Participants
(Suomen Partiolaiset,
Scouts
Canada, Boy Scouts of America):Participants
(Suomen Partiolaiset,
Scouts
Canada, Boy Scouts of America):The objective of the expedition was to canoe the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness along the American/Canadian border, travelling as far a possible in the first 2 days, then venturing a little south to the smaller lakes for 3 days paddle back to the base. The task was easily achieved since all have prior canoeing experience and good preparation allowed us to travel quickly and easily across the portages. Most days travel was early in the day, usually 9 am - 2 pm (with lunch break.) On entry to the base, we were required to "shake-down" our gear to reduce the weight and volume. One nights stay allowed us time to get more familiar with each other, to rest and to go to sauna.
Hwy.
11 to Thunder Bay and Dryden
An early start got us on the road west, stopping
at Kapuskasing (Brendan's mom's birthplace), picnic lunch at Heart, photo
session along the shores of Lake Nipigon and cultural stop at the Terry
Fox Memorial just east of Thunder Bay. The memorial was established in
1984 to honour one of Canada's modern heroes. In 1982 Terry Fox, having
lost a leg to cancer, set out to run across Canada to help raise money
to find a cure. He travelled more than 4000 kms from St. John's, Newfoundland
until his health failed and had to stop. The event raised more than $20
million that year and continues the legacy with an annual run in September
in most communities in Canada.
On the road north, we worked on learning some
Finnish language. Mikko provided a word list with canoeing and camping
terms and I added greetings, numbers and telling time. I was really impressed
at how well Ryan and Brendan absorbed the
language, both mastering numbers before we arrived at Northern Tier.
We stopped at Hoito Raventola (Care Restaurant) in Thunder Bay for
dinner. Here we sampled traditional Finnish foods including Finnish sausages,
Finnish wieners and salt salmon (cured but not smoked or cooked.)
Karelian pirrika (rice pastry) was not available but then the portions
were big and there was no room for any more.
Just another 400 km to go today...
Next
stop was at Kakabeka Fall, one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the
Canadian Shield easily accessible by highway. The falls were spectacular
thanks to a lot of rainfall in the spring. As we continued on to Dryden,
we saw both a wolf (standing on the highway) and a male moose standing
in a grassy swamp on the shoulder, both within 10 minutes. What a great
start to a wilderness experience.
Dryden to Ely, Minnesota
Only another 250 km south to Fort Frances and the chance to cross to
the USA at International Falls. The border towns offer an illusion that
we are past the Canadian Shield and now on the prairie as the land is suddenly
very flat. The main industry in the twin towns is Boise Paper Mills, providing
a bridge across the border. A quick pass through customs, and off
we were to Ely. We stopped at a general store on a lakeside only to be
shocked at the prices they charged for everything - A&W root beer for
US$1.69! We went to the old country store next door to obtain a fishing
licence for Brendan. Another US$25 and a little anxiety from the clerk
who couldn't cope with the format of a Canadian postal code, and we were
on our way to the canoe base.
On arrival, we met Mikko, Virpi, Antti and his kids Lauri and Hilla,
already reorganizing their stuff in the parking lot (well all over the
parking lot!) I hadn't seen Mikko for over a year since he has been working
in Belgium and isn't that easy to catch up with when I visit his hometown
of Tampere, Finland. Mikko, Virpi and Antti have all had experience
"interpreting" or escorting Scouts into the area. Antti provided service
4 summer as far back as 1982 so he was pretty excited to show his children
this incredible wilderness area. Mikko and Virpi worked at the Sommers
Canoe Base as recently as 2000. I went on a 10 day excursion with
Mikko in 1997 (Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario Canada) and into the Boundary
Waters Canoe Wilderness in September 1998 with another Finn, Tero Mustonen.
Sommers Canoe Base, Boy Scouts of America - Northern Tier High Adventure
Base
Upon arrival, the crews are introduced to their interpreter, our is
Rob Montz from Los Angeles (currently studying in Providence, Rhode Island.)
As the boys soon learned, Rob wasn't that kind of interpretor to "cross
the language barrier" between Finnish and Canadian English, but to show
us the way to a great canoeing experience. Rob laughed when we asked
him to translate the Finnish language. He got his share of learning
both languages during the expedition, Canadian English and Finnish, at
least he got a good taste of the subtle differences between Canadian and
American English.
We moved our gear to one of the arrival cabins (style after a Swedish
designed 8-sided hut) and went for dinner at the lodge.
An orientation in the interpretation lodge gave us some insight into
the Boundary Waters Area, "no trace camping" protocols and procedures to
avoid bears invading campsites for food.
Before retiring for the night we had a good opportunity to cleanup
and partake of the sauna. As is customary in Finland, the Finns did
not wear bathing suits. The air inside was refreshingly hot, possibly
90 C and really calmed the body for a good night's sleep. For the
Ryan and Brendan, the experience to the sauna was almost unbearably hot,
but they endured. We turned in early to beat the expected onslaught
of mosquitos.
Day
1 on the Water - Moose Lake to Knife Lake
After breakfast, we loaded our aluminum canoes: 3 people (stern, bow
and one duffing) and 2 packs one with gear for three, the other with kitchen
equipment or food. Each pack weighed about 35 kg (65 lbs). The third person
would portage the canoe. Everything was packed to ensure easy single-pass
portaging. This was necessary to ensure time wasn't wasted on double
pass portaging as we had scheduled about 25 portages varying in length
from 5 rods to 240 rods (30 - 1200 m).
Rob took the stern and Ryan the bow as we head out about 10 am.
Brendan, Antti and Lauri took the second canoe and Mikko, Virpi and Hilla
in the third. The weather was a pleasant 24 C and partly cloudy.
Our first day out was expected to cover about 14 miles, important to
get as far away from the population as possible and to cover at least half
of 5 days paddle in the first two days. A couple of hours passed before
we met our first portage from Sucker Lake to Birch Lake. This would test
our "packing efficiency" and give us the first taste of wet-foot landing.
In anticipation, I had purchased a pair of Merrell water-shoes, sneakers
designed to be wet for long periods, providing excellent warmth, comfort
and drainage, while providing a good grip on rocks with the gum sole. Despite
the fact they cut into my heels as new shoes will do, they lived up to
the pitch of the salesperson. I recommended to Ryan and Brendan that they
also purchase these shoe, which they did.
The portage went quickly and easily. Rob was really impressed since
the first two canoes had passed before we approached the landing. This
made our travelling time significantly shorter than Rob had experienced
on previous trips out. Our path took us along the "dotted line" as we zig-zagged
across the border between Ontario, Canada and Minnesota, USA. Our
lunch (consisting of squished bread, turkey, cheese and nut bars) was taken
on a huge rock with steel post as a border marker implanted in it. The
marker indicated USA on one side and International Boundary on the other.
Some of us ate lunch in Canada, the others in the USA.
Five more portages today brought us to Knife Lake and a campsite on
an island next to Dorothy Molder's old homestead. Dorothy was the
legendary Root Beer Lady, who lived on the isolated island for decades
after her husband passed away. She enticed passersby to visit and assist
with chores around the homestead by serving home brewed root beer.
Her cabin and artifacts were moved about 20 years ago to a museum location
in Ely, MN.
When we arrived at the campsite, we quickly set up tents, kitchen and
so on, then dove into the warm summer water. As is required by Boy Scouts
of America regulation, we wore PFD's and shoes into the unknown waters.
Ryan, Brendan and I swam (about 400 m) to Dorothy Molder's island to explore.
What we actually found was squirrels, frogs, crayfish, rocks and very dense
forests. After paddling for four hours, you'd think a rest would
be in order but warm refreshing water actually energized us. I think we
spent some 90 minutes or more in the water.
The temperature during the day slowly rose to about 28 C and dipped
only to 20 C overnight. Haze from the forest fires to the north at Red
Lake, Ontario filled the air. Dinner included beef stew with Tex-Mex rice,
black beans, potatoes and torilla bread. It was really good but there was
too much for us all to eat, meaning that the remainder had to be properly
disposed of (buried) out of smell and reach of invading animals, especially
black bears, native to the area. A squirrel spent the dinner hour
with us scavenging for food. He didn't get any as this would spoil his
appetite, however we discovered a mouse bathing in the pan of chocolate
pudding prepared for desert.
As
evening approached, we build a small fire (fire ban in effect prevented
us from building one before 7 pm) and talked about the day's events as
beautiful sunset drifted across the northwest sky. The evening brought
us a cruiosity for the Finns as they found a snake in the grass and a large
turtle just off the shore. Finland doesn't have turtles as we found out.
The ever-present loons chanted on the lake. With darkness upon us, also
came the onslaught of mosquitos. 10:00 pm and time for bed.
I'm pretty impressed at how well everything is working out, and how
well everyone is getting along. The effort Ryan and Brendan put into
learning some finnish before arriving at the base has helped them to appreciate
another culture in ways they won't understand til later. Finns are
usually impressed anyways if foreigners make a effort to learn a little
of their language.
Day 2 on the Water -- Knife Lake to Ester Lake
6:30 am arousal and prepartation for the days activity -- too easly
for the guys. It is still warm. Rob prepared freeze dried scrambled
eggs and Antti charred the hash-brown potatoes. We also had a treat of
coffee (too weak on first try) with non-dairy creamer.
The guys proved to be very effective with paddle in hand as they were
soon labled "power houses" of strength and endurance. Actually the
energy exerted really isn't all that much when you have the skill mastered.
I was impressed with how well they managed as well, not having been canoeing
with eith Brendan or Ryan previously. Today's paddle was somewhat tedious
and one that reminds us of the value of portaging. Knife Lake seems
to go on for ever! With such a lengthy paddle, you crave the time
you can spend on the portage trail to both stretch your legs and body,
to take a toilet break, and to escape the intense sun that builds up in
the canoe wilst on the the water. Carrying 35 kg no longer seems
like a task, but a much desired new challenge. On day two we have
only two portages, however the second was 400 m on what seemed to a 45
degee incline; pretty tiring.
As we head into Ester Lake, we are going south into the enterior of
the BWCAW (Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness) and way from potential
traffic on the border lakes. Here we will set up camp on the south point
of one island. This campsite is far better than our first night,
with opportunity for serious fishing, a sharp drop-off into the lake, a
great sunset view and for night, flat grass covered campsites. Dinner
was not so impressive -- mac & cheese with tuna. Lunch of pita
bread, salami, cheese, and trail mix continued to hold the stomach in any
case.
We've now covered about 40 kms
In preparation for night, Rob wandered off to find a suitable place
to hang the bear bag (food packs and "smellables") which must be out of
reach of bears at night. Mikko, having evaluated the placement the night
before, was not satisfied with Rob's proposal and insisted there must be
better trees which would acually get the bags the suggested 3 m (10') from
ground level and 2 m (6') from trees on either side. The task soon became
a challenge as they attempted to raise the ropes as far off the ground
as possible -- not an easy task with Jack pine. In the end, the placement
was the best of the 4 nights out. I think this is when Rob started to interact
with us, but really started open up on day 3.
Lauri caught a fish, a pathetic large mouth bass, but his first American
fish! Mikko had gone out in the canoe with him and decided it was
ok to keep, but later decided it was to little to eat. The guys used it
for bait later in the evening. Brendan found it a great weight for casting
until his reel jammed. The untangling process pretty much put an
end to Brendan's fishing as he lost most of his line in the process.
Link here to continue the story.