We just returned from a 4 day adventure in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I volunteered to go with Chet this year for whatever reason and what an adventure we had!
Going into the BWCA takes weeks and months of planning. You have to get a permit to enter, plan your route, plan alternate routes just in case, plan for every type of weather and plan on carrying everything you bring on your back, especially for the long portages between lakes. There isn't anyone to carry your stuff for you except for you and packing light is key to not dying on the portages.
We knew we would have precipitation on our first day in so we left Sunday night to get an early start.
We stayed the night in this lovely motel, with all necessary amenities such as phones in each room. We had our alarms set for 7:15am and around 6:45am, I heard Chet up rummaging around the room. Only three things can get him out of bed in the morning; work, hunting and the Boundary Waters. Otherwise, it's like getting a, I don't know, a person who doesn't want to get out of bed out of bed.
We rented our canoes through Canadian Border Outfitters, which wasn't far from our entry point. Dressing for the BWCA is basically like one big fashion show. Prepare to see all sorts of amazing outfits in these next few posts.
We hit the water around 9am on Snowbank Lake, which is entry point #27. Snowbank is a big lake and it looks quite innocent from the shore. It wasn't raining yet and we had hoped to make it across before the rain hit. I put on a beautiful rain suit which was size XXXL and Chet had his Frog Toggs.
Having a map and a compass is more than necessary, unless getting lost is your thing. We stopped at every island we came up to just to make sure we were still going the right way. About 1/3 the way on Snowbank, the rain hit. We paddled faster but before we could make it to shore, the winds picked up and gave us some sketchy waves to canoe in. We had rain hitting our faces while we paddled through white-capped waves. I said a little prayer that we would make it to shore without capsizing.
Once we hit the portage, we got out of the canoe and hugged each other. We made it! We had a long portage ahead of us and I carried my pack, the fishing rods, the camp chair and a fishing vest while Chet carried his pack and the canoe on his shoulders. I walked quite slowly, as the terrain is treacherous and you have to plan every step, especially with a heavy load. Every few feet, I would yell to Chet, "Comin'!" Mostly to let him know I was still there and also to let the bears know that I was there and that I was not available for lunch.
On the other side of the portage was Disappointment Lake, which also looked quite innocent. The weather had calmed down a bit and the lake looked quite a bit more calm than Snowbank did. We had a snack and loaded up the canoes and hit the water again. It was still raining pretty good and this is when that XXXL rain suit came in extra handy. About a third of the way through Disappointment, the weather turned on us and it started sleeting with a strong head wind. The sleet hits your face like needles and it's not pleasant to canoe in. I bundled up a little more and kept on paddling. We still had four more lakes to get across and I knew this would be our last big lake. Then it started to hail pea sized hail, quite hard. Now things were just getting silly. The waves got bigger, the wind got colder and on top of the rain and sleet and hail, it started to snow. Just what we ordered! Two loons were going about their business being loons right next to our canoe but it was too cold to pull out the camera. The loons were not bothered by the weather, apparently.
By the third bend in the lake, I was absolutely frozen. Everything that was wet was now ice and I was anxious to get to the next portage to start running around and thawing off and to get out of the awful wind. Chet sang to me from the back of the canoe all sorts of great tunes and of course this warmed my heart, but the rest of me was frozen solid and I told him I just couldn't go on any further when we got to the portage. It was too late to stop as there weren't any more campsites on this side of the portage but we knew there was one just on the other side of the portage. I had gotten very cold very quickly and could only shiver as he unloaded the canoe.
He sent me ahead while he made a few trips with all the gear and I only had energy to walk. I don't really remember much from this part of the trip. Chet said I was confused and not making eye contact with him and somewhat incoherent. He helped me into the canoe and brought us to a site on the other side of Ahsub Lake. (It's like saying awesome when you have a cold. Ahsub Lake.)
I obviously wasn't in great shape when we got there and while he set up the tent for me, I started stripping off my wet clothing. I crawled into my sleeping bag and shivered and shook while he made me a hot meal and prepared a hot water bottle for me to snuggle with. Once I ate and warmed up to about 60% warmth and the snow stopped, I came out of the tent, which was my first mistake.
To be continued.
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