Boundary Waters Magic 2008

We just got back from 6 wonderful days in the BWCA. Cornell and Patti again fixed the whole trip for us. The weather was not too hot this time and there was almost no rain.
We went in at Little Indian Sioux River, through the Pauness lakes , over the grueling 216 rod portage to Shell Lake and North to Heritage Lake where we had the whole lake to ourselves. Both Linda and Thomas portaged the canoes this trip. Thomas did almost every portage while Linda did several on the way home. Both kids are also doing very well at steering the canoe. Cornell has the pictures of Linda portaging but here is Thomas.

We were spoiled terribly by Cornell's great food, delightful drinks (including iced Rob Roys and Cosmopolitans the first night) and all his great gadgets while Patti had made enough tortillas for two meals, one of which was refried beans, tortillas and beer!

We also used Cornell's new coffee pot he received from us for his 60th birthday for the first time. It is a beauty and the coffee Knut bought especially for the trip was just perfect.

Bob, our friend from two years ago, a great big snapping turtle was still there waiting for us to give him fish remains. No matter how careful we were with keeping fish smells out of the lake, he showed up minutes after the first fish was cleaned. We had more fish this time than earlier years. We enjoyed both northerns and a walleye. They didn't loose so many lures this time either so they seem to be getting the hang of this. Still, we are no match for all the other avid fishermen we saw out there. It seems like they fish from sunrise to sunset.

The loons were out in full force on the lake and they kept us entertained with their songs and antics during the days and nights. It is always a treat to see the young loons learn to take off, using half of the lake while flapping their wings madly trying to lift off. Sometimes they would cry loudly as they were trying to take off, making quite a show. We also saw eagles, beavers, some deer and a great blue heron. Cornell, Patti and I were lucky enough to get very close to the heron for a long time, watching it hunt in the mud flats along the river. It was really neat.
We took two day trips, one into Lynx Lake and one to Loon Lake where there is a great big sandy beach. It is beautiful walk to get there, but as a portage it is a killer. Fortunately it was only a portage for the two carrying canoes, since the rest of us could wander through the woods looking at the vegetation and swatting bugs with free hands. Once we arrived at the beach we all hopped in and had a nice swim. After the refreshing dip we went on to a site on the west shore where we had a nice lunch of tortillas, cheese and sausage. Cornell even found brown cheese for us to eat with the tortillas! The other days were spent fishing, swimming, paddling around the lake, reading, playing cribbage and just relaxing. When we got back to the car, Cornell even had beers in the car waiting for us. A warm beer had never tasted so good.

It was a wonderful trip. We never know how to thank Cornell and Patti enough for these trips. It is the very best thing we do. All of us agree that there is no other place we would rather be than in the BWCA. Thank-you, you two. You both rock!

- Reb