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05/21/2025 09:58AM |
Bringing Grandpa back to Ester Lake - his favorite lake - and the sand beach for his 75th birthday in 2016.
Seeing the Northern Lights for the very first time from our campsite on the far western side of Seagull Lake in 2016.
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05/20/2025 10:47PM |
Spartan2: "As everyone says, there are so many. For me it was close, intimate encounters with my husband probably more than anything else. I was a full-time Mom of two active youngsters and our trips were almost always just for the two of us. So many blessed moments. But as soon as I read the topic a vision came into my head and I heard the loon calling in my mind.
It was 1992, on a chilly June/July 22-day trip that was our "trip of a lifetime". Our first trip off the Gunflint. And it was the last morning. We were camped on Caribou Lake, so this would just be a "wakeup" morning before ending the trip at Rockwood Lodge. We had camped early enough that we could have made it back that afternoon, but we thoroughly enjoyed the campsite and our last meal in the BWCA. At dawn, Spartan1 got up and started a little "junk fire" (pine) just to warm things up a bit while he watched the sunrise. He let me sleep in for a little while, and when I climbed out of the tent this is the sight I saw. He was watching a loon out on the calm water, and it occasionally called softly. I joined him and we made coffee and savored the sunrise scene together, filled with sadness that our "Long Trip" adventure was ending. After the mist had cleared we retired to the tent to snuggle and warm up before packing to get on our way. I cried all the way across the Lizz-Poplar portage, and at the end we toasted our trip with the dregs of our blackberry brandy. Then we paddled down to the end of Poplar Lake and had our lunch at Trail Center, before finally paddling to Rockwood Lodge to end our trip. A bittersweet moment to be a favorite, perhaps? But I love this photo more than almost any other of my hundreds of canoe trip photos because when I look at it I can smell the smoke, and hear the loon, and I always feel so thankful."
Wow, Spartan2--thank you for sharing that story! Your passion for the BWCA often comes through pretty loud and clear in your posts and this was no exception. If recalling this moment brought back more tears for you, I'd have to admit that I was right there with you!
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05/19/2025 11:50AM |
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05/19/2025 09:54AM |
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05/22/2025 01:24PM |
Spartan2: "As everyone says, there are so many. For me it was close, intimate encounters with my husband probably more than anything else. I was a full-time Mom of two active youngsters and our trips were almost always just for the two of us. So many blessed moments. But as soon as I read the topic a vision came into my head and I heard the loon calling in my mind.
It was 1992, on a chilly June/July 22-day trip that was our "trip of a lifetime". Our first trip off the Gunflint. And it was the last morning. We were camped on Caribou Lake, so this would just be a "wakeup" morning before ending the trip at Rockwood Lodge. We had camped early enough that we could have made it back that afternoon, but we thoroughly enjoyed the campsite and our last meal in the BWCA. At dawn, Spartan1 got up and started a little "junk fire" (pine) just to warm things up a bit while he watched the sunrise. He let me sleep in for a little while, and when I climbed out of the tent this is the sight I saw. He was watching a loon out on the calm water, and it occasionally called softly. I joined him and we made coffee and savored the sunrise scene together, filled with sadness that our "Long Trip" adventure was ending. After the mist had cleared we retired to the tent to snuggle and warm up before packing to get on our way. I cried all the way across the Lizz-Poplar portage, and at the end we toasted our trip with the dregs of our blackberry brandy. Then we paddled down to the end of Poplar Lake and had our lunch at Trail Center, before finally paddling to Rockwood Lodge to end our trip. A bittersweet moment to be a favorite, perhaps? But I love this photo more than almost any other of my hundreds of canoe trip photos because when I look at it I can smell the smoke, and hear the loon, and I always feel so thankful."
Spartan 2: That's a great picture! Even more so because I bet it's an actual picture, not a digital file. My friend made us use slide film on our trips cuz he loved putting together a slide show (and I mean "show" cuz he'd put the slides to music) weeks after the trips were completed. Still bring out the projector every now and then.
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05/22/2025 04:34PM |
Kawishiwashy: "Spartan2: "As everyone says, there are so many. For me it was close, intimate encounters with my husband probably more than anything else. I was a full-time Mom of two active youngsters and our trips were almost always just for the two of us. So many blessed moments. But as soon as I read the topic a vision came into my head and I heard the loon calling in my mind.
Spartan 2: That's a great picture! Even more so because I bet it's an actual picture, not a digital file. My friend made us use slide film on our trips cuz he loved putting together a slide show (and I mean "show" cuz he'd put the slides to music) weeks after the trips were completed. Still bring out the projector every now and then."
Yes, it's an actual picture. I had a Canon EOS Rebel back in those days with a couple of nice lenses. Unfortunately all I can do to show this picture here is to scan it from a print, and the quality seems to suffer from that. I have this photo enlarged to poster size and it hangs in our basement, so that I see of often. It is a bit sharper than the image here, but very similar--just much larger. I tried one trip doing some slides but never got into that at all. Don't want a slide show and don't want music to my photos. For the first 30 years of canoe-tripping I made photo albums from every trip with readable narrative pages. Got my first digital camera in 2002, and in 2004 I carried both cameras to see what I liked best. I really do like photographing with digital and switched over after that. Since 2010 I have made all of my books online on Snapfish and they are much less unwieldy than the albums, so we tend to look at them more. Just a few canoe trip books, many books from Spartan football game Bowl Trips, yearly "Grandchild Vacations" with each of our two grandchildren, and many cruises in interesting places all over the world. LOTS OF BOOKS!! It is my labor of love, and it breaks my heart that my vision is now fading so photography has become "point and shoot", usually from my cell phone.
Sorry. TMI.
But thank you, anyway, for the compliment on the photo. It was nice to hear that someone else likes it. I could never be objective about this photo as it has too many sentiments and memories attached.
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05/18/2025 07:36AM |
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05/18/2025 12:33AM |
My tops at the moment….
1. Watching the joy my kid experienced catching their personal best SMB after being blanked for two days. Nothing better than that.
2. A refreshing nighttime group swim on Mountain Lake floating on our backs watching stars on a clear August night after a long day traveling from Rose Lake.
3. My first ever trip holds special memories from before we even started paddling…that shuttle by Anderson Outfitters thru Vermillion/LLC to bottle portage was something special, especially riding out front on the boat while Mark expertly navigated the river. Also very memorable was experiencing Curtain Falls and Rebecca Falls on that trip.
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05/18/2025 01:32AM |
1. First trip was to Quetico when I was 16 with my friend's dad who brought us to the site right on Chatterton Falls. Flashbulb memory of catching the biggest bass of my life on my first cast.
2. Watching my 4 year old daughter pump water with her aunt in the pouring rain on Pine. Powerful moment.
3. Experiencing the my first pictographs on Fishdance.
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05/18/2025 08:03PM |
I’ll throw another one out there. My nephew’s very first trip. I got him all set up for trolling to try to catch a lake trout. He’d never experience anything like it. Within 1/2 an hour, he had caught one. The look on his face for the next three hours was unforgettable. That was ten years ago. He (and two other nephews) is going again in August.
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05/21/2025 09:25AM |
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05/19/2025 01:47PM |
(1) We were in the narrows on Jordan Lake (as I recall). A young bull moose was up on the bank and clearly wanted to come down to the water. I was worried about how our dog would react. She stayed still and quiet, so I dug out my camera; this is in the days of film, mind you. I have a photo of that big moose on the bank, entering the water, and then swimming across the narrows! I still have the 3 pics in a frame on the wall. Miss that good canoe camping dog.
(2) We had an exchange student from Germany about a decade ago. Along with two of our friends, we took her and a school friend to the BW (and 3 dogs). We based camped on Fourtown. They were so proud of their tent set up! We watched wildlife, explored logging camp artifacts, hiked an old RR grade, swam (some, not I, the water was bloody cold), ate well, watched beautiful sunsets, laughed, napped, ... It was a very new experience for her, and she loved it. After, I asked her what her favorite thing was. She stated that she felt good about carrying "BIG BLUE" [our largest portage pack] across the portages. :)
(3) The wildlife encounters, of course, are peak -- from bear to moose, otter, wolves, all the flora and fauna. That said, many many years ago I was day tripping from our basecamp with a good friend. We happened upon what I'll call a very intense/spiritual/cultural sight; it was at once somber and serene.
We refer to our beloved BW a "wilderness" area, and indeed it is. And yet, I'm reminded that this region was home to many who long predate me. I hope it remains protected and cared for and appreciated and preserved for those who come along next.
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05/21/2025 08:09AM |
1. We had finished supper on Trail Lake (along the Louse River route). Sitting on a log down by the lake as dusk settled on the lake, the mosquitoes started to appear in droves. Just as we were about to head in, the dragonflies started to appear. Within a few minutes, the air was filled with the buzzing of both mosquitoes and a squadron of dragonflies in a pitched aerial battle. Soon the air was clear of mosquitoes and the dragonflies also retreated. There was a second smaller attack by the mosquitoes a few minutes latter. The dragonflies again appeared and finished off the second attack. It was like sitting in a scene out of Midsummer Night's Dream with the faeries flitting about. Totally magically.
2. I was up before everyone else in a campsite on Cherokee Lake. I sat totally still on a rock shelf by the shore watching the sun rise across the lake. As I sat, there came a stealthy movement to my right. Soon a pine martin appeared and proceeded to search the kitchen area for anything that might have been dropped from last evening's meal. I watched until I could no longer see the marten out of my peripheral vision. I moved my head ever so slightly. The marten was immediately on alert. It scampered over a log and finally was in a place to catch my scent. It eyed me warily from behind the sitting log and finally decided to make a retreat out the back of my camp.
3. It was a rainy day in June. The three of us were paddling the Lady Lakes chain. As we approached the portage from the river to Grace Lake there is a large pool just off the falls. There we watched as a ballet of something that kept showing itself in the water. Only a very small flick of a back. We finally realized we were watching otters feeding in the pool. The noise from the falls and the rain had masked our approach. We floated closer as our momentum carried us into the pool. They slowly became aware of our presence and soon it all stopped.
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05/20/2025 06:14PM |
It was 1992, on a chilly June/July 22-day trip that was our "trip of a lifetime". Our first trip off the Gunflint. And it was the last morning. We were camped on Caribou Lake, so this would just be a "wakeup" morning before ending the trip at Rockwood Lodge. We had camped early enough that we could have made it back that afternoon, but we thoroughly enjoyed the campsite and our last meal in the BWCA. At dawn, Spartan1 got up and started a little "junk fire" (pine) just to warm things up a bit while he watched the sunrise. He let me sleep in for a little while, and when I climbed out of the tent this is the sight I saw. He was watching a loon out on the calm water, and it occasionally called softly. I joined him and we made coffee and savored the sunrise scene together, filled with sadness that our "Long Trip" adventure was ending. After the mist had cleared we retired to the tent to snuggle and warm up before packing to get on our way. I cried all the way across the Lizz-Poplar portage, and at the end we toasted our trip with the dregs of our blackberry brandy. Then we paddled down to the end of Poplar Lake and had our lunch at Trail Center, before finally paddling to Rockwood Lodge to end our trip. A bittersweet moment to be a favorite, perhaps? But I love this photo more than almost any other of my hundreds of canoe trip photos because when I look at it I can smell the smoke, and hear the loon, and I always feel so thankful.
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05/21/2025 09:31AM |
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05/21/2025 10:27AM |
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05/19/2025 03:27PM |
20 years ago now, I was guiding a church group of 15 year-old boys who spotted some cliffs that looked inviting to jump from. After scouting everything and determining this would be a safe spot to do so, we put the canoes ashore to hike up the cliff, the edge of which was about 12'-15' above the water.
While all of the boys were of the same age, there was one who was notably a "late bloomer" and physicaly smaller than the others. He was rather intimidated by this drop to the water and while the other kids eagerly took their jump, (some twice, before we moved on) he hesitated. I tried counseling him that if he was not comfortable jumping, there was no reason that he should and to not do so if he had ANY qualms about it. Of course the other boys weren't helping any by egg-ing him on to "just do it" and telling him to go for it 'cause it was no big deal. He stood there for an extended time trying to decide (I wanted it to be his decision) and, to my relief, ultimately chose to NOT jump. I later noted that he was figuratively hanging his head a bit as we paddled away, feeling dissapointed in himself for "chickening out".
As we carried our gear across the next portage he and I had a private moment where he mentioned that he was sorry for not going through with the jump. I countered that in fact I was pretty impressed with him for what had just gone down and that he should be proud of himself for what he decided. He had stood firm in doing what was right for himself and had not succumbed to some significant peer presure. I told him that in my eyes, that showed some pretty good maturity. I further said that he'd likely be faced with more and similar decisions soon where he'd have to trust his gut in spite of the outside influence he was getting and with what I'd seen, I was confident that he'd do just fine in those situations as well.
This definately brightened his mood and in the next few days I even sensed that he was assuming somewhat of a leadership role among these boys. I thought to my self, "This is why we take these trips!"
Today he seems to be doing quite well with a successful career, a nice home and a beautiful young family. I like to think that the BWCA trip 20 years ago, in some small way, helped get him there and that's why this moment will always stand out for me as a trip favorite.
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05/21/2025 08:47AM |
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05/21/2025 11:41AM |
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05/21/2025 12:54PM |
1- Walleye fishing on Insula with my dad. We were consistently catching walleyes in the late afternoon, and we looked up to see something moving long the shoreline. We didn't know what it was at first, but as we got closer, we realized it was some kind of cat. With the coloring, we initially thought it was a bobcat. When we got home and looked a bit closer, we realized it was a Canadian Lynx- the massive paws gave it away. We quietly sat for quite some time just watching the lynx and it watching us, until it sprang up so effortlessly and into the woods. I know they don't eat humans- but I was cautious at camp that night!
2- leaving a PMA and entering lake 2 with my dad. We were covered in mud and pretty battered after climbing over beaver dams and bushwhacking through. First canoe we saw was a woman in all white with a nice white sun hat who said hello- and we looked down at our muddy selves and just laughed. We must have been quite a sight!
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05/18/2025 08:45AM |
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05/19/2025 11:24AM |
Most recently I was paddling along the shoreline with our dog and we paddled right past a doe bedded down on the river bank. The doe stood up and you could tell she had been sleeping. The dog just watched quietly and I avoided eye contact. The doe took about five quick steps to get away since we surprised her but then she just stopped and looked calm when she realized that we were no threat at all.
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05/17/2025 09:13PM |
Watching a snapping turtle methodically hunting the shallow bay by our campsite on Cherokee. He also climbed up and down an extremely steep rock face. That trip had a lot of other turtle encounters, too.
And...spending 30 minutes watching a bull moose feeding.
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05/18/2025 07:53PM |
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05/12/2025 03:58PM |
1. My brother-in-law and I sat on the huge slab of granite that rises above the water at the 5-star campsite on McIntyre Lake in Quetico. Our sons were paddling off to do some late night fishing across the lake. On that outcropping, which was still retaining heat from the day, as the sun set and the stars came out in amazing numbers, we listened to the boys having a ball together in the inky blackness across the lake. And we finished off the last of the bourbon from blue enamel tin cups. (All the while, "Testament of a Fisherman" went through my head.)
2. Sitting on the shore of the campsite at the bend where Sarah Lake opens up, we talked with our kids and quietly let each other know that two moose were standing at the top of our campsite, looking down at us.
3. Reading my son's college admission essay -- a beautifully told story of a few of our BW trips. I reflected with pride on how magical the trips had been for him, and how they played a role in helping him on his journey to become a really good man.
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05/21/2025 11:13PM |
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07/10/2025 08:45AM |
Magnumb: "
#3- Pooping in my uncle Ken's shoe that sat directly outside his tent. Boy was he pissed that morning:) Till this day he doesn't know it was me "
Lol - WTF?
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07/10/2025 09:08PM |
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07/10/2025 08:46AM |
2. The first series of partages on my first ever trip through Cam and Gasket up to Cherokee. I remember just being in awe the entire day.
3. Late night with the guys on Crystal in August of 2000, just staying up sipping whiskey, smoking cigars and shooting the bull til the early morn.
4. Early morning Lake Trout on Kekekabic, fog, cool air, high cliffs and calm water. Amazing morning.
5. First time through the basswood falls and crooked are also burned into memory.
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07/10/2025 11:46AM |
My brother and I trying to cross LLC to see the pictograms on a rainy, windy October day. Hadn't seen another soul in days. Half way across, the waves and wind were too much and we had to do a U-turn and take shelter behind an island. It was pretty hairy.
Found a sheltered bay to warm up, rest and celebrate not dying.
The sun came out and I cast off the point to catch my first ever BWCA fish. Little did I know that the fish was hooked for only a few seconds and I was hooked for life.
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07/10/2025 10:20AM |
- youngest son, in the bow with me, catching a 28" walleye on his Zebco, when he was 8. His 10 year old brother was in the bow with my buddy and they were on another part of the lake. When we hooked back up and lifted up the stringer to show them, my 10 year old was more happy for his brother than if he would have caught it. A very favorite trip moment. We then released the walleye.
- my oldest son, now about 18, is in the bow on Cherry. He hooks into something big and brings up a 32" walleye. My brothers and sons are in two other canoes so we get everyone back to camp to take some pics and measurements and video the release. Still a great memory.
- we love our shore lunches. My oldest son was 11 or 12 and couldn't wait for his plate of fish and garlic and chive mashed potatoes. We divided up the chow and everyone started eating and doing the Mmm, Mmm (think Robin Williams in "What about Bob"). My son gets quiet and I look over and he had dropped his plate and the food was covered with pine needles. He didn't get mad, he picked up the fish, dusted off the pine needles and finished his meal. To his dad it was a sign of taking another step in the maturity process.
- My buddy and I got up for early morning fishing. We were staying at the beach site just past the narrows on Malberg. We dropped the food pack which had been hung on the famous hanging tree at that site. The boys, now 12 and 14 said they would be getting up to fish so leave the pack down. When we came back from fishing they told us the following:
a bear came and took the pack before they got out of the tent. They heard him take it into the woods so they got canoe paddles and followed. They saw the bear sitting by a tree on his butt going through the food. He turned his head, and my oldest said that it was a look that said "you better get out of here". So they backed out, came out looking for us but never found us. They came back to camp, checked on the bear and he was gone. They grabbed the torn up seal pack and the food that was left over and high tailed it back to camp. The only food that the bear ate were all the sweets - cookies, jam, peanut butter, maple syrup and candy. He left the rest so we were able to finish our trip with no more visits from Yogi. Thankfully, a good memory
These are just a few but every year, every trip, every picture leaves some great moments. I especially believe this as I get older and the trips remaining are probably in the single digits.
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07/09/2025 02:02PM |
#2- Paddling back to camp during a storm and coming around a point where the waves are just crashing into us and paddling as hard as possible to make it around that point...then shortly after jumping into the water to take a relaxing swim near our site while it's still raining
#3- Pooping in my uncle Ken's shoe that sat directly outside his tent. Boy was he pissed that morning:) Till this day he doesn't know it was me
#4- The portage trail between Clark and Loon. The smell of pine, the beautiful trail and reward at the end of beautiful lake
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07/09/2025 02:51PM |
The picture of the lynx definitely got me. I have a picture like that of a caribou but that was a lot farther north in Manitoba.
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07/09/2025 03:57PM |