The kickoff to our Boundary Waters trip started with a cookout in Duluth.
Right along the rocky shores of east Duluth.
Burgers and playing in Lake Superior, what could be better for this little bub.
We camped at Jay Cooke state park for the night, then drove back to Duluth for some Duluth Grill breakfast.
Had we known that we were meeting with Blake and Daniel on the far side of Duluth, we'd have stayed in Two Harbors. But I guess it worked out. Duluth Grill is still delicious.
Meadow is now in her, "Why are you taking photos of me" phase.
We had some time before getting to Voyageur Canoe Outfitters so stopped in Grand Marais.
We shared a couple of sundaes from Sydney's Frozen Custard.
And stopped for a photo op before heading up the Gunflint Trail.
This time we stayed in one of the bunkhouses at Voyageur.
It looked like our favorite Gunflint Pizza shop had closed.
That meant we'd have to backtrack for the second time in a couple of days to get dinner.
Blake and Daniel wouldn't arrive until later, we needed something to eat for dinner and thought we would try out Hungry Jack Lodge.
Apparently the food wasn't memorable.
But the view was pretty good.
Our bunk house was just 2 triple bunk beds. In the middle of the night I heard someone get up to go to the bathroom. I assumed it was Scott until I later heard Theo crying in the distance. I went outside and he was just crying in the pitch dark. He was upset because he had an accident in the bathroom. We were the last of the four bunk houses. I was impressed he found his way back to our bunk house in the darkness.
Poor kiddo. I wish we would've taken him to the bathroom before bed. But I think it was one of those tummy aches that come out of nowhere.
The send off breakfast had been upgraded since we were here last. They had a full buffet for the paddlers.
After breakfast we figured out the route for the next few days.
And then finished packing our bags.
Where did Blake go?
Apparently I missed this moment. Ha.
We decided to get towed out to Red Rock Bay since it would be super windy out on Sag Lake. We'd be doing a Red Rock Lake to American Point jaunt this time around.
We wanted to do a longer loop this time, following the Canadian border. Matt at Voyaguer suggested we get a tow since it was going to be windy.
We were warned we might get splashed. We were like, it's fine. We didn't think we would get soaked. Wish I had put on my rain gear. Also so glad we had made the decision to get towed today. We would have never made it very far on Saganaga Lake.
Meadow was ready to paddle.
Since the kids are bigger we split up them up between the two canoes.
I already lost my sunglasses on this short portage.
Red Rock Lake was much calmer.
The BWCA vibes were good. We split the kids up and I think this made for a much calmer experience.
The skies would be sunny and then it would rain a bit, on and off all day.
We planned on paddling from Red Rock to Ogishkemuncie. You know you're on Alpine when you see the young trees. This area burnt during the last major fire in these parts.
Already to our third portage of the day.
Our portage to Jasper Lake took us around a water fall.
We've been to our fair share of beautiful places, but the BWCA just hits different.
It totally get why it's so special and why so many people come here.
Blake's boat found a narrow shortcut instead of doing the portage at Kingfisher Lake.
Portaging is a little easier this time now that the kids are bigger. They can help us carry. We would still have to do multiple trips to get everything.
Oh, hey rapids runners.
When we rounded this bend we knew were almost done for the day.
7 lakes and 152 rods of portages we found our campsite for the night. BWCAW Campsite 792 on Ogishkemuncie Lake.
It rained on and off, but our campsite was magical.
The water was so much warmer than the air.
I think Theo was having trouble getting back to the shore. The slippery rock was tricky.
These kiddos love spending time with their funcles.
For dinner we had lasagna, corn and creme brulee.
I'd been looking forward to that creme brulee. The freeze dried lasagna was really just cheesy pasta. But it hit the spot.
Ogish is a popular spot for folks who like to have a base camp and explore from there.
Blake's hammock rain fly worked great as a rain shelter for us.
Nice and dry.
For breakfast we had bagels, cream cheese and mixed dried fruit.
I picked this one out for Theo.
And we were off. Ogish was one of the largest lakes we'd cross on our trip.
We fell behind crossing the windy lake, but soon we'd be onto a series of tiny lakes.
They had the advantage of having Meadow who paddled the whole time with them. Plus they're just better paddlers than us.
We quickly paddled and portaged Annie, Jenny and Eddy Lakes.
The portage from Eddy Lake to South Arm Knife Lake included the Eddy Waterfall. Our guide suggested this route so not to miss this waterfall. After getting all our stuff over we explored said falls.
We thought this would also be a good place to take a break for lunch. We had hummus & pita with tuna, pub mix and cookies.
This was probably the worst meal of the trip, but it would do.
We also had some entertainment during our meal.
I love having Blake and Daniel around for our paddling trips. They bring out the best in the kiddos.
They almost didn't make it as Blake had a tricky schedule with work. I don't think we could have done it without them.
The waves didn't seem too bad from looking at it. While Blake's boat had no problems getting across we got pushed across the lake and had to take the portages through Toe Lake to meet back up with them.
It was the lowlight of the trip, but we managed to make it. It was much easier paddling Knife Lake once through our Toe Lake detour. I'd love to camp Toe someday.
Then we would do our biggest portage yet of 118 rods (.36 miles). It doesn't sound very far but when you're carrying lots of weight on your shoulders and back it feels like forever. I had to ditch my heavy pack 2/3 of the way.
But afterwards it was just a short paddle to our camp for the night.
After 4 lakes and 189 rods later we found our campsite on Hanson Lake. BWCAW campsite #325.
Another great campsite. It's hard to get a bad one out here.
For dinner we had Pad Thai with mango sticky rice.
I got up early with the loons to watch the sunrise.
Meadow is so cool.
Even in the BWCA. You can dress like that too, Brooke. But we might laugh at you.
After a breakfast of granola with milk, banana chips, almonds and mixed dried fruit we were on our way. Christmas miracle that we left before 10 am but we had a long ways to go.
I thought this was the easiest day of paddling, tbh.
There needs to be a massage after your trip included with your outfitting package.
After another big portage we were onto the border lakes section of our trip.
We got a little turned around Ottertrack Lake, but then headed northeast toward Swamp Lake.
To skip a really long portage we went up to the border to portage.
That's after paddling through the eastern end of Ottertrack Lake.
Was kind of cool to be literally walking along the border of Canada and the US.
Interestingly you are allowed to use the Canadian portages without a remote border permit thanks to the The Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842. This treaty protects the right to use the border portages for citizens of either country.
We saw some people looking muddy and wondered what that was about. When you get to the end of the portage there is some pretty deep mud.
There were actually pieces of wood barely below the mud pool that you had to traverse. Otherwise you end up like Blake.
Theo actually fell off the dock while playing at the end. Whoops.
We did our last, and easiest, portage of the trip.
We found our last campsite on the edge of Saganaga Lake at campsite #339.
This was a perfect secluded site away from main thoroughfare of Sag Lake.
For lunch we had pita bread peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with beef jerky and trail mix.
Reliving our route I guess.
Theo was interested to see where we were and how we got here.
Then it was time to swim.
We swam across the chilly water to the neighboring island.
After paddling hard the last two days we took this last day as our relaxing day.
Theo was having one of his many fits. Blake talked him into meditating with him.
Washing dishes in the woods away from the water like a good girl.
We got a new water filter for this trip which was a good idea.
This model allows you to drip filter, but also allows you to squeeze water through the filter if you're in a rush.
For dinner the kids had ramen while we had a rice and beans bowl with cheesecake for dessert.
Theo found it easier to eat his ramen like this.
Can we go back already?
We picked this campsite so we could face the sunset.
I think we just picked it because it was secluded. The sunset was just a bonus.
We finally had a dry night to have a fire.
Hey, I do exist.
Time to paddle our final stretch of Sag Lake to American Point.
Saganaga Lake was so calm compared to a few days ago.
Theo spent a lot of the trip reading the same Dog Man book over and over.
I loved hearing him read out loud behind me and was impressed with some of the words he knew.
We were making good time so stopped at campsite #2074. This site was pretty amazing. Had we known I would have stopped here yesterday. You have your own private beach and the campsite is huge.
I liked our campsite better, but this was a nice place to swim before heading back.
One of the few places where the water doesn't drop right off.
I chickened out by the cold water. I usually wear a rashgaurd swimming but had only packed a bikini to keep things light. I'm not used to cold water touching my skin.
We thought we should get a group portrait at this amazing beach.
Then we waited for our tow at Rocky Point.
14 lakes and 13 portages.
Eventually our tow boats showed up.
Voyageur now has pizza. As is our tradition, after a canoe trip the first thing we get is pizza and beer.
I spent the day photographing a few of their cabins.
Blake and Daniel would miss the jacuzzi in our cabin as they had to head back to Duluth.
Don't think you ever actually used it?
Next time.
We ate the rest of the ramen we didn't eat from our trip.
We also got to have more breakfast buffet before leaving. It was much quieter here today than it was when we left for our trip.
So long VCO.
Our end of summer vacation wasn't quite done. We were heading to the Northwoods cottage.
Along the way we stopped by the pie truck at Rustic Inn along the North Shore. Until next time BWCA.
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