Into the Wild with a Friend

Things have been really busy here at Tuscarora in recent weeks between having a group of 50 middle schoolers come through and the 4th of July festivities. The result of all this has been that I am a bit behind on blogging about my trips (I have actually done two since I last blogged now!). So now I am trying to rectify that by blogging about a trip I did last week with Randon Ruggles (a college buddy from Wartburg).

Way earlier this year (back in January) I told Randon that I would be working up in the BWCA over the summer. He told me that he in that case might just have to come up for a trip. So throughout the spring and early summer we talked and eventually were able to find a time that would work for both of us. We settled on Monday June 27th to head out and our trip lasted through July 1st. Normally I only get one day off a week but I had already banked two days off so far this year so between using those extra days and agreeing to work a late shift on the day we came back we were able to take a trip that spanned over parts of 5 days and 4 nights!

Our Route (Click to Expand): American Point on Lake Saganaga to Tuscarora Outfitters on Round Lake (35 Miles). The first and last markers are the start and finish points and the four in-between mark our campsites on Hansen, Ogishkemuncie, Little Saganaga, and Tuscarora Lakes respectively.

So at 3:00 pm right after work on the 27th Randon and I quick finished up our packing and then headed for our entry point. We actually cheated a bit as we took a Tow Boat across Lake Saganaga to American Point. This allowed us to get a head start on our route and explore some different areas within the BWCA. Our overall route was a one way trip from American Point on Lake Saganaga to Tuscarora on Round Lake. That first evening it was raining a decent amount so a lot of the campsites were already taken (people trying to stay dry!) so we ended up canoeing a lake further then we originally planned and camped on Hansen Lake. Our site was not much to write about but none the less it served its purpose and our trip was officially underway.

Randon and I about to head out on our Tow to American Point

On the 28th we got up, cleaned up our camp, and hit the water early in the morning. Our route that day took us through Knife Lake (which is gorgeous). There in addition to enjoying the large channels, old growth, and rolling hills around the lake we found a large waterfall pouring into Knife right by our exit portage. While it would of been fun to stay longer on Knife we pressed onward to our final destination that day of Ogishkemuncie Lake. There we found an awesome campsite that sat on a high rock peninsula that overlooked the main part of the lake. In camp that day we spent the afternoon enjoying some sun, our first campfire, steak & potatoes, and a beautiful sunset.

Randon Canoeing on Knife Lake

Waterfall into Knife Lake

Looking out over Knife Lake

View of Ogishkemuncie Lake from our Campsite

Sunset over Ogishkemuncie Lake

June 29th took us from Ogishkemuncie to Little Saganaga Lake. The highlight of this day was that throughout the entire day we saw absolutely no one. This made for a peaceful paddle and an enjoyable relaxing camp experience on Little Saganaga. To boot the entire day was perfectly sunny with almost no clouds in the sky. Similar to the previous day we spent the morning paddling to get to our campsite (an amazing Island site overlooking the main portion of the lake) and the afternoon relaxing in camp reading, sunning, swimming, and eating.

Our trusty stead, a 15 foot Aluminum canoe

Sunset over Little Saganaga

The 30th was our final full day of our trip so our goal was to get near to Tuscarora Outfitters so our final morning would not be too difficult or long a paddle. So we headed out from our Little Sag campsite and made for Tuscarora Lake. There we grabbed the famous Island campsite (a common place for Tuscarora employees to go on their days off). While the weather was not quite as nice as the previous two days we stilled enjoyed hanging out and relaxing in camp.

Sunset over Tuscarora

July 1st we decided to get up early and paddle out with the sunrise. While we did get up around 5:00 am, it was a cloudy morning so we missed seeing the sun come up. Still our effort was not in vein as it proved to be an extremely hot day and very humid so by getting up early we missed the worst of the heat. While we were only two lakes away from Round Lake we still had to transverse the Tuscarora (425 Rods) and the Missing Link Portages (a steep 140 Rods), so needless to say we worked hard that final morning. None the less we managed to finish up our canoe by 8:00 am that morning leaving me time to recover before work and Randon plenty of time to make the long drive back to the Twin Cities.

Randon double packing on a portage

Overall we had an amazing trip. Yes our trip like all others had lots of problems such as a rainy first day, a seriously slooooooow water filter, ineffective propane burner, and sometimes less then appetizing dehydrated foods but the upside of good companionship, remote and pristine wilderness, peaceful solitude, beautiful sunsets, and much more easily overcame any hiccups our trip encountered.