Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Solo trip, following the Root Beer Lady
by Beemer01

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 07/08/2006
Entry & Exit Point: Moose Lake (EP 25)
Number of Days: 5
Group Size: 1
Day 2 of 5
Sunday, July 09, 2006

First rediscovery – when I solo camp I eat little. I’d brought a few pasteurized eggs and some precooked bacon – I fixed myself a quick breakfast, then prepared coffee in my new Jet Boil. I packed quickly, returned my canoe to the water, loaded the packs and headed down Ensign to the portage over to Vera.

Ensign is a lovely lake and the calm early morning offered easy paddling. The easy part ended when I reached the portage to Vera.

I wanted to retrace the ‘winter route’ that Dorothy Moulter had used when she went to town from Isle of Pines. This shorter winter route would have avoided the rapids on the Knife Lake portages and the attendant bad ice…. but sure included some significant portages! The portage from Ensign to Vera needs to be approached with respect. The altimeter on my GPS showed that leaving Ensign I climbed nearly 160 feet up with few breaks, first with the canoe and then with the packs (My goal of single portaging was quickly dashed – those days are behind me!) My respect for Dorothy’s toughness is growing by the trip.

BTW, the combination of Fisher maps and my GPS proved to be perfect. Portages and campsites were located easily.

Vera is a really pretty lake with some lovely campsites. I stopped on Vera for lunch at a pretty campsite – and decided to kick back and spend this day exploring the lake.

Vera is supposed to have abundant Walleyes and some Northerns, but my best fishing could scare up nothing this beautiful day.

Evening fell with the breeze shifting and strengthening out of the Northeast. Temps fell into the low 50s this evening.