Boundary Waters 2015
I had never been to the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota, so when our neighbor Bob Caplan suggested a canoe trip there, it sounded good. Rena and I decided to join Bob and another friend Mel Lefkowttz for a 10-day trip. Logistics were simple. We would canoe a loop from Tuscarora Lodge located on the Gunflint Trail. Canoes could be rented from the lodge. We went in September to avoid the mosquitos.
Initially we thought we would fly to Duluth, rent a car, and return right after. But as usual, I came up with a more complicated adventure. I decided to leave early and drive my van back in a big loop from California. On the way, I would visit some of the more remote national parks, such as Voyagers NP and Theodore Roosevelt NP. I would also visit friends and relatives in route.
I spent about 2 weeks making my way to Minnesota. A week before the canoe trip, I picked Rena up at the Duluth airport and we spent another week touring around Northern Minnesota. We climbed the state's highest peak, Eagle Mountain, and backpacked for 2 nights at Isle Royale NP. We also learned about the early history of canoeing at Grand Portage National Monument. In the late 1800’s, a huge industry was centered around the lucrative beaver fur trade. These fur traders, called Voyagers, paddled thousands of miles and carried 180 pound loads on their backs while doing portages in moccasins. This was a good precursor for our canoe trip.
After connecting with Bob and Mel in Duluth, we drove to Tuscarora Lodge. The next morning, we started our paddling loop.We brought all of our camping gear and food from home. Much of it had been in my van. It took a while to get everything organized for our adventure. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is a vast wilderness covered with lakes of all sizes. Guidebooks and maps show how to travel from lake to lake via portages. There are no signs marking the campsites or portages so maps are essential. Each portage required the four of us to do two carries each. We had 8 loads - 2 canoes, 2 food barrels, and 4 backpacks. Our original 10-day loop called for 43 portages.
Using our guidebook, we had devised a 7-day moderate loop that included each day about 8-10 miles of paddling and 5-6 portages. We added 3 more days for weather delays, rest days, or slower going. But we found the portages to be more time consuming and tedious than we had anticipated. Three days into the trip, we looked at our maps and found a way to do a shorter loop. This worked fine and we ended up coming out one day early. And we cut our number of portages to “only" 35.
Minnesota is notorious for mosquitos, which is why we picked September for our paddle. We had almost no mosquitos, good camping, and great weather. In our 9 day, 8 night trip, we encountered only a few other paddlers. Wildlife viewing could have been better but we did see the Northern Lights on 2 nights.
I think that the Boundary Waters area is best suited for fisherman who do shorter trips and less portaging, although Rena enjoyed the 'mini-backpacks.' A shorter trip allows you to take less food and do the portages in a single carry. I am glad to have experienced this area, but I prefer canoeing on rivers or waterways where you paddle more than carry. Examples are the Lower Green River in Utah, the Wilderness Waterway in the Everglades, and the Bowron Lakes Circuit in British Colombia.
Rena and I dropped Bob and Mel off at the Minneapolis airport and checked into a B&B. After several days of sightseeing, we moved south toward Southern Illinois where we visited my family. Rena flew from St. Louis to the East coast where she helped her brother recover from some medical problems, while I started my long drive home. I returned after 50 days on the road.
If you want more detailed information about our canoe circuit, see the Itinerary below which lists all the campsites, lakes we visited, portages, etc. Only of interest for serious paddlers.
DETAILED ITINERARY (9 Days, 41 Miles, 55.5 Hours, 35 Portages)
1 rod = 16.5 feet or about 1 canoe length
DAY 1 - 9/1 - 8.5 Miles - 6 ¾ Hours - Portages 1 - 2
Seagull Lake
105 rods
Alpine Lake
45 rods
Jasper Lake - CAMP 1 (Shade Camp)
DAY 2 - 9/2 - 5.5 Miles - 6 Hours - Portages 3 - 6
25 rods
Kingfisher Lake
38 rods
Ogishkemuncie Lake (Ogish)
15 rods
Annie Lake
15 rods
Jenny Lake - CAMP 2 (Aster Camp)
DAY 3 - 9/3 - 5 Miles - 6 ¼ Hour - Portages 7 - 13
15 rods
Eddy Lake
22 rods
Kekebabic Pond
3 rods
Pond
27 rods
Pond
18 rods
Pond
3 rods
Kekebabic Lake
85 rods
Strup Lake - CAMP 3 (Sun + Ash Camp)
DAY 4 - 9/4 - 4 Miles - 5 ¾ Hours - Portages 14 - 18
10 rods
Wisini Lake
90 rods
Ahmakose Lake
30 rods
Gerund Lake (met Outward Bound people here)
15 rods
Frazer Lake
65 rods
Sagus Lake - CAMP 4 (Paradise Camp)
DAY 5 - 9/5 - 3 ½ Miles - 5 ¼ Hours - Portages 19 - 21
42 rods
Creek, Roe Lake
65 rods
Cap Lake
200 rods
Ledge Lake - CAMP 5 (Moose Skull Camp)
DAY 6 - 9/6 - 3 Miles - 6 ¼ Hours - Portages 22 - 25
160 rods
Vic Lake
60 rods
Fee Lake
40 rods
Hee Lake
100 rods
Mekwa Lake - CAMP 6 (Short Paddle Camp)
DAY 7 - 9/7 - 7 ½ Miles - 6 ½ Hours - Portages 26 - 29
55 rods
Elton Lake
19 rods
Creek
19 rods
Little Saganaga lake
45 rods
Mora Lake - CAMP 7 (Long Walk to Toilet Camp)
DAY 8 - 9/8 - 3 Miles - 6 ½ Hours - Portages 30 - 33
10 rods
Tarry Lake
50 rods
Crooked Lake
55 rods
Owl Lake
63 rods
Tuscarora Lake - CAMP 8 (Moss Island Camp)
DAY 9 - 9/9 - 4 Miles - 6 ¼ Hours - Portages 34 - 35
420 rods
Missing Link Lake
142 rods
Round Lake - Finish
Read MoreInitially we thought we would fly to Duluth, rent a car, and return right after. But as usual, I came up with a more complicated adventure. I decided to leave early and drive my van back in a big loop from California. On the way, I would visit some of the more remote national parks, such as Voyagers NP and Theodore Roosevelt NP. I would also visit friends and relatives in route.
I spent about 2 weeks making my way to Minnesota. A week before the canoe trip, I picked Rena up at the Duluth airport and we spent another week touring around Northern Minnesota. We climbed the state's highest peak, Eagle Mountain, and backpacked for 2 nights at Isle Royale NP. We also learned about the early history of canoeing at Grand Portage National Monument. In the late 1800’s, a huge industry was centered around the lucrative beaver fur trade. These fur traders, called Voyagers, paddled thousands of miles and carried 180 pound loads on their backs while doing portages in moccasins. This was a good precursor for our canoe trip.
After connecting with Bob and Mel in Duluth, we drove to Tuscarora Lodge. The next morning, we started our paddling loop.We brought all of our camping gear and food from home. Much of it had been in my van. It took a while to get everything organized for our adventure. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is a vast wilderness covered with lakes of all sizes. Guidebooks and maps show how to travel from lake to lake via portages. There are no signs marking the campsites or portages so maps are essential. Each portage required the four of us to do two carries each. We had 8 loads - 2 canoes, 2 food barrels, and 4 backpacks. Our original 10-day loop called for 43 portages.
Using our guidebook, we had devised a 7-day moderate loop that included each day about 8-10 miles of paddling and 5-6 portages. We added 3 more days for weather delays, rest days, or slower going. But we found the portages to be more time consuming and tedious than we had anticipated. Three days into the trip, we looked at our maps and found a way to do a shorter loop. This worked fine and we ended up coming out one day early. And we cut our number of portages to “only" 35.
Minnesota is notorious for mosquitos, which is why we picked September for our paddle. We had almost no mosquitos, good camping, and great weather. In our 9 day, 8 night trip, we encountered only a few other paddlers. Wildlife viewing could have been better but we did see the Northern Lights on 2 nights.
I think that the Boundary Waters area is best suited for fisherman who do shorter trips and less portaging, although Rena enjoyed the 'mini-backpacks.' A shorter trip allows you to take less food and do the portages in a single carry. I am glad to have experienced this area, but I prefer canoeing on rivers or waterways where you paddle more than carry. Examples are the Lower Green River in Utah, the Wilderness Waterway in the Everglades, and the Bowron Lakes Circuit in British Colombia.
Rena and I dropped Bob and Mel off at the Minneapolis airport and checked into a B&B. After several days of sightseeing, we moved south toward Southern Illinois where we visited my family. Rena flew from St. Louis to the East coast where she helped her brother recover from some medical problems, while I started my long drive home. I returned after 50 days on the road.
If you want more detailed information about our canoe circuit, see the Itinerary below which lists all the campsites, lakes we visited, portages, etc. Only of interest for serious paddlers.
DETAILED ITINERARY (9 Days, 41 Miles, 55.5 Hours, 35 Portages)
1 rod = 16.5 feet or about 1 canoe length
DAY 1 - 9/1 - 8.5 Miles - 6 ¾ Hours - Portages 1 - 2
Seagull Lake
105 rods
Alpine Lake
45 rods
Jasper Lake - CAMP 1 (Shade Camp)
DAY 2 - 9/2 - 5.5 Miles - 6 Hours - Portages 3 - 6
25 rods
Kingfisher Lake
38 rods
Ogishkemuncie Lake (Ogish)
15 rods
Annie Lake
15 rods
Jenny Lake - CAMP 2 (Aster Camp)
DAY 3 - 9/3 - 5 Miles - 6 ¼ Hour - Portages 7 - 13
15 rods
Eddy Lake
22 rods
Kekebabic Pond
3 rods
Pond
27 rods
Pond
18 rods
Pond
3 rods
Kekebabic Lake
85 rods
Strup Lake - CAMP 3 (Sun + Ash Camp)
DAY 4 - 9/4 - 4 Miles - 5 ¾ Hours - Portages 14 - 18
10 rods
Wisini Lake
90 rods
Ahmakose Lake
30 rods
Gerund Lake (met Outward Bound people here)
15 rods
Frazer Lake
65 rods
Sagus Lake - CAMP 4 (Paradise Camp)
DAY 5 - 9/5 - 3 ½ Miles - 5 ¼ Hours - Portages 19 - 21
42 rods
Creek, Roe Lake
65 rods
Cap Lake
200 rods
Ledge Lake - CAMP 5 (Moose Skull Camp)
DAY 6 - 9/6 - 3 Miles - 6 ¼ Hours - Portages 22 - 25
160 rods
Vic Lake
60 rods
Fee Lake
40 rods
Hee Lake
100 rods
Mekwa Lake - CAMP 6 (Short Paddle Camp)
DAY 7 - 9/7 - 7 ½ Miles - 6 ½ Hours - Portages 26 - 29
55 rods
Elton Lake
19 rods
Creek
19 rods
Little Saganaga lake
45 rods
Mora Lake - CAMP 7 (Long Walk to Toilet Camp)
DAY 8 - 9/8 - 3 Miles - 6 ½ Hours - Portages 30 - 33
10 rods
Tarry Lake
50 rods
Crooked Lake
55 rods
Owl Lake
63 rods
Tuscarora Lake - CAMP 8 (Moss Island Camp)
DAY 9 - 9/9 - 4 Miles - 6 ¼ Hours - Portages 34 - 35
420 rods
Missing Link Lake
142 rods
Round Lake - Finish
