September 1999

September 1999

I went with an old college roommate for another camping trip to the Boundary Waters. The Boundary Waters consists of two million acres of wilderness straddling the border of Minnesota and Canada. The defining feature of this area is the preponderance of small lakes. This area was set aside in 1909 because the 2000 scattered lakes made roads and mechanized travel almost impossible. The only way to travel across this watery landscape is the same way the historic French fur trappers did. By canoe paddle and portage to the next lake.

On the drive up to Ely, MN, the radio played the newly released song Mambo #5 by Lou Bega repeatedly. After eight hours, I had the lyrics down pat. We stayed in a hotel that night and were at the outfitters early. After getting our rental canoe and loading up our camping and fishing gear, our only snag was getting our Canadian entry pass. It seems the cross-border regulations are always changing. The outfitter then power boated us to the far east end of Moose Lake. There at Prairie Portage we carried our canoe and gear into Quetico Provincial Park, the Canadian side of the Boundary Waters.

Starting with Basswood Lake we made a big circle reaching Agnes Lake deep into the wilderness. Besides a lot of paddling, we stopped often to fish hoping to supplement our dehydrated meals. We caught a few Small Mouth Bass and some nice Northern Pike. At night in camp, we listened to the beautiful but haunting call of the loon.

We had some excitement on one portage. When we heard some snorting, we thought sure we had stumbled upon a black bear. Imagine our relief and shock when a big bull moose came crashing out of the woods, jumped in the tiny bay, and swam to the opposite shore!

Another surprise of the trip was trying to paddle a stream connecting two lakes. It was nearly dry and we had to walk the canoe in bare feet. The problem turned out to be a Beaver Dam, the largest I have ever seen. It had to be almost a hundred yards wide. We needed to cross the dam. Fearing that we might breach it and get soaked in this cool weather, we carefully tiptoed across it. We didn’t need to. This beaver dam was rock solid! This beaver (or more likely family) was an amazing engineer.

The trip was not all fun and games. It seemed Mother Nature wanted us to stay as she blew a head wind almost the entire trip, making paddling strenuous. In addition, my compatriot broke his canoe chair the last day and he was useless for the very long paddle down Moose Lake. We should have pre-arranged a boat taxi for the return. By the time we finish I am exhausted and in need of my first shower in many days.