Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area

Boundary Waters Canoe Wildlife Area – Trip Day 1
We met at 7 AM on Friday, August 5, 2016 at Troop 1000, Ritika Bergfeld’s, house. Thankfully we had checked out the rental Toyota Sequoia 8 passenger SUV the night before and determined that that with all 8 seats occupied, it didn’t have much luggage room. Fortunately, it did have a trailer hitch and a roof rack. We borrowed a neighbor’s (the Kennedy’s) trailer hitch shelf and storage bag. We borrowed another neighbor’s (John Liss’s) trailer hitch pin and were able to store all of the excess luggage that would not fit into the SUV.

At the Bergfeld House, packed and ready to go

After much arranging and sorting of gear, we were finally off at 7:40 AM heading out on I-64 to north on Highway 61 (a.k.a The Avenue of the Saints [St. Louis to St Paul]). At nine, we tried to gas and make a bathroom break, arriving first at gas station with a rain canopy and sign but the rest of the station wasn’t built yet. On the other side of the highway, there was a “gas” station with signs on the pumps that said “Sorry we no longer sell gas”. It looked pretty sketchy there otherwise, anyway. We got back on 61 and went another exit up to the Quicktrip that made the earlier one obsolete.

We arrived at our Town Place Suites Hotel in St. Louis Park Minneapolis at just before 4 o’clock. After getting settled into our rooms, we left to get some dinner at Panera’s (Jane’s choice as the Birthday girl but everyone was happy with it). Afterwards the girls went swimming and made some goofy videos by the pool until it got dark and the pool closed. The other girls did a cookie surprise for Jane before watching the Olympics about an hour in the group room, before coming to Curtis room to go to bed at about 1015 Jane got sick later that night, apparently the result of eating too much junk food and snack items before bed.

Saturday, August 6, Trip Day 2
We left the hotel a little after 7 o’clock after eating the breakfast at the complementary continental breakfast buffet which offered some terrific waffles. We stopped on the way in Ely, the biggest town outside the BWCWA, and ate at Dairy Queen, which does a booming business during the summer. A bus load of paddlers came in, AFTER we ordered thankfully. After lunch we made our way to the Superior National Forest Visitor Center.

BWCWA Yipee!!! at Superior National Forest ranger station in Ely

At the Ranger Station, we , where met Ann, the director of the Girl Scout (GS) Northern Lakes Canoe Base (NLCB). We followed her to the modest compound of the NLCB.

After NLCB staff and personal introductions for all attendees, the girls set up their tents, had some quick clinics on paddling, canoes swamping, portaging canoes and a gear shake down of minimizing the gear one brought along.

Paddle Clinic	Swamping Clinc: "I'm OK. Are you OK?"

Portage Clinic (Jane, Ada and Cate)	Jane and Cate practice bridging

The NLCB "resort"	Setting up tents

The gear shakedown included a sleeping bag but no bed pads except for the adults (old bones were really glad for that perk). Our wardrobe consisted essentially of two sets of clothes: one wet to paddle in and one dry for the evening with perhaps an extra shirt and shorts as pajamas and some extra socks. We also each carried a fleece and full rain gear. It was all very well thought out, except the requirement that one have wet boots and socks, instead of trying to keep your feet dry. Some (i.e. Randy) were very concerned about having sponges on their feet much of the day from a blister and athletes’ foot stand point but it worked out (though when pushed, the guides reluctantly told the story of another guide getting Trench Foot on a 10 day trip that summer). Learning to minimize one’s gear and needs was one of the first of many lessons for the week. Two girls each shared one canvas pack with all their gear being placed in large zip locks and garbage bags that weighed about 35-40 pounds or so, per pack.

Equiptment shake down

Following a dinner of hot dogs (including veggie ones), beans and chips, we watched the required film from the Forest Service about the Wilderness Area and went over some rules, including two about large furry mammals: bears (hang all you food in the air, which we ignored as there hadn’t been bear sightings) and men. The warning about men was never excepting help from well meaning males, the girls might come across who felt obliged to offer help to the frail females portage their gear. The girls were to shoulder their packs and respond that they were Girl Scouts and they got it. This mantra applied as much to the lone Dad as anyone, with the Girl Guides refusing to let him help them on most tasks, such as hoisting a canoe up to their shoulders (the girls did a 3 person lift but the guides did it solo no matter how tired they were). They were strong and keen on demonstrating independence and a self-reliant role model to the younger girls.

As before in other GS outings, Randy was assured that he, like all dads, was always welcome but he often felt as a bit of an interloper in the Girl Power moments. The NLCB statistics were that they typically had a parent or troop leader on most of the trips with the younger girls (12-14 year olds) but only had about 1 dad a year. Randy was provided with his own tent (a new Eureka Timberline) and his own spot across the road to camp. He and embraced being at once part of the trip and off to the side at the same time. The girls didn’t miss his CPAC free snoring serenade for certain.

Sunday, August 7, Trip Day 3, BWCWA Day 1

Breaking Camp: Jane packed up	Breaking Camp: Cate packed up

Sunday was the third Day of our trip but the actual start of the BWCWA trip and it was a text book beautiful day of sunshine and temperatures. We broke camp at NLCB and loaded the canoes and gear on to a trailer, and were driven in a van to launch at Snowbank Lake. Loading the boats from the simple floating wooden dock would be the first and last time we would see any “facilities” for docking the entire trip. Our group included nine people, which is the maximum allowed per group in the BWCWA: a NLCB Guide (21 year old pre-med student Catherine or CJ), a Guide in Training (16 year old Shelby on her 6th year in the BWCWA); six girls (Jane, Cate, Ada, Caitlin, Sonya and Jamie) and Randy. We had three 80-85 pound aluminum canoes which sat three people each and all our gear (2-3 packs per canoe wearing from 35 to 120 pounds). The positions were Stern, at the back; Bow, in the front; and “Princess”, in middle who didn’t paddle, but entertained (theoretically).

The girls had limited to minimal experience paddling, particularly in the stern and certainly not on a lake, as opposed to the river float trips of Missouri. It took awhile (most of the trip) for the nuances of the stern position to sink in regards to they were the ones that controlled the canoes going straight. So while it was an easy 1.2 mile, straight line paddle across the Snowbank Lake to our first portage, it was far from a straight line as would most of the lake paddle traverses.

As opposed to expectations of a relatively flay landing and trek across, the first portage started with a rocky incline, roughly equivalent to a flight and a half of stairs before turning into more manageable slopes. Unfortunately there are no pictures, as photo documenting the goings on would have appeared superfluous from the cameraman who didn’t want to seem more useless than he felt. The portage was a bit more challenging for the first real time walking with a canoe than ideal but the girls all gamely volunteered to have a go at it. Dad was very glad that he pre-volunteered to mule the ~120 pound food over, far preferring the weight to attempting to move the bulky and awkward aluminum canoe at 2/3 the food pack weight.

The Guide and GIT (CJ and Shelby) approached this portage, as they did all of them, with an atmosphere of urgent, efficiency that didn’t allow for whining, over thinking or any dilly-dallying. They were confident and strong models of girl empowerment that continued to impress the dad (and certainly the girls) throughout the week (They were Bad Ass). Still the portage was not the confidence builder for some when getting up the first incline proved too much. On the other side, the girls were all quite pleased with themselves after the 80 rod (R) portage (rod = ~17 feet, the length of the canoe) as they all did more than they would have thought they were capable of before and this was only the start. It’s worth noting that except for the guides, who did an extra trip to carry the one extra gear bag, everyone else made a single portage. This differed in no small way, to tales of others (i.e. Boy Scouts) in the BWCWA that made double or triple portages to get all their equipment across, including using Kevlar canoes which weigh about 35 pounds. The NLCB felt strongly about not manufacturing confidence from man-made challenges like a rope course but rather instilling real confidence from completing work that needed doing. The Guide and GIT were excellent role models of never panic or getting excited.

Lunch on Disappointment Lake

The 0.85 mile paddle across Parents Lake followed by the 85R portage to Disappointment Lake went off with the same air of “Get it done” exigency as the portages. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the girls’ spirits remained high for the couple mile paddle across the lake to our first campsite. Singing a multitude of camp songs, Disney Tunes, to ones from the Pitch Perfect soundtracks remained a near constant while paddling for most of the trip.

Camping in the BWCWA is only at designated sites that are all on a first come first served basis, so generally one didn’t pass by a good site and you tried to get where you were going fairly early so as not to be stuck paddling all over a lake or lakes, looking for a spot (the Forest Service limits the number of launch permits each day). The camp sites were little more than a clearing with a designated fire pit with a small grill and an al fresco “comfort station” about 150 feet back in the woods. At least the smell was better than at most pit latrines.

BWCWA "throne" with a view

After unpacking the canoes at ~2 pm, we had a well earned lunch of bagels and Ryveta (cheap rye crackers) with peanut butter, jelly, honey, onions and cheese (there were granola bars for snack a couple hours earlier). The squash-able bagels only lasted for the first meal but the rest of lunches would be pretty much the same every day.

After lunch, the exuberance of youth was recharged with energy and they went swimming in the lake, which included having a life vest on and one’s wet boots (water shoes, crocs or sandals were taboo to NLCB rules). Randy decided to sit it out and let his feet dry out and maybe rest his eyes a bit.

Late afternoon was spent setting up tents and searching for wood that was thinner than one’s wrist, which greatly limited the size of one’s fires and the choice of wood. There was also lots of whittling as the girls enjoyed having free use of their knives with minimal supervision. There were a number of cuts that weren’t reported to an adult until later that healed just fine.

Randy sewing gashes in his shirt

Dinner consisted of Make-your-own-burritos, which was a big hit with everyone, and an over turned canoe used as the serving table.

The group hung out around the camp fire that evening with dusk coming around 8:30 pm. Having come in August, it appears we missed the nightly onslaught of the Minnesota State Bird at mosquito-thirty. The gift of essentially no mosquitoes, at least none to complain about, rendered our 100% DEET bottles as excess baggage that we were all to glad to have as an unnecessary item. Hearing tales of others experiences, August would appear to be THE time to visit the BWCWA.

Disappointment Lake Dinner with the overturned canoe table	I want some Smores

Jane whittiling	Cate and Ada on scullery maid duty

Even without the mosquitoes, it wasn’t hard to convince people to crawl into their tents shortly after nine. The Guide serenaded the girls with a song when it was lights time, a ritual she would repeat each night and again in the morning to get them up. Although CJ saw her role as Guide, as a somewhat distant protector and decidedly, non-maternal (she was very clear she definitely was NOT a consoler), this was a warm feminine gesture, as opposed to male ritualistic insulting. Actually the Guide and GIT never said anything but encouraging words, not getting angry in frustration at any time and certainly not cursing.

Monday, August 8, Trip Day 4, BWCWA Day 2

Breakfast included watery Tang and a packet of hot coco, along with oatmeal, which several girls didn’t eat. Packing up went fairly smoothly, in clear difference to any family camping trip with the Curtis girls, where they were only expected to help as opposed to complete the task in its entirety with their peers. It also helped that in general, Jane and Cate were in separate tents and canoes. The one time where all three Curti were in one canoe for one lake put everyone a bit on edge and all agreed it was best to not let that happen again.

Breaking camp

BWCWA Day 2 could also be called the day of many lakes (and portages) as we went from Disappointment Lake to Ashub Lake to Jitterbug Lake to Adventure Lake to Cattyman Lake to Jordan Lake and lastly to Ima Lake. All the portages were shorter and easier than Day 1s (portage lengths of 25 – 15 – 40 – 10 – 55 -5 rods) but it was clear that much of what made the overall trip a challenge that Scouts didn’t get elsewhere in the country, was having to portage all ones gear multiple times. My guess is this is why the Scouts make this a High Adventure destination.

Jane enjoying the trip	Jane carrying the equipment pack

The east end of Ashub Lake was particularly memorable as it is very shallow and swampy and folks had to get out of the canoes and trudge through the stinky muck to reach land and the next portage.

Cate, Jane, and Shelby trudging through the Ashub muck	Portage to Jitterbug

Jitterbug was notable for its flowering lily pads, which were very pretty but paddling harder. Arguably, the most scenic section of the day was the narrows just east of the main body of Jordan Lake. It sports a canyon like rock outcrops along much of the route. We reached the second BWCWA campsite on Ima Lake and called it a day about 1:30.

Jordan Lake narrows (Jane in bow & Cate in Princess)

Lunch of Rye crisps crackers etc. all taste terrific when you’re tired and hungry. There was no complaining about a meal that certainly would have been met with disdain at home. Once again, the recharged girls went swimming in boots and life vests in the late afternoon with Randy choosing to not put on his wet wool socks and boots to cool off in the water, instead choosing to take in a nap in the shade against a rock in his camp /canoe chair pad. Although extra weight and a bit of a portage hassle the cushy seat around the camp fire was well worth it and one of a few perks to being an adult on the trip.

That evening we had chicken and rice, or just veggies and rice for the vegetarians, which was a favorite of the guides for its hardiness and plenty. The meals were not a culinary treats but another simple meal structured around being nutritional balanced with minimal weight and costs. Actually the thrift of the NLCB was commendable across the board. The cost for five day – four night camping trip was $400 per person with all the food and gear provided except for personal items. This is a steal since we weren’t responsible for any of the planning or gathering of materials. The GS thrift also translated into taking care of their gear. Where Missouri river float trip veterans are used to dragging bottom over gravel shoals and banging the aluminum canoes into rocks, it was taboo to do so with the NLCB boats. Actually making any sound with the canoes was considered bad form and frowned upon (this included on the portage trail). They took pride in their 40+ year old Grumman canoe and only allowed the guides to portage it. It’s nice to see people cheaper than you.

Randy with Eureka Timberline tent

That night, the girls asked the Guide to awaken them to star gaze having heard tales off the wonder of seeing a gazillion stars without the light pollution of civilization. All the girls except one slept like rocks through it, not stirring at the gentle serenade to awake and see the stellar spectacle. While generally good, the skies weren’t abundantly clear I didn’t push the guilt card.

Tuesday, August 9, Trip Day 5, BWCWA Day 3 (Layover Day)

BWCWA Day 3 was a layover day, which meant a day where we stayed put and didn’t decamp or portage, and most importantly allowed everyone a chance to sleep in (we got up by 6:30 or 7 am most days). Breakfast was pancakes and was ready at a very leisurely time of 10:30 A.M. It was another beautiful sunny day and the girls availed themselves of the groovy day with few deeds to do or promises to keep. They found a relatively flat granite exposure a couple hundred feet away camp that seemed farther with the forest in between. They dubbed it Uno Rock as they passed many hours playing cards away from the guides and other adult but in ready ear shot if need be. The wafting of singing would sporadically pierce the quiet along with screams of “NOOOO!!!!!” as someone else got Uno.

Uno rock

It’s worth discussing the drinking water, as it wasn’t portaged, as there was ample supply of high quality water in the lakes. Old school travelers to the BWCWS would simply grab water from the middle of the lake a foot or so down and quench their thirst. The NLCB didn’t allow this for the girls (probably a function of legal liabilities) and all their water had to be treated with iodine to be certain to kill the bacteria with the 30 minutes wait time. It tasted a bit off but was fine (some Tang or lemonade flavoring powder was a small and light luxury). The preferred system for providing drinking water was using the Platypus water filtration bags. It was one of the first things set up at each camp site and took some attention to make sure there was a ready supply of water to supply the group’s needs. On Tuesday morning, Randy awoke early out of habit while the others remained asleep. Upon checking the platypus, he discovered a mouse had got caught in the open inlet bag, and while damp, was still alive and scared shitless, literally. He rinsed the bag out and refilled it, choosing not to mention it to the others (except his daughters after they drank the filtered water of course), having confidence the micro filters would do their job, which they did. Ain't science and engineering great?

Mouse in the platypus

Concern over pursuing 21st Century hygiene took a major back seat during the week and the kids all quickly become generally unconcerned about strict adherence to cleanliness with most uttering a “it’s just a bit of trail dust” mantra when a bit of contaminate touched their food (e.g. ash, dirt, etc.).

Showing one's leg bruises

While Randy enjoyed a day of reading his comic crime thriller, he couldn’t help but be nagged by a desire to paddle to some of the other islands in the near distance. The one about 125 yards away taunted all day like Bali Hai: "Here am I, your special island, Come to me, come to me". Unfortunately the GS and NLCB rules, didn’t allow for solo canoeing or adult males being alone with underage kids or the Guide to not be with the group, so he was stuck. At times during the layover day, he though a glass of Merlot would have been just the cherry on top to the day but that was even more against the rules (not to mention the weight factor).

Ima Lake Bali Hai

With the extra time, layover night dinner was pizza, which was a big hit. It was the one meal without any extra food left afterwards for the scrounge hounds to consume, except for the leftover pepperoni, which Jane ate.

Pizza prep	Gathering for dinner

That night, mice attacked the food pack which was with the Guide who got up about 3:30 am to unpack and repack the food to make sure they were all gone. All the other campers were oblivious to this plight except the other light sleeping adult, not that he got up to investigate what the deal was in the other tent (it would have seemed totally creepy since there was no obvious alarm issues and besides it was comfortable in his tent).

Campfire games

Wednesday, August 10, Trip Day 6, BWCWA Day 4

The weather turned to rain and gloom after we packed up all tents and other gear following breakfast. Breaking camp the last two days went pretty first as the Guides made it a race with the winning girls’ tent getting a surprise. A good idea but the most challenging part of the task was getting the 6 person tents crammed into an undersized tent sack (which took both groups more time than anything else).

Camp break down

Everyone happily broke out their rain gear as they looked for a chance to use. The rain gear stayed on the better part of the day.

Group in their rain gear

Cate carrying a pack in the rain

Start of a portage	Sonja portaging a canoe

It was another day of many lakes (and portages) as we went back tracked from Ima Lake to Jordan Lake to Cattyman Lake and then on new paths of Gibson Lake to Ashigan Lake to Ensign Lake (5 – 55 – 25 – 105 – 55 rods respectively).

Jane in the bow, all smiles	Cate bowing, all smiles

The 3 Potter padders	Snack break on the lake

Fortunately the rain let up before we found an open campsite on Ensign Lake, allowing us to put up the tents while dry. Given the high possibility of rain, no one complained about waiting to eat lunch until we had shelter up to stash our gear and have a place to stay dry.

Ensign Lake encampment

Dinner was Mac and Cheese which three of the girls LOVED (Cate, Sonja and Caitlyn) and they had 5 bowls of it (far more than even the designated goats of a dad, r the Guide and GIT). They were far more timid in eating the instant crème cheese pudding for desert.

More Mac & Cheese please (Round 3 of 5)

Thursday, August 11, Trip Day 7, BWCWA Day 5

Moving packs & canoe wrangling to start the day

Our fifth and last day in the BWCWA was another drizzly overcast day. We traveled four lakes: Ensign Lake, Splash Lake, Newfoundland Lake, and Moose Lake but only had only a single 30R portage as the lakes were generally connected, including a Girl Scout approved “rapids” which weren’t worth mentioning except that they wouldn’t be worth noting during a Missouri river float trip either. It was far from an easy day as there was 6 miles of paddling back to the NLCB on Moose Lake. Fortunately the wind was with us which the Guide observed was a rarity no matter which direction you were headed on Moose.

Jane, CJ and Shelby on the last portage	Cate with the food pack

The day also saw the only time when someone swamped a canoe when stopping for a snack break at the turning point between Newfoundland and Moose Lakes (a.k.a. Pee Point). The person will go nameless but overconfidence in stepping back into the canoe from a too deep location was not appreciated by the women who were not so foolish, including the girl that got drenched through no fault of her own.

P(?) Point Snack Break

Lunch consisted of all the snacks and lunch items that hadn’t been consumed up to that point. It occurred on island across from the Boy Scout Canoe Base just inside the BWCWA with a sign that provided a nice photo opportunity for a group shot. The massive Boy Scout Lodge and facilities (i.e. resort) was in clear contrast to humble GS NLCB facilities.

Group photo at BWCWA sign

Three Curti at BWCWA sign

The other groups that camped on Ensign Lake all had some minor run ins with Black Bears scrounging for food the last night of the trip, but for our troop the wildlife interactions were limited to a really big rabbit the first night, mice and chipmunks (there was a really pesky chipmunk that tried to steal the peanut butter that the girls named Ralph) along with frequent sightings and the Call of the Loon.

Ralph the chipmunk noushing on a chunk of peanut butter

Routing the BWCWA traverse comes in at just under 25 miles but it was probably several miles longer than that as assuming straight lines between points on the lakes wouldn’t match reality even with experience paddlers. Of that traverse, we had 590 rods portaging (14 portages) or 9,735 feet or just under two miles. The least amount of weight the kids would have carried was likely 40 pounds with the most coming in at 80-90 pounds (e.g. canoe, equipment pack or food pack after the first 2-3 days).

Map of BWCWSA Traverse

The girls were all glad to all get hot showers when we got back to NLCB. After loading the girls and gear up, we got out of there just after 4 pm with a drive to Duluth ahead along Minnesota 1.

Repacking the Sequoia for the return trip

The last ~55 miles along highway 61 along Superior was filled with lots of scenic overlooks and charming little fishing/tourist towns that was mostly lost on the passengers of our crew. Dinner was at the first McDonald’s we came across, which was in Two Harbors, as the girls, most of them anyway, lamented that French Fries were the thing they craved most on their paddling adventure (parroting the guides lament of going weeks without such niceties).

Rush for dinner at Two Harbors McDonald's (Note: putt-putt golf AND cemetary in background)

We spent the night in the Janette Pollay Cabin, which belongs to the Duluth GS council and rented out for $50 a night. The girls were excited to discover a single room upstairs with 50+ mattresses allowing them all to make up for sleeping on rocks all week with a stack of multiple mattresses. While it lacked indoor toilet facilities, after their week in the wilderness, the girls were nonplussed about using a well maintained porta-potty.

Janette Pollay Cabin in Duluth

Friday, August 12, Trip Day 8

We left Duluth just after 7 am on Friday but it was a bit anti-climactic of an all day car ride except for lunch and frolicking in a park in Tomah, WI (yeah we hadn’t heard of it either even though it is the community right outside of the National Guard’s Fort McCoy). Highway detours in northern Illinois and some frog choking rain in the mid-state made for some minor excitement while driving that last state home. Stopping in Troy, Illinois for a dinner of salad, pasta and pizza was a pleasant end of quality food before getting back in the car to Webster Groves, where the gear was then unpacked, and everyone went home. All in all, a pretty good trip.

The last supper of the trip in Troy, IL