July 3-5, Bwca

[rtbaum]

I began planning this trip last February, a co-worker had shown an interest in camping. Neither he,nor his girlfriend had seen the region of Minnesota that bordered Canada. I spent a month researching areas that would make an easy introduction to this area. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is the largest wilderness area remaining in the lower 48 states and accessible only foot or water, mostly non-motorized. After much deliberation, I obtained an entry permit for East Bearskin Lake with the final destination of Johnson Falls.

Four months is a long period to plan for an amateur photographer it seems! In those 4 months, I managed to accumulate a solo canoe, hammock system, D750, Nikon f4 70-200, Nikon f1.8 28mm. I was going to party!!!

We finally got underway, driving 6 hours to our overnite campsite near the put-in, and they set up their tent, I set up the hammock under clear skies witout the tarp. About 4AM, I answered nature's call surrounded by lightning bugs. At 5AM, I figured out not all flashes were bugs!!!! Never hang without the tarp!

Next morning, we rose early and picked up their rental canoe, about 5 minutes later things began to unravel. It turns out my co-worker is scared sh*tless of canoes! We paddled about 2 miles to the first campsite available, next to Crocodile River



It was clear that this as far as it was prudent to travel. I was disappointed but I had my new toys and this dismal site had its amenities


sole access to Crocodile falls


pretty flowers


cool old growth White Pine (gotta wonder-why is it still standing)


nice sunset

more to come

[Cantab]

Randy, this is a nice set of pictures. I'm glad you were finally able to recover the images. The old growth white pine is quite an accomplishment. I've always found it difficult (almost impossible) to take photos of an individual tall tree in a forest but your image has the entire tree and gives an impression of its height. My only adverse comment would be whether it's possible to clone out the tripods at the base of the tree?

[rtbaum]

The tripod was an idea that didn't quite pan out

[Manfred M]

I think I can almost hear the buzz of the mosquitoes in your shots. An interesting background story to compliment the images.

[rtbaum]

I think I can almost hear the buzz of the mosquitoes in your shots. An interesting background story to compliment the images.

Manfred-That was the odd thing, very few mosquitoes thus far (by B-dub standards )

[Shadowman]

Nice series, humorous story.

[Manfred M]

Amazing - up this way, June and July is the height of mosquito season and with all that water around , the little blighters should be breeding like crazy, although they tend not to get too far offshore on the water.

We are planning to do a drive around Lake Superior with a friend from Europe later this year (late September and early October). The timing is mainly driven by the fall colours, but also by the fact that the little blighters will be gone.

[rtbaum]

Amazing - up this way, June and July is the height of mosquito season and with all that water around , the little blighters should be breeding like crazy, although they tend not to get too far offshore on the water.

We are planning to do a drive around Lake Superior with a friend from Europe later this year (late September and early October). The timing is mainly driven by the fall colours, but also by the fact that the little blighters will be gone.

My only guess is that it was a very dry May which delayed the hatch, I'm sure they will make an appearance as it was very moist when we were up there.

Are you planning the full circuit?

[IzzieK]

All very nice and clear shot! and good narrative too to accompany them. Bravo...!!
I like the overview of the place in #1; my favourite is #3 believe it or not because of the diseased leaves so nicely exposed. It just brought my eyes there because of it...the tripod in #4, is it supporting that pine tree? I don't think it is sturdy enough... Hope to see some more of your shots from that trip...

[dje]

Very nice set Randy. I like the waterfall and the pine tree in particular.

Dave

[bnnrcn]

Very nice series Randy My favs are #2 and #4. I think all images are a bit oversharpened and look crisp, so, I would take some of the sharpening back for a more natural look. In the waterfall shot I would clone the top part of the plant in front of the middle big rock . And the tripod in #4 needs cloning as suggested by the other members.

[DougR]

I wanted to go on a canoe trip of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area since I was a young pup reading outdoor magazines. I'm really sorry that you weren't able able to journey farther and take us with you as I'm sure that finger was itchin' to take some more wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing.

[Manfred M]

Are you planning the full circuit?

If you mean drive all the way around Lake Superior (USA and Canada), the answer is yes.

It's a bit of a long story. My wife and I were planning a trip to do a bit of day hiking and some photography this fall. A friend of our from Belgium was planning to head off to Nepal to do some trekking and photography, but the earthquake there changed her plans and started looking at an organized tour to these parts that they are packaging as "Indian Summer" tours to Europeans. She sent us the prospectus and the tour really did not cover the stuff she likes doing, so we reorganized our plans by around a week and now she's coming with us.

Part of the trip is essentially a redo of a solo trip I did to the Algoma Region of Ontario a couple of years ago. My wife and I were still working and her busiest time of year was the fall, so now that we have both retired, we were both planning to do it. The stretch on Highway 17 from Sault Ste Marie ON to a bit south of Wawa is renowned for its fall colours, so I spent a few days there and was planning to head along the north shore of Lake Superior to Thunder Bay, but a really bad wind storm hit the day before I got to Wawa and stripped the leaves from the trees, so I headed east again to places that still had the fall colours.

So we are going to try it again this year, but instead of heading back along the same route we came, we are looking to spend around 4 days / 3 nights heading along around the lake on the USA side too and will be crossing back into Canada at Sault Ste Marie.

[rtbaum]

After a very restful sleep in the hammock and a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and chocolate chip pancakes, I convinced my co-worker to give it another try. He traded places with his girl friend, I thought that maybe sitting in the stern would give him a better sense of stability. They made it about a quarter mile before turning back <sigh>. I decided to continue down East Bearskin to the first portage in my solo canoe.......I was finally in heaven


Quiet Journey


Beaver Lodge


Lichen and Boulders


Yellow Water Lotus


Water Lily


Alder Creek and the usual reason for a portage


Weathered logs


Bull frog welcomes me to his portage


Alder lake portage from East Bearskin


I was not entirely alone


Alder Lake


After viewing Alder lake, this is the view when I turned around


Walks on Water awaits me ......doesn't everyone name their canoe?

Upon my return to the campsite, I was informed that my co-worker was bored, his girlfriend was suddenly in need for maxipads, and various other excuses that we must exit the Bwca <sigh> and return to "civilization"


The locals bid me farewell

[DougR]

Your friends missed out on so much...

[rtbaum]

Your friends missed out on so much...

I truly felt sorry for his girlfriend, as she was clearly game to continue. This area is clearly not for everyone, it is remote and one must have certain skills.

http://www.bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseac...ID=12&confID=1

You may find the preceding link interesting and may understand why I chose to cut it short

[rtbaum]

Manfred-I did that tour 40+ years ago, I will look forward to the photos (hint, hint). My family would trailer up to the Algoma area from Michigan in the summer. If you are interested, I can recommend quite a few areas to visit on this side of Superior.

[rtbaum]

That bad??????

[Loose Canon]

Nice series Randy.

Sorry about the Run. Put-in day is no time to admit that you are scared sh*tless of a canoe. Unfair to yourself and especially the others in the Group. And also especially considering the trip was planned so far in advance that some practice time could have been spent in the boat. Unfortunately, it’s hard tellin’ not knowin’ how folks will react in a wilderness environment. It ain’t yo’ mama’s Holiday Inn!

I’ve put together tons of these expeditionary trips in my life. Just got off one last month where I took 10 souls down the Green River/Labyrinth Canyon, Utah in high water. Wanted to continue on to Cataract but decided not to go for a permit due to the lack of whitewater experience of the Group. The Colorado was rippin'! No backing out of a canyon run! Once committed to the canyon there is only one way out!

The BWCAW for me was two weeks in back in ought “96. We got there just after “the hatch” and it could almost be said that it ruined the trip. But we were younger and could put up with a lot more. Including the leaches and of course bears! Had some visiting bears but they didn’t get the grub (hung)! Fishing was pretty good though and no doubt one of the most beautiful areas I have seen.

You were more diplomatic that I probably would have been. If someone waited until the put in to tell me they had a fear of canoes I probably would have left them with their part of the grub and finished the run solo! Well, maybe. They sure wouldn’t be invited back!

Hope you and Walks on Water (yes, everyone’s boat is named! Mine is Dances with Chipmonks due to a rather hilarious encounter years ago!) get back in there soon Randy! I’d like to see some more shots of the area.

[rtbaum]

Upon exiting the wilderness, we setup camp in an overgrown campsite. The one redeeming quality was the profusion of orange hawkweed



The civilization after driving the Gunflint Trail is Grand Marais, a picturesque (and maybe a little quirky) town that is one of very few safe harbors on Minnesota's northshore. Keep in mind that at the time of sailing ships and steamers, Lake Superior was the only access to the fishing villages that once were found in this area


Historic Blacksmith facility

After a hearty breakfast at My Sister's Place we took a little jaunt further north to Judge Magney State Park to hike in to Devil's Kettle. The trail in a little rugged and involves descending about 200 steps to descend to the base of the lower falls, me carrying about 60# of camera gear. Please forgive the somewhat blurry shots, but I was shot


overview of the lower falls, still relatively fresh


after going down, down, down

We browsed around the lower falls for spell before moving on to Devil's Kettle



Now for the mystery.....note that Devil's Kettle is split. The right half is your typical cascading falls. The left half has no visible outlet, it literally vanishes into the rock and does not reemerge. To this date there is no explanation for where it goes. My best guess is that it travels underground through a fracture into Lake Superior.

Now for the hike back. By this point I decided that carrying the photo gear was an asset. Amazing how one is able to catch one's breath when stopping to take some photos


Watch your step


Not sure this does justice showing how this boardwalk is definitely canted to the left


where I have come


where I gotta go

It was July 5th for the rest of Minnesota; on the Northshore, it is still late Spring and flowers were very much in bloom


Bunchberry


Canada Mayflower


One-flowered Pyrola with an extra for the bug guys


Twinflower


Wild Rose

The rest of the trip tomorrow........