BWCACAST- High Definition Boundary Water Canoeing

Our big trip for the summer begins on the eastern edge of the BWCAW in John Lake.  Our plan is to follow the "Voyagers Highway" through the historic border lakes as we paddle west.  We head out from John lake through the Royal River in to South Fowl Lake then northwest into North Fowl Lake and end the episode on Moose Lake. With the recent rain in the are we encounter some vibrant colors on the portages which really makes hauling a pack almost not noticeable.  With three of us in the canoe we are able to make pretty decent time.  We have a great beginning to our trip. A theme you may hear us talk a lot about on this next series of shows is the head wind we encounter for the majority of our trip.  If you would like to take a similar trip we now recommend paddling from east to west.  :)

As we were paddling along the Voyagers Highway we ran into Steve and Ted.  10 years prior in July of 1999 the two were on Knife Lake when the severe storm which caused the blow down raged across the lake.  They were luckily having lunch at a campsite when it hit.  The two were kind enough to share their story with me.  I can only imagine the terrifying experience they had that day.  Even though they've had numerous trips into the BWCAW since they decided they should take an anniversary trip 10 years after the fact.  We just happened to bump into them on their jounrey.

Leaving Lower Basswood Falls we head south paddling up the Horse River. Emerging from the thick vegetation along the sides of the river we catch a glimpse of a deer nibbling its way along the shore. The glass like water made for an enjoyable paddle as we find a group of turtles sunning themselves on a log. To add some excitement to the trip I break a paddle on a rock attempting to paddle up a small rapids. No worries though, with a little duct tape we were back paddling in no time. The evening ends with some loons and a bobber floating just off of camp.

Spending the day at Basswood falls was amazing. The numerous falls all packed into such a confined area makes it a playground for your senses. With short paddles and quick walks to explore each fall, its an easy way to spend a day. We found a cable tram crossing the river at one point; we are not sure what it is used for. If any of you know please email us. At one campsite located right next to a falls we found half and old grumman canoe being used as a chimney for the fire grate. We continue down Basswood River through Horseshoe falls and end this episode at the spectacular Lower Basswood Falls. We hope you enjoy the fast moving water.

After a tough day of paddling into the wind we were overjoyed to find calm waters when we emerged from out tents. We head from Half Dog bay through Back Bay, and PipeStone Bay on our way up to Basswood Falls. We encounter some neat bird activity along with some scenic portages. Join us as we continue our journey to Basswood Falls.

Summer is here!! Our first trip of the summer places us at Moose Lake on the Fernberg Rd. The sun is shinning and boy oh boy is the wind blowing. Our initial plan is to paddle up moose and take the Prairie Portage into Basswood, but with 20 to 30 mile an hour winds we change our minds a bit. Instead we take a 175 rod portage from Moose into Wind Lake and on to Wind bay on Basswood. We continue our westerly path through Indiana Lake and into Hoist Bay on Basswood. We are fighting the wind the entire day. This being our first canoe trip of the year it sure took a lot out of us. We enjoy setting up camp and cooking up a small mouth bass that Jesse catches. Glenn shows us how to start a fire with flint and steel, while I talk about the advantages of renting a satellite phone from Voyageur North Outfitters in Ely. We hope you enjoy the first in this series of shows.

Have you ever heard the frightening sound of a rock scraping the bottom of your canoe only to see water begin to appear in the bottom of your boat throughout the rest of your trip? Well we sure have over the years!! In this episode of BWCACAST we'll show you have to patch up those holes with a little fiber glass. Its really not as hard as you'd think and with this step by step guide you'll be patching up your own canoe in no time. Jim walks you through cleaning the area, prepping the patch location, mixing the resin and applying the patch. We hope you find this episode helpful throughout your years of canoeing.

Our final day of winter camping we awake to sunny skies and a warm breeze. Its amazing how warm it can get even though you're surrounded by snow and ice. We packed up camp and headed out off Good Lake back through Hula, and Wood to end our trip. We talk about the sleds we have on our trip and how the different styles have their own strengths and weaknesses to deal with. This is our final winter episode for this season. We had a great time exploring the Boundary Waters in its winter wonderland state but are dying to get out on the water again. Thanks for joining us and we look forward to bringing you new sights and sounds in future episodes.

We woke on our second day of winter camping to sunny skies and warm weather. It was a great day to be out exploring around Hoist Bay on Basswood Lake. We set off in search of firewood and a little exercise. Along the way we encountered dog teams out on a run and talk about how this bay was used back in the logging days. We also talk about how we set up our camp with our canvas tent and titanium wood stove as well as that basics of filtering water in the winter. Join us on day two of our winter camping trip into Basswood Lake.

On a sunny Friday afternoon we head off into the Wood Lake entry point on the Fernberg Road. Our goal for the evening is to set up camp in Hoist Bay which is on the South side of Basswood lake. This is BWCACAST's first winter camping trip. We have a canvas tent and a titanium stove for our shelter. With our sleds loaded up with warm gear we trudge across frozen lakes and snow covered portages into the night. The temperatures were quite comfortable with forecasts of high 30s to low 40s. We caught a glimps of a lone wolf lurking along the edge of Wood Lake right at dusk. We hiked on following fresh wolf tracks all the way to Good Lake where we set up camp for the evening.

Duluth Pack and canoeing go hand in hand. Talk to any avid paddler and you'll find they either own a Duluth Pack, or have seen countless numbers of them in the back country. Founded in 1911 these rugged canvas packs have been thrown into many a canoe and packed over countless portages. Today we'll take you into the Duluth Pack factory, located in Duluth, Minnesota and show you a pack being made from the cutting of the canvas to the hammering of the rivets. Join us as we watch a Northwoods pack take shape.

We continue our trip on the Little Indian Sioux under sunny skies. Our goal is to experience the Devils Cascade in the winter. Jesse and I had visited this beautiful place last summer and were itching to see how snow and ice would transform the shaded rapids. Along the way we find where a bird had made a kill in the snow. Its wing prints easily identifiable. When we finally made it into the Devils Cascade the hike was totally worth it. Clumps of white snow scattered through the running water. Giant icicles hanging from the cliff wall, and beams of sunlight filtering through the tree branches.

With temperatures hovering in the upper 20s Jesse and I head out to the Little Indian Sioux River. We had paddled this trip last summer and were excited to see how different things would look in the winter. We encountered a slough of wolf tracks right down the middle of the trail and expiernce some amazing views of open water on the river.

With the temperatures hovering just above zero we drove out to the Hegman Lake entry point. With our snowshoes and packs on we headed down the trail. The sun was shining down through the trees, and when we dropped onto the lake it was just georgeous out. We encountered a little slush below the top layer of snow on the lake, but we made great time on our way out to the pictographs. We hope you enjoy our first winter episode.

Late fall we load up our backpacks and head out to the Echo Trail. Our first hiking trip on BWCACAST brings us to the Angleworm Hiking Trail. This 14 mile loop around Angleworm lake takes you along a high ridge overlooking the lake. This provides some amazing views and reflections across the water. There were a few trees left with the remnants of fall colors. The golden leaves were just stunning to see reflected in the calm lake water. We set up camp just up the shore from the lake and got a little fire going to cook our hobo dinners. The Angleworm hiking trail is a great place to stretch your legs and get immersed in the wild surroundings.