Almost Home

21 October 2011

This week we entered familiar territory. As we left Voyageurs National Park and entered the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA), Dave and I felt like we were already home. At Crane Lake, we met up with our friend Bryan Hansel. My mom drove him and his canoe up to meet us. It was a treat to have the chance to visit with her after months of being away from home.

Dave, Bryan and Fennel try to figure out how to get out of a bog.

After several days of paddling with Bryan, the weather turned cold and rainy. October had officially arrived. We paddled in to White Iron Lake near Ely, Minnesota. This really felt like a homecoming even though we had 150 miles left to paddle. Our good friends, Jason and Kate of Ely Outfitting Company, let us stay at their house for several days. Dave and I had a chance to see many of our friends in town. On the day we planned to leave, the wind was blowing over 30 miles per hour and rain was falling. The decision to stay an extra day was pretty easy.

As we left Ely, the weather was cold, but the wind had died down and the rain had stopped. We felt like we had the BWCA to ourselves. Dave, Bryan, and I have spent the past few days paddling through Basswood, Knife, and Saganaga Lakes. We were pleasantly surprised to see two other groups out paddling.

We have seen many loons. Their plumage has changed color and they no longer make their eerie call. They are most likely going to migrate very soon. We have seen beavers working to store food for the winter. There are also some birds that do not normally live in the area, but they are passing through on their way south. A couple days ago, we saw a large gaggle of snow snow geese flying overhead. Today, while we paddled up the Granite River, we saw a lone Tundra Swan.

Loons are gathering, getting ready to migrate.

We are now on Gunflint Lake. This is just a few days from where we plan to finish on Lake Superior. Dave and I are excited about having the end of this stage of the journey in sight. I also feel like we will finish our paddle just in time. The weather is cold. This morning, a layer of frost coated the tents and ice had formed near shore. The days continue to get shorter. The seasons are changing quickly and we are eager to head home.

Frost formed on the plants overnight and fog hovered over the water in the morning.

Fennel's Field Notes

This guy has joined our group. He paddles in a different canoe. I have gotten used to riding in our canoe while seeing Bryan paddle near us. He and Dave talk a lot. Sometimes Bryan howls at me. I whine back.

Recently we were on a portage. I carried my pack across, as usual. At the end of the portage, Dave and Amy were loading their canoe. Bryan put a couple packs in his canoe too. I happened to be standing near his canoe when he was ready to go.

I got sort of confused. Bryan told me that I could get into his canoe. This is different. I always ride in Dave and Amy's canoe, but they were farther away. I looked over to Dave and he told me it was okay. I climbed into Bryan's canoe.

He took off and there I was, sitting in a different canoe! It is a skinny canoe. I couldn't turn around and lie down like I do in Dave and Amy's canoe. I sat there while Bryan paddled, looking at Dave and Amy to make sure it was okay. This was kind of scarey.

Luckily the lake was small. I only had to sit still for a few minutes. Then Bryan pulled up to shore and I hopped out as quickly as I could. We hiked across the portage and at the next lake I made sure to stand next to Dave and Amy's canoe and whine.

Bryan holds up a piece of ice that had formed near shore.