Post by tugaloo on Apr 27, 2005 10:54:59 GMT -5
My first BWCA trip was a great adventure. It was a very tough bunch of older scouts attempting a real big trip. We did well, but didn't make the whole route. Started western Rainy Lake bound for Grand Portage in 14 days. Bill Rom told us that it had been raining hard for 13 days and rivers falls and rapids would be spectacular and demand caution. Rain was replaced by wind the first few days on Rainy and Namakan. Really broke us in fast.
We got to Curtain Falls and were amazed at the sight, but figured this is what it is like when it rains a lot. Narrow parts of Crooked Lake had quite a current. We knew something was not right when we had to search for Table Rock and found we were floating about 4-5 feet over it.
Arriving at Prairie Portage, we got an explanation for the high water on Crooked and the roaring Curtain Falls and Basswood River. The dam at prairie portage had broken after we were several days into the trip.
We took a wrong turn in the dusk on Long Portage and ended up on Daniels Lake in the dark- thinking we were on Rove Lake. We were surprised by the sun rising in the west the next morning until we realized that we had missed the turn-off and had followed the long slow curve of the old RR grade around to Daniels Lake. We had thought the night before that the terrible Long Portage sure wasn't that bad. Well, we didn't do the bad part. We were unsure at that point if we could make it to Grand Portage in time to meet parents in cars who would have panicked if we didn't show.
We would have had to travel from Long Portage to the Pigeon River in a long day in order to get on the Grand Portage early enough to finish it the last day. Instead, we toured out to Flour Lake Campground and took it easy for a day and then went to Grand Portage and spent a day visiting there. We had really been pushing it at the end of the trip to make up for being a little soft at the start.
It was a great trip and many more were to follow. The next one starting at Saganaga a finishing the route to Lake Superior.
We got to Curtain Falls and were amazed at the sight, but figured this is what it is like when it rains a lot. Narrow parts of Crooked Lake had quite a current. We knew something was not right when we had to search for Table Rock and found we were floating about 4-5 feet over it.
Arriving at Prairie Portage, we got an explanation for the high water on Crooked and the roaring Curtain Falls and Basswood River. The dam at prairie portage had broken after we were several days into the trip.
We took a wrong turn in the dusk on Long Portage and ended up on Daniels Lake in the dark- thinking we were on Rove Lake. We were surprised by the sun rising in the west the next morning until we realized that we had missed the turn-off and had followed the long slow curve of the old RR grade around to Daniels Lake. We had thought the night before that the terrible Long Portage sure wasn't that bad. Well, we didn't do the bad part. We were unsure at that point if we could make it to Grand Portage in time to meet parents in cars who would have panicked if we didn't show.
We would have had to travel from Long Portage to the Pigeon River in a long day in order to get on the Grand Portage early enough to finish it the last day. Instead, we toured out to Flour Lake Campground and took it easy for a day and then went to Grand Portage and spent a day visiting there. We had really been pushing it at the end of the trip to make up for being a little soft at the start.
It was a great trip and many more were to follow. The next one starting at Saganaga a finishing the route to Lake Superior.