Bear Dog

You never know what surprises you might get from the wild animals of the north. Early Monday morning out at the Girl Scout Canoe Base near Ely, two staff members awoke to the sound of the pet dog Lexee's loud woofing.

Lexee was terribly agitated about something happening, so they followed her as she ran toward the kitchen. As they came around the corner they spied a quick glimpse of a very large black bear standing on the deck with its paws through the open window nonchalantly stealing fruit from a bowl.

Lexee, a 70-lb dog, tore toward the likely 300 pound bear. The bear fled without hesitation, and Lexee followed close behind as far as she could. No need to worry about the bears as long as Lexee the Bear Dog is close by.

Before going back to bed, Lexee did get a treat and plenty of love for staying alert and selflessly defending the unsuspecting staff from this stealthy bear!

By guest blogger Wilderness Guide Kate Ford.

Float Plane View of the Boundary Waters

Bud from Van Air flew me and a client on an aerial float plane tour of the BWCA and Quetico today. The top-down view provides a whole new perspective on how much of this area is covered in water. And what a beautiful pattern the lakes make with the peninsulas and bays, islands, rocks and rugged granite topography. A boundary waters region flight is a truly memorable way to get an overview of some of what makes this region so special.

This photo shows the east end of Lac La Croix on the border with Canada. Warrior Hill is in the lower right part of the photo.

BWCA Happy Honeymooners

In the parking lot at the entry point this week, you couldn't miss the "Just Married" written across the vehicle's window.

So, when we met a young couple on the portage, we asked if it was them. Sure enough, they'd spent their honeymoon camping in the boundary waters.

It had been a cold and rainy week that actually set some record cold temps, but you'd never know it by the smiles on their faces.

A marriage that starts with a week-long BWCA canoe camping trip is certainly bound for success. We wish Phillip and Megan Knapp from Carlstad, MN, only the happiest of marriages!

Bear Activity at Campsites on Disappointment Lake in the BWCA

I've received my first report this summer of bears hanging around a campsite. There has been a mother and her cub entering campsites on the east end of Disappointment Lake. Disappointment Lake is one portage east of Snowbank Lake.

Keep a clean camp to discourage bears. If you have a bear in camp, then make loud noises (banging pots and pans and such), and throw rocks at the bear to convince it to leave.

Hopefully we will have a good upcoming berry crop that will fatten up the black bears and discourage them from looking for food at campsites.

I snapped this photo of a bear and cub at the North American Bear Center near Ely this spring.

July 19, 2009 update: There have been reports of bears in campsites on Parent Lake, which is one portage west of Disappointment Lake. It's probably the same bear.

Winter and the 4th of July

Some people say there are two seasons up here: Winter and the 4th of July. That's not quite true. But, once Independence Day rolls around, it is time to think seriously about keeping warm when the snow flies.

Today Kate and I split wood. This photo is her with a rented log splitter. It felt good, like we were the smart squirrel holing away nuts for the upcoming long winter.

How Long Before a BWCA Canoe Pack Sinks?

We set out to answer that question this week. With the help of the guides at the Girl Scout Canoe Base near Ely, we loaded two canoe packs, dumped them in the lake, and waited to see if they would sink.

For the first pack, we used a typical Duluth-style #3 canoe pack with personal gear for a week: 2 sleeping bags, 2 therm-a-rests, 2 bags of clothes, 2 sets of rain gear, some misc. fishing equipment, camp shoes, and bug spray. For the second pack, we used a typical narrow Duluth-style equipment pack loaded down with pots and pans, saw, stove, fuel bottle, tarp, 2 four person tents with poles, toilet paper, flashlight, rope, wash kit, and grill.

After twelve hours in the water, both packs remained afloat. This photo shows the red equipment pack still floating after twelve hours in the lake.

Patriotic Portagers in the Ely Parade

Small town Independence Day parades across the country reflect the communities that host them. Ely is no different. In the "canoe capitol" of the world at the edge of the BWCA, there must be canoes.

Today the Girl Scout Canoe Base guides portaged canoes in our parade. They even demonstrated, in formation, how to do solo lifts: picking up the canoes and putting them on their shoulders. The crowds responded with raucous applause.

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.