Nina Moose Lake

We finished up the BWCA canoe trip today by paddling across a glassy Nina Moose Lake under picturesque blue skies with poofy white clouds.

Lac La Croix Pictographs

One of my favorite BWCA pictograph sites is on Lac la Croix. The mystery surrounding the origin and meaning of these Indian paintings has interested me for some time. A friend who grew up in the Chippewa village on Lac la Croix once told me that the Chippewa do not know the origin or meaning of the pictographs, but consider them a spiritual place to be respected.

I have seen tobacco offerings at some of the pictograph sites, including this one, in the past. The tobacco offerings are made as a symbol of respect for the paintings.

For extensive information on BWCA pictographs, Michael Furtman has authored the book on them, titled "Magic on the Rocks."

Father's Day Walleye

Bob and his son Ben spent father's day in the BWCA. I can't imagine a more fitting place to spend quality time with your son. Ben caught his dad some walleye and smallmouth bass and we celebrated with a delicious boundary waters fish fry.

Coffee and Bacon

Bacon and a cup (or 3) of Gene Hicks coffee makes the Boundary Waters an even better place.

If you want to add some Ely flavor to your BWCA mornings, then bring along Gene Hicks gourmet coffee. The Good Morning blend shown above is my favorite coffee in the world. We pack it with all of our guided BWCA canoe trips. You can buy it at an Ely grocery store, or directly from Gene on his website at http://www.genehicks.com/.

We awoke today at the sole campsite on Boulder Lake. This photo shows how we started the day in a perfect way.

Flooded Portage Near Oyster Lake

The portage trail between Hustler and Oyster Lakes in the BWCA is challenging. It is about a mile long. And it is known to be flooded for about a hundred feet at the Oyster end. Some recent rains meant a particularly deep wade for us today. We decided to put the canoes down, load them with our packs, and then wade them across the flooding. This photo shows Bob and Ben rising to the challenge and traveling the long and very wet portage.

White-tailed Buck on the Little Indian Sioux River

I launched a six day BWCA canoe trip with father and son guests from Chicago today. Bob snapped this photo of a white-tailed buck grazing near our entry point on the Little Indian Sioux River. This young buck has velvet on his antlers, and hardly seemed to mind us paddling past him. The buck appears to be malnourished with obvious rib lines after the long, cold winter.

Smallmouth Bass Spawning Bed

The smallmouth bass are on their beds now. The male smallmouth bass have recently created visible beds in shallow waters along the shores of BWCA lakes and rivers. The male bass makes the bed by fanning the sand and gravel away from an area near a rocky shoreline. If a female bass is impressed, then she will lay her eggs in the bed. Then, the male swims guard over the eggs.

Both the female and male smallmouth bass will aggressively defend the nest.

I took both of these photos of the same smallmouth bass bed today on Crooked Lake. The above photo shows the bright ring made when the male brushes away the sand and gravel. The below photo shows a bass in the same bed, just closer up.

Casting topwater lures such as a Heddon Torpedo near these beds results in a fierce strike for the bass now. This action won't last long, so grab a pole and practice catch and release. You will want to do like we did and release any female bass that have eggs. It is an important conservation practice to allow these fish to reproduce for healthy populations.

Beatty Rail Portage

An option for people who want to enter the BWCA or Quetico from the west end is to take a motorboat tow to Lac La Croix. The motor tow is an adventure in itself. During the trip to La Croix from Crane Lake, the motorboat is twice loaded onto a cart and pulled across portages on railroad tracks.

Zup's Resort gave us a motor tow today, as we started a seven day canoe adventure. This photo shows Zup's boat on the cart at Beatty Portage between Loon Lake and Lac La Croix. The motor tow shaves a day or two of paddling if you are accessing Crooked Lake or the Quetico Park lakes in that vicinity.

Dragonfly Nymph

I turned over some submerged stones in a BWCA lake this week looking for crayfish. Instead of crayfish, I spotted this dragonfly nymph.

Dragonflies spend most of their lives under water in a nymph stage. As nymphs, they are aggressive predators. They are carnivorous and primarily eat insects, but are known to eat vertebrates such as small fish and tadpoles.

An interesting fact about dragonfly nymphs is that they breath by sucking water into their abdomen and moving it over internal gills. The water can then be expelled under pressure to propel the creatures forward.

This find reminded me of a trout caught several winters back. After filleting it, I discovered two dragonfly nymphs that looked just like this one in its belly.

BWCA Tombstone of Ella Hall

I know of one tombstone in the BWCA. It identifies the grave of Ella Hall. Over a century ago, the teenage Ella died on the lake that bears her name. I took this photo recently at the grave site.

In the million-acre-plus BWCA it seems there should be more marked grave sites. I would enjoy hearing from anyone with information on other BWCA grave sites and historical info.

Back to Civilization

After a fun week of venturing through the BWCA with David and his sons, we returned to civilization today. This trip made memories of varied weather (sun, clouds, wind, rain...); long paddling days; an excursion to Thunder Point; sighting lots of wildlife including eagles, moose, otter, and loons; fishing for lake trout, pike, and walleye; and genuine warmth and conversation around the campfire. This photo shows us before our last portage as we leave Parent Lake.

Juneberry Tree in Bloom - The "Popcorn Tree"

Sitting around our campfire on Disappointment Lake, David asked about the "popcorn tree" behind the tents. What a perfect description! Juneberry trees are covered in spectacular white blooms now. From a distance, they appear to be covered in snow white popcorn.

Juneberry trees are often called "serviceberry trees." Serviceberry is probably a more appropriate name because the berries won't mature until July. Maybe I'll return to this campsite for some serviceberry pancakes then!

Thunder Point on Knife Lake

One of the most spectacular views in the BWCA is from the top of Thunder Point on Knife Lake. We day-tripped from our camp on Fraser Lake to it today. This photo is taken from the top of Thunder Point looking southwest toward the Isle of Pines. The Isle of Pines is the former home of a local legend, Dorothy Molter.

On the way to Thunder Point, we got lucky and Peter spotted a cow moose with a newborn calf along the shore of Fraser Lake. The calf was probably less than a week and maybe less than 48 hours old.

Speckled Alder Catkins

These are catkins on a speckled alder tree. The tiny flowers on the male catkins are shedding pollen that pollinates the female flowers. The male catkins are 5 to 10 centimenters long.

While gathering firewood today around our camp on Ima Lake in the BWCA, I worked my way through a dense thicket of speckled alder. The pollen burst away from the catkins in cloudy puffs.

Gear Review: BWCA Boots For Cool Weather

The safest way to get in and out of your canoe at a portage is to "wet foot" it. As you canoe up to a portage, turn your canoe parallel to the shore and step out of your canoe and into the shallow water before the canoe touches a rock.

It is dangerous to try and keep your feet dry by stepping on a rock that is out of the water. Why? You may lose your balance or slip as you precariously stretch to reach for the dry rock. The result is a possible flipped canoe or an injury from your fall. And your canoe will get banged up in the process.

In blistering hot summer weather when wet feet are okay, I recommend old sneakers or rugged closed toe sandals while paddling and portaging.

However, in spring, fall, and cool weather, wet feet are cold feet. That's when I recommend Northerner brand Max model rubber boots for a very cool price of only about $20. This probably isn't a recommendation you'll receive from an outdoors store that wants to sell you a Chota Quicklace Mukluk for $120. But, I grew up on a farm and that sort of a price tag sends my head spinning. And the Northerner Max works better at a fraction of the price.

I recommend the Northerner Max for cool weather. Here's why:

• 100% waterproof
• Durable
• Aggressive tread makes it super-stable on rocks
• 15" high which is about right for the depth of water at most portages
• Adequate support for portaging
• Easy to slide off to let your feet air out while paddling across the lake
• Value-priced

If the weather turns warm and sunny, your feet will sweat in these boots. Then it's important to air your feet out as you paddle across the lake so your socks don't get wet from perspiration. You also need a second set of comfortable dry shoes to change in to for around camp. Dry feet are happy feet.

I recommended that the group bring Northerner Max boots on the trip this week. They did and the weather has been cool, with rain this afternoon. They can't imagine not having these boots.

If you're driving to Ely, you can buy Northerner Max boots along the way at L&M Fleet Supply in Cloquet (click here for directions) or Virginia (click here for directions). This photo shows the crew this week with Northerner Max boots and happy feet.

Launching a Six Day BWCA Canoe Trip

Today I launched a six day BWCA canoe trip with a dad and his two sons. We put in at crystal-clear Snowbank Lake. This photo shows David proudly watching his sons, Eric and Peter, paddle away from our lunch spot on Ahsub Lake.

Broad Leaf Aster and Charmin

Guest Blogger: Wilderness Guide Kate Ford.

Spring is slowly creeping its way in. We are seeing lovely, warm, sun-filled days back to back with days of light snow or cold rain. Even with the wavering weather, May is providing the Boundary Waters with enough sun and warmth to coax our leaves out, as proven by these young broad leaf asters. I shot the above photo this week. Broad leaf aster is a low ground cover with other common names: lumberjack's friend or logger's toilet paper. It has a unique soft side which makes it a comfortable alternative when nature calls.*

*Note: Sleep easy. Boundary Waters Guide Service provides good ole soft, happy, Charmin-style toilet paper.

False Morels - Deadly Portage Mushrooms

False morel mushrooms are sprouting up along BWCA portages and area hiking trails. I saw my first of the season a few days ago. Yesterday we saw about a dozen along the Bass Lake Trail near Ely.

These false morels are deadly. Eaten raw they may lead to diarrhea and vomiting within a few hours. That's followed by dizziness, lethargy, and headache. Then, in severe cases, delirium, coma, and death in five to seven days.

However, some in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and around Ely, consider them a delicacy when prepared properly. The toxin in false morels is gyromitrin. The toxin, or some portion of it, is released by drying, par boiling, or sauteing. During these processes, the toxin is released as a gas. If cooked indoors without proper ventilation, the gas may poison the preparer.

Most guidebooks and wilderness guides wisely recommend treating all raw or cooked false morels as poisonous. Some research suggests that eating even properly prepared false morels may lead to poisoning. That is because individual false morels may contain different levels of the toxin, preparation methods reduce the toxins but may not eliminate them, and individuals react differently to different levels of the toxin.

With that said, I've eaten several meals of Ely-area false morels sauteed with butter. Their consistency and taste is remarkably similar to the safe gourmet true morel mushrooms. I had no known ill effects. However, since learning more about the significant potential dangers of false morels, I've concluded the risk probably isn't worth the benefit of this hazardous morsel.

Pictured are false morels on the Bass Lake Trail on May 17.

A Southern Belle's Musings on the Boundary Waters

Editor's note: Guest blogger Jessica Fuller provided this entry. Jessica is from North Carolina and ventured into the BWCA with Guide Kate Ford.

In North Carolina, a dusting of snow means closed roads, cancelled classes and empty toilet paper aisles. In North Minnesota, it simply means it's time for a trip to the Boundary Waters.

Kate and I began our trip through Lake One and Two with overcast skies and extra layers, but by evening's end, we were sitting comfortably under a star filled sky making s'mores. The morning brought sunshine as well as my first canoe portage - a bit shaky, but no harm done to the boat, nor flora, fauna or Ford (Kate, that is).

I reflected with Kate that the North Woods is the kind of place to remember when life seems hectic. When I am back in NC, it will be nice to know that the loons are still calling, the beavers are still building, the water is still flowing and the trees are still reaching their spring buds to the sky. Thanks to Kate and Jason for a wonderful adventure! I'll be back!

This photo shows Jessica portaging a canoe for the first time.

Today's paddling advice from Mike Hillman

Winds gusting to 35 mph and snow whipping in your face greeted canoers this morning.

Mike Hillman, host of the polka show on WELY radio today, provided some advice to those canoers:

"Put on every article of clothing you have, and go east."

I took this photo at about 11 AM today.