Prologue

The Edge of the Wilderness

Plans & Expectations

It seems very appropriate that my first solo canoe trip should start at the Lake One entry point. Afterall, that's where my very first Boundary Waters trip started some 9 years ago. However, similarities between the 2 trips will pretty much end at the entry point. There were 7 people on that 4 day trip, I'm doing this 8 day trip -- my longest to date -- alone. We were fully outfitted back in '92, on this trip, all I have to rent is a lightweight, solo canoe. On the earlier trip, we stayed on the main, numbered lake, highway that most people travel and watched a steady stream of canoe traffic paddle past our campsite on Lake Four. On this trip, I plan to explore less travelled routes. Despite Lake One being the 2nd busiest entry point in the Boundary Waters, I have high expectations that I will find peace and solitude on my selected route.

It is with these plans and expectations in mind that I set off from home at about 6:10 on Friday, June 8 -- ten minutes later than planned but close enough. As expected, I run into heavy traffic going through the cities but nothing too bad and the rest of the trip is uneventful. Just after Cloquet, along Hwy 53, I start noticing damage from the tent caterpillars or army worms. They have stripped the leaves completely from trees in some patches. Coming into the city of Virginia, the high approach allows me to see the hillsides surounding the town. All the aspens and birches have been completely stripped of leaves. It almost looks like late winter, early spring instead of early June. If this is what it's like in the Boundary Waters, I'm going to get some pretty dismal looking pictures!

Continuing up towards Ely though, I find that the devastation is patchy. There are still islands of trees which look like they've escaped the attack. Other areas look like they are already recovering, looking very springlike as the trees regrow their leaves. I might be able to take some decent photos afterall.

I stop at a Conoco station to gas up the car and grab a couple of sandwiches, then arrive in Ely just before noon. A little under 6 hours -- I made very good time! My first stop is the International Wolf Center, on the other side of town, to pick up my permit. Since I had a card showing that I'd already watched the video before my trip 2 weeks prior, I don't have to watch it again. I ask about getting a permit for zone 3 of the Fungus Lake Primitive Management Area (PMA) for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. The requested zone is open so I get the permit. This will give me access to Hope and Maniwaki Lakes to the Southeast of Lake Insula.

I've been interested in Maniwaki Lake ever since I first spotted it on a map. It's very remote and there's only really one way into it; a few miles up Hope Creek from Lake Insula. Although it at one time had maintained campsites, it is now included in the Fungus Lake PMA. PMA's are areas within the Boundary Waters set aside to be more primitive then the rest of the wilderness. Portages and campsites are not maintained and a party is allowed to camp wherever it is appropriate to do so. The PMA's are split into large zones, and only one party per zone per night can get a free permit for an overnight stay. Day trips are allowed however without a special permit. Now, I know for sure that I'll find solitude for at least 3 of my nights.

Love on the First Date

I take care of some business in Ely and finally head to the outfitters -- Red Rock Wilderness Store -- on Jasper Lake, east of Ely on the Fernburg Rd. I arrive there at about 3:00. I talk awhile to Joe, the proprietor, whom I'd already met at the Minneapolis Sports Show in April. He introduces me to Bob Carey, well known journalist, writer and artist. Joe then introduces me to my companion for the week to come, a sweet little Souris River Quetico 16. She only weighs 42 lbs and Joe has set her up with a center seat for solo paddling. Joe gives me a double bladed paddle, and I take the canoe, double and single bladed paddles, my PFD, and my camera down to the lake to see how she performs. Between the store and the beach, I have to cross a small, tumbling creek. I'll definitely be back for some pictures later on.

I reach the beach and quickly put the Q-16 in the water. She seems a little tippy when I first get in -- more tippy than what I'm used to anyway. I paddle carefully away from the shore using my single bladed paddle until I'm well out in the water. Then I try the double paddle. It's arkward at first and I don't get much of anywhere. Eventually though, I figure out the correct angle to hold the paddle and we're soon moving across the water. She doesn't put up much of a wake so I don't get the impression that we're moving very fast -- until I look at the shoreline. By the time I've taken a spin around the big island, I'm in love!

Omens, Good & Bad

After I reach shore, I take time to get pictures of the creek. We get a thundershower -- lots of lightning and thunder but only sprinkles -- then it sprinkles off and on for the rest of the day. Then I head back into town for supper -- a foot long club sub at Subway. When I get back, I just can't resist taking the canoe out for another trial run, in spite of the off again, on again rain. This time, I venture out further into the lake, through the narrows into the northern part. Over toward shore, I see a branch moving swiftly through the water, and then see what's propelling it -- it's a beaver! Soon, he lets go of the branch, slaps his tail and disappears. Another one, near their house, also slaps its tail. I move on into a bay and spot a loon sitting on a nest. I don't stay long, I don't want to disturb her. Then, I spot a deer with a fawn on the bank. I'm not even in the wilderness yet but I'm already seeing some neat things. Is this an omen?

Unfortunately, as I make my way back across the lake, someone starts up a lawn mower. The illusion of wilderness shatters. I head back to the beach, land the canoe and make my way to the bunkhouse which I'll have to myself tonight. Between the rain and the double bladed paddle, my pants and boots are soaking wet. And these are the clothes I'm planning to wear when I come back out at the end of my trip. I turn in about 9:00. About 10:00 another party rolls in. They're in the other bunkhouse and the wall between us doesn't keep me from hearing excited kids and a couple of parents trying to keep them quiet. Soon after they arrive, there's a thunderstorm. I hope this isn't an omen. The other group soon settles down and I'm finally able to go to sleep, listening to the sound of rushing water from the creek.