Our third day in the BWCA started off with a portage first thing through Eddy Falls from Knife Lake to Eddy Lake. We would have 7 portages today with a long paddle across lake Ogish to end up in Alpine Lake for our final camp.
We seemed to have begun our descent from the high lakes into the lower level lakes. We woke up early again about 6:30 when the sun peaked over the trees. It was pretty cold in my opinion, probably in the 50s. I had on my toasty warm Columbia Omni Heat tights until we got the morning campfire going. One of the great things about camping in the BWCA is the Minnesota Nice factor. I'm sure you've heard of it - how people in Minnesota are so nice and polite? We happened to meet up with some guys at a portage who were friendly and nice. They were a lot younger than us and of course they carried their Duluth pack and canoe to just make one trip across the portage instead of doubling back like we did. When we went to the BWCA 25 years ago we did the same thing, humping a pack and a canoe. And than was when the Duluth packs were made of heavy canvas with big metal buckles, and the canoes were not lightweight Kevlar.
Anyway, I wanted to mention that one of the nice things that happened each camp was that there was a pile of firewood already cut and stacked ready for us when we arrived. I'm betting it was not a planned thing because you never know how wood will burn or how long it will take for dinner to cook, or how late you will stay up before that Captain Morgan puts you to sleep. We always had to find more firewood and make a huge pile, so we always left some for the next party that came along too.
So first thing out of camp, we're on this portage that was supposed to be 85 rods or 110 rods or something. I probably mention it in the above video but I can't play it at work (it's blocked here like 90% of cool content on the internet). By the way, did you play the second video on Part 2 where Scotty is portaging the canoe? He has a little tantrum at the end and I thought is was cute and hilarious, I was trying not to laugh out loud (LOL) or he would have gotten more frustrated. Back to the portage, it was supposed to be a long one and as soon as you get on the trail you can hear the rushing water of Eddy Falls but the real falls weren't really visible from the path. I did not come all the way up there to miss one of the best water falls on the route so I climbed over about 20 downed trees and wove through paths and bushes thankful I had on long sleeves and long pants so I wouldn't get wood ticks or mosquito bites. But the reward was worth it to see these falls because they were huge and loud and the water cascading over all those rocks was a magnificent sight.
How to Pack
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
