Boundary Waters - October 2004

Plan:

Location:

Maps:

Area Map	Full Route

Description:	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7	Total
GPS Tracks					Rest
Topo Maps					Rest
Portage (miles)	1.16	0.8	0.44	0	0	0.91	0.83	4 to 5
Paddle (miles)	8.75	7.1	11.1	10.4	0	6.0	2.8	46 to 47
Paddle Time								17 hours
Avg Boat Speed								2.8 mph

Planned Route (not that much different)

Day 1

Tony's "weed-out" day. This was probably our toughest. Rain, sleet, hail, and snow, all in the first day. A lot of paddling, and a lot of portaging. Not to mention learning the little tricks of canoeing, including how not to tip over a canoe - the hard way. I pointed the canoe straight into shore, thinking I would set the front end up on land. Don't do this. The front end is a "V" shape and it will just tip one way or the other. We had some gear fall out and get wet. I thought I lost another GPS but looked at the bottom of the boat, half filled with water, and found it plotting away (good thing I bought the water proof version). Hey, but all of this is what makes a trip so much fun :) This was also our first look at all the tree, at their peak of color. We also encountered very few people and bugs, more reasons why we choose this time of year.

Day 2

A light dusting of snow on the tent in the morning. Coffee and a fire were first priorities. This was the day we saw the most bald eagles. At one point, there must have been 10 or 15 circling above us. We got a little bit of a late start. So that night, we camped a couple miles early on our route.

Day 3

Because we missed it the day before, we took a short side trip up to see Rebecca Falls (map, picture). We also portaged around Curtain Falls (map, picture). At some point during the day, I realized I left my hiking boots at camp! I had put them by the fire to dry, and just missed them when we left. So I was in aqua socks for the rest of the trip. But the aqua socks were great and turned out to be all I needed with all of the in-and-out of the boat we did.
The weather that day was still windy, making the water choppy. So again, we were a little behind schedule and camped at a different spot. All the camps were excellent, so I don't think we missed out on anything. Steve and I did some fishing that evening. Steve caught our only edible fish of the trip (Small Mouth Bass), but not without a little drama. While trying to tie it up, he lost his grip on the line and it swam away! We looked in the water and the line was caught up on a rock. So Steve immediately started to strip and went in after it. He waded in with me holding one hand and got his prize back. It made a nice little appetizer for dinner that night.

Day 4

This was a very nice day. No wind, so the water was like glass. We passed by Table Rock (map), an old camp site, and Picture Rock (map) with Indian drawings. Some real nice canoeing and we were able to catch up on our route. We even had time for a bath. We stayed two nights at a great camp sight right near Lower Basswood Falls (map, picture).

Day 5

Ah, our day off. Another great day. This time, with nothing to do but hang out in the hammock, and maybe a little fishing.

Day 6

Just as predicted, it had rained a little the night before. It didn't rain too much while we were out paddling, but the winds were crazy. Coming out onto Horse Lake, the winds hit us so hard they pushed Steve and I up against the shore and wouldn't let go (note our tracks on the map). We had to hug the shore until our next portage. Tin Can Mike Lake wasn't as bad, but still windy. The tree colors along this route were amazing. That night, after setting up camp, the rain got more serious. Steve was in charge of setting up and maintaining the fire each night, and the rain didn't stop him. A little more smoke than usual, but we had a fire that night. Tony made the last of his Summer Sausage Surprize - a killer snack he made each night.

Day 7

A nice, easy day for our last. A couple of long portages, but nothing we couldn't handle by now. Note the puffy eyes of Pa Ohrazda - he survived the week with a sinus infection. A challenging, but truly awesome trip. It ended at Chain Saw Sisters Saloon. We had a beer while waiting for our driver to show up - who had more beers waiting in a cooler. I love Minnesota.