Out of the Frigid Wilderness

We made it out of the wilderness alive once again.  Last year we set a personal record for the easiest trip ever into the Boundary Waters.  Last year we had only 4 short portages and only 2 camps.  This year we bested our previous record.  We had zero portages and only one camp.  That's right folks; we paddled about 3 1/2 miles directly to a 5 star campsite on an island on the south end of Lake One and never moved again until we paddled out 14 days later.  Oh, we paddled around the lake quite a bit but never portaged and never moved our camp. It's so decadent it's probably illegal. 

Our only portage: about 15 rods from the car to the put-in

It was like Grand Central Station at the Lake One canoe access 

The obligatory group photo at the put-in

Matilda is raring to go

The forecast was for frigid temperatures

Dorcas says "I think we go that way!"

Matilda says "Are you sure?"

While looking for a good camp site Wayne and Lynda went south, where another paddler had told them there was an excellent site at the end of an island.  Dorcas and I went east to check out a camp we had stayed on 2 years before. I was fishing and distracted and didn't see which way Wayne and Lynda went.  We became separated, but eventually we found our way back to Wayne and Lynda and made camp on the island. 

Our camp as seen from the water

We set up a rain tarp, just in case

Matilda says "Life is hard!"

Two years ago Dorcas and I put in on Lake One and camped for most of our trip in Lake Three.  On that trip we had a bear in our camp at least one night.  According to this notice there was a bear roaming the area this year and hitting camp sites.  However, we had no bear encounter this trip.

We are especially proud of our bear bag lines.  While we have had bears in our camp on several occasions, they have never succeeded in stealing our food.  That is not the case with a number of other campers we have talked to.

Hang 'em high!

"That's a mighty fine bear line! 

More so than bears, the bigger threat was the rodents.  The chipmunks, red squirrels and mice were exceptionally aggressive.  More than once they stole food from our kitchen while we weren't looking.

One squirrel stole a spoon with grits residue on it and carried it off into the woods.  After 3 days of searching I finally caught a squirrel and tortured him, and he gave up the location of the spoon.

I got my spoon back!!!

Fishing was very good the whole trip.  Dorcas and I caught fish every time we went out.

Fishing can be dangerous.  While trying to land a northern pike he flopped, and I drove the hook into the meat of my hand between my left thump and forefinger.  If you are squeamish about such things you might want to skip the next few photos.

Initially the hook went only partially through my hand.  It was impossible to pull it out the way it went in because the barb was well imbedded.  The only other option was to push the hook on through, cut off the shank and pull it out by the point.   Ouch!!!

Dorcas was unable to help me because she was in the other end of the boat.  She was also practically useless because she was screaming and going into shock.

Pushing the hook through was much more difficult than I would have thought.  Besides the pain and gore, it had passed through not just skin, but muscle or other tough tissue.  It took all the strength I could muster to push the end of the hook through.  Finally the point came through and I was able to pull it on out by the barb with a pair of fishing pliers. I had a first aid kit in the boat, and I was able to treat the wound with some hand sanitizer and Neosporin and cover it with a bandage.  When we got back to shore I flushed it with hydrogen peroxide.  

The next day another paddler stopped by our camp to ask for directions to the portage into Lake Two.  It turns out he is a PA.  Dorcas and Lynda were talking to him down at the landing, telling him about my injury, and getting it all wrong.  He was giving medical advice, and I could overhear the conversation. Finally, I went down to the landing to set the record straight.  I figured if he was going to provide a diagnosis and treatment regimen, he should at least examine the patient.  Of course the biggest concern was infection, but after 24 hours the wound looked remarkably unremarkable,  We did have some Cipro, which might have been effective in the event of an infection.  The PA recommended I take a course of Cipro, but ultimately I chose not to.  It healed very quickly with no ill effects.  Thankfully my tetanus inoculation is current.

The PA was the first of at least three parties that were lost and asked us for directions to the portage into Lake Two.  Most paddlers enter at the access at Lake One and head to the portage that takes them to Lakes Two, Three and Four, and maybe beyond.  However, Lake One has a lot of islands and it can be confusing.  We were in a corner of the Lake where we saw few other paddlers unless they were lost.  By the time they made it to our camp they were at least 90 degrees and miles off course. 

The standing joke was to ask them if they wanted to buy a squirrel. This is a reference to an hilarious scene in the movie "Rat Race" where Whoppie Goldberg asks directions from Kathy Bates.  Before giving directions Kathy Bates insists they buy a live squirrel.  As it turns out, they should have bought a squirrel.   Click HERE to view that scene.  We certainly had no shortage of squirrels on our island. 

Fishing was good and twice we kept our catch and had a fish fry.

A really nice 3.6 pound smallmouth bass

If you wanna eat 'em, you gotta clean 'em

Fresh fried fish cooked over an open fire

So good!

Then you gotta do the dishes

Sometime the dish pan has visitors

The weather for this trip was about the best we have had in our 23 years of coming to the Boundary Waters.  We only had a little rain on the second night, but it was over before daylight.  We had set up a rain shelter, but never used it.  However, it was also the coldest trip we have ever done.  There were at least three nights when the temperature plunged below freezing.  A few days it never got above the mid 50s.  On the coldest night the low was 27.5 degrees.

Matilda usually sleeps outside the tent on the ground.  On cold nights she will sleep in the tent vestibule, still on the ground, but leaning against the outside of the tent pressed against Dorcas or me.  Late on this coldest night I woke up and Matilda was in the tent.  Matilda has never willingly come into the tent before.  Dorcas said Matilda was shivering and wanted to come into the tent.  I asked if Matilda actually came into the tent willingly and on her own.  The answer was no; Dorcas had to pick her up and set her in.  I think it was Dorcas who needed the dog more than the dog needed to be in the tent.  It was the proverbial "one dog night".

Who's really the one who's cold?

Most cold mornings a warm sun rose pretty quickly

Matilda, don't fall in the water!

Wayne and Lynda returning from a fishing expedition 

Matilda robbing sticks from an abandoned beaver lodge

A pretty good load of fire wood

When we put in on September 9 the leaves were just beginning to turn.  As the days went by we began to experience some really spectacular fall foliage.

Fresh morning brew

An active beaver lodge.  Notice the fresh birch branches the beaver hauled in.  

Another great fish fry

Can't beat hot blueberry pancakes with side meat

A most sincere wood pile

The most abundant wildlife we saw were rodents: chipmunks, red squirrels, beavers and mice.  However we did see a number of bald eagles.  Ironically, Dorcas and I saw a bear crossing the road near town in Ely a few days before we put in.  Wayne and Lynda saw a gray wolf, actually colored dark black, crossing the road on the drive to the put in, a very rare treat. 

Many books were read. 

Leaving camp on the last day.  So sad!

A raft of mergansers

Our route

Back at Fall Lake for 3 nights of cushy RV camping

We were not alone in the Fall Lake Parking area

This is the first time we have parked the Dutch Star for an extended period of time with the fridge running and no electrical hookups.  In previous years we parked our Country Coach Allure for up to 2 weeks.  The Allure had a gas absorption refrigerator powered by LP, with a 400 watt solar array and an auto generator start (AGS) to assure the batteries stayed charged.  In previous years the generator never ran, but we always returned to fully charged batteries, cold beer and frozen confection (with the notable exception of the event in September 2019, when something went terrible awry).  The Dutch Star also has a 400 watt solar array and AGS, but is also an all-electric coach, meaning we have a full size residential refrigerator that needs 120VAC, which is supplied via an inverter and the 12VDC battery bank.  I had no experience leaving this coach with the fridge running for any length of time while not connected to shore power.  I hoped, but had no reason to expect, that the solar array would keep the batteries charged on its own.  I programmed the AGS to start the generator when the batteries dropped to 12.2 volts and to run for 2 hours.  That seemed to work; when we returned the fridge was cold and all our food was fresh.  It turns out the generator ran for exactly 14 hours over the 2 weeks, meaning it ran 7 times, for 2 hours each time, averaging 1 hour per day.

The solar array was also helping charge the batteries.  During the 14 days the solar panels provided 773.2 amp-hours to the batteries.  This roughly equivalent to running the generator in bulk charge mode for about 7 hours. 

The remote display for our solar charge contoller shows its performance

Site 10 at Fall lake Campground

The ferns in the campground provide stark contrast from before we entered the wilderness and when we came out. 

Before

After

Fall foliage in Fall Lake Campground

Wayne at his camp, site 20.  He looks unhappy. 

Dorcas is always happy

We decided to go fishing one more time and Dorcas caught a whopper

For those that may be wondering it has been about 14 days since the great fishing lure massacre.  The wound in my hand has completely healed, and there have been no adverse effects.

Fall foliage on Fall Lake Road

Finally a distancing measure I can relate to

Chilling out at Fall Lake Campground

Tomorrow on Friday September 25 we will depart Fall Lake and drive directly home, hopefully arriving Sunday evening.  I'm still having problems filling the air bags after leveling the coach.  Also there are a few other strange things occurring with the air system while leveling that I can't explain.  And the Comfort Drive is still not working.  I intend to take the coach to the Freightliner service center in Greensboro early next week for repairs.  Thankfully our Freightliner chassis is still covered under the manufacturers warranty until February 2021.