Day 364: Howling for Wolves
Wolves were howling so we howled back.
Daily Data
Day 363: Reflection Lake
We visited our 500th body of water on the 363rd day of our Year in the Wilderness. Crashing through wet branches and soggy moss, over rotting white pine trunks and through balsam thickets, we slowly bushwhacked towards Reflection Lake. The final 100 yards was a soupy, boot-sucking bog. Before we paddled into the Wilderness nearly …
Day 362: Wilderness Words
“Wilderness is the stash of seeds for the world garden.” Don Watson sent us these beautiful words yesterday.
Chilly Morning on the Basswod River
For the first time in many months I felt the urge to burrow my head into my sleeping bag to warm the tip of my cold nose. More and more flecks of color appear in the forest each day. It is clear that fall will win its timeless battle with summer once again. A blanket …
Day 357: Portaging around Curtain Falls
We portaged past Curtain Falls for the last time during A Year in the Wilderness yesterday. We are traveling upstream through Crooked Lake, the Basswood River and Basswood Lake as we prepare to exit the Wilderness in ten short days.
Day 355: Tank is a Portaging Pro
Tank was all business on the portage between Rush Lake and Dark Lake. It’s not surprising because he seems to enjoy portaging far more than canoeing. It is probably due to all the smells along the portage trail and trees to mark. Dark Lake was the 497th body of water that we have visited during …
Day 354: Pine Marten
As we made breakfast Amy noticed this pine marten peering down at us from the crotch of a small cedar tree 8 feet above our heads. Soon Tank noticed it and was whining and pacing below. The marten seemed pretty agitated at first, but after a few minutes we tied Tank up a healthy distance …
Day 353: Going were the Wind Blows
Golden fog blanketed the lake again this morning. We slowly sipped steaming mugs of coffee and ate oatmeal with an extra dollop of peanut butter as delicate waves of mist washed over the lake. A few tendrils of fog remained when my coffee and oatmeal were gone so I suggested we make more coffee and …
Day 351: Dancing Through the Rice
Gazing over the swaying carpet of green, I watched Bert guide their canoe through the rice as Johnnie rhythmically guided kernels onto a growing pile of rice in the widest part of their canoe. Bert expertly adjusted the canoe’s speed to match Johnnie’s flails as they bent the rice over the gunnel and gently brushed …
Day 350: Trumpeter Swans in the Boundary Waters
Scanning the lake for our seven glistening white neighbors has been a real joy during our stay on Nina Moose Lake. Trumpeter swans were hunted to near extinction but they are coming back and each year we have started seeing a few more in the Boundary Waters. The seven magnificent birds, that seem content to …