Boundary Waters Canoe Area 2010

Posted by joel on August 30, 2010

Jeremy invited me about three months to join them on a trip to the Boundary Waters for a canoe trip. Having no real idea what to expect, I checked my calendar and talked it over with Beth who gave me the green light. The trip would consist of six guys: Adam, Steve, Josh, Dale, Jeremy, and myself. Josh was the coordinator and did a lot of the prep work for the trip including: arranging the canoe and other sundries needed for the trip. Given that the trip would consist of three days canoeing and a total of 27 miles including numerous portages he made the right decision when choosing the Kevlar canoes.

Dale and I left Wausau to meet up with Josh and Jeremy in Hammond, WI at Josh’s house and proceed North to the Boundary Waters. We met the first night at [Kawishawi Lake Campground].

Having driven the route along Lake Superior in the past I anticipated a lot of windshield time – 7 hours. There were definitely a couple of us who didn’t realize how removed we were from civilization. That wouldn’t become clear until we drive out on the last day when fuel on the Escalade turned critical. The Kawishiwi Lake Campground has a total of five sites which were all filled when we got there at 9pm. Since the sites are first come first serve, the six of us had to make our own campsite! I spotted a place on the beach that was somewhat slanted but allowed us to setup a place to sleep.

Here are the videos I took on the trip as well. [BWCA Aug 2010]

Thursday morning, we awoke to a very picturesque view of the lake as fog covered the lake, the moon cascaded light onto the lake, and feeling was very serene.

Since our start and finish location was to be different we had to move a vehicle to the finish point to get two drivers to shuffle vehicles. As Jeremy and I waited for the shuffling to complete, Jeremy decided he would practice his fishing prowess. Here he is after just catching a fish without any bait, just a hook and bobber.

The first day of paddling was a learning experience for Jeremy and I. Neither one of us had done much in the way of paddling in the past and it showed. We lagged behind, made numerous turning mistakes as we navigated the tight channels between lakes, and couldn’t hold a line. Though, later that night after setting up camp, Josh spent some canoe time with Jeremy that helped correct the lagging. I think that once the output up front improved I was able to correct steering as well.

Thursday consisted of about four or five portages. Jeremy and I also needed to figure out the best method portaging the canoe and packs. By the end of the day we found that having one person carry the two packs weighing roughly 100lbs and the other person carry the canoe weighing roughly 45lbs was our best approach. Early on we tried alternating canoe + pack for one person which didn’t work well for us.

Making camp Thursday, we had a great spot atop a rock at the point of a peninsula that pointed toward an island about 400 yards away. We arrived at the site about 1:30 and which allowed us to prepare a nice camp for the remainder of the day/eve. Each individual gravitated toward taking on certain roles for the site. For example, I was took on the role of pumping water. For those of you who don’t know how this works it consists of a hand pump with an intake and output hose. With the first half of the pump stroke water is taken and purified. On the 2nd half of the pump stroke water is pushed out as purified water for drinking. This process is essential to prevent sickness most specifically from Coliform and bacteria.

Friday morning we off kind of late because Adam was feeling that well from a few to many beverages the night before. Most of our alcohol was consumed in the form of vodka mixed with lake water and kool-aid or crystal light. Although Thursday night we had the luxury of box wine that Steve and Adam brought along. Sufficed to say between six of us took care of the Vella box wine – vintage 2009.  As we started Friday, we all felt fortunate that the weather was great and hoped it would continue – which it did for the duration of the trip.

Saturday was going to be the hardest paddle and portage days and the wind picked up and we had to do a total of 8 portages with 4 greater than 90 rods. Our final portage to the camp site for Saturday night we prefaced by an extensive paddle into a strong headwind for about a mile. There were a few moments when whitecap would come up and you wondered to yourself if it would tip the canoe.

All and all the trip was amazing from every angle.

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