Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness

I would like to share some of my photos of my 2nd trip into the BWCA.

In mid Aug 2009 I traveled to Mn. for the sole purpose of enjoying another trip with my good friend Aaron to the BWCA. I now live in Md. flying into MSP, and was really looking forward to some piece and quiet.

The long drive in Rochester, and was not... without incident. Aaron brought the canoe from Rochester and the pads, supporting the canoe, came loose and the it listed to the passenger side of the SUV, causing quite an attraction for the morning commuters.

I must say it was also quite comical seeing a canoe strapped to the top of a vehicle, come through the airport!
We made it to the rangers station with only 10 minutes till closing, since we had to detour to find some last minute 'cities' supplies! With darkness approaching, we camped out on the Gunflint Trail NF self pays.

Our night was clear, but the morning brought a mix of sun and clouds as well as the desire to check out the GunFlint Trail. Aaron had never been this far down the GFT, so it was a 'requirement' of ours to see as much as we could. We ate breakfast at the 'End of the Trail' store. and took our time enjoying the last of civilization for the coming days. After breakfast, we went to check out a waterfall close by.

With all the detours and slowness of our pace, we decided to stay in the campsite one more night. This was to prove to be the wrong choice. Morning was misty. Very foggy. Packed up our things at 7 am. (If you don't have one... get yourself an air mattress. )

We drove to Poplar Lake and set in towards Lizz Lake. Once on Lizz, rain started falling about 10 minutes into it. Wind was calm but the rain was just drenching. Our 63 rod portage was kinda slick. We passed several canoes leaving and knew once on Caribou Lake, we were going to have to take refuge to weather it out.

The first campsite to the right of the portage was open and we decided to set up a tarp under a group of pine trees. The rain continued and our thoughts turned from our long, LONG days of trip planning... to making camp here, when we got a let up in the rain.

Rain finally stopped about 2 hours later, but the clouds looked heavy and the distance didn't look as if there were any extended rain free periods. Tents went up, We had separate tents so we each did our own thing. Rain came back fast and hard.

We could see campers across the lake swimming in the rain. Big group and a little loud at times, but it looked real fun!
With about an hour of light left, the rain stopped and we were able to emerge from our shelters/tents. Surveying the damage, both our tents got a small amount of water, but was no big threat. We were able to get some wood when we first got into camp, so when the rain stopped Aaron's fire starting skills went into work and we had dinner. Dehydrated Lasagna and beef stew were the menu choice. Our campsite was unique in the fact Aaron noted he has never seen a campsite (so far) that had the fire ring, right on a rock on the edge of the lake. Shortly after dark the rain returned and we retreated for the night.
to be continued...Read More