Sunday, October 23, 2022 low temp 33 high temp 70! dry until about 11pm-then stormed all night, wind primarily out of the east/SE shifting to SW

After a warm breakfast, coffee and thorough vetting of the thunderbox we broke camp and made our way towards the Judd Lake portage-ready for an adventure. Bret noticed something swimming out from shore. It clearly noticed us too and retreated back to shore. We got phone video of it jumping up onto shore and disappearing into the thicket. We weren’t sure what we had seen but knew it was bigger than Odie. And it retreated eerily close to the pit toilet we had just used! When Bret was killing time waiting for me on the next portage, he was able to review the video, zoom way in and see the long tail, canine features and stature of a wolf! We had heard wolves across the lake the night prior (and innumerable times before) but I had never seen a wolf in the wilderness.

The portage from Clearwater to Judd is reasonably long at 240 rods and quite overgrown with small birch and jack pine but it is mercifully dry. The trail is pretty easy to follow. Wide packs and the canoe scraped branches for almost the entire portage. There were a few particularly tight turns with the canoe which will only get more difficult or impossible as the trees get bigger and stronger (unless some are selectively removed/trimmed). In hindsight I’m glad we didn’t bring any fishing rods on this trip-even stowed above the thwarts in the canoe I’m sure they would have snagged and/or broken several times on this portage.

Judd Lake was a beautiful sight. I bet we’ll be the last to see it this year. Bret got to recover by its shore while I went back for the canoe (which I had put down about ½ way). We loaded up and paddled NE to the bog that separates it from Rock Island Lake. We were able to paddle to a large old beaver dam but beyond that was only a shallow channel surrounded by floating bog. We were able to float the canoe and packs up the channel while we waded and jumped from sinking bog pad to pad until we reached Rock Island Lake. I’m glad Bret was game for the adventure and wasn’t worried about getting wet. Also, grateful the weather cooperated with bluebird skies and unseasonably warm temps. Will be hard to forget Judd Lake!

We made our way across Rock Island Lake with a goal to have lunch on Lake Two. The stream connecting the two lakes is navigable except for a beaver dam or two, and a short portage on the Lake Two end. Overall, we invested 3-4 hours and considerable effort to get from Clearwater to Lake Two. Exactly the type 2 fun we were looking for and a sense of accomplishment. As a bonus I was looking to bag a couple new lakes-in my 40+ BWCA trips I’ve never paddled any of the numbered lakes.

We found an elevated breezy campsite in the SW corner of the lake for lunch and to plan the rest of our day. Now that we had made it to Lake Two our eventual goal was to loop back to EP33 via the Kawishiwi River. So, we made our way over to Lake One. Who knew navigating a big lake with a bunch of islands could be so humbling. After circumnavigating the lake, we eventually found the 16 rod portage and western shortcut to the Kawishiwi River.

We made our way around several rapids and followed the river to the west and southwest to nearly the branch point where the South Kawishiwi takes off to the southwest. Entry point 29 comes in from Ojibway and Triangle Lakes in this section as well. We were paddling directly into the sun and I was lamenting that I forgot sunglasses. We inspected the campsite closest to the EP and low and behold there was an inexpensive pair of Islander Eyes waiting for me. If you ask me Eyelanders would be a catchier brand name but maybe that was taken. In any case, there wasn’t much for flat tent pads so we moved on.

With the sun getting low on the horizon, we needed to lower our expectations too. We found the campsite on the island just downstream to be a suitable spot to spend the night. It is on the east side of the island on a steep rocky outcropping. Our map made it appear to be on the west side of the island. It was a nice spot with tons of places to hang food and hammocks (my usual dwelling). Quite a few tent clearings if you’re into off-camber, sometimes muddy pads. The forecast was for rain so we avoided any depressions.

Odie once again had a blast exploring the campsite but kept close and came when called-all I could hope for. Camping on an island offered a small measure of comfort because Odie was unlikely to swim away. But we knew that critters were perfectly capable of visiting us. And that night we heard the wolves howling again and not far away before the storms rolled in. We initially flailed in our campfire efforts but eventually got a nice burn. Also got a nice burn from some Fireball and Bailey’s before turning in.

The lightning started about 1030pm and continued in waves for most of the night. Bands of rain moved through most of the night as well.