Dorcas and I have been coming to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota every year since the year we meet in 1997. Well, actually we skipped one year, when we did a week-long trip on the Allagash River in northern Maine ... and then there was that ugly episode in 2021 when the US Forest Service closed the entire BWCAW and cancelled our permit due to fire activity. The problem with that was that didn't happen until after we had arrived in Duluth MN after driving over 1200 miles. You can read about that fiasco HERE. Oh well, life is an adventure.
 |
| The Motley Crew |
This year we had no such issues. We put in at Moose Lake about 25 miles east of Ely on Tuesday September 6. The weather conditions when we put in were less than ideal. It was 60°, misting rain, and we faced a steady headwind of 12 mph gusting to 25 mph. Our plan was to find a nice campsite not far from the put-in to lay up for a few days and lighten our food load before portaging. There are three campsites on the right side heading east up Moose Lake. The first site was occupied and thus unavailable. The second site featured an impossible landing, so we passed it by and paddled on. The third site was a charm so we made Camp 1 in a cove at the last campsite on Moose Lake before entering Newfound Lake.
I estimate we paddled only about three miles the first day, but they were three HARD miles.
 |
| At the put-in on Moose Lake |
Our first day was not without problems. In addition to the foul weather I found that my Garmin Oregon 750T high-priced POS GPS had become a brick. The power button had failed some months ago, but I had always been able to get it to power on by using a ball point pen through the broken opening in the case. However, my luck finally ran out and, try as I might, it would not power on. A GPS is not a necessity in the BWCAW, but it is handy and fun to know precisely where you are and exactly where the campsites and portage paths are. In hindsight I should have packed one of my older DeLorme GPS units instead.
Also, during our first meal I learned my MSR DragonFly stove was leaking fuel from the flame adjuster. Not good!!! I had tested the stove before we left home, and it worked fine then. Often I bring a back-up stove, just in case, but not this year. Go figure. Thankfully I had a maintenance kit for the stove, and when I replaced the 2 o-rings in the flame adjuster, the leak stopped, and the stove performed flawlessly for the rest of the trip.
 |
| Dorcas performing camp stove surgery |
Our traditional first night dinner has always been steak and potatoes. After dinner we had hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps. After a restful night we enjoyed another traditional first breakfast of corned beef hash and fresh eggs YUM!!!
 |
| Corned beef hash and fresh fried eggs sunny side up |
 |
| Waiting for the caffeine to kick in |
On Day 2 we had a medical emergency. Ginger had been in a frenzy chasing red squirrels and chipmunks and consequently cut her paw. It was an ugly wound and bleeding quite a bit. What to do???? Thankfully, we had a very weak cellular signal at this camp and were able to send a photo in a text to Dr. Katie our vet at home in NC. She advised an antibiotic ointment, light bandaging and an oral antibiotic. We normally carry a veterinary oral antibiotic, but inexplicably, we had none on this trip. So, we're only about 3 miles from the car, and then about a 45 minute drive back to Ely, where there is a veterinary clinic. It is too late this day to paddle in, drive to town, see the vet, drive back to Moose lake and paddle back to camp all before dark. So we decided to sleep on it, and if the weather is better the next day maybe make a dash back to town.
 |
| Poor baby! |
Day 3 was a much nicer day, calm with very light winds. While paddling back to Moose Lake landing I was able to call Ely Veterinary Clinic, explained our circumstances and let them know we were coming. They said they were booked up for the day, but would try to work us in. We made the landing in about an hour and locked the boat to a tree. We then drove to Fall Lake to pick up a credit card. While there I also grabbed my spare DragonFly camp stove and a spare DeLorme GPS. We arrived at Ely Veterinary Clinic at about 10:00 where, thankfully, they were able to see Ginger right away. The exam revealed 1/2" lateral cut on her right front stopper pad. The bleeding had stopped and the doctor did not believe a suture was warranted and might not hold anyway. She sent us away with antibiotics, pain meds and 2 rolls of elastic wrap, and instructions for daily treatment. We retraced our steps, paddled back to Camp 1 on Moose Lake, where we arrived about 1:00. We had put in a long full day before lunch. We were lucky Ginger's injury occurred when and where it did.
 |
| I'm sorry to be so much trouble! |
 |
| Whew! What a day!!!! |
 |
| A raft of common mergansers |
 |
| Sizzlin' side meat |
 |
| This is my cockpit |
On Day 4 we left Moose Lake and paddled into Newfound Lake. Just after leaving camp I caught 3 fish in about 20 minutes: a small smallmouth bass, a small Walleye and a medium Northern pike that probably weighed about 3 pounds. We weren't keeping today so they all lived to be caught another day.
Just as we entered Newfound Lake we were nearly run over by a motorboat speeding through a blind narrows. After paddling about 3 miles up Newfound Lake we negotiated the 35 rod portage into Splash Lake. There is a single campsite on Splash Lake, and we had hoped to take it, but it was occupied. DRAT!!!!
There is a 5 rod portage into Ensign Lake, but if the water is high enough the boat can be walked up the stream and thereby avoid the portage. That's what I did while Dorcas and Ginger walked the portage path.
 |
| So much easier than portaging. |
As we entered Ensign Lake a light rain began to fall and a cool breeze picked up, so we started to look for our next home. About 2 miles up Ensign Lake on the right we found a nice grassy site and made Camp 2.
 |
| Note Ginger's pretty wrap. Clean and green in the morning. |
Our first night on Camp 2 it rained long and hard. Our tent site and our dining tarp were on well drained sites, but the fire pit and kitchen area were in a low spot and quickly filled with water. The whole time we were on Camp 2 it never dried, and thus was dubbed "The Swamp".
 |
| Hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps under the rain fly |
Rain was the name of the game at Camp 2. We spent a lot of time under the rain fly. One day we went to bed at 1:00. Lots of books were read.
Ginger is the third dog we have taken into the Boundary Waters. Izaak and Matilda always slept outside the tent in the covered vestibule. For reasons I can't explain Ginger gets to sleep in the tent. Go figure.
The sun eventually returned.
 |
| Lazy days |
 |
| Chillin' at Camp 2 |
 |
A foggy morning at Camp 2
|
 |
| Country ham ... |
 |
| ... and pancakes, both breakfast staples |
On Day 8 we left The Swamp and moved about 3/4 mile to the north side of Ensign Lake and made Camp 3. This is a site we stayed on several years ago, and we knew it to be a 5-star site. We would have come to this site first, but we chose the previous site because of the foul weather and the need to stop early.
 |
| Camp 3 on Ensign Lake |
 |
| Personal hygiene is important |
 |
| Frying the side meat for breakfast |
 |
| Fishing on Ensign Lake |
Up until Camp 3 we had not seriously fished. We went out on Ensign and Dorcas caught a nice 3.5 pound small mouth bass. Rather, it was hooked on her rod, but I actually landed it.
 |
| Now that's a nice bass! |
 |
| Fish fry at Camp 3! |
 |
| Fried bass, hash browns and veggies |
 |
| Yum!!!! |
Watch this video to see the the champion flap jack flipper in action. This was the very last pancake of the trip: the pressure was on!
 |
| Ginger's paw is healing |
 |
| A rare shot showing a clean dressing |
 |
| Beaver lodge |
On Day 12 we left Ensign Lake and started working our way back towards our take-out. We paddled down the chute into Splash Lake, the same chute I had lined the boat up the week before. We hoped that the single campsite on Splash Lake was available this time, and we were in luck. We made camp on Splash lake for our final 2 nights. This video shows us paddling into Splash Lake.
 |
| A calm day on Splash lake |
 |
| Splash Lake |
 |
| On most nights the temperatures dropped into the 40s (M does his gnome imitation). |
 |
| My two favorite people |
On Day 13 we fished on Splash Lake. I caught 2 Northern pike that weighed about 1.5 pounds each. Not too big, but they dressed out to about one pound of fillets. FISH FRY!!!
After the fish fry on Splash Lake we had a glorious sunset with a sliver of moon waxing crescent.
 |
| Sunset on our last night |
On Day 14 we paddled out of Splash Lake, portaged into Newfound Lake, paddled into Moose Lake and then on to Moose Landing, a distance of about 6 miles. The wind was calm and generally blowing in a favorable direction. We arrived at Moose Landing before noon and drove back to Fall Lake Campground to pick up the coach, then checked in there for three more nights. It is always a concern that we find the coach is well, and we were lucky again this year.
We have an all-electric coach, meaning all appliances and heating devices are electric or diesel powered. When unhooked from electricity our domestic 12 VDC battery bank runs the 120 VAC refrigerator via an inverter. Our coach is equipped with an automatic generator start system which will start the generator when the batteries reach a pre-set low voltage state. We have 400 watts of solar array to charge the batteries, but that's not nearly enough to maintain an all-electric coach when running the fridge. The generator ran 22 hours during the 2 weeks we were out. That's more than expected and more than last year, however we had more overcast days than sunny days during this trip.
It was another great trip. As the years have passed and we are getting older, we do easier trips each year. This year we spent 13 nights at 4 camps on 3 lakes. We suffered only 2 easy 35 rod portages. We traveled approximately 32 miles in total. The weather was generally good. We had some heavy rain about day 4 and 5, but pretty good weather otherwise. The temperatures were mostly in the 60s and 70s dropping into the upper 40s most nights. The coldest night it dropped to 37°. Wildlife sightings were down from previous years although we did see bald eagles, common mergansers, trumpeter swans, various ducks, ruffed grouses, loons, geese, turtles, chipmunks, and red squirrels. At Camp 3 a large rabbit, likely, a snowshoe hare, passed through several times. The loon sighting were less than previous years. We were there later in the season than usual and I wonder if the low number of loons was because many had already migrated south. Unfortunately, I captured few good wildlife photos.
Looking forward now to a cold beer and a good night's sleep in a warm soft bed!
