Journal 2004

It Won't Be Long Now!

Prologue

The shopping was over, the packing was done and it was time to embark on our great adventure to the north. John was to pick Galen up at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 25th. Keith said to be at his house at "7:00 a.m." and he would be ready. John and Galen arrived at Keith's house at 4:40 a.m. and the house was dark, no movement inside. They began to worry that Keith was serious about the 7:00 a.m. John quickly made a cell phone call to wake Keith and get him going when the lights came on and the first joke of the trip was pulled off. Keith was packed and ready to go.

John, Galen and Keith met Phil at Chris' house in St. Louis and we headed north. We stopped at Cabelas in Owatonna, MN that afternoon for some last minute fishing items. We proceeded to Duluth, MN where we spent the first night. We got to Ely, MN the next morning about 10:00 a.m. and visited various shops. We got to our outfitter, The Moose Bay Company, at 3:00 p.m. We spent the evening getting everything ready to go for the next day. We had a nice meal at the lodge and a relaxing evening visiting with the two "Dave's" and John Herrick.

The Great Adventure

Day One - Thursday, May 27th
We took what would be our last shower for quite a while. (Separately, of course) After a 25-mile Jon boat ride, we were dropped off at Back Bay to begin paddling and portaging. The weather was cloudy and windy with light sprinkles. We had prayer before leaving. Portages went well (all 152 of them!). We enjoyed lunch near Upper Basswood Falls. The black flies enjoyed Galen, who couldn't find his head net. We saw Indian pictographs on the bluffs on Crooked Lake. At 4:30 p.m. we set up camp at Moose Bay on the elevated campsite overlooking the lake. We had steak for supper with slightly crunchy green peas. Galen caught the first smallmouth - 18 ½ inches, then another 18 incher and a pike. John caught an 18 and 19 inch smallmouth. Phil caught a big pike that measured about 34 inches. Keith thought maybe he caught a cold. It was a cold night sleeping and we awoke to a heavy frost the next morning.

Day Two - Friday, May 28th
Best weather day - no wind. We broke camp at 8:30 a.m. and headed up the Tuck River. We saw two men fishing who would be the last humans we would see for several days. We got to Robinson Lake at 10:45 a.m. Keith and Galen caught two Lake Trout trolling to camp. The campsite we picked was on an 8-acre island across from Gardners Mountain. A great campsite that had a big rock flat in front of camp for canoes, gear, etc. It took quite a bit of time to set up camp, tents and all that would be home for the next three days. We fished the north end of Robinson Lake that afternoon. John caught an 18 ½ inch smallmouth that weighed 3.7 pounds. Galen caught 3 smallmouth and a pike. Keith caught a smallmouth and Phil a Lake Trout. We had Lake Trout for supper with hash brown potatoes and cheesecake for dessert. We dropped the last skillet of "fried" fish on the ground, but we later ate it anyway. The gulls had what was left of the Lake Trout - they were noisy birds. The lake was like a sheet of glass and the evening was beautiful. We listened to the loons until we were all snoring in our tents. No one else was on Robinson Lake but us.

Day Three - Saturday, May 29th
After an oatmeal breakfast we left camp at 8:15 a.m. John caught two Lake Trout on a Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk "Clown" colored lure before portaging to No Name Lake. We saw fresh moose tracks on the debris clogged portage trail. Keith caught an 18 ¾ inch smallmouth on his Thunderstick lure. We had a trail mix lunch on a big rock by the lake shore. Keith found a deer head - an 8 point buck with an 18 ¼ inch spread. Keith caught the first walleye of the trip. Keith also caught 2 pike from the lunch rock completing the "grand slam" (at least one each of: walleye, smallmouth bass, pike and Lake Trout) for the trip. John could not remember eating corn…. The wind came up from the south. We portaged through a muddy trail to Nub Lake and saw two eagles. There was a strong wind (20 mph) from the south with white caps. After we waited 45 minutes for the wind to lay, John and Phil bravely attempted to conquer the wind. (It may have been more "stupid" than brave). After communicating with 2-way radios, during which Phil and John told Keith and Galen that they had found smallmouth on beds and Phil caught one measuring 20 ¼ inches - Keith and Galen got brave or stupid. After hard paddling we reached the other end of the lake where the wind was not as bad, thank goodness. Phil lost 4 smallmouth. Galen caught 2 smallmouth that measured 18 inches. Keith caught 2 smallmouth and 2 pike. The wind had laid for a while but came back up and it was tricky getting back to the portage trail. Back in No Name Lake, Keith and Galen saw a deer on the lunch rock. The deer head that was found was in the canoe and was "stinking" it up so Keith left it (on purpose) on the portage trail going to Robinson Lake. John and Phil picked up the head thinking that Keith had forgotten it. On the paddle back to Robinson Lake, Galen saw a rock formation that looked like a mama pig and her babies. Earlier, Phil had seen the same rocks and thought it looked like a bear with her cubs. We named this "Sow Point". The wind was tricky getting back to camp. Supper was basswood rice, left-over Lake Trout (a little gritty), apple crisp and hot chocolate. The weather was threatening and John was still fishing at 9:00 p.m. There was a heavy mist/light rain all evening with heavier clouds to the south.

Day Four - Sunday, May 30th
After a pancake breakfast we left camp at 9:30 a.m. and since it was Sunday morning, Galen sang Amazing Grace while paddling down Robinson Lake toward the portage to Dart Lake. After a tough portage, we had prayer and it was a good thing. There was a steady wind at approximately 25 mph with higher gusts. Phil and John hit the wind right, no problems, just hard paddling. Keith and Galen had trouble. The wind hit the canoe broadside and we came back to the portage spot. We were lucky to get there dry. We took pictures of moose "scat" while waiting for the wind to lay. From the radio we heard that Phil had caught a 16 ¼ and 18 inch smallmouth. John had caught 4 smaller smallmouth and one that measured 18 ½ inches. Keith and Galen got stupid, again, but the wind had died down some, and started up the lake with a hard, hard, paddle. Keith's arms wore out. The upper end of Dart Lake was pretty calm. The wind was hard to figure. Lunch was at the portage leading to Tuck Lake. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches times two for everyone. Since the portage was short, we walked over to Tuck Lake and saw that the first cove was OK but there were big white caps out on the main part of the lake. It was too hazardous to fish. Keith said "This Mill Creek boy has seen enough of Tuck Lake!" Phil caught a 16 inch smallmouth in the cove. Galen caught an 18 inch smallmouth fishing from a rock by the creek from Tuck to Dart Lake. John caught fish too small to mention. The trip back down Dart Lake was okay. The wind had died down for awhile but came back up just before the portage trail. Wind was hard to figure. It began a steady rain on the paddle back to camp on Robinson Lake. We trolled for Lake Trout with no luck. It rained off and on during supper. We ate a smallmouth bass for an appetizer since it was hooked deep and it wouldn't have survived if we released it. We had basswood rice, corn, apple crisp and hot chocolate for supper.

Day Five - Monday, May 31st (Memorial Day)
We nailed/tied the 8-point deer head to the tree by the fire to leave for posterity. We broke camp on Robinson Lake at 8:45 a.m. Light wind, light rain and 46 degrees. It was a very peaceful trip down the Tuck River - the only sound was the singing of birds. Galen thought this was the best part of the trip. John didn't want us to talk. He said, "Be vewy, vewy quiet, we're wooking for moose". We saw no moose and could talk again. Portages began and so did the rain. We helped two father/daughter canoeists at Lower Basswood Falls. We saw four locals at portages. They passed us during our lunch and we passed them during their lunch break and stayed ahead of them the rest of the day. John referred to them was wimps. (They were younger than us, too… probably.) We saw several people during the Basswood River portages. It was still raining. In Basswood Lake the water got rough. There were large swells and it was spooky and iffy for a mile or so. We took the first campsite south of the "Paddle Only" area. It was still raining. We put up the tents in the rain. Thank goodness for air mattresses, everything was wet. We didn't even try to start a fire. John and Galen put up a tarp to cook under - macaroni and cheese, pecan pie and hot chocolate. Everybody was wet and cold and had to put on dry clothes. We warmed our hands by a candle lantern which Phil had brought. We saw an eagle 100 yards from camp. Keith went to bed at 7:24 p.m. saying he would get back up, maybe, when his feet got warm. He got up at 7:00 a.m. the next day - feet warm J. It had rained more during the night.

Day Six - Tuesday, June 1st
It was cloudy, wet and windy - 48 degrees. Breakfast was pancakes, hot chocolate and hot cider. We heard grouse "drumming" so we went on a "photo op" for it. We saw it and got pretty close but got no clear picture opportunity before it flushed. For lunch, we sat on a big rock by camp eating trail mix and cheesecake. Four spoons and one cheesecake pan - saved dishes - see picture. We broke camp at 12:30 p.m. - it won't be long now. John and Phil saw an eagle in a tree approximately 25 feet away - see picture. We reached the portage at 1:15 p.m. at Back Bay. John and Phil searched for beaver sticks. Keith and Galen looked at maps as they waited for our tow boat to arrive. We met 3 guys from California and 1 from Iowa. They had been out for 9 days. They had explored and paddled and fished some. We had a 25 mile Jon boat ride back to The Moose Bay Company with a mechanical portage at the Canada/U.S. line. We got to our cabin at 4:30 p.m. Rock-Paper-Scissor tournament determined our shower order: Phil, Galen, John & Keith. Enough hot waster for 3 showers - go figure. Supper was salad, oven baked BBQ ribs, baked potatoes, baby carrots, rolls and ice cream sundaes for dessert. A little bit better than Mac and Cheese!

One the trip home we stopped at Cabelas again to stretch our legs and have lunch. We ate Elk and Bison sandwiches. Worked crosswords puzzles on the way home. (Boy we're smart, but we did have to use our life lines.) We drove straight home. We left at 6:00 a.m. and got to Mill Creek at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, June 3rd.

Trip Notes
- 24 portages (all but 8 were double portages)
-16 miles paddling one-way to base camp
-many side trips - probably paddled a total of 45 miles
-saw several bald eagles
-saw 3 deer
-saw numerous ducks and loons
-saw a bull moose on the way home, just south of Ely, MN
-windy, rainy weather
-dangerous white caps
-spirits always high
-conversation never lagged
-lots of laughs
-biggest laugh - "This Mill Creek boy has seen enough of Tuck Lake" (Strong wind, huge white caps - looked like high tide on the ocean)
-saw people from California, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota
-never seemed to get completely dark
-everybody got ticks (hadn't planned on this)
-bugs were pretty bad, thank you head nets - Right Galen? (see picture)
-all fish were released except 3 Lake Trout and 1 smallmouth bass

-Glad we brought:
    1. Air mattresses
    2. Rubber boots
    3. Water purifier
    4. Head nets
    5. Baby wipes (God Bless America!)
    6. 2-way radios
-What to bring next time:
    1. Head warmers for sleeping
    2. Hand lotion
    3. Warm gloves for camp
    4. Good hand saw
    5. Deer sausage

-What we did not need:
    1. Too much fishing tackle

Miscellaneous
-John wore long underwear on his head to keep warm while sleeping.
-Tuesday evening after supper the cook left and we had the lodge to ourselves. No clients or employees.
-Nobody locks doors in this area
-Boat operator's name was Jonathan - good kid - going into the Air Force on June 18th
-Cook's name was Jennifer - very good cook

Trip Quotes
-"It won't be long now"
-"Yeah, I know" (Quote from our high school days)
-"Let's hunt 'em up!"
-"Her do?"
-"Use your head for something besides a hat rack"
-"Nyeck, Nyeck, Nyeck"
-"Push on!"
-"Ax" Phil if he's "sissified?"
-"I love you, John. I love you, Phil. I love you, Keith." Responses: "I love you, Galen." But the last night at the cabin, John didn't respond…. he just snored. But we all know he loves Galen.

Outfitter Information
John Herrick
The Moose Bay Company
Moose Lake Outpost 697
Ely, MN 55731
(218) 365-6285