Day 1 of 8
Friday, August 14, 2020 I wake up a year older. Thankful for another opportunity to go to the Boundary Waters with family and friends. 3 of my 10 year old nephews are joining the adventure this year. My older brother Matt and his son Noah are rendezvousing at my house. With them, are a couple of friends. One of which has never experienced the greatness of the BWCAW. As I say my goodbyes to my wife and young daughter I don't feel near as much nervousness as prior years. This year I have a garmin in-reach. The Covid situation and taking 3 ten year olds finally was enough reason for me to spend the money to have the ability to know how our families were doing and vice versa. Anyway, 7 souls made the trip to Orr, Mn. We ate some Dam decent food at the Dam restaurant after checking into North Country Inn. The Inn seemed quite clean, friendly owner, and the hummingbird feeders on the windows of the rooms are a nice touch. We wanted to fish from their dock but a fierce T-storm moved through that evening. We were thankful we chose the 15th as our entry day.
Day 2 of 8
Saturday, August 15, 2020 The real fun begins. We head for Crane Lake and utilize Zup's for a tow to Snow Bay. Zup's were thankful for our business and we were thankful for the tow. We left Crane lake around 7:30 am. We had our canoes in the water and loaded in Snow Bay LLC at 9:30 am. It was a beautiful day with a tailwind so we wanted to get somewhere around the Lady Boot Bay area for a few days. Two ten year olds sat side by side in a our WeNoNah Seneca and one ten year old sat on the yoke of our Sundowner. The boys were eager to fish. We rigged up 3 poles with a deep diving Berkley shad rap of their choosing. Somewhere around 41 and 27 island on LLC their persistence produced the first fish of the trip and it was a beauty! After a nice fight my nephew Brody landed a nice 26" walleye. After spending quite a bit of time trying unsuccessfully to revive the fish we decided to cook it with our steaks for supper. By the time we reached our campsite all the nephews had hooked into at least one fish trolling (Average smallmouth and northerns). We beached our canoes on the North side of campsite:150 @ 2:30 pm. Campsite is as described by others. There is plenty of poison ivy to note along with plenty of traces of humans (nails in trees, live cuttings, table bound together with paracord and nails, a decent sized steel artifact submerged in south bay). We had two tents and 2 hammocks set up here. The boys played and fished on the south side of camp. They noted seeing a snapping turtle. We then cooked up some fish appetizers before having steak with mac and cheese.
Day 3 of 8
Sunday, August 16, 2020 Ate a quicker style breakfast after everyone was up. We usually have the option of oatmeal, cliff bars, wraps with your choice of PB, Jelly, and/or Nutella. Got out fishing around 8:15 am for a few hours. Caught some smallys, northerns, and at least one walleye. Kids enjoyed the beaches the site had to offer. They again noted seeing the snapper. We ate a bunch of spaghetti with 2 lbs. of meat. The boys fished as we cleaned up camp to head out in search of some lake trout. While doing dishes, my nephew Noah casted a Berkley Flicker Shad within striking range of the turtle. "Turtle on"...Matt scolded him a bit initially as we hurried over to the action thinking of how best to extract a hook safely from the old snapper. Either way the fight was on. As the snapper entered the shallows the hook came out immediately when the snapper opened it's powerful mouth. Turtle man Travis got a quick photo op with the beast. Noah was stoked and it made for a good story and good laugh. Went out fishing and did have some luck, but no lake trout. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset as we headed back to camp for the night. Hot chocolate for the boys and crown royal apple for myself when we returned. I reccomend at least a 750ml for 6 night trip.
Day 5 of 8
Monday, August 17, 2020 Fishing again around 8-8:30 am. We worked our way east towards fish stake narrows and took a break around 11 at campsite 167. We fished our way back to camp and arrived a bit before 2pm. Ended up keeping a couple walleye and a northern to eat. Threw back a few northerns and bass. Had a relaxing day at camp with fish and chili to eat. We cleaned up camp and utilized the last couple hours of daylight fishing for a LLC laker once more. My brother managed to hook into a nice fish in deeper water but got off before we could catch a glimpse. No LLC laker for us. Did catch another nice sunset though.
Day 7 of 8
Tuesday, August 18, 2020 I woke up around 6am and started packing up to head towards Finger Lake. 8:30 am we were fed, packed up, and canoes loaded. Paddled to Pocket Creek / Pocket Lake around 10am, Finger Creek / Finger Lake. The lake was vacant of other humans so we opted for island campsite 107 @ about 1130 am. We've stopped here for a break on a previous trip and were hoping to have the opportunity to stay at this site. Not a lot of good tent pads. Ended up sticking the kids tent right next to the large boulder with the hand prints. The boys had a good time fishing and swimming. They were up for awhile talking and laughing. The last time I strolled over to their tents to tell them to get to bed I heard some talk that really disappointed me. I made it real clear that the conversion was over and it was bedtime.
Day 9 of 8
Day 5, September 13. Daylight in the swamp and our lay-over at Beaver.
Morning breaks under a gray sky and cold rain patters on the fly. Crap again. Ummm, didn’t we just do this on Malberg? We dinked around camp, drank several pots of coffee and watched the wind rise. This ain’t gonna keep us in camp. We packed the day packs and headed for the portage into Fisher.
Fisher Lake was not inviting and sat in a very gloomy (somewhat depressing) setting. Maybe it was due to the rain and wind. About 90% of the shoreline was covered in “dog hair” thickets of cedar. We paddled the entire perimeter of the lake (against the wind to the west and riding the wind back). The only campsite is situated under a heavy canopy of cedar and it had a rather dark and gloomy feel. The fire pit (under a layer of cedar duff) had not seen use in a long time. The latrine did not look like a latrine, but more like a developed “spring house”. Water filled the pit and was clear right to the gravel bottom. If not for the fiberglass throne on top, you might be tempted to dip a cup.
On the way to the portage we picked up a couple fish and decided, time for supper. For most of the day, it has rained and has been windy. Before supper we had an appetizer of fresh fish. Supper was prepared after dark, and the rain showers let up. We got our fire started, ate, poured our ration of Scotch, and (with full bellies) had it pretty good. Actually, it was a relaxing day in spite of the rain, but hoping for a better day tomorrow. This is our third day without seeing another soul.
Matthew takes great pride in his campfire skills, and the first photo shows the condition of the fire grate when we arrived at camp. The 2nd photo shows the fire grate after Matthew's stone work. A well constructed stone wall around the fire grate keeps the fire in place and also directs the heat to those who need it (us). Also the rocks make great places to put pans and dishes while cooking on the grate (before the evening fire).
Additional photos show: 3) fish, and 4) Beaver Lake NW
Day 11 of 8
Day 13 of 8
Friday, August 21, 2020 7am we break camp. We finish the Fat Lake to Slim Lake portage around 830 am. Two adults double portaged. Slim Lake had one group of campers. Slim lake side of the portage to Little Loon was muddy in spots. Muddy as in one spot I stepped in resulted in me sinking to my groin. The Duluth pack had to be taken off me for me to get out. Other than that it went well. The boys were doing great taking smaller packs and miscellaneous items. We were on Little Loon around 915am. A nephew hooked up with a pike trolling. Many campsites were being utilized on Loon Lake. We reached Devils Cascade around 1145 am. The boys did well again attacking the Devilish portage. Finished this off with a couple of us double portaging at about 1230 pm. One group was having lunch there, another was site seeing, and the campsite was open at the time. We forged on veering East on Lower Pauness then headed for the short portage into Upper Pauness. 2 campsites were occupied that we saw along the way. Had a pleasant paddle down LIS River meeting 3 groups a long the way. We loaded up and headed for the showers and a good meal at Voyagaire Lodge in Crane Lake
Another great experience in the Wilderness. I think it helped the boys end their summer/covid break on a high note before school resumed. I truly hope this wilderness is left pristine for future generations. I gain a new appreciation for the information I recieve from this site every year. Keep planning that next trip. Dreams make life tolerable.
