Yes, this was my “first” trip to the Boundary Waters, as there is no doubt I will return. Let’s call this a trial run as that would create expectations of something larger yet to come! If only it were closer.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) is an expanse of over 1MM acres and over 1,000 lakes along the northern edge of Minnesota. Outside the reach of our wired and wireless society, it is a haven for those who seek to take a break from the not so real world, slow down, and simply enjoy being in nature. That certainly describes me, so I had to see what all the fuss was about! I was not disappointed.

I was joined by three other friends for this first time experience. First time in the BWCA, first multi-day canoe camping trip, first time portaging a canoe, first big trip in my Northstar Phoenix canoe…

The trip to Ely, MN, the launching point for trips into the BWCA is 14 hours from Ann Arbor. I drove solo and that gave me the luxury of breaking the trip up into three days. Our cabin along the Pigeon River is four hours from home, and it is always special getting to sleep to the sounds of the Pigeon rushing by. The next day, I met my friends James and Laura at Van Riper State Park, west of Marquette for what turned out to be a not so social night of hiding from the swarms of mosquitos that were blooming. I suspect the park and campground are fantastic when there are not literal black clouds of demons seeking a blood meal. Travel day three ended in Ely, where I met James, Laura, and Rick at the Boathouse Brewpub for a beer. They stayed the night in the bunkhouse at Spirit of the Wilderness, our chosen outfitter, where we picked up their gear and our permits. I opted for one last night of solitude at Fenske Lake Campground. Fortunate for me, there were no bugs and it was a beautiful evening to sleep outside.

After meeting the crew at Britton’s Cafe for our last real food for several days, it was off to the Mudro Lake entry point (#23). Seemed a bit appropriate to start the trip with the short portage down the trail to the actual entry along a stream. We set off under cloudy skies with a bit of a chill in the air.

That quick first portage brought us to a stream that fed into Mudro Lake and our first taste of paddling the lakes of the BWCA. It is a small lake, and the weather was cool and blustery. Soon we were on to the Mudro Gauntlet, a series of three portages between Mudro Lake and Fourtown Lake that would be the hardest portages of our trip. I am sure hard is relative here as none were long, though for portaging rookies the elevation changes and rocks gave us enough challenge for a first trip.

Fourtown Lake was our first and only big lake of the trip, as given the windy forecast and guidance from experienced paddlers, we decided to stick to small lakes on our maiden trip. We enjoyed the somewhat misty paddle across the southern half of Fourtown Lake, hustling on to the portage as the weather was getting windier.

The portage to Boot Lake complete, the weather created conditions that challenged our paddling skills once we set off upon the lake. We chose to camp at the first site we found, which was a bit small for four tents, and certainly too small to allow for adequate spacing from snoring. The rain picked up and for the most part, we hid in our tents for a good bit before emerging for an hour or two by the fire.

We woke up to improved weather, though we knew that by afternoon it would be very windy again, as a red flag warning had been issued. We made our way up Boot Lake, completed a short portage to Fairy Lake, and another to Gun Lake. By now it was getting a bit windy again so we started looking for campsites. The first few we checked were taken, and we were happy about that once we found a great site on the northeast portion of the lake, featuring a beautiful rock peninsula. Here we would camp for two nights.

After setting up camp, Rick and James (aka Rick James) explored Gun Lake further, while I mostly hid in my tent bubble to refuel my social battery.

Day three featured a trip across the lake to a short portage to Gull Lake, which we explored before leaving our canoes along its eastern shore to enjoy a bit of hiking along the portage trail to the next lake to the east (which Gaia does not have a name for). This lake and those to its south also features a hiking trail network. We explored a tad of that, but mostly enjoyed lounging along the lakeshore.

The evening of day three gifted us still air and amazing reflections, while still being chilly enough to keep the bugs from being too active. We all enjoyed paddling amongst the stillness.

After breakfast on day four we began to make our way back along the route we came. With more questionable weather in the forecast, we decided to get close to the exit for our final night, but once we reached Fourtown Lake in very early afternoon, we make the call that we’d enjoy a beer and food back at the Boathouse Brewpub far more than our camp meals, so we just kept on moving and made day four our toughest of the trip. Still, we powered back through the gauntlet and were out and enjoying said libations by early evening after returning the two rental boats. That night was spent in the Spirit of the Wilderness bunkhouse, before we went our separate ways the next morning.

All in all, a very good first trip, and I only had one bug bite. Hard to complain about. that! I made my way back to the cabin in one day, and enjoyed kayaking withe the West Michigan Kayaking Club Meetup Group on the Au Sable the next weekend.

I carried a bit too much weight, but that was fine considering we did not do any massive portages. I’d actually take an even bigger sleeping pad next time, while skipping some of the other heavier items. My Northstar Phoenix paddled like a dream, and carried well. My first trip out with my CCS (Cooke Custom Sewing) portage pack and that worked out well. One of my friends tried all the group’s packs and said mine was the easiest carry even though it was far heavier than the others.

Some lessons learned, many more to come. Happy to be outside learning them!