Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness - 2007
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |
For the first outdoor trip with my "local guys", I decided to journey into the magnificent Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. With over one million acres, the wilderness is a massive parcel of nearly undisturbed country. The plan was to start at Entry Point #16, and travel north along the Moose River, into Nina Moose Lake. Once we hit this "small" lake, it was a great example of the massive openness of the space. From Nina Moose, we travelled through Nina Moose River into Lake Agnes. Our first night, we camped on the northern end of Lake Agnes. Although, we had a short rain shower, the day was a spectacular adventure for most of the guys.
After a very complete breakfast of endless pancakes, we started Day Two. We travelled from Lakes Agnes north into the large Lac La Croix, which separates the US-Canada border. Because we hadn't made passport arrangements, we stayed on the US side of the loosely monitored border. After travelling along the border, we veered west along Lac La Croix toward our portage at Pocket Creek. At the mouth of the creek, I found an amazingly large beaver dam. It was 4-5 feet high, and spanned at least 20-30 feet. The resultant pond was very tranquil, full of lily pads and deep, still, water. A short while after heading into Pocket Creek, we turned south on Ge-be-on-e-quet Creek. The creek deposited us into Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake, which was were we camped on the second night.
The third day involved the loop back toward Entry Point #16, and our exit. It also involved something like fourteen portages. With one bag apiece, we were making all portages in one trip. Once we became accustomed to the portage process, we were getting through them pretty quickly. Day three involved many short lake stretches, portages, and narrow creeks. We travelled through Green Lake, Rocky Lake, Oyster Lake, Lake Agnes (again), and finally Nina Moose Lake (again). It was a long day, but everyone was very satisfied with the accomplishment.
The morning of our final day started with cinnamon rolls, and then involved a short paddle along the Moose River. The final portage of 160 rods which finished fairly quickly. After a very satisfying shower at Voyageur North Outfitters, we consumed a very tasty meal in Ely. Cleaned and fed, we drove back to Chicago, where many of us went to work the next day.