Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Sep 2016 Trip 2

Faithful readers will remember that we did an easy 8-day trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness last month.  On August 29 we put in for another even easier 8-day trip.  In addition to our long time paddling partners, we were joined by Jim and Ann and Sunshine, a relative of Matilda.

We put in at Moose Lake and paddled through Moose Lake, Newfound Lake, Sucker Lake and into Birch Lake, where we camped on one site for the duration.  A dam was built at Prairie Portage in 1902 by a logging company which raised the level of these connected lakes by about 15 feet.  That meant no portages.   YEAH!!!

Group photo at Moose Lake put-in

The weather forecast for the day of our put in was terrible: rain and storms.  As it turned out the actual weather was much nicer than the forecast.  We enjoyed a mild tail wind all the way to Birch Lake, and it didn't rain on us until after we made camp and had dinner.

Loading up at Moose Lake put-in

There is always a bit of chaos when we put in.  "Hey, where's the toilet paper???"  "Hey, have seen my sunscreen???"

Matilda is ready to go

Hey girls, smile for the camera

Where's Dorcas?

Finally, a canoe dog picture not featuring Matilda.  Meet Sunshine, Matilda's auntie.

Lunch break on Newfound Lake

Lounging at camp on Birch Lake

We had great weather all week except for the first day and the last.  Temperatures ranged from highs in the mid 70s to lows around 50.  On our coldest night the temperature plunged to 46.

Sunset on Birch Lake

A common loon on Birch Lake

A brace of common mergansers

Our American symbol

We saw a lot of eagles on our camp.  Well, actually I think we saw a few eagles a lot of times.  There was a pair with at least 2 immature eagles hanging out. They were frequently flying overhead and fed on some rocks across the lake.

Jim's circus tent: big enough for 6 adults, 2 dogs and all our gear

Lounging at camp ... again

Another view from camp

Wayne cooking the bacon

It's a wonder Matilda ever falls out of the boat

A beautiful sunset

Dorcas enjoying some hammock time

The ladies doing yoga by the lake.  Sunshine and Matilda are helping.

We burn a lot of wood

Where did everybody go?

One day we battled back across Birch Lake and up to Prairie Portage.  Prairie Portage is a border crossing and entry point to Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario.  There is a ranger station there as well as a store selling t-shirts, hats and patches.  We also got a weather forecast there for the next day, the day we paddle back to Moose Lake and take out.  It was an ugly forecast.

The ladies are going shopping

Dorcas and the ranger at Prairie Portage

Many lakes in the BWCAW share a border with Canada.  Monuments such as this one are common.

These guys were apparently excited about returning to the USA

We saw a LOT of boats on Birch Lake

A dreary morning.

It rained for a bit the last night of our trip, but it later cleared up and the stars came out.  It started raining again during breakfast but we could all huddle under Jim's super tarp.  We packed up mostly in the rain, but by the time we left camp it had pretty much stopped.

The winds were predicted to be heavy and out of the SW, a headwind for this leg of our trip.  The winds were light when we started, but, as the forecast predicted, rose to about 15 MPH as we paddled.  The last hour or two of our trip was against a heavy wind and waves approaching whitecaps. 

Catching a tow

Motor boats are allowed on Moose, Newfound and Sucker Lakes, the three lake leading to Prairie Portage and Birch Lake.  Many folk catch a "tow" from Moose Lake to Prairie Portage to save about 7 miles of paddling to Quetico.

The map below traces our trip from Moose Lake to Birch Lake

This map details our day trips on Birch Lake and to Prairie Portage.

Overall we had a great trip.  Fishing was extremely slow.  This is the only trip in 20 years where we haven't cooked fish.   Our total distance paddled was 28 miles including day trips.