Wilderness Canoe Adventure

Wilderness Canoe Adventure

by Theresa Bickers

Danny and I have been on adventures before, but none as grand as the one we recently experienced. In February we had attended the Jim Strader Hunting and Fishing Expo in Louisville. Danny was interested in black bear hunting, so we were talking with outfitters who offered it. That is when we met Tom Roloff of Wilderness Adventures in Ely, MN. While talking with Tom about bear hunting, we noticed that he was offering a special on a completely outfitted six-day, five-night canoe trip. Danny and I discussed it, thought it sounded like fun, and booked a trip.

We left Campbellsburg, KY on July 1 and arrived in Ely two days later after a 935-mile scenic drive along Lake Superior. Finally it was time for our long-awaited adventure to begin. Tom and Andrea had all of our gear and food ready. All we had to do was pack our personal things into a waterproof pack. Tom gave us our final instructions and showed us a ten-minute video that is required by the Forest Service. We then loaded up and were off. Tom had provided us with maps, showed us what our options were, and the rest was up to us. We had several choices. We could either canoe all day and set up camp at one of the designated campsites along the way; we could pick out a campsite, set up camp, and just take day trips; or, we could do a combination of the two. We chose to find a designated campsite and stay instead of continually making and breaking camp.

Tom dropped us off on Picket Lake. Just as we went from Picket Lake into the backwaters of Mudro Lake, there was a wilderness outpost called Chainsaw Sisters Saloon. It is an amazing place that opened in 1988. There is no running water and the only electricity is from a generator. The three refrigerators run on gas and the only facility is...you guessed it...an outhouse! They serve beer, soft drinks, candy bars, etc. and sell t-shirts and caps.

We had decided to go to Fourtown Lake, so from Picket Lake we had to paddle the backwaters into Mudro Lake, then to Fourtown Lake. We had three portages between Mudro and Fourtown Lakes. For those of you, like me, who didn't know what a portage is, it is when you are unable to paddle through the water and have to carry your canoe and gear across land. Our portages were 10 rods (165 feet), 140 rods (2,310 feet), and 30 rods (495 feet) in length. We decided that this was the worst part of the whole trip - carrying 50-60 pound packs and a canoe can be quite challenging!

Once on Fourtown, we checked the map for designated campsites and began the search for our home-away-from-home. After four hours of paddling and portaging, we found a great campsite with a wonderful view of the lake. Each campsite has a tent pad, fire-ring, and own private latrine off in the woods. From our campsite we could see several islands, one that I named Gull Island because of the Herring Gulls who lived there.

The lakes in the Wilderness Country are absolutely beautiful. The area is very rocky, making the lakes crystal clear. As we looked out in the stillness of the morning, the lake resembled a mirror reflecting the shoreline and sky.

Just about every day we saw people off in the distance paddling their canoes. We were definitely on our own. For the most part we experienced complete solitude and enjoyed the feeling of having this huge lake all to ourselves.

In the wilderness you have to expect wildlife. We knew we would be in bear country. We also knew there were wolves, moose and more. Tom had explained to us how to hang our food pack in a tree so the bears would not be attracted to our camp. We were hoping to see some of these creatures in their natural habitat and were not disappointed. Our first morning out we were awakened by the sound of a moose trotting through the middle of our campsite. Just down from our campsite, we saw another moose swimming from the island to the mainland. The loons swam, played, and fished on the lakes.

If you have heard Minnesota has mosquitoes, you heard correctly. A mosquito there makes two in Kentucky. They were so numerous that at dusk you could hear them in the woods just as you would hear a swarm of bees or hornets. We found that 100% Deet protected us from their fierce bites.

As I prepared for this trip, I tried to imagine what it would be like but there was no way to imagine the solitude, peace, and quiet of this wilderness area. From the time we left the put-in point until we returned, the only sounds we heard, with the exception of distant airplanes, were from nature. Motor boats are not allowed in this area except for a few designated lakes. During the day, we would hear the songs of the birds, call of the loons, ducks and gulls, and occasionally the distant voices of other paddlers. At night there was, for the most part, complete and total silence - no frogs, no crickets, only the occasional melodic call of the loons. Our last evening out, while preparing dinner, we were fortunate enough to hear the call of distant wolf packs. Two nights the sky was clear of all clouds but completely filled with stars. It is truly amazing how many stars can be seen when you are away from city lights. They reflected in the water like a million diamonds.

A trip like this can be as adventurous as you want it to be. You can canoe from lake to lake with different portages, making and breaking camp traveling any distance you choose, or you can do as we did. We found the perfect site and spent our days reading, fishing, canoeing short trips, and relaxing.

This may not be a typical extreme sport to some. However, to us, it provided a great sense of accomplishment at the end of a week totally on our own. We were out there without phone or radio. Map and compass skills are a necessity on a trip such as this. However, if you don't posses these skills, don't let that stop you. Tom provides instruction in each before the trip.

Wilderness Adventures is owned and operated by Tom Roloff and Andrea Hill. They can be reached at 1-800-THE-BWCA, or at their website http://www.thebwca.com/