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Boundary Waters/Quetico Fall Trip for 2006

August 31st - September 9th, 2006


Fire up the barbie and put the steaks, potatoes, and onions on...........WE love to do steaks the first night, and this trip was no exception. It was a BEAR portaging in an extra 20lbs of food for the FIRST meal, but well worth it.
Man..........Don't those STEAKS look good...........
GadgetMan, Chris, and Me...........I'm cooking the STEAKS................Chris was the only one to bring a chair, and I'm thinking that might be an addition on future trips. Notice GadgetMan sitting on the vittles vault. These also make pretty good chairs.
Day 1 Campsite on Wet Lake............This was a pretty BAD site, but served the purpose. We normally don't setup a GREAT site when travelling, but we needed somewhere with good access to firewood, and wanted to be at least 1/2 way up the Falls Chain.
Dan and Chris at the Campsite on Wet Lake.
Dan at our Wet Lake Campsite. Notice how............well, NASTY this site is.........Not a really good campsite, if you ask me. Barely enough tent pads, but we were BEAT, and need a break. In the background, Mark, (BassMan), is pumping water.
GadgetMan setting up his tent.
BassMan is Always fishing............I believe this is below Kawa Falls, but I could be wrong........It is the last fall before Canyon, I believe.
GadgetMan and Chms, getting some fishing in on the way to Kawnipi.
My canoe on our Kawnipi campsite. This was a GREAT site, and we would end up staying here the next 4 or 5 days. I really love when you can find a site like this.........It really makes the trip that much more memorable.
The tentpads on top of the hill. We had 3 tents, and there was plenty of room on this island. In reality, you could put 3 or 4 groups on the island. There is a Campsite on top of the hill, where we are, a campsite down by the canoe landing, and another site on the other side of the island.
AND look at this FANTASTIC firepit. We would burn a campfire every night we were at this campsite. This firepit is one of the better ones in the Quetico, if you ask me............
A picture of our camp kitchen..........The rock table created by campers over the years made a GREAT place for storing stuff, and cooking for the group. Again, a GREAT campsite.
Stoking a NICE fire......
Chms and GadgetMan at the Kawnipi Campsite.
Dan at Kawnipi Campsite.
Dan and Chris fishing on Kawnipi..........
BassMan fishing on Kawnipi...........The fishing was a little slow, but No BUG, GREAT food, and GREAT friends, makes for a FANTASTIC trip. We did manage to catch decent numbers of smallies, and some walleye, and even managed some lakers.
Dan..........Portaging out of Ashigan..........and for the record........there are NO lakers in that Lake. I must have gotten my bearings wrong, because that lake was basically a SHALLOW, smallie factory. WE did catch some walleye, smallies and northern pike there, so the trip was NOT a bust.
Like I said..........WE did manage to catch some decent walleyes. We had LOTS of walleye that night, and even some for breakfast the next morning..........GOOD eating.
Kicking back for some lunch on Kawa Bay. Notice the bungee cord........I like to take a rubber bungee, and remove the s-hooks. Replace the s-hooks with carabiners, and you have a pretty versitile piece of equipment. They can be used for LOTS of things, including hooking some canoes together.
Chris and Dan, somewhere on Kawa Bay...............NO, that is NOT a "magic bait" hanging on the end of his fishing pole...........
I really don't know what we're looking for here.............BUT we thought we were at the Indian site on Kawa Bay. I guess not, but this looks like it would have been a PERFECT place for canoes, etc, etc.......You can definitely tell that this is a GREAT area for walleye fishing.
Yes junior....................THAT is a smallmouth bass. Notice how BLACK this fish is........pretty old, and pushing 4lbs. I don't believe anyone in our group caught any bass over 4 lbs on this trip..........
It is rare that I take my fish finder..........I decided, since we were going to try for some lakers, I'd take it this time. We used it to mark some interesting submerged reefs in Kawnipi, and to locate lakers in Keewatin. We managed to catch walleye, lakers, and smallies, when using the finder.
Simply a FANTASTIC picture looking back into a bay near our campsite. This is one of my alltime favorite pictures. I really like the color.........
I seriously thought about hitting Chris over the head with something, and taking the chair..........MAN after about 5 days that was looking MORE and MORE comfortable..........Again, I will probably take one on future trips.
Keewatin Lake.........North West of our campsite is a lake trout lake........We manage a pretty decent stringer between 4 guys here. The reefs, and the northern island produced lakers for us. We caught limits here, which were cleaned, and taken back for dinner..........AND they were GREAT.
UGH..........Me catch LAKER...........me take laker back to camp.............Me EAT laker.............ME HAPPY. In the trip report, I said I broke the rules here.........Actually, I was within my limits, but the other two guys put their lakers on my stringer, putting me over the limit........
GadgetMan getting some morning coffee. We've taken coffee singles, instant, a coffee press, etc, etc.......The only REAL coffee is perked coffee. WE take a MONSTER coffee pot, and perk it.......LIKE it is supposed to be done.
Breaking camp on Kawnipi.............Notice the weather. Still pretty much perfect. Highs in the 70's, and lows in the 40's. FANTASTIC weather, and no bugs.
Taking a BREAK on the falls chain..........We decided to take our time getting back to Saganagons.....One of two sites that would finish out the trip. We planned on 2 nights on Saganagons, and then 1 night at the First Bay campsite.........
Geo and Dan taking it easy on the Falls Chain. I think this is where we stopped for lunch, but I'm not too sure. Notice the short sleeves, and shorts...............AND no shoes...........That would change quickly. Little did we know, but a major cold front was pushing in and the temps CRASHED.
A camp visitor at our Saganagons campsite. Dan, Mark, Alan, and I had stayed at this site 2 or 3 years ago, and we figured this would be a good place to camp for the last couple nights...........
Chris........bundled up........it is getting cold. Temps are only in the 60's now...........A HUGE change from the previous 4-5 days..........This picture was taken about 8:00am in the morning...........
The weather continues to change..........dropping another 10-15 degrees by this time. This picture was taken at the First Bay Campsite..........
Me, Chris, and Dan..........We all work together, and it is GREAT that we can spend 10 days in the Boundary Waters, and STILL be able to work together..........I've ALWAYS said that group dynamics are the most important aspect to any trip. This trip was no different...........
GadgetMan...........freezing his CAN off...............By now, the temps have fallen into the high 50's and will probably continue to fall............It is really getting cold............In the background, Chris and Mark try to catch some fish......The fish were shutting down.
Mark and Chris fishing First Bay...........Notice the clothing. A stark change from the previous days.
The group.........From left to right...........Chris, Dave, Geo, Mark, Chms, and Dan.......What a FANTASTIC trip and a great group of friends.........I cannot wait until the next trip.
Nice morning shot from First Bay........it is around 6:30.........and DAMN cold......30 degrees....
Dan, FREEZING his can off......Did I mention that it was about 30 degrees......
Chms and Dave on their way back to American Point for the tow back to Superior North Outfitters.
Dan and Chris......