After I left the entry point, I returned to my outfitter -- Red Rock Wilderness Store. There, I talked a long time, giving them details of my trip, things I'd seen, my impressions of the Q-16, etc. I went into Ely fairly late and had a Sirloin Steak dinner at the Moose. Seemed kind of fitting after all the moose I saw on the trip! Full and content, if a little sad, I returned to Red Rock and spent a quiet night in their bunkhouse. I got up and was on the road by about 6:30. From there, I drove down Hwy 1 and County Road 2 to Hwy 61, through Duluth and stopped in Proctor at a restaurant where a friend of mine -- also a Boundary Waters enthusiast -- waitresses. Unfortunately, she was extremely busy that morning so we didn't get to talk much but I did get a very nice and filling 3 egg omelette breakfast. After that, I headed to Jay Cooke State Park. My daughter was camping there for 2 weeks and this was Father's Day. She treated me to some very nice grilled hamburgers for lunch after which I hit the road wondering how I was going to stay awake I was so stuffed ;)
Stay awake I did, even in the busy and slow, Sunday evening traffic north of the cities. Once I got through the cities, the traffic lightened up and I made home without incident in the early evening -- ready and raring to go to work the next day! (Yeah, right!).
After months of planning and dreaming, the trip itself ended all too soon.
Eureka Apex 2XT Tent -- I love this tent. 2 doors, 2 vestibules, plenty of ventilation. The only regret I have is that I didn't pay a little more to get the similarly designed but more rugged Moutain Pass 2XT. Still I bought it 3 years ago and since then it has seen more use and abuse then most tents see in a lifetime. Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring Boundary waters trips, 2 backpacking trips in Glacier National Park, backpacking trips on the Superior Hiking Trail, canoe trips on the Upper Iowa River, Boy Scout trips, my son used it when he did his Ride Across Minnesota. My daughter used it when she went backpacking at Philmont. Only 3 years old and I've already lost track of how many trips it has seen. Sure, the zipper on the rain fly leaked during that torrential downpour I got part way through the week. But, I stayed snug and dry in the tent itself. That leak is easily fixed -- in fact has been easily fixed -- with a little seam sealer, something I should have tended to before the trip. Before my trip, I had debated about taking my solo tent which I usually use on my solo backpacking trips. I opted for the extra room and comfort, albeit extra bulk and weight, of my Apex. I was extremely glad I did, especially on the rainy nights.
Camp Trails Canoe Pack -- I picked up 2 of these last summer and have been extremely glad I did. They haven't had a lot of use yet but, they are definitely holding up well so far. Definitely waterproof, easy to carry (stiff back, hip belt, sternum strap), and they hold plenty of gear. I only used one on this trip. I had to carry my camera gear separately and half of my food was in a bear barrel strapped to the top but, otherwise, it carried all my gear for my 8 day trip (of course, since I also backpack, I do take less gear when I canoe then most people).
PUR Hiker Water Filter -- I did put a new element in it for this trip since the other one had been getting a little hard to pump. With the new element, pumping water was a breeze -- not that I had to pump a lot of water (see below).
Hammock -- Well, you probably already read about what happened to my hammock (and me). Still, I have had it for a heck of a long time so... I need to find the other one but believe me, I'll be a lot more cautious how I get into it!
Olympus Pearlcorder S701 Microcassette Recorder -- I used to try to write journals on my trip. By day 7 of a typical trip, I'd still be writing notes from day 1 -- as you can tell from my trip report, I just can't seem to cut down on a lot of detail. Some of my friends suggested that I try a microcassette recorder so I bought this recorder a few trips back. Now, I can take copious verbal notes while the action is happening. What's extra special, is that when I play the tapes back, I also hear the background noise -- birds singing, crickets chirping, loons yodelling, and yes, even the wolves howling. The sounds help bring even more of the details back to life for me. Sometimes I hear things that I swear I didn't hear at the time. Now, if I could only figure out how to get it to record scents as well... :) I'll definitely be hanging on to the 3 tapes from this trip!
Campmor backpacker tarp -- I ordered this about 2 weeks before the trip and boy was I glad I did. I'd never carried a tarp on any of my backpacking trips and, for the most part, had lucked out. On this trip though, it was worth its weight in gold -- although, it doesn't weigh much. I got the 8'x10' one which was an adequate size for a solo trip. It would have been tight for a 2 person trip, not nearly large enough for a larger group. It weighs very little and packs up extremely small.
CCS thwart bag and map case -- Ok, this wasn't actually the first trip for this since I'd also used it on the Memorial Day trip to Crab Lake but it is my first review of it. Unfortunately, the canoe I rented didn't have a bow thwart so, I couldn't use it like it's intended to be used. I did put a lot of stuff in it -- which kept it all handy yet compact. I did have to place it in the bottom of the canoe at my feet though which wasn't quite so convenient. In the bottom of the canoe, it did get soaking wet and, not surprisingly , so did the contents. Most of the contents were in plastic bags or were waterproof anyway so no real harm was done. I do wish I'd had a thwart to hang it on. And, I do wish I'd taken along a strap to carry it with. It was kind of awkward carrying it across the portages under my arm. The map case worked well although that too let some moisture in. It's a good thing those Fisher and McKenzie maps are waterproof! I do wish the map case was a bit larger. I found I had to fold the maps pretty small to get them to fit. With the McKenzie's small scale, I had to readjust frequently.
X-Stream Water Bottle & Purifier -- I hope I got the trade name correct. It was great being able to fill this bottle anywhere I wanted to without having to dig out a filter and do the pumping thing. I probably ended up drinking more water thanks to this and, that's a definite good thing. I just wish there was a filter (non purifier) version since the purifier left a bit of an iodine flavor. I did kind of get used to that after a while. A minor complaint -- after sitting in the sun for awhile (like, in a canoe), the bottle would eventually heat up (nothing unusual there). The only problem was, if you refill with cool water from the lake, the filter elements hold the heat, turning your nice cool water warm by the time it reaches your parched lips. I'm not sure what could be done to eliminate this effect though.
Water Bottle Carrier -- I picked this up for about $4.50 from Campmor. It's a cloth bag, sized to carry most water bottles, with a loop for putting your belt or a strap through. Rather trivial but I strapped this to the outside of my Canoe Pack and therefore managed to keep my bottle handy but out of the way at all times. Worked much better than hand carrying the bottle or stuffing it in a pack to get it across the portages. I'm planning to order 3 more of these so I have 2 for each of my Canoe Packs.
Souris River Quetico 16 canoe -- What can I say? It was love at first sight and I loved her even more after the honeymoon! A very stable, responsive, accomodating craft. And it gets even better once you figure out how to really handle her. I really wished I could have brought her home with me but, the price is out of my reach for the time being. Red Rock had set this one up with a center seat (and no bow or stern seats). Next time, I'll try paddling from the bow seat, facing the stern -- I think she'll respond to J-strokes, etc. with that arrangement. A normal, "permanent" portage yoke would work then too.
Portage Yoke -- The down side of a solo canoe is that the seat is where the portaging yoke is supposed to be. This was my first experience with a removable yoke and I must say, I wasn't impressed. The yoke had to be installed just so and really tightened up, otherwise it was subject to slippage. It was not very easy to install and I spent a lot of time at the beginning of portages getting it just right. On top of that, the padding was not the best in the world. It didn't fit my shoulders very well, was not thick enough, and wasn't adjustable. I found myself almost wishing, on some of the longer portages (which weren't really all that long as portages go) that I was carrying my 90 lb aluminum battleship instead of the 40 lb Q-16 -- simply because my shoulders were taking such a beating. I don't know what brand yoke this was but, for the sake of all you soloists out there, I do hope there's something better available.
Double Bladed Paddle -- I'm convinced these can't be beat for solo paddling. Again, I didn't take note of the brand -- Red Rock gave me the longest one he had, which is important when using them with a canoe. Whatever brand, it sure worked well. My biggest problem was sore shoulders since I wasn't used to using it. Oh, and also, the wet boots and pant legs -- expect to get wet if you're using a double bladed paddle.
Sitting Pad -- A couple of years ago, my friend Basil introduced me to the sitting pad. Most of us that have been camping for a while have one of those old, blue closed cell sleeping pads laying around (ok, not necessarilly blue). We don't use them anymore since we've graduated to self inflating pads. So, what can we do with the old ones? Cut a small, say 2ft square, piece out of them and slip them into your pack. They don't take up much room, give you something to sit on when the ground is wet and muddy, and make a nice fan for getting that stubborn fire going. I wouldn't go camping without mine now.
This won't be my last solo canoe trip. Despite my anxiety or whatever partway through the trip, I had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back. A solo canoe trip does pose some unique challenges. For instance, entering and especially exiting a canoe can be quite tricky when you don't have a partner to hold it steady for you. This is especially true when the landing is rocky, or there's a high step off or whatever. It also gets tricky, in a wind, to try to take pictures without someone else to stabilize the canoe.
Apart from the mechanics, it can be tough to get through an extended period with no one to talk to, no one to share your experiences with. My tape recorder helps a little for this. I can actually talk to myself without thinking I'm going crazy! On the other hand, I find myself getting much more in tune with my surroundings, noticing more, feeling more, when I'm by myself than when I'm with others. It's also great being able to do what I want to do more or less when I want to do it. It's especially nice being able to spend time "working" a photo op without worrying about holding someone else up. All in all, I find soloing to be very rewarding and, as I said, I definitely want to do more of it.
I'm not sure why I felt the way I did part way through the trip. Maybe it was just exhaustion, maybe it was the location, I really don't know. All I know is that I felt it and it wasn't a welcome feeling. I knew I should have been having the time of my life and on the surface I was. On a much deeper level though... something was troubling me and I couldn't -- and still can't -- put my finger on it.
I'd be sorely remiss if I didn't say something about my outfitter -- Red Rock Wilderness Store. Although I didn't rent a lot from them, they were knowledgeable and extremely helpful, ready with answers when I had questions as well as advice when I talked about my plans. They are not among the big gun outfitters but they are far from being second rate. Just be forewarned, Joe is a straight shooter and will call a spade a spade. He's going to be more concerned about your welfare and the welfare of the wilderness than he is about making money. He recognizes that some people just don't belong in the wilderness and he's very likely to do whatever he can to discourage those people rather apply sugar coating. All in all, I was extremely happy with the service they provided me and will be a repeat customer this coming September. Of course, I have to admit that I'm a little biased -- they bought some of my pictures for resale in the store.
On my last day, as I paddled on the creek north of Bridge Lake, my eyes were moist. No, it wasn't from the sun shining in them or the wind blowing on them... it was due to the realization that the magic was about to end. I knew it wouldn't be forever, that I'd be back again either alone or with others, that once again, I'd see the majestic moose in the lilly pads, the otter playing in the water and the high rocky cliffs, that I'd hear the slap of a beaver's tail, the eerie call of the loon and wolf, the splash of a paddle, and the whistle of the wind through the trees, that someday, I'd also smell the fresh, spruce laden air, the musty smell of decaying leaves, the aroma of wildflowers. But, despite this I knew that never again would I be able to experience that special magic, the magic of the past 8 days, the magic of my first solo trip.