On The Trail Again

My new found love of solo hiking lead me back to the trail this last week. I decided I needed to see more of the border route trail and put in at the South Lake trail, which runs north for about 3 miles before it intersects with the border route trail, where I would follow it east to Rose Falls. From Rose falls I would get reaquanted with the Caribou Rock trail and head south 3 miles to Hungry Jack road. My lack of planning, or lack of caring to plan left me 5 miles from my car once I hit Hungry Jack road. This small inconvenience seemed slight as I struck off on the South Lake trail at noon. My experience from the hike a week earlier prepared me for the familiar overgrown conditions of the trail. With each step north taking me farther from the sounds of cars on the Gunflint, I set a brisk pace and was thankful for the beautiful day. An hour later, and after twice being convinced I had lost the trail and would need to retrace my steps, I met up with the border route trail. This section of the trail was in much worse shape than the section I had been on a week prior. Most of this trail made me feel like I was straight out of Hollywood, stalking through the jungle crouched over, pushing brush out of my way to keep an eye on the trail, the only things missing were a knife in my teeth and a blood soaked bandana on my forehead. Just as my thoughts of Rambo were reaching their imaginary peak, the brush cleared and I started ascending a rocky "Aggro-Crag" of a hill. Only with the help of Mark O'Malley cheering me on in my mind did I manage to summit the hill. The work was worth every second as upon reaching the top I was rewarded with what must be one of the best views I have ever had the privilage of laying eyes on. I spent some time trying to come up with the words to describe the view and my feelings at that moment, but decided there is no way I could do it justice. After rejuvenating in the sun and breeze for a while I headed out, knowing I would never forget my short stay on that rock. The trail down to Rose Falls was more of the same and I assumed the commando position. I reached Rose Falls and didn't spend much time exploring. It made me realize how much time I have spent up here and how many times I have seen the falls. From there I was a bit disappointed I would be traveling over the Caribou Rock trail again, but as there was no other way to get back without going over trails I had been on, it was the fastest way. My planning for this hike was done in a way that copied my first hike, except for when I started. All of my rations were the same, including the amount of water I brought, which was more than enough the week before. I am assuming it was the sun and the strenous nature of the days hike that caused me to run out of water 2 miles before I got to Hungry Jack road. Either way I was in a bit of a pickle as the last bit of water was savored on Duncan Lake. As I hiked the signs and symptoms of dehyradtion started in. I had quite sweating in the hot afternoon sun, my mouth was dry as a bone, and even the smallest inclines sent me into a hunched over gasping fit for air. All of these were clear signs I needed water. Reaching Hungry Jack road was a relief, although I was still 2 miles from Trail Center, the nearest establishment that provided clean drinking water. These were 2 miles from hell, I thought the fact I would be on a smooth road would make it easier. The only thing the road provided was a clear picture of just how far I was from water, as well as plenty of time to feel my thighs cramping harder with each step. I could picture a happy family heading up to the cabin rounding a curve in the road and finding my remains, a pile of clothes and a backpack, as my body had already dried and shriveled to dust only to be blown away in the wind. Just when I thought my legs had finally turned to cement I stepped back onto the Gunflint, with Trail Center and a glass of water, only one hundred yards away. As I zombie walked into the restaurant the last open bar stool was glowing from a single beam of heavenly light. Angels with harps and a gospel choir started warming up in my head as I sat down and ordered two glasses of ice water with ice. The angels and choir came together in glorious unison as I chugged the water down. Instantly feeling revived, I savored the second glass and reflected on a wonderful days hike turned death defying. I now have a much more serious appreciation and understanding of the power of water. Never again will the water filter be left behind on a solo hike, and never again will I underestimate the power of a tall glass of ice water on a hot afternoon.

Thanks For Reading

-Erik

Wild Flowers in Bloom

All these photos were taken in the past few days on Clearwater Road. It is a riot of different colors and flowers now. - Lynn

Rainy Days

For all of you cabin and bed and breakfast guests who are about to visit but worried about our rainy June, don.t fret the North woods and shore provide endless adventures. And even if you don.t fish or aren.t headed out for a trip into the BWCA, I.ve got some trips for you. The trail does provide ample scenery, wildlife, hikes, and, of course, lakes. But if you are looking for a great day trip from the lodge try heading a little further north on 61.



You might be wondering what there is to get excited about once you pass Sven and Ole.s, the World.s Best Donuts, Joynes Ben Franklin, and the rest of Grand Marais. But there is more than just the duty-free border shop goodies. You.ve probably heard of Tettegouche and Temperance river, but have you made it all the way to Judge C.R. Magney and Grand Portage State Parks? If not, you are missing four of the best waterfalls I.ve seen to date. At Magney park, Upper and Devil.s Kettle falls both are at impressive flow heights, and the Kettle always offers an intriguing question of where the water actually disappears too. High falls on the border is both raging and refreshing with its misting off spray. But the most enjoyable trek is the visit to Middle Falls at the end of the Grand Portage park. Bring a lunch and relax on the rocks next to falls.



Naniboujou lodge also offers a good rainy day reprieve with its depression era building and fancy little dining hall. Both its decor and history are worth the stop in itself, but the food is superb as well. A day cruise to Isle Royale or a stop at the Grand Portage Reservation casino also provide an entertaining way to beat sometimes unfavorable summer weather.

Camping With My Parents

Well it has been awhile since I have written, seeing as everyone else here has decided to pitch in and add their voice to the blog. That being the case I decided I would grab today's slot to write a little bit about my latest trip into the BWCA with my parents. Earlier this spring when I was telling my mom about our days off and scheduling, she decided she would really like to go on a trip into the BWCA with me...My dad was not quite as enthusiastic. Nonetheless we began to plan and decided to head in off Clearwater right after I got off work on Sunday, and stay out for 3 nights. As I have never had dehydrated foods on my trips with friends, I opted to plan the menu and prepared a list of food for my mom to buy and pack. My dad however, fearful that we were going to starve added in plenty of "extras"… I’m fairly certain we could have stayed out there another 3 days on the food we had. My parents came up to the cabin on Friday and came over Saturday afternoon to go sort through gear and food, and make plans for departure the next day. We had some good laughs decided what to bring and what to leave behind. Despite laughter, some bossiness and disagreements, we finally had everything pretty well figured out.
Sunday dawned… gray, overcast, with on-and-off again showers… it did not look like the best day for heading out. My parents showed up, we started getting packed up as it drizzled out, then the sun came out and our hopes went up… however not 40 ft from the dock it started to drizzle, and then proceeded to pour. Needless to say the portages were wet, muddy, and mosquito laden as we made our way to Pine Lake. As we had such a late start, we were all tired, and worried about not getting a camp site, but luck was with us and the first site on Pine was open and we took it as ours.
The next couple days were a lot of fun. We went fishing most of Monday, paddling a ways down pine, and fishing at the worst time of the day simply because we wanted to be on the lake. We didn't get many bites, but my dad did manage to pull in 2 decent walleyes, one got away right by the boat. Tuesday was much of the same; we hung around camp for awhile in the morning, napping in the sun and talking or reading. We decided to try fishing again, along the opposite shore this time, hoping for better luck. Even though it is blasphemy to say this up here, I really don't fish, and had decided to get my fishing license finally before this trip. My dad claims that I had a fish at one point on Tuesday, but me not knowing any better thought that I was getting snagged on a rock and jerked the line right out of its mouth apparently… I'm still skeptical.
Despite my dad’s fear of going hungry, we had some great meals; including camp fire pizzas and BWCA cake from the bakepacker. We also had some really nice little fires in our fire pit. Thankfully because of the rain there are very few fire restrictions this year, and it is wonderful to be able to enjoy a fire and a cup of tea or coco at night.

On one of our forages behind the camp for fire wood, my dad spotted these little purple flowers; we believe they are some kind of wild orchid. Very pretty!

One of our constant sources of entertainment or interest over the 3 days was the loons nesting on the island about 20ft off our campsite. It was very neat to watch the mates taking turns sitting on the eggs, swimming buy our camp site, and fishing right off the point of the island; never far from each other. Their calls at night and in the morning were very soothing and a quintessential part of the north woods.
As morning dawned on Wednesday, our day to go home… we awoke to torrential down pouring rain. Instead of trying to leave we decided to wait it out, added a second tarp to our already built rain-fly, and sat down to eat some breakfast. After a while it lightened up and we headed out. By the time we were on the water the sun was coming out strong. Despite some small hang-ups, like deflating sleeping mats, stuck zippers on tents, forgetting essential pieces of paper, we had a great trip. I know others may wonder at the decision of going on a trip with parents, I always enjoy my parents, they are a riot and I would take them (or rather go with them) any time!



-AJ