Trip Report, Day 7 & 8
Day 7
We awoke early, determined to pack up and get out as soon as possible. Breakfast was quick, my usual cliff bar, but with pre-cooked bacon instead of beef jerky. MMMmmmmm.. bacon. Packing went quickly and we shoved off, starting to leave the wilderness behind. On the last day, we are pretty much out of 'enjoy the wilderness' mode and into the 'let's get the hell out of here and back to civilization' mode. So we didn't take a lot of time to ogle scenery or enjoy the outdoors. It was truly like when a horse smells the barn and heads for home. I still managed to snap a few pics.
Photo: Vacated Campsite
Photo: Chris at the last campsite
Photo: Me, same place
Getting from camp on Kawasachong to Square lake was pretty easy... no major issues and a small portage. As predicted, the paddle out from Square to Kawishiwi was terribly difficult. We hoped that the rain over the first two days and the bit of rain today would have raised the level in the creek to make it an easier trip coming out today. No such luck. It was just as bad going out as it was going in. In the middle of the muck, we passed a three man canoe that was going in. We stopped and chatted with them for a minute then continued slogging on. At some point, we saw a crane who was standing in the mud trying to catch fish.
Photo: Damn Crane
Photo: The Crane, The Muck, and our Eternal Suffering
We'd creep closer to it inch by inch, then we'd get inside its bubble, then it would fly about 30 feet up the creek, land and start fishing again. Then we'd creep closer and it would do the same thing. This happened about 6 times. Then we got to about 50 yards from where the creek spreads out to floatable levels, we saw a guy walking up the creek from the opposite direction. We were flabbergasted to learn there was a portage trail there. There was no indication of it when we came through the first time, and we would have MUCH rather portaged past this muck than paddle through it twice. Unbelievable.
We finally got back to floatable water then back in to Lake Kawishiwi. This is when the rain picked up and the wind was hitting about 25-30 miles per hour sustained (not gusts.) And no matter what direction we were facing, we were working against the wind. It was bloody difficult. We also got lost and the wind was blowing so hard, we couldn't read the map. Chris was getting very frustrated with the map blowing everywhere, and when he stopped paddling to look at the map, the boat would turn off course. I was getting exhausted from paddling like a madman just to keep from losing ground or getting blown totally off course. So we just found a place on the shore we could reach, made a beeline for it and got out of the canoe to walk around and get our bearings and read the map. I thought we had passed where we should have gotten out, and Chris thought that we still hadn't gotten to our turn yet. We discussed it for a few minutes then decided that we would go his way and turn the corner and see what we could see. Turns out he was right, so we put the spurs to it, and steamed on out - the entry point landing in sight. We finally made it - beached the canoe despite 3 canoes full of redneck hunters filling up the entire launch area - and we unloaded the boat, Chris went up to the parking lot to get the Explorer, and we threw the bags in, strapped the canoe to the top, changed clothes and did a semi-cleanup (read "funk-ectomy",) and we were out of the Boundary Waters and headed toward Duluth. First we had to drop off the Canoe at the outfitters. Between the time we started driving out of the forest and the time we got to the outfitters, the rain had turned from a sprinkle into a gully-washer. The outfitter told us that they had gotten more rain in the last 5 days than they got all summer. We turned in the canoe and the outfitter guy was impressed with the minimal amount of damage we did to the boat despite the low water. We put a few good scratches in it, but kevlar is pretty resilient stuff and there wasn't any major damage.
Then we hit the road toward Duluth where a hot shower, shave, meal, and real beds were waiting for us. But the first order of business was to get a Coke. This is always the first order of business after completing a camping trip. We found a gas station where this could be accomplished - Chris found a big ass roast beef sandwich, and I opted for a bratwurst and a couple cookies. The immediate stomach rumblings and carbonated beverage cravings stated, we started the drive to the southwest where our hotel was.
After a couple hours, we made it to the Best Western, checked in and went to the room (which was very small.) By the time we got all our bags in the room, there wasn't much room to move around. But we didn't care… we were glad to have beds and a shower. Somehow I was awarded the first shower, though I'm not sure how that happened. I don't remember the deal that was brokered. I think Chris needed to call Charis, or something.
After we had showers, we went through the gear, unpacked the packs so that we could repack everything into the duffels for the plane ride home. When this was complete, we went about preparing for our post trip dinner, which is a tradition - we usually go somewhere nice, or at least somewhere with great food, to treat ourselves after eating freeze dried meals for days. There's not a lot of variety or selection in Duluth, but last time we were here, we found a microbrewery that we liked that had good food, and was fun, so we decided we'd go there again.
We got there and the wait was lengthy, so we were invited to go across the way to a bar that was operated by the same folks as the restaurant. It was a martini bar - but I'm not a big fan of martinis in general. But the bar itself was pretty cool - interesting décor and a cool lighting scheme, with good trance (which is one of my favorite genres) music playing. I got a beer which was a microbrew from the restaurant across the way, and was starting to feel civilized again. Chris mentioned that it's weird to think of the odd juxtaposition that takes place at the end of our trips... on night 5, Chris said it's weird to think that in 48 hours we will be home and at the FC Dallas game. Last year, on our third night, it was totally weird to think "tonight, we're sleeping on a shelf halfway down to the floor of the Grand Canyon and tomorrow night, we'll be eating at a Brazillian Steak house at the Mirage in Las Vegas."
Our names were called, and we went to our table. We were asked what we wanted to drink, and I asked for a Newcastle, and she said they only served beers that they brewed there at the brewery. So I asked for a Crown and Coke. She said the only liquors we serve are a few Scotches. Well, I don't like Scotch. I think it tastes like fertilizer. So, we were resigned to the fact that we would be drinking a microbrew if we wanted alcohol. To me, all microbrews taste basically the same, with varying degrees of heaviness and bitterness. None of the brews on the menu had a description beyond the name, and those weren't any help. So we decided to get the sampler. The sampler was 7 beers in what looked like a large shot glass. There were 2 pilsners which didn't taste like anything, an amber, which was very bitter, and ESB (English style bitter) which was VERY bitter, a seasonal cherry beer, which was the least offensive of all of them, but still not any good, one India Pale Ale, which was also quite bitter, and an oatmeal stout, which was horrible. It tasted like rubbing alcohol.
So I gave up on finding a beer that I liked and got a root beer, which they also brewed there. It was quite good. For dinner, we both got the 'pub burger' which was a mushroom/swiss burger with chipotle sauce, and a cup of clam chowder. The chowder was excellent. The burger was pretty lame. It didn't have much flavor, and the chipotle sauce was all heat, no flavor. So, overall we were pretty disappointed with the microbrewery. But we were also starving, so we ate everything. We thought about going to a pub we passed on the way there to get a real beer, but we were both so full, that we wouldn't have enjoyed it. Besides, I was getting tired and ready to sleep. So we went back to the hotel and got ready for bed. I think I might have stayed awake for maybe 30 minutes before I started crashing. Chris stayed up a good 2 hours later than I did, watching TV.
Day 8
Not much to report here. It was a lot of driving, waiting, and flying. We drove from Duluth back to the airport, hoping to find a White Castle close to the airport for lunch, as I've never been to a White Castle and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. We didn't find any that were convenient, so we just opted to get to the airport and eat there. We found a Chili's in the terminal and that was just fine - better than airport fast food. We puttered around the terminal, I was looking for suitable souvineers for gifts and couldn't find anything worthwhile (a recurring theme throught the trip) so I just gave up. We went to our gate after lunch and learned that our flight had been delayed significantly due to bad weather that morning in the DFW area - which had set airport operations behind as much as an hour.
We finally got on the plane and took off - and the pilot said that we would make up some lost time on the flight back. Good. I plugged in my MP3 player and zoned out for the rest of the flight.
When we got to DFW, we taxied out to a holding area where we had to wait for our gate to open up. I was annoyed… I just wanted to get home. I don't like sitting on a plane that's not moving. Right about then, I wondered why we 'made up time' on the flight - when we would just spend that time sitting on the tarmac.
Eventually, we got our gate and got off the plane, over an hour after we were originally supposed to land. Which shot our plans for going to the FC Dallas game… if we went straight to the game from the airport, we MIGHT have made it by halftime. An executive decision was made to skip the game and just go home. I was ok with that.. I was very tired and drained and ready to relax.
Winners and losers for the trip:
Winners-
Pita Bread: Worked great with the salami sandwiches AND the pre-cooked chicken pouches.
New digital camera: small, compact, lightweight, easy to use, lots of features and takes great pictures.
LL Bean boots: Kept my feet dry the whole trip except for the time that Chris dumped me out of the canoe and I put my foot into knee deep water. They're comfortable and give enough support to be useful on the portage trails.
Pre-cooked bacon - ROAR! BACON!!
Pre-cooked chicken in a foil pouch - made a great, tasty, easy meal that's a nice break from freeze dried food.
Sport Beans: Jelly Belly's take on Gatorade, except you don't drink them. You eat them and drink water… a good replacement for whatever candy we usually bring on these trips as they are not only sweet and have a sugar energy boost, but they also have electrolytes and vitamins.
Packing ultra-light (comparatively speaking): Last time we brought way too many clothes and WAY too much fresh food. We still brought too much food, but you always have to carry extra, just in case.
LOSERS:
Water level: See Day 3 and Day 7. In addition, it made a good number of the portages much longer than indicated on the map, and it made putting in and getting out quite difficult at several points.
Video camera: I think I'm going to start leaving it behind. It's bulky, heavy, and it rarely gets used. The new digital camera has a video feature, which will do when motion capture is required.
My sleeping bag: a constant source of annoyance.
Overall, this was a great trip. One of my favorite trips since we've started going on these trips, which was 1993 for me. Grand Canyon/Zion Canyon/Las Vegas in 2000 and Whistler BC in 2002 are also right up there. Usually, when I get home from a trip, I don't even want to think about taking an outdoor trip for several weeks after I get home... but if I were given the chance today to go again, I'd leave work right now and take it. I'm ready to start planning next year's trips.
There are more pictures than the ones I've posted here on the blog... you can go to my flickr.com photoset here and see all of them. Thanks for reading!
We awoke early, determined to pack up and get out as soon as possible. Breakfast was quick, my usual cliff bar, but with pre-cooked bacon instead of beef jerky. MMMmmmmm.. bacon. Packing went quickly and we shoved off, starting to leave the wilderness behind. On the last day, we are pretty much out of 'enjoy the wilderness' mode and into the 'let's get the hell out of here and back to civilization' mode. So we didn't take a lot of time to ogle scenery or enjoy the outdoors. It was truly like when a horse smells the barn and heads for home. I still managed to snap a few pics.
Photo: Vacated Campsite
Photo: Chris at the last campsite
Photo: Me, same place
Getting from camp on Kawasachong to Square lake was pretty easy... no major issues and a small portage. As predicted, the paddle out from Square to Kawishiwi was terribly difficult. We hoped that the rain over the first two days and the bit of rain today would have raised the level in the creek to make it an easier trip coming out today. No such luck. It was just as bad going out as it was going in. In the middle of the muck, we passed a three man canoe that was going in. We stopped and chatted with them for a minute then continued slogging on. At some point, we saw a crane who was standing in the mud trying to catch fish.
Photo: Damn Crane
Photo: The Crane, The Muck, and our Eternal Suffering
We'd creep closer to it inch by inch, then we'd get inside its bubble, then it would fly about 30 feet up the creek, land and start fishing again. Then we'd creep closer and it would do the same thing. This happened about 6 times. Then we got to about 50 yards from where the creek spreads out to floatable levels, we saw a guy walking up the creek from the opposite direction. We were flabbergasted to learn there was a portage trail there. There was no indication of it when we came through the first time, and we would have MUCH rather portaged past this muck than paddle through it twice. Unbelievable.
We finally got back to floatable water then back in to Lake Kawishiwi. This is when the rain picked up and the wind was hitting about 25-30 miles per hour sustained (not gusts.) And no matter what direction we were facing, we were working against the wind. It was bloody difficult. We also got lost and the wind was blowing so hard, we couldn't read the map. Chris was getting very frustrated with the map blowing everywhere, and when he stopped paddling to look at the map, the boat would turn off course. I was getting exhausted from paddling like a madman just to keep from losing ground or getting blown totally off course. So we just found a place on the shore we could reach, made a beeline for it and got out of the canoe to walk around and get our bearings and read the map. I thought we had passed where we should have gotten out, and Chris thought that we still hadn't gotten to our turn yet. We discussed it for a few minutes then decided that we would go his way and turn the corner and see what we could see. Turns out he was right, so we put the spurs to it, and steamed on out - the entry point landing in sight. We finally made it - beached the canoe despite 3 canoes full of redneck hunters filling up the entire launch area - and we unloaded the boat, Chris went up to the parking lot to get the Explorer, and we threw the bags in, strapped the canoe to the top, changed clothes and did a semi-cleanup (read "funk-ectomy",) and we were out of the Boundary Waters and headed toward Duluth. First we had to drop off the Canoe at the outfitters. Between the time we started driving out of the forest and the time we got to the outfitters, the rain had turned from a sprinkle into a gully-washer. The outfitter told us that they had gotten more rain in the last 5 days than they got all summer. We turned in the canoe and the outfitter guy was impressed with the minimal amount of damage we did to the boat despite the low water. We put a few good scratches in it, but kevlar is pretty resilient stuff and there wasn't any major damage.
Then we hit the road toward Duluth where a hot shower, shave, meal, and real beds were waiting for us. But the first order of business was to get a Coke. This is always the first order of business after completing a camping trip. We found a gas station where this could be accomplished - Chris found a big ass roast beef sandwich, and I opted for a bratwurst and a couple cookies. The immediate stomach rumblings and carbonated beverage cravings stated, we started the drive to the southwest where our hotel was.
After a couple hours, we made it to the Best Western, checked in and went to the room (which was very small.) By the time we got all our bags in the room, there wasn't much room to move around. But we didn't care… we were glad to have beds and a shower. Somehow I was awarded the first shower, though I'm not sure how that happened. I don't remember the deal that was brokered. I think Chris needed to call Charis, or something.
After we had showers, we went through the gear, unpacked the packs so that we could repack everything into the duffels for the plane ride home. When this was complete, we went about preparing for our post trip dinner, which is a tradition - we usually go somewhere nice, or at least somewhere with great food, to treat ourselves after eating freeze dried meals for days. There's not a lot of variety or selection in Duluth, but last time we were here, we found a microbrewery that we liked that had good food, and was fun, so we decided we'd go there again.
We got there and the wait was lengthy, so we were invited to go across the way to a bar that was operated by the same folks as the restaurant. It was a martini bar - but I'm not a big fan of martinis in general. But the bar itself was pretty cool - interesting décor and a cool lighting scheme, with good trance (which is one of my favorite genres) music playing. I got a beer which was a microbrew from the restaurant across the way, and was starting to feel civilized again. Chris mentioned that it's weird to think of the odd juxtaposition that takes place at the end of our trips... on night 5, Chris said it's weird to think that in 48 hours we will be home and at the FC Dallas game. Last year, on our third night, it was totally weird to think "tonight, we're sleeping on a shelf halfway down to the floor of the Grand Canyon and tomorrow night, we'll be eating at a Brazillian Steak house at the Mirage in Las Vegas."
Our names were called, and we went to our table. We were asked what we wanted to drink, and I asked for a Newcastle, and she said they only served beers that they brewed there at the brewery. So I asked for a Crown and Coke. She said the only liquors we serve are a few Scotches. Well, I don't like Scotch. I think it tastes like fertilizer. So, we were resigned to the fact that we would be drinking a microbrew if we wanted alcohol. To me, all microbrews taste basically the same, with varying degrees of heaviness and bitterness. None of the brews on the menu had a description beyond the name, and those weren't any help. So we decided to get the sampler. The sampler was 7 beers in what looked like a large shot glass. There were 2 pilsners which didn't taste like anything, an amber, which was very bitter, and ESB (English style bitter) which was VERY bitter, a seasonal cherry beer, which was the least offensive of all of them, but still not any good, one India Pale Ale, which was also quite bitter, and an oatmeal stout, which was horrible. It tasted like rubbing alcohol.
So I gave up on finding a beer that I liked and got a root beer, which they also brewed there. It was quite good. For dinner, we both got the 'pub burger' which was a mushroom/swiss burger with chipotle sauce, and a cup of clam chowder. The chowder was excellent. The burger was pretty lame. It didn't have much flavor, and the chipotle sauce was all heat, no flavor. So, overall we were pretty disappointed with the microbrewery. But we were also starving, so we ate everything. We thought about going to a pub we passed on the way there to get a real beer, but we were both so full, that we wouldn't have enjoyed it. Besides, I was getting tired and ready to sleep. So we went back to the hotel and got ready for bed. I think I might have stayed awake for maybe 30 minutes before I started crashing. Chris stayed up a good 2 hours later than I did, watching TV.
Day 8
Not much to report here. It was a lot of driving, waiting, and flying. We drove from Duluth back to the airport, hoping to find a White Castle close to the airport for lunch, as I've never been to a White Castle and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. We didn't find any that were convenient, so we just opted to get to the airport and eat there. We found a Chili's in the terminal and that was just fine - better than airport fast food. We puttered around the terminal, I was looking for suitable souvineers for gifts and couldn't find anything worthwhile (a recurring theme throught the trip) so I just gave up. We went to our gate after lunch and learned that our flight had been delayed significantly due to bad weather that morning in the DFW area - which had set airport operations behind as much as an hour.
We finally got on the plane and took off - and the pilot said that we would make up some lost time on the flight back. Good. I plugged in my MP3 player and zoned out for the rest of the flight.
When we got to DFW, we taxied out to a holding area where we had to wait for our gate to open up. I was annoyed… I just wanted to get home. I don't like sitting on a plane that's not moving. Right about then, I wondered why we 'made up time' on the flight - when we would just spend that time sitting on the tarmac.
Eventually, we got our gate and got off the plane, over an hour after we were originally supposed to land. Which shot our plans for going to the FC Dallas game… if we went straight to the game from the airport, we MIGHT have made it by halftime. An executive decision was made to skip the game and just go home. I was ok with that.. I was very tired and drained and ready to relax.
Winners and losers for the trip:
Winners-
Pita Bread: Worked great with the salami sandwiches AND the pre-cooked chicken pouches.
New digital camera: small, compact, lightweight, easy to use, lots of features and takes great pictures.
LL Bean boots: Kept my feet dry the whole trip except for the time that Chris dumped me out of the canoe and I put my foot into knee deep water. They're comfortable and give enough support to be useful on the portage trails.
Pre-cooked bacon - ROAR! BACON!!
Pre-cooked chicken in a foil pouch - made a great, tasty, easy meal that's a nice break from freeze dried food.
Sport Beans: Jelly Belly's take on Gatorade, except you don't drink them. You eat them and drink water… a good replacement for whatever candy we usually bring on these trips as they are not only sweet and have a sugar energy boost, but they also have electrolytes and vitamins.
Packing ultra-light (comparatively speaking): Last time we brought way too many clothes and WAY too much fresh food. We still brought too much food, but you always have to carry extra, just in case.
LOSERS:
Water level: See Day 3 and Day 7. In addition, it made a good number of the portages much longer than indicated on the map, and it made putting in and getting out quite difficult at several points.
Video camera: I think I'm going to start leaving it behind. It's bulky, heavy, and it rarely gets used. The new digital camera has a video feature, which will do when motion capture is required.
My sleeping bag: a constant source of annoyance.
Overall, this was a great trip. One of my favorite trips since we've started going on these trips, which was 1993 for me. Grand Canyon/Zion Canyon/Las Vegas in 2000 and Whistler BC in 2002 are also right up there. Usually, when I get home from a trip, I don't even want to think about taking an outdoor trip for several weeks after I get home... but if I were given the chance today to go again, I'd leave work right now and take it. I'm ready to start planning next year's trips.
There are more pictures than the ones I've posted here on the blog... you can go to my flickr.com photoset here and see all of them. Thanks for reading!
posted by Jeremy at 10/05/2006 05:42:00 PM
5 Comments:
Hey Asswipe! I didn't dump you out of the canoe, that hidden rock did! I demand a revision of the blog!
LIES!! That rock wasn't doing anything but minding it's own business! There will be no retraction, good sir!
Mmmmm.....White Castle burgery goodness...
Which I still have yet to experience. Much to my chagrin.
they DO sell them in grocery stores, but it's probably not the same.
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