The final trip of the 2008 season…

Day/ Werman Group

The final trip of the 2008 season couldn’t have been any better.  Wilderness Journey’s guests were two couples who were lifelong friends. They had been to Boundary Waters before but the last time they visited the area was over 30 years ago.

David and Karen Day and Dave and Linda Werman did a 6 day loop that included 14 Lakes, 2 rivers and 1 creek.  Along the way the wildlife was plentiful, the fishing was spectacular, and we visited 2 waterfalls as well as the Crooked lake Pictographs.

Day One

This group had been here before and they hit the trail running.  The forecast was 70 degrees and heavy rain for our entire travel day but they were still excited and we knew better weather was on its way.  

We paddled out of entry point 23 and went through Mudro, Fourtown, Boot, Fairy and Gun Lake where we made camp at the best campsite on the lake.  It had great spots for the tents and lots of firewood behind camp. We arrived after a 5 hour paddle through light rain, heavy rain, driving rain and fat rain… pretty much Forest Gump rain.  But it didn’t dampen this groups’ spirit.  We hit camp, set up a tarp over the fire pit and started a fire.

After the rain stopped we set up camp.  While enjoying the campfire we saw a few beavers checking us out swimming within feet of the camp.  After a good first day, we all went to sleep anticipating what the next 6 days would bring us.

Day Two

     This morning we woke up at 6am to the howling of wolves. I took this as a sign that another great trip is on.  Everybody exits their tents saying, “Did you hear that?!”  We were all excited and it looked to be a beautiful day. We had breakfast.  We are in no hurry this morning and took our time breaking down camp.  We were on our way by 10am but not before hearing the wolves howl again.

     We made our way to the end of Gun then go through Wagoosh, Niki then checkout an area on way to Chippewa where I know carnivorous pitcher plants and sundew grow.  When we arrived, we found hundreds of pitcher plants blooming.  After a brief photo-op, we made our way through Papoose and on to Crooked Lake where we planned to get one of the fine campsites between Friday and Thursday Bays. We arrived to the area and checked out a site on the island but it didn’t have enough space for three tents, so we moved on to the next site.  When we checked it out, we discovered a great campsite... it is new in my book as 1 of the top 5 campsites in the BWCA.  It rests on a point at the mouth of a large bay and an area that is very scenic and looks very fishy. After we set up camp and have dinner, I could see the group was excited about the site and I asked if they wanted to stay here an extra day and make it a long day last day out.... they all instantly jumped on the idea. Now we can all relax knowing we have nothing to do tomorrow but fish and explore.

     Before nightfall, I paddled around the campsite to scout for fishing hotspots for the next day.  I saw a large rock about 100 yards from camp.  It was right on the U.S and Canadian border and has a boundary marker on it.  While fishing, I caught a small Northern then another fish broke my line and I saw a weed bed around it that tapered off into 20 feet of water. I thought, “Ah! Ha! I found a good spot.”  I went back to camp and told them about the fishing spot and say we should hit it early tomorrow morning.  They all agreed.  While I was out, Linda caught Northerns right off the campsite. We were all around the campfire when Linda asked me what time she could expect the northern lights.  I said jokingly, “9:35pm!”  Well… I was off by 35 minutes. The northern lights displayed themselves at 9pm.  Everybody sat out on the large rocky point watching then returned to the campfire where there was a slow exodus to the tents and the last of us disappeared about 10:30pm.

Day three

      We have a big breakfast and hit the area I had discovered the day before and we start slamming Smallies one after another.  We were all laughing while we watch each other battle fish.  It lasts a couple of hours, and then we explore the area. David and I go to the back of the bay where we discover what could possibly be the largest beaver den in all the BWCA.  I climb to the top and pose for a photo.

     We broke for lunch and rested up for evening fishing.  We were on the lake by 5pm.  The Wermans were getting the Walleyes for dinner while Karen and I were getting Smallies.  Again we are all laughing and carrying on until the sun fell and we made our way back to camp where David had a campfire ready for us. We were all sleeping by 10pm.

Day Four

            We woke to a light but disappearing rain shower and were on our way to a campsite in the lower Basswood Falls area.  It was another picture perfect morning and we were on our way by 8:30am.  We should arrive in the area by 12:30am.     Along the way we saw what seemed to be some sort of struggle in the middle of a big bay.  All we could see was a bunch of splashing then we decided to sneak up and saw what I thought was an otter.  When I got right on top of the struggle I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a 40” Northern with a 22”, 5 pound Whitefish in its jaws thrashing back and forth.  When it let go by the canoe and swam off, I picked up the whitefish while Karen took a photo.  We were all once again shocked by the event.  When I put the fish back into the lake, the Northern returned and took a swipe at the fish again and swam off.  We move on hoping the Northern will return and finish its lunch.  As we paddled off, someone in the group says, “Look at that!”  We all looked back and saw a osprey fly down and check out the Whitefish but decide it was too big to carry off.  I yelled, “Now that’s a fish that’s having a bad day!”  We all laugh and check out Table Rock.  Table Rock was a campsite used by voyageurs and Indians for over 300 years.

     When we get near the lower basswood area we get what turns out to be the greatest campsite I have ever seen. It’s on a bluff 20 feet above crooked lake where the lower basswood falls enter into the lake. It also has two nesting eagles that fish in the area. We all feel truly blessed to have been so lucky this entire trip. We plan on staying here for two nights and once again we rest up for a long day fishing and sightseeing tomorrow.

Day Five

            Today the plan was to check out lower Basswood Falls, fish Basswood River and then check out Wheelbarrow Falls.  We hit lower Basswood Falls and took numerous photos then moved on to one of my favorite fishing areas: the Basswood River. There we saw an eagle and I snuck up to get some photos.  I even got some of it flying away.  Then we saw what we thought was a large golden eagle.  When we hit the holes, we were slamming Walleyes and Smallies with a few Northerns.  When we tired of the area we spread out.  When I hit Wheelbarrow Falls, I got into the Walleyes and the rest of the group moved over.  We got so many fish that we started to let the bigger fish go and keep the smaller ones.  I grab all the fish and go back to camp to clean them and prepare lunch.  The others showed up and we had Walleyes and mac & cheese.  We sat under the tarp during a brief rain shower and watched the eagles across the lake.  We observed they have a favorite tree they liked to sit in when there’s a rain shower.

            When we saw a break in the weather, we paddled over to check out the local pictographs.  The group was excited and took a few photos and hurry back to camp before the rain returned.  We waited out the rain and had our final campfire.

Day Six

            This is the final day of the trip and the rain was steady but welcomed. We hoped for it to raise the Horse River.  We heard that it was shallow due to a recent drought and it does help we are able to go through areas that a few days ago, people had to portage.  As we paddled up the Horse River a pileated woodpecker flies over us.  We were through the Horse River and on Horse Lake in 3 ½ hours. We made our way to the Tin Can Mike portage and stopped at a nearby spot for lunch.  Then we went through Tin Can Mike, Sandpit then Mudro Lake and we were at the parking lot by 4:30pm.  When we arrived the group fist bumps in celebration of a great trip!

Look forward to seeing you all again soon. 

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Ramsey Dowgiallo