BWCA
- September 2011
Page
2: Days 1-2
Island River to Quadga Lake
The Map
A
map of the area can be found here (opens
in a new window). Leave the map open and you'll be able to follow
along on each of the travel days.
Day
1 – Wednesday, September 7 – Island River
At
8:00, after a nice breakfast at the lodge, Ben - the CBO cook,
chauffeur, and a fascinating raconteur - and I head out for South
Kawishiwi River (EP32) where I lock up the
car and load my stuff in and on the CBO van. Ben drops me off
at Island River (EP34) at 10:00.
Here's
my boat (a Mad River Independence) and gear just before heading out.
It’s
a perfect day – no clouds, almost no wind, temps in the upper
70s. There are lots of rice beds and floating, tangled vegetation
in the Island and Isabella Rivers. It’s tough going at
times, including some double-poling with both paddles. Who’d
have thought skiing technique would come in handy on a river?
The
Island River has extensive stands of aquatic grasses that sometimes
provide a broad channel and other times converge to make the canoeist
wonder if it's possible to get through. Thankfully, the former condition
was by far the more common.
The
Independence is a good boat for river tripping. Its
maneuverability enables me to pick my way through a few rock gardens
and line through a few more; I doubt the Prism would handle
obstacles as adroitly. In this way I'm able to avoid several
portages, though at the expense of some scratches. Thank you,
gelcoat. Here's the end of the
first non-portage, what would otherwise be a little 3-rod hop:
The
device sitting on the gunwales is the top of the Knu-Pac carrier.
Below is another picture showing the whole thing. The cupped ends
support the boat on a removable metal bar that functions as a carry
thwart. The rest of the carrier is an external
backpack frame to which I strap bulky items like the tent and chair.
The wooden stick lashed to the end of the boat protects the deck plate,
which is grounded when lifting the boat up onto the carrier.
The
Island River flows into the Isabella River. This is a typical scene:
The
Isabella is occasionally narrow, but not here. The haze in the background
is smoke from the Pagami Creek fire, which I breathe for the next
several days.
I
encounter several tight spots caused
by the low water levels. I can paddle through this one, though some
of the other squeezes involve getting out and either pulling the boat
through or lining it from the shore.
I
finally get to the portage to Quadga Lake. It's marked as 61 rods,
but my body tells me it's longer, later confirmed by the GPS at 84
rods. I'm unhappy that my map doesn't show The Place of Ankle Twisting;
if it did, I might have avoided it. Luckily it isn't a bad sprain.
After
settling in at site 1 (C1934) I watch the smoke billow, noting that
it isn’t bad but
will probably continue for a while. I
have no idea of the conflagration that’s brewing.
First
sunset picture of the trip. The sun was almost red due to the smoke.
The
moon was nearly full and rose early enough to be sunlit in the late
afternoon.
The
long rock wall had several deep fissures that collected water and reflections.
This
is the first of several panoramas in which I try to capture the
effects of the smoke on the sky at dusk:
In
between pans there was all this scenery just begging to be shot.
More
panning:
More
sunset:
Dinner
is Hawk Vittles’ Moroccan Stew and flatbread, with a sip of Chambord
for dessert.
Still
more sunset:
More
moonrise:
The
sky really was this purple.
I
sleep well, despite hearing some rhythmic huffing or wheezing around
10:00 pm. A bear? I let out a couple of big barks and the
sound stops. After a second round of huffing and barking it stops
for good - as far as I know. I’m reassured by knowing the
camp is clean and the food well-stashed.
Day
1 summary:
Total distance 7.9 miles in 6:05
5 portages of 250 rods in 2:08
Day
2 – Thursday, September 8 – Quadga Lake Layover
There
are worse ways to celebrate your 62nd birthday than by waking up to
perfect weather in the Boundary Waters on a layover day, with nothing
to do but pay attention.
Today’s
plan is to go hiking on the PowWow Trail, which is accessible on the
other side of the lake. Like
other best-laid plans, it goes a-gley in favor of eating, resting,
rehydrating, and settling into this new life. This is Day 2 and
I have no illusions about Day 4, that point in the trip (which may
come at any time) when the novelty wears off and you just want to go
home and sleep in your own bed.
The
Pagami Creek fire is still going. The smoke is a pall over the
W/NW sky until the wind comes up. Then it comes my way
and eventually goes up and over. Yesterday was cloudless and
today would be, too, except for the smoke.
This
morning provides nice light for shooting:
Lots
of loon activity today, especially at dusk and through the night. Also
beaver, possibly an otter, eagles, and ravens, but not many mosquitoes
- yet.
Quadga
Lake – Pagami Creek Fire
Warm
smell of spruce;
the call of the loon,
frogs plunking their escape
as I slowly walk along the shore.
The forest is burning a few miles away.
Animals die in their burrows
or escape, merely singed, if they’re lucky.
I love all natural things
and it’s hard to not to wish the fire away.
I don’t mind the smoke.
It’s the loss of others’ lives and homes
that makes me choke.
Dinner
is Mountain House long grain and wild rice pilaf with rehydrated chicken,
and a bit of sherry for dessert.
Tomorrow:
On to Gabbro Lake
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