The trip to the Boundary Waters and our beloved Big Lake was lovely. The route we chose in the BWCA ended up pretty tough and it pushed all of us. We paddled and hiked in six hours, crossing 6 lakes and 6 portages (and yes, we did have to do each portage twice due to all our gear!). The mosquitoes were fierce on land and we couldn't get back on the water fast enough. I feared our campsite would be intolerable. Luckily at the end of the first day (after seeing Mama moose and her baby) we found a site on an island that had a breeze that kept the bugs at bay the whole time we were there. The weather was on and off beautiful, some sun, plenty of rain, lovely still evenings.
Blueberries weren't ripe yet but were plentiful. Might be worth a trip back!
Floating bogs! With carnivorous sundew and pitcher plants (which were blooming!).
Good fishing!
And plenty of relaxing.
Phinn, the newest, littlest-ever pooch did great. He rode like a pro in the canoe, didn't mind bugs or campfire smoke, and even did a tiny bit of reluctant swimming in order to chase some sticks. He especially loved sleeping in Iris' bag. Yes, he is growing on us.
Back home now with work and camp, calls to Mayo, appointments to make, research to do. I think we are feeling like our trip north fed our souls and gave us strength for what lies ahead. We'll keep you posted.
1 comment:
Sounds like you had a lovely time. I have extremely fond memories of my canoe-camping trips with my dad when I was a kid!
Post a Comment