solo #3
by noodle
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
10/15/2020
Entry & Exit Point:
Lake One (EP 30)
Number of Days:
3
Group Size:
1
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (11 messages)
Day 2 of 3
Friday, October 16, 2020
Thursday was a little windy of a day, and Saturday was promising a lot of snow, and who knows what Sunday would hold ... so I decided Friday would be a travel day, back nearer the entry point. I'd hate to spend Saturday marveling at the snow and then Sunday having to fight wind and waves for a few hours with the water temperatures the way they were. Again, first cold-weather solo, and the past two solos I dunked myself through carelessness and doing it with air temps around freezing, well, I didn't want to tempt fate. So after a quick breakfast I packed up. Another lesson I learned? An extra pair of hands is really, really nice in cold weather. But it was still a sunny day.
I peacefully made my way back north into Two, pausing to marvel at one of the trees burned in the 2011 wildfire that somehow, almost a decade later, is still upright. It feels like it should have snapped in a wind sometime since then when I saw how burned it was inside, and I suspect someday someone will be tempted to push it over just to watch it crack, but for now it's still standing, somehow, with only the barest support.
Back up to the portage leaving Two, peaceful as can be.
As I made my way through One, the snow started falling. I grabbed a site, set up my tent in the snow, and started making some lunch -- again wishing for an extra pair of hands. Crouching in the wind over a whisperlite stove to boil water for Lipton's extra noodle chicken soup ... well, it was memorable.
Since night comes early, and it's too cold to be outside of a sleeping bag if I'm not actively moving around to stay warm, I thought it'd be the perfect time to read some of the books I had on the Kindle app. Except ... since my last trip, I had replaced my phone, and I hadn't redownloaded any books on it yet, and at that site on One I had virtually no cell signal. That somewhat surprised me given how stable any connection was on Three, but, well, it's the perfect example of "don't assume you have cell coverage in the BWCA". I made my way uphill in the last light until I got enough reception to download two ebooks, and then back to the tent to read as the sun was on its way down.
This was a more unpleasant night. Not because of the cold per se, but because I tend to be a side sleeper, and my hips began hurting. Maybe I need a better pad, maybe I need a cot, maybe I could stand to lose some weight (guilty) but I woke up every two or three hours, and then around 1am with a pounding headache. Which ... another lesson, "don't forget to pack coffee" which I forgot to do. Apparently caffeine withdrawal can kick in after just two days. I spent some painful hours in the middle of the night trying to decide if I should wean myself off caffeine, but I like my coffee and Coke Zero too much to do that, and it'll be easier to just remember to pack coffee on my trips.
Thursday was a little windy of a day, and Saturday was promising a lot of snow, and who knows what Sunday would hold ... so I decided Friday would be a travel day, back nearer the entry point. I'd hate to spend Saturday marveling at the snow and then Sunday having to fight wind and waves for a few hours with the water temperatures the way they were. Again, first cold-weather solo, and the past two solos I dunked myself through carelessness and doing it with air temps around freezing, well, I didn't want to tempt fate. So after a quick breakfast I packed up. Another lesson I learned? An extra pair of hands is really, really nice in cold weather. But it was still a sunny day.
I peacefully made my way back north into Two, pausing to marvel at one of the trees burned in the 2011 wildfire that somehow, almost a decade later, is still upright. It feels like it should have snapped in a wind sometime since then when I saw how burned it was inside, and I suspect someday someone will be tempted to push it over just to watch it crack, but for now it's still standing, somehow, with only the barest support.
Back up to the portage leaving Two, peaceful as can be.
As I made my way through One, the snow started falling. I grabbed a site, set up my tent in the snow, and started making some lunch -- again wishing for an extra pair of hands. Crouching in the wind over a whisperlite stove to boil water for Lipton's extra noodle chicken soup ... well, it was memorable.
Since night comes early, and it's too cold to be outside of a sleeping bag if I'm not actively moving around to stay warm, I thought it'd be the perfect time to read some of the books I had on the Kindle app. Except ... since my last trip, I had replaced my phone, and I hadn't redownloaded any books on it yet, and at that site on One I had virtually no cell signal. That somewhat surprised me given how stable any connection was on Three, but, well, it's the perfect example of "don't assume you have cell coverage in the BWCA". I made my way uphill in the last light until I got enough reception to download two ebooks, and then back to the tent to read as the sun was on its way down.
This was a more unpleasant night. Not because of the cold per se, but because I tend to be a side sleeper, and my hips began hurting. Maybe I need a better pad, maybe I need a cot, maybe I could stand to lose some weight (guilty) but I woke up every two or three hours, and then around 1am with a pounding headache. Which ... another lesson, "don't forget to pack coffee" which I forgot to do. Apparently caffeine withdrawal can kick in after just two days. I spent some painful hours in the middle of the night trying to decide if I should wean myself off caffeine, but I like my coffee and Coke Zero too much to do that, and it'll be easier to just remember to pack coffee on my trips.
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