a permanent repair and I have since added the tenacious tape to my kit. Among our party was a rabid Packer fan, and one sunny afternoon with an improvised antenna were able to pull in the Packer-Viking game on a crackling FM radio as we sat and played cribbage. It was a departure from my normal wilderness quiet, but with the company it was a splendid time.

I was disappointed to see the “rock porch” campsite on Oyster lake had lost the large white pine that shaded and protected what was previously one of the better campsites in the BWCA. The first night I had ever camped in the BW was at that site, and at home I have a sunset photo featuring that tree that is printed on canvas and hanging in the guest room. It had fallen a different direction than the wind from the other night, so it must have been down before the present storm- but not long.

Just as my paddle in a few days ago was in a grey fog, the paddle out was on a grey day that threatened a wet September mist. There were a few trees down across portage trails that my friends said were not there on the way in. We exited through Moose river north, and I was shuttled back to my car at LIS. We stopped for beers in Ely with a toast to good friends, and headed our separate ways home.

I think I really was able to combine a long solo trip with a group basecamp trip. I enjoy covering distance when solo, but I probably paddled longer and harder than intended during the first few days. I was glad to be stationary in camp before the storms came, though. My gps total was just over 100 miles for the trip. It was fun to see the Namakan river and the Loon river back-to-back and think about the challenges that each route would throw to fur-trade voyageurs. The multiple permits needed for this trip were a little tricky to manage, but I was able to make the border crossings and BW entries legitimately.