Basswood Lake BWCA 2019

We successfully completed another week in the boundary waters in June of 2019. The survivor list was as follows:

Nevada
Vanessa
Travis
Madeleine

Travis, Madeleine, Vanessa, Nevada - Last Night in Camp

Nevada, Vanessa, Madeleine, Travis - Day before Entry

We arrived in Ely after a 14 hour drive and all of us in good spirits and ready to enter the BWCA. Nevada and I believe the trip is about how exciting it is to enter the BWCA followed by how excited you are to leave. It makes for exciting vacation all week. After getting our canoes, permits, fishing license, and leeches, we headed to the Fall Lake Campgrounds. Shout out to Ely Outfitting Company as our go to outfitter.

No BWCA trip is complete without shopping at Zups. Here we pick up our last minute items or all the things we forgot to pack. Note to Self: "Bring more snack foods and candy"

In January, during the government shutdown, I made our campsite reservations. A big warning message was on the site about the possibilities of the campground not being open or attended during our trip. Fortunately, things worked out perfectly. The girls were excited and walked down a small hill directly from our campsite to check out the lake. It was a beautiful night and we anxious to enter the BWCA the next morning.

Nearly every trip we change things up and this year was no different. We opted for a tow boat ride into Basswood lake forgoing the hard day of canoeing and portaging we typically have on the first and last days.

We had to portage the entire boat with canoes on top and gear inside the boat. Two men met us at the Fall Campgrounds and drove us to the first portage where we placed the boat on wheels and pushed it via the portage to the other side. After another boat ride through Newton Lake we portaged our final time into Jack Fish Lake. Jack Fish eventually runs into Basswood where we were dropped off at the entrance to the non-motorized zone.

BWCA Tow Boat Video

Fortunately, it was only a mile or two paddle to our campsite on a small island. The island site was fantastic and the little cove with a beach landing made getting in and out of the canoes a breeze.

Just a note about water. Normally, you get your water directly from the lake, filter it, then you can drink it without any issues. Because we were tow boating it, we filled up our camp water jug with 5 gallons of water to take with us. I thought 5 gallons would get us through much of the week. The reality is we went through about 5 gallons a day. The tow boat operator was not pleased either with us carrying another 40 lbs or so of water. He threatened to throw it in the lake. This of course happened before I realized all that effort was only for about a day's worth of water. We learn something on every trip!

The views from the island were fantastic too. We had lots of shoreline to fish and a nice breeze would help us stay cool and keep the bugs away.

Our campsite consisted of two tents where Nevada had a four-person tent of his own, the girls shared a 3-person tent, and I had a hammock under the green tarp on right side of photo below. In the center was a screen tent to keep the bugs away and us dry when it rained.

Since we were using a tow boat and wouldn't have the traditional portages with canoes and packs, we took more gear than we normally would have. This is included our screened-in-porch where we spent most of our time. With the physical barrier of the screens and Nevada's chemical cloud apparatus we had very little issues with mosquitoes inside the tent. Some of our other gear was as follows:

Camera Bag
Camp Bag - Lighters, Rope, Tie Downs, Zip Ties, Maps, Toilet Paper.
Pot & Pan
Camp Stove with Gas
Oil - For a fish fry
Cups - For drinking or eating
Camp Chef & Waitress
Eating Utensils
Tooth Brush - Wisps
Storage Case - Personal Items
Plates
Camp Table

Nevada had a number of hits from shore from a Northern Pike, but was never able to catch him, although he tried each morning.

We were lucky to have very little wind throughout the trip. We had some rain the first 2-3 days, but it was light and only rained when we were either in camp under our screen tent or at night while in our tents.

The only new person to the BWCA was Madeleine. For years she has wanted to go on the trip with me and finally her time arrived. If you ask here now, she will answer "I will never go again". An adventure into the back woods for an entire week is hard and I'm proud Madeleine was able to endure it if not without issues from bugs, sleeping in a tent, and food choices. Madeleine on our second day was helping with dishes and went down to the lake to try to get a bucket of water. She lost her balance and we all heard a big splash. The worst part was she was wearing nearly every piece of clothing she brought to help keep her warm. Her clothes did dry, but Madeleine's attitude about the trip took a big hit with that event.

Vanessa went to the BWCA in 2017 with her Dad, Nevada, and sister, Catalina. The 2017 trip was hard trip with lots of rain and little fish. Catalina said "never again", but Vanessa toughed it out by saying "it couldn't possibly get any worse" and came along with us again. She has even made the commitment to go a 3rd time with Lauren in a couple years. Vanessa was a big help on the trip too, as she was excellent at making fires and did a fantastic job of cleaning the dishes after our meals.

Unfortunately, the fishing could have been better. The fishing report we received before entering the BWCA was the fish were "scattered" and we could find them in 15'-20' of water. We were successful enough to have fish to eat everyday but sometimes it was just an appetizer. The fishing report when we got back was walleye were being caught in 3'-5' of water. I had brought my fish finder on this trip, which I found to be a big hit and will likely bring on future trips as well. I made my own portable mount to attach to the canoe, but it was very secure and worked really well.

Things started off great when Madeleine caught two of our biggest Walleye on the first and second day of fishing. Unfortunately, I made a big mistake when I lost the first walleye on a stringer while trying to add another walleye to the stringer. Nevada had a great time giving me a hard time about losing the walleye, but he made a bigger gaff on Wednesday when he got snagged while fishing and ended up losing his rod & reel. The reel was brand new which he purchase just before the trip and the rod was borrowed from me. I had bought two rod & reel setups, so he borrowed my second one when needed. Nevada caught the biggest bass on the trip, pictured below.

Wednesday was the best day in the BWCA as we woke up to dead calm conditions on Basswood Lake. We made the most of it as we did a excursion with canoes and fishing gear only and paddled and portaged for about 9 hours round trip to the pictographs. These are old Indian paintings of moose, canoe, pelican and other similar paintings. One of the portages was over one mile long and so we got to do it twice, there and back. It was a hard day and we were all excited to make it back to camp that day.

Upper Basswood Falls

Lower Basswood Falls

Nevada and I planned to take lots of pictures and video of our trip to make a YouTube video. Nevada was much better at getting the pictures and video, but I still got some. With our two GoPro cameras and iPhones we needed to keep charged, I brought a solar panel charging system which ended up working really well. I even charged my 10ah Lithium Fish Finder battery with it. The first 2-days were overcast, the later half of the trip gave us lots of sun to power our devices.

Between making meals, fishing, and taking naps, we actually had some time to play around camp. We spent some time playing cards, throwing frisbee, and making a swing with the canoe seat.

Although living in the back-country for a week is a tough task, it makes you appreciate the things we take for granted back home. On our excursion back from the pictographs Madeleine and I spent a couple hours talking about food and cold drinks. We decided then that we would order a big ole cheeseburger, butterscotch milkshake, and a tall glass of sprite with lots of ice when we excited the BWCA. Oh the joys of a soft bed, clean clothes, good food, and no bugs! It's great to be home.

Press Bear Trap for Com plaint Department

On our day out we took some time to take our picture next to the "Compliant Department - Press For Service" sign which is a bear trap. We take this picture each time we make it up here and it all started in 1977.

The sun, pale and faded, had settled behind a nest of mountains standing strong on the horizon. Darkness crept in slowly from above, shimmer stars trailing in its path. The gray, winter light shone on the endless miles of mountains and blue spruces, the sky a gradient of white to black. Deep below the spruces’ protection, the ground was laden with a freezing layer of snow, sparkling and sweeping into the air like dust. Under the steelblue needles of the spruce, a wolf with silver fur and a frosted muzzle was curled into a tight, warm mound. Her soft breath bellowed a white mist, writhing through the flurries as it dissipated into nothing. Safe from the bitter cold, she dreamt of her surroundings, silent and still, calm and quiet. No burden weighed in her mind. The winter had taken good care of her, snowy rabbits and foolish squirrels bounding directly into her claws, storms avoiding the mountain’s path, nights relatively warm under the thick, fine layers of her ashen coat.

A swift rush of restlessness passed through her, and her misty eyes blinked open, her acute senses slowly coming into focus. Her ear twitched with a sudden echoing noise. A deep, low thunder rattled the sky in the distance as the sun finally dipped below the ground and darkness overtook the mountains. Quick, unsteady flashes of light snapped behind a peak far beyond the wolf’s tree. An uneasy panic set aflame inside her chest, and her heart pounded as she leapt to her paws.
A wolf is wise, knowing, intelligent, and careful. Despite her experience alone and in the cold, she was without a pack. No ravens to guide her to prey, no home to return to at the day’s end. But nonetheless, she pressed on, and her slowly, listening steps quickened into a trot, then to a run. Another wolf’s skill is endurance. She leapt over snow-covered logs and dangerous drifts, the warning thunder and shattering lighting far behind. If the clouds began to rain, it would turn to snow; and fresh, powdery snow was the hardest to traverse. Her heart and breathing soon synced the smooth rhythm of her pace, a pattern she knew too well, a skill she’d perfected with knowledge and time. The key to endurance was consistency, keeping powerful footfalls on packed snow so she didn’t fall beneath the ice where she’d surely freeze to death.
A memory flickered in the back of her mind. An image. It was a deep cavern nestled under deep hills of the white powder, protected from the strengthening breeze that was beginning to stir the mountains. The wolf remembered how crystal icicles hung, cold and sharp, from the high ceiling. She saw this cave when she was trekking down the slopes, scouting for prey. The sparkling moonlit pools still lingered in her mind. It would make the perfect place to stay while the winter storm passed.

Tiredness tugged at her paws, slowing her down. It would be dangerous to stop now. Instead, she wound under firs and spruces, where the snow was sparser. It took some of the frozen strain off her footing. Soon, she rounded the large drifts and thick forests and was met with the beastly appearance of the cave. The entrance was seemingly consumed by snow, falling like white waterfalls over the gaping hole in the mountain. The wolf glanced at the sky. Gray clouds had covered the stars, roaring and growling ferociously with light and frozen rain. Quickly, she scurried inside, dodging sharp spears of ice and rock. The ground thankfully leveled out to a domed area with flat pools of water. Crouching beside the stillness, she lapped up the precious liquid in furious gulps. Heavy snow began to rain down outside the cave, rugged gale tearing at the forest outside.

Away from the danger, the wolf relaxed her aching muscles and her tail sheltered her from the worries of a frigid land. The coldness and loneliness of the empty wild seemed to fade as she fell into a soundless sleep.

A bright, steady light awoke her, startling her to her feet. But the cave was dark. So dark, in fact, the wolf could only see so far as the pool of water beside her, which had turned to ice. An uneasy sensation lay heavy within the cave as she searched frantically for hold. The stone floor of the cave had a thin layer of ice, where the condensation had frozen. She slid occasionally as she clawed for footing. It wasn’t very long before she found the translucent sheet of snow that lay like a blanket over the entrance. Panic sank into her fur with a fiery feeling. Her muzzle brushed apart the snow carefully. The entrance was blocked, but the storm appeared to be over. Only a still silence remained. The wolf heard a sudden crunching sound and a few heavy flakes of snow rained down from the frozen wall. She whimpered in fear and lept back, fur spiking. The wall would collapse if she continued digging, but she would die if she remained in the cave. Her thoughts focused on her empty stomach and her dry throat. She lapped up some water from the flat pool—she remembered where it was, of course—and wandered over to the frozen wall again. She stared, foggy eyes glistening with concern. Warily, she crept closer, nosing her way against the sharp snowflakes. A few more scattered down from above, but the gray morning light that traced through the snow to the other side was growing gradually brighter. To the wolf’s great relief, the latticework of snow was thinning.

Finally, she burst through the last of the snow with a leap like that of a fox. She crashed into a deep, powdery drift on the other side, the fresh cold burning her pelt. Something rumbled from above, and she struggled out of the drift, darting under a thick fir. She crouched, anxiously studying the shaking trellis of snow. It came crashing down in a heartbeat, white clouds of snow billowing from the cavern, stumbling down the slope and toward her like a landslide. In one cunning, swift motion, she spun on her paws and fled, bolting through the trees and snow. Her gray ears twitched with the sound of more snow falling. She’d caused an avalanche. And now she was fleeing toward life, death snapping at her tail. Wind whipped her left and right, and she finally stumbled into a small glen. Terror loomed in every corner. She shot out, muscles searing with pain, and scurried up a steep hill, where the snow would surely stop. She climbed, icy rocks scraping her paw pads as she clawed her way up the cliffside. Finally, panting out bitter air, she halted and stared down at the bleak landscape that’d almost killed her. The snowslide had foundered to a stop, leaving only the top halves of trees peeking out of the glacial rubble. The wolf shivered as she noticed it. The mountain of the cavern. A whole cliffside had shook free of its snow, now it was just barren rock. Somewhere deep below the white covering lay the entrance to the cavern, cold and lost. She felt a numbing loss as she suddenly forgot where she was. But she needn’t rely on knowledge, rather wisdom (as wolves do). She knew that on the other side of this mountain, prey would be safe and unknowing of the disaster that had happened. She would continue down the other side of the mountain, where she would survive and thrive throughout the rest of the bitter winter. When spring arose, she would prepare for the next winter, and the cycle would continue. It didn’t matter where she was, it mattered where she would be.

She was a wolf, after all.

--
~ Lauren Summer ~
~ 7th Grade ~

Steelblue Spruce

By Lauren Summer