Sunday, July 23, 2006

Sagus to Boulder Lake

After perfect weather on our first four days, we woke up to light rain. We decided to wait it out a little but after about two hours awake in the tent, we decided to pack up and take off. Instead of our usual oatmeal, we decided we would eat the granola bars for breakfast to save some time. The portage out of Sagus to Roe was the first portage we had been on that qualified as lightly traveled and it was certainly overgrown but the trail was still pretty nice. The rain picked up on Roe and we felt a true sense of isolation and solitude on this lake. I had consulted the Beymer book on this area and was thankful to have read that the portage from Roe to Cap was not were it seemed on maps. After paddling into a swampy area a bit, we found the portage and we were surprised to see two guys coming the other way in such a remote area on such a crumby day. They had come from Adams and told us about the trouble getting from Adams to Boulder but told us that Boulder was completely empty. Having read about the 5-star on Boulder, we decided to go after it. The Roe to Cap portage was more overgrown than the last and had a couple downed trees to complicate things. While the portage was only about 50-60 rods, it seemed much longer. Once we got to Cap, we knew we were in remote territory. Looking at the map, we tried to figure out where the portage to Boulder was. The Beymer guide had mentioned two trails to Boulder and one to Legde and we finally found one on the south shore of Cap. We decided to double trip this one to make sure we were on the right path. After climbing a hill, then descending it, we wound up in a swamp with a somewhat noticeable foot path leading around the edge of it. We took it until it ended at some water that looked like it didn't really go anywhere. Knowing that we had to cross a random pond to find the rest of the trail to Boulder, we figured we were on the right path. We went back and got the rest of the gear and the canoe and we started to paddle around in this pond. We passed three of four separate trails leading north out of the pond and were glad we weren't trying to figure out where going coming from Boulder. We had to paddle about a quarter mile east on this pond and we finally found the path to Boulder. Again, not totally sure we were on the right trail, we double-tripped the portage. This path was surprisingly nice and the last 40 rods toward Boulder Lake were particularly nice. Bryce and I headed back for the canoe and the rest of the gear, and we all rested for a few minutes after completing a tough few hours of portaging. The weather on the radio said some showers were in the area so we decided to get to the campsite and set up camp before the rain came. The island campsite on Boulder really was five-star. There were probably 4-5 nice spots to put a tent, it had a nice landing, the camp was spacious, and the fire grate area sat on a nice rocky area looking out on the lake. Great site. After setting up camp, I got in a water for bit before it started raining. Some Uno occupied our time while a shower passed over, then it was Beef Stroganoff for dinner. The clouds cleared in the evening, and we found a nice rock point on the other side of the island. We spent a couple hours fishing, drinking whiskey, and watching storm clouds approach as the sun set. Then we settled in when the storms were getting close and went to sleep. A strong storm rolled through for about a half hour, letting off some loud thunder and a lot of lightning. Then it rained for most of the night.