Late in the summer with a few warm sunny days hanging around we head down the Fernberg road to Lake 1. The sun was shining down on us as we talk a little bit about orienteering as we paddle through Lakes 1, 2, 3 and to the edge of 4 where we stop for lunch. It was a very nice day to be out on the water. Its a beautiful trip to take late in the year.
After spending the day exploring around Knifes Lower Arm we packed up our camp and headed out. We took a different rout on the way out that brought us over a portage scraped down by the glaciers during the ice age. We traveled through Ensign Lake where we show off a nice campsite. Jim talks about the effect the deer have one the area as they continue to push north.
After the long day of paddling to get into Knife Lake the day before, we decided to relax around camp and do a little exploring around Knife’s Lower Arm. It was amazing to see the destruction left over from the forest fire that had ripped through the area a few years ago. The remnants were still readily available and made portions of the trip seem very gloomy. We were revived however with a little rest and some great views atop a high island in the middle of the lower arm. With our camp already ...
Its -26 F outside here in Northern Minnesota as I edit this show. Its nice to remember the hot days paddling in the BWCAW. This day was especially hot requiring a dip in the lake at most portages. We paddled and portaged for over 8 hours until we found an open camping site on Kife lake. The portage leading into Knife lake led us to a nice little set of rappids. The crystal clear water in Knife was quite refreshing. We hopped in the water at the end of the portage and let the fast moving water re...
After checking out the pictographs on the northern edge of Lac LaCroix we decided to do a little fishing. Our goal was to head into Lady Boot Bay and use some sonar jigs to try our luck at trout fishing. Well the portage we were planning on using was pretty overgrown, and the bugs were terrible. So we headed back out into the lake looking for walleye or northern pike. Both Jim and Mat caught very nice Northerns, while I let a huge walleye jump back into the lake while trying to net it. :( Let me...
After exploring around Curtain Falls, we headed back down the portage to our canoes. Along the way we ran into Melissa and Chelsea, two young ladies working for the Forestry Service maintaining the portages. One had an axe, and the other had a shovel. They were kind enough to do a short interview with me about their jobs. After talking to them it sounded like they had quite the gig going. Eight days in the BWCAW at a time out checking and maintaining the porages in the area. I can think of a lot...
Day three on our trip into Lac LaCroix we took off early in the morning in search of Warrior Hill and some vivid pictographs. We paddled across calm waters and under sunny skies. There were a couple of bald eagles chattering away in a tree nearby. As we rounded the bend into the bay that Warrior Hill resides we encountered a little wind that made paddling a little more strenuous. The sun was still shining and getting to see Warrior Hill rise up in front of us was worth the the struggle against t...
We set out on our second day in Lac La Croix with the goal of visiting Curtain Falls. We had heard how beautiful it was and were really excited to check it out. We had a few portages and a little paddling to get there from boulder bay so we set off early in the morning. We paddled across calm waters and basked in the warm sun. When we finally made it to Curtain Falls it was amazing. The water was raging out of Crooked lake over the top of the falls pounding its way down into Lac La Croix. Mat an...
Continuing our trip on the Nina Moose River and making our way onto the Boulder River we encountered a couple of deer. They didn’t seem too concerned about our canoes gliding by in the water as they munched on the grass by the waters edge.
Our second camping trip of the summer was off to a great start. The sun was shining through the trees as Matt, Erin, Jim, and I headed down the portage from the Moose River entry point. The word on the river was that a moose had been spotted not too far from where you put in your canoe. We weren’t lucky enough to see it, but had high hopes for the rest of the trip. This is the first episode of our trip out to Lac LaCroix. You’ll see how beautiful the Nina Moose River is with a variety of scenery...
While paddling from boulder bay in Lac LaCroix, we came across a ranger station nestled in the woods at the edge of the lake. Tim a Wilderness Ranger who is based out of the LaCroix ranger station in Cook, MN was out working around the buliding and asked to see our permit.. After showing him our documentation I asked if we could get an interview. Tim was gracious enough to ablige and gave us the skinny on what goes on behind the scenes to keep camp sites and portages up and running as well as en...
Jesse Glass helps me on this beautiful day trip out to the Devils Cascade. The sun was shining and with a little head wind we headed up the Little Indian Sioux River. On the river we saw a couple deer standing in water along the shoreline. We paddled against a pretty steady head wind on Upper Pauness before taking the short portage into Lower Pauness. It was a quick paddle across Lower Pauness to the Portage into the Loon River. At the portage is where you’ll find the Devils Cascase. The water w...
Our camping trip had to come to a close. We started out in Mudro Lake and had a great time on Lower Basswood River and Crooked Lake. This episode has us portaging out of the bottom of Friday Bay in Crooked Lake and going through a number of lakes including Boot, Fairy, 4 Town, and back into Mudro to finish the trip. Along the way we had a number of portages, one as long as 300 rods. It was a doozie leaving us with tired shoulders and a few mosquito bites. We had hoped to camp right after that po...
Our last day on Crooked Lake was a great one. We had beautiful weather and a nice little current helping us along our way. We were lucky enough to watch some mergansers take off and a couple loons doing what they do best… Fishing…
The pictographs on Crooked Lake are not quite as vivid as the ones on North Hegman lake, but the location is just breathtaking. The cliff face coming up out of the water containing the pictographs creates mirrored images off the water that can look like abstract paintings.
On day two of our June camping trip we spend the day exploring around Lower Basswood Falls. It was a beautiful day out with the sun shining. The falls had a large volume of water flowing over them which really made for a great trip.
The first of three shows covering our last camping trip out of Mudro Lake. This shows our journey from the beginning of the trip on into Horse Lake, down the horse river, and finally arriving at the Basswood river to camp. We see some animals along the way, and paddle up to Wheelbarrow falls. Jim offers up some background on how the border between Canada and Minnesota was decided and shows us the the first steps in using that dehydrated burger we made in a previous show.
Hegman Lake is a great little day trip out of Ely. It has historic pictographs believed to have been painted by ojibwa native americans. If your into canoeing it's a great episode to check out.
Our first show in the water!! We were able to find some open water amidst the slush and icy shoreline. Our destination... Table Rock Falls. We encounter flocks of ducks rafted up on the lake feeding the falls, and some pretty amazing shots of the raging water surrounded by a snowy setting.
Another cooking tip from Jim. How to save money by making your own dry meals. Dehydrated hamburger is the first step in making lightweight delicious meals for out in the wilderness. This is something we have used over the years and feel like we have not only saved a ton of money, but also felt like our meals may have been a little more tasty. If you look at the cost of freeze dried meals in camping stores these days and feel like they are a bit spendyhopefully this video will help you on your wa...
A little side trip from the BWCA. My wife and I spent a week with my parents up in Valdez, Alaska. We did a little flying, snowshoeing, and checked out some of the boats down in the small boat harbor. It was a nice time visiting family.
A very popular topic in the forum today we’ll show you how to use the Bake Packer. Jim Aune takes us through the steps to make some delicious blueberry muffins right at camp. This is something I’m sure you’ll be throwing in your pack on your next adventure. Its a great way to have some variety at meal time. Hope you enjoy the show.
