The alarms went off early at 4:00 a.m. sharp and by 4:30, we were on the road to Ely with bleary eyes, strong coffee, and gear packed to the brim. After a quiet northern drive through the early morning fog, we arrived at Snowbank Lodge around 7:00 a.m.. The canoes and kayak came off the truck, packs were shuffled and sorted, and by 7:30, we were pushing off from the dock into calm water and clear skies.

The paddle across Snowbank Lake was long and steady with true BWCA mileage right out of the gate. We made our way up to the northern tip, bound for the portage into Boot Lake. Along the way, I broke in the kayak and the rod with a solid start. Two fighting pike while trolling along the paddle and a nice smallmouth landed in the small bay just before the Boot Lake portage. All were released, but spirits were high.

That said, this was also the moment of realization: bringing an ~90-pound, 11’8” kayak into a 10-portage loop may not have been the wisest move. Muscling that thing across the first portage into Boot was our wake-up call that this wasn’t going to be a vacation; it was a challenge.

Our plan was to camp on Boot Lake the first night, but both sites were already claimed. This is a situation that most paddles in the BWCA have experienced. This can be an intense anxiety filled time where you are not sure how long the day is ahead. With limited options, we had to keep moving, aiming for the solo site on Abinodji and praying it would be open.

After grinding through a brutally tough portage into Abinodji, we were beyond relieved to find the site empty and waiting for us. It wasn’t exactly five-star, but in that moment, it felt like home. Had it been taken, we would’ve faced a tough decision. Push on through four more portages to Jordan Lake, well beyond our planned route, or tackle six more to reach Ahsub. Cramming two days of hard travel into one. Either option would’ve meant serious extra miles, time we didn’t have, and energy we’d already spent.

We set up camp, filtered water, and let our bodies recover. A small fire under the stars closed out the day, along with a few sips of whiskey and some dehydrated dinners, the reward for miles paddled and portages survived. The mosquitos eventually called curfew, but not before we caught a few more bass and pike, all of which were also released due to size.

This was the first trip to Canoe country for our members John and Matt. The rest of our team did what we could to keep morale high as we knew our next site would be much better.

It wasn’t our ideal first night plan, but it was BWCA through and through flexible, wild, and unforgettable.

~Snowbank Lake, Boot Lake, Abinodji Lake