We put in the BWCAW on August 19 at Little Indian Sioux entry point and took out 14 days later at the same point. We have used this entry several times before and had intended to travel basically the same route Dorcas and I did when we went by ourselves in 2011. We had planned to make a leisurely loop with plenty of layover days. At our second camp we all realized that we weren't as young and fit as we used to be, and that the portages were longer and steeper than they used to be. Consequently, we shortened our planned route considerably to make an easier trip. Ultimately we had a LOT of layover days. We made a total of 4 camps: 1 night on Upper Pauness Lake, 3 nights on East Loon Bay, 3 nights on Heritage Lake and 6 nights on Lynx Lake.
The weather was moderately cool; much the way we remember it being the first few years we came out here. Most days the highs were in the mid 70s and the lows were in the mid 50s. One night it did get down to 42 degrees. That was the good news. The bad news is we had more rainy and windy days than during most of our trips. This put a damper on some of those layover days, and we spent more days on shore, rather than fishing and exploring, than we would have liked.
Our longest paddle day was actually our last day as we made our way from Camp 4 to the Little Indian Sioux River Entry Point. That day was also a dreary day, and we were soaked in a down pour within 100' of the take out. To add insult to injury we had a flat tire on the Element and had to carry our gear an extra hundred yards since we couldn't move the car. Thankfully, I was able to inflate the tire with a portable compressor I carry in the car and then limp into Ely for repairs.
We drove back to Fall Lake where we found our motor home in the same condition as we left it (always a concern). We checked into the camp ground and took much needed showers.
The next day was sunny and clear, and we were able to spread out all our gear before packing it all up for our trip south. We had a a nice dinner at the Chocolate Moose, a tradition for us.
For those that missed it last year, click here for a detailed description of our Boundary Waters techniques.
And finally, here are some pictures:
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| Our put-in at Little Indian Sioux River |
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| Our route |
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| We love our new chairs!!! |
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| Chef Wayne cooking the fish |
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| A dreary day on the lake |
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| A dreary day at camp |
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| Ducks on the pond |
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| The day's catch |
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| This lamprey was attached to a Northern pike I caught. He immediately dropped off the pike and fell into the boat when he figured out all was not well. |
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| Like a mirror. A rare calm evening. |
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| Matilda says "Hurry up .... let's go." |
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| Matilda says "Hurry up .... let's go." |
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| Matilda chillin' out at camp |
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| A smallish Northern pike .... Certainly not a trophy catch. But hey .... it's a fish! |
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| A sloppy portage path. Actually a beaver dam backed the water up over the trail. |
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| A fair-sized small mouth bass |
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| Wayne and Lynda enjoying the view from camp |
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| A 5-star Boundary Waters kitchen |
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| What are y'all looking at? |
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| Another glorious sunset |
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