Up at 4:30am. The plan was 12 miles and 12 portages today. We got on the mirror smooth water at 5:53 but as we paddled west, we could see a cloud line signaling a front coming our way. We were headed for Kekekabic Lake but there were eight portages in our way. A 15, 15, 15, 15, 10, 20, 15 and a 5. A new saying emerged after we finished canoeing through the Kekekabic Ponds…"eight before nine". We made eight portages before nine o'clock. Five years ago, Tony camped on a site around the halfway point of the lake. After fighting a slight breeze, we took lunch at that former campsite and by the time lunch was finished, the rains had moved in. When we reached the far end of the lake and a monster of an 85-rod portage, mostly up hill, the rain was coming down pretty hard. The portage was wet and muddy but we prevailed. We passed two slightly overweight gentlemen on this portage, who were huffing and puffing and somewhere the phrase of "A boat load of bubba" came into being, right Wil?

            We were now in Strup Lake and yes, it does look like a strup. Ten more rods and we found ourselves in Wisini Lake, a pretty lake with rocky cliffs. Another wet portage of 90 rods and we were in Ahmakose Lake, then a quick paddle and a short 30 rods brought us to Gerund Lake. It was wet and we were now getting tired, but we still had a15 rod portage to get us into Fraser Lake. We stood at the portage waiting for a strong shower to subside and just looked at the waves we would have to paddle through. All we wanted now was a campsite, but the first two sites were occupied. That forced us to battle the wind further southwest to the third site, which luckily was open.

            The wind blew very hard into this site so we had to erect the tarp just to cook supper. Clothes lines were stretched out to help dry wet gear as the rain had now stopped. However, the strong wind and overcast sky kept us a little on the chilly side even in dry clothes. It is such a good feeling to slip into dry clothes after wearing wet stuff half the day. A pot of hot chicken soup was served to warm our insides and hold us over until supper. Wil had some homemade hardtack that was added to the soup to make dumplings. They softened up very nicely so no broken teeth, right Harold. Another ditty: "A humping we will go, A humping we will go, Hi-ho, The derry-o, A humping we will go". Supper consisted of sloppy Joes over sliced potatoes and after getting full bellies, everyone was so tired that bedtime was an early 7:30pm.

 

 

            The wind continued to blow hard even around 4:00am, but we still packed up camp and was on the water by 6:00am. It was very hard paddling for the solo canoes as we went across Fraser and into Thomas Lake. Ted and Tony in the Wenonah Sundowner just plowed through the waves and the wind didn't affect their tracking as much as the solos. Psychologically, it affected the other three guys, who were working their tails off trying to stay straight on course and burning muscles like crazy, then Ted and Tony just blows right past them appearing to not be working hard at all. We followed the channel that leads from Thomas to Ima Lake, which contained four portages. A 10-rod, 20-rod, 15-rod and a 58-rod. Not bad hikes but full of mosquitos. Ima was also very windy and it made us appreciate the easy 5-rod portage into Jordan Lake. Clouds moved in and a steady rain started. Another portage of 55 rods put us in Cattyman Lake. From there it was on to Adventure Lake where we walked our canoes across the short 5-rod portage.

            Harold, who was leading the way, attempted to reenter his canoe and ended up in the water. Fatigue was starting to set in from all the physical excursion, from the wind, the portages, the rain and basically, a week of everything combined. A 40-rod portage brought us to Jitterbug Lake. It was a lake filled with weeds and a loon that wasn't afraid of us. 25 rods more and we were in Ahsub Lake with only another 25 rods separating us from our destination of Disappointment Lake. After passing a scout troop from Chicago on the portage, (they were freezing in soaking wet, short sleeve shirts and short pants) we started looking for a campsite. The steady rain finally quit while paddling down Disappointment and we were not disappointed. We wondered how this lake acquired its name. Was it from canoer's disappointed about leaving canoe country or from people who are just coming into canoe country that didn't want to be there? We found a decent site and set up camp, then hung items up to dry. Supper was macaroni and cheese with fried summer sausage and left over sloppy Joes and potatoes.

            Another ditty emerged today. Set to the Who song, Pinball Wizard, it went like this, "Every since I was a young boy, I walked a long portage. From Ely down to Gunflint, I must have walked them all. Ain't seen nothing like him, in any outfitters hall. That OHCRA club member sure walks a mean portage"!! There were a couple of eagles cruising the lake and riding the air currents. Wil got his camera out, as he did many times through out the trip, but it wasn't meant to be. Right time, right moment, too late. Everyone but Tony went to bed early, worn out from another long, hard, wet day. Is everyone ready for the civilized world? Beer, pizza and a soft bed. We have worked hard and long on this journey and hope we made some lasting memories, without too many battle scars. This would be our last night in the "backcountry" and away from the sounds of everyday modern life.

 

 

            We were up early again and that damn wind was still blowing. Camp was packed up and we were on the water before 6:00am. We fought the wind by ducking behind a couple islands on the lake and finally arrived at our last portage of the trip. A 140 rod terrain easy walk to Snowbank Lake. After the portage, we stood at the edge of Snowbank and could feel the strong, gusty winds, even though we were in a bay of Snowbank. The open lake we had to cross to reach the vehicle look really bad. We launched from the portage to a piece of sheltered land at the edge of the open lake. From here we could see white caps on the lake and they looked very intimidating. We sat in our canoes, in that quiet water out of the wind for over an hour. Way too dangerous for 3 solos canoes.

            An idea was hatched to lash all four canoes together so as not to capsize and try to cross the lake. We were ready to go and the paddling started. As soon as we rounded the point and into the full force of the wind, water was splashing over the bows, but we still paddled with all of our strength. Looking at the rocks on shore we noticed that we had not gained an inch. But, we were not going backwards either. The idea was quickly abandoned. The canoes were unlashed and we decided to wait out the wind on that piece land. We were wind bound!! The tarp was hung vertical to block the wind and hot coffee and tea were made. We changed out of the wet clothes and waited. As the crow flys, we were only 1.6 miles from the vehicle, and we could not get to it. The wind even grew stronger while we waited. Morale was at rock bottom as talk turned to pizza and beer. We napped, drank more hot liquids, sang stupid songs and even cooked a meal.

            Eleven hours later. Yes, Eleven hours later the wind died down enough for us to try the crossing. By the time we reached the dock at the take out, the lake was almost smooth. Come to find out, Harold had lost his car keys. He searched every pack but no keys. Luckily, he gave Paul an extra key and it sure came in handy. It was going on 8:30pm, so we got the other vehicle, where Harold found a note from the Forest Service. They had his keys at the ranger station which was closed, but they were nice enough to mail them home to him.      

            We loaded up and headed for town. Most everything in Ely closes at nine and we really wanted hot showers before heading for home. Piragis was still open, until ten. We got showers for $4.00 each and bought a few more souvenirs. Then it was time for that beer and pizza. The first place we stopped at had pizza but no beer, the second, Dees, only had beer. The third place was closing, but good ole Cranberry's had both. Cold beer and hot pizza and even women to look at.

            We started our long ride back to Ohio at midnight. As we were leaving town on State Route 169 we saw what could have been a wolf cross the road in front of us. Lots of deer were milling around the roadway also. At one point we almost got to bring a deer home with us. We stopped somewhere in northern Illinois for breakfast and then made it back to Clyde around 6:00pm Ohio time. How much further? Only 20 more minutes!!

            Wil's medicine bags worked great. No one got hurt or sick, nor were there any drownings. After all that hard work paddling and portaging, the rain, the bugs and the wind, there were some serious thoughts of drowning Tony.

            Wonder what next years adventure will be?

           

 

The sun has set on another OHCRA journey. Want to be a part of our next one? Please join us as we paddle...

"Around The Bend"

 

 

View All Pictures From BWCA Part Three

 

Part One             Part Two

 

Part One Pictures             Part Two Pictures

 

Map Of Trip

 

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