My buddy Lt. Dan & Roxi (his significant other) had made it up to Babbitt last night and while we’d gone out to eat, his daughter Jodi her husband Cory and her step kids Eathan & Nora had stopped in and left a note informing us all to meet at the Hog Creek entry point by 11:00 this morning. With those clandestine instructions, we had our marching orders.

Besides the carry down to the creek, there will likely only be one true portage today, so, getting a noonish start isn’t too disconcerting. However, 2 other separate groups are starting their trip at the same time, so the parking lot is buzzing with activity. We chose to hang back and let them go ahead.

Aurora insisted on carrying our canoe down to the landing and I happily obliged her. She did a great job - even down the long stairway but she felt she hadn’t because the canoe kept slipping down her shoulder a bit necessitating an occasional readjustment. I told her it’s just like riding a bike, you just need to keep doing it and then eventually it will be like second nature.

Jodi also carried one of their canoes down and insisted I take a photo of her and her dad. She too had started carrying a canoe when she was about Aurora’s age, and we had taken a picture of them both back then. Now they were reenacting that scene from long ago.

Still brimming with excitement, we load up and set off. The first portage is only a few hundred yards downstream, but there is a good-sized beaver dam just prior to reaching the landing. Since we are heading downstream, we are mostly able to paddle through this one. Trying to minimize the workload for Lt. Dan & newbie Roxie, I erroneously think it will be easier to line the canoes down versus doing the portage. In my other trips through here it has been the case, but today the second set of rapids proves to be more of a workout than actually just doing the portage. But we get through without too much delay and get to see a large garter snake swim across the creek.

Aurora & I take the lead followed by Jodi & Nora as we wind our way through the narrow twisting creek. The paddle on this creek always seems interminable to me, fatiguing my patience. I’m not sure what it is, maybe it’s just me but, more so than other tiny creeks through the BWCA this one seems to languish on and on. Perhaps because there’s no decent spot to pull off and usually there have been minimal wildlife (even tiny birds) sightings?

Once at the lake, I make note that both the groups ahead of us are heading up the west side of the lake. While waiting for the rest of our crew to catch up, it’s also encouraging to see 3 separate groups coming off the lake and returning via the creek. I was hoping that the site just past the creek entry would be vacant. Not so much that I wanted to stay there but, just as a good spot to pull off and get out of the canoes & rest a bit. Unfortunately, the disheartening site of tents and people milling about compel us to paddle on.

Our initial game plan was to grab one of the northern sites closer to the Perent River. But the fact that the other 2 groups already headed in that direction and with racing whitecaps coming out of the northeast, we choose to paddle up the NE side of the lake to minimize our time battling waves. Plus, there are more campsites in that direction.

It’s a real struggle to get up and around the corner on the east side of the lake but, once we do, the many islands begin to provide wind breaks and safer paddling conditions. Alas, as we paddle our way up the eastern seaboard, to our collective dismay we soon discover all the campsites we pass by are currently occupied.

Finally, just past the largest island on the eastern shoreline, Aurora & I happen upon a vacant campsite. While it is certainly a welcome relief from battling persistent pushy waves, the lackluster amenities & proximity to the site on the north tip of the large island leave both of us hoping for something better. Jodi & Nora pull in behind us as we finish our cursory inspection.

The waters to the north are nowhere near as tempestuous as what we’ve just paddled through, so before the others arrive, we tell Jodi we’re going to paddle up and check out the remaining 2 sites on the north end of the lake before we commit to this campsite.

Aurora isn’t too enthused and, after seeing the first one occupied, I must eat a little crow. But alas! The northern most site is vacant. While this is not a destination site, it is quickly agreed upon that this site will be more hospitable to our large crew, and we head back to share the good news.

Before stealthily reaching the campsite where the rest of our crew is catching their breath, I drop Aurora off so she can hop out and walk into camp to give the weary travelers an unexpected surprise. No one is too eager to have to paddle again but, upon arrival, all agree that this site is superior and are efficiently tasked with getting camp setup.

There is plenty of room here for us to spread out and set up our five tents and multiple hammocks. The kitchen area is quite accommodating with a nice log bench right in front of the fire grate, although there’s not a great view of the lake from here. However, the gently sloped rock shelf shoreline extends along a narrow but prolonged swath out in front of camp and provides excellent expansive views of the lake and makes for ideal exploration for our curious kids. And being that this is the northernmost site, it’s unlikely we will get many/any intrusions from other paddlers.

Aurora, Ethan & Nora head out to try some fishing after camp is set up and they are soon joined by Cory & Jodi. While they do manage to catch a few fish, of course the exaggerated tales told in camp give little indication of how it actually went. Still, as the evening progresses, everyone is enjoying the wonders of the wilderness, the good company & food, and ever so grateful to have our home base established here and be done fighting the whitecaps for the day.

~Perent Lake