The Best Trip Yet (Well, Mostly)
by TrailZen
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
08/27/2023
Entry & Exit Point:
Moose Lake to Prairie Portage (EP G)
Number of Days:
10
Group Size:
2
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (26 messages)
Part 6 of 11
Day 6, September 1, 2023. Meeting Johno and the Miracle of the Fuel Canister. 7.9 miles, 7 portages. Kenny, 2 no-names, Sig, no-name, and Saganagons Lakes.
We heard a light shower shortly after turning in last night, but awoke to clear skies and a light breeze. We had a beautiful sunrise, dry gear, and the promise of a nice day. We were on the water at 8:00 and ready for the challenge of the Falls Chain. We had done the Falls Chain many years ago, when Tia was nervous each time the noise of a falls got loud—this year I think she was calmer than me as we approached each portage landing. Each of the falls portages, Canyon Falls, Koko Falls, Little Falls, Bald Rock Falls, and Four Falls, is pretty nice, with good landings, good footing, and no sustained climbs. We completed the Falls chain in three hours and stopped on Saganagons for an early lunch and to review maps to plan our route to Dead Man's Portage. Wind was kind to us on the first leg of Saganagons, but low water levels gave us a headache or two by blocking passages that appeared wide open on our maps. Like yesterday, we took rest breaks today on the bigger lake.
Sunrise on Kenny Lake.
Approaching the Canyon Falls portage.
At the Koko Falls portage.
This bald eagle launched just as I pressed the shutter-thought I'd missed him!
As we were loading the canoe and checking maps on the south end of Dead Man's Portage, a solo paddler glided in. We learned that he was from San Diego and was on his second Quetico trip of the season, with a third planned. When he heard that we were from North Carolina, he asked if I posted on BWCA.com as TrailZen! Turns out he was a fellow forum member, johno, with whom I've exchanged messages and comments. How cool to meet another forum member in person-I hope you had a great trip, johno. Johno informed us that wind was pretty strong just around the point from the portage, and that the island behind the point had a good campsite, so we headed to the island to check it out. Just paddling around the point was a challenge, and we were delighted to find the site empty and called it home for the night. It was around 3:00 when we got to the campsite, and wind only picked up after our arrival.
With our campsite setup completed, we again reviewed maps and discussed our route. The pre-trip plan included a loop through Blackstone, which we haven't visited for many years, but we had already dropped Blackstone from our plans because wind and heat are taking their toll on our bodies. The 78-day trippers we met on Day 4 recommended we check out Emerald Lake, and it looks like an easy detour from the Man Chain, so that's the new plan.
Our cooking techniques have changed a lot through the years. We've had several liquid-fuel stoves for backpacking and canoe camping, but a few years back we picked up an Optimus Vega. We like the remote canister design because it provides very stable pot support, allows the use of a (provided) windscreen, and has low noise and great simmer control. We've also transitioned from a stainless pot set to a Snow Peak titanium pot set. When we started using fuel canisters, I marked each canister's meals so that I could better predict fuel needs for future trips, and generally found that an 8 ounce canister was good for 3 breakfasts and three dinners, with perhaps an afternoon coffee/tea or two. Our breakfasts have long been 'hot water only' for coffee and for our alternating oatmeal or hash browns & bacon, but our dinners often had 10-minute cook times and offered lots of potential for fuel savings. After spending some time on backpacking cooking websites that promoted the use of a pot cozy and reduced cooking times followed by 'heat soak' time in the cozy, we made a cozy for our dinner pot (1.4 liter) and adopted the technique for our evening meals. Cook times dropped from 7-10 minutes to 2-3 minutes followed by 8-10 minutes of 'heat soak' time with the covered pot in its cozy. The canister that died today was used on our Suwannee River trip in March, and I expected it to die a couple days into this trip. Instead of the usual 3 breakfasts and 3 dinners, we got 7 breakfasts, 5 dinners, and two appetizers (coffee/tea/ramen) from the miracle canister, and our next 10-day trip we'll only carry two fuel canisters instead of three.
The miracle of the fuel canister!
Sunset on Saganagons Lake.
We heard a light shower shortly after turning in last night, but awoke to clear skies and a light breeze. We had a beautiful sunrise, dry gear, and the promise of a nice day. We were on the water at 8:00 and ready for the challenge of the Falls Chain. We had done the Falls Chain many years ago, when Tia was nervous each time the noise of a falls got loud—this year I think she was calmer than me as we approached each portage landing. Each of the falls portages, Canyon Falls, Koko Falls, Little Falls, Bald Rock Falls, and Four Falls, is pretty nice, with good landings, good footing, and no sustained climbs. We completed the Falls chain in three hours and stopped on Saganagons for an early lunch and to review maps to plan our route to Dead Man's Portage. Wind was kind to us on the first leg of Saganagons, but low water levels gave us a headache or two by blocking passages that appeared wide open on our maps. Like yesterday, we took rest breaks today on the bigger lake.
As we were loading the canoe and checking maps on the south end of Dead Man's Portage, a solo paddler glided in. We learned that he was from San Diego and was on his second Quetico trip of the season, with a third planned. When he heard that we were from North Carolina, he asked if I posted on BWCA.com as TrailZen! Turns out he was a fellow forum member, johno, with whom I've exchanged messages and comments. How cool to meet another forum member in person-I hope you had a great trip, johno. Johno informed us that wind was pretty strong just around the point from the portage, and that the island behind the point had a good campsite, so we headed to the island to check it out. Just paddling around the point was a challenge, and we were delighted to find the site empty and called it home for the night. It was around 3:00 when we got to the campsite, and wind only picked up after our arrival.
With our campsite setup completed, we again reviewed maps and discussed our route. The pre-trip plan included a loop through Blackstone, which we haven't visited for many years, but we had already dropped Blackstone from our plans because wind and heat are taking their toll on our bodies. The 78-day trippers we met on Day 4 recommended we check out Emerald Lake, and it looks like an easy detour from the Man Chain, so that's the new plan.
Our cooking techniques have changed a lot through the years. We've had several liquid-fuel stoves for backpacking and canoe camping, but a few years back we picked up an Optimus Vega. We like the remote canister design because it provides very stable pot support, allows the use of a (provided) windscreen, and has low noise and great simmer control. We've also transitioned from a stainless pot set to a Snow Peak titanium pot set. When we started using fuel canisters, I marked each canister's meals so that I could better predict fuel needs for future trips, and generally found that an 8 ounce canister was good for 3 breakfasts and three dinners, with perhaps an afternoon coffee/tea or two. Our breakfasts have long been 'hot water only' for coffee and for our alternating oatmeal or hash browns & bacon, but our dinners often had 10-minute cook times and offered lots of potential for fuel savings. After spending some time on backpacking cooking websites that promoted the use of a pot cozy and reduced cooking times followed by 'heat soak' time in the cozy, we made a cozy for our dinner pot (1.4 liter) and adopted the technique for our evening meals. Cook times dropped from 7-10 minutes to 2-3 minutes followed by 8-10 minutes of 'heat soak' time with the covered pot in its cozy. The canister that died today was used on our Suwannee River trip in March, and I expected it to die a couple days into this trip. Instead of the usual 3 breakfasts and 3 dinners, we got 7 breakfasts, 5 dinners, and two appetizers (coffee/tea/ramen) from the miracle canister, and our next 10-day trip we'll only carry two fuel canisters instead of three.
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