La-Loooooon (June '11)

Camping is the art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower and flush toilet.

Evan and I decided several months ago to take a vacation together to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area up near Ely, Minnesota. This is a 1 million-acre area where cell phones don't work, fishing is abundant, and the scenery is almost untouched by humans.  

The best way to tell our adventure is through our pictures.  Also this is #6 on the bucket list :) Enjoy! 

Starting out on June 25th we left Brookings to drive over 8 hours to Ely, MN.  For this trip we decided to 

'fly by the seat of our pants' and not make a schedule.  Therefore, we did not know where we were going to stay the first night.  We'll pass that bridge when it comes, right?  Ps. I learned I like some planning on this trip :)

Upon reaching Ely we went to the outfitters to touch base with them.  This is where we meet Crazy Eyes.  The guy seriously had the eyes that were bigger and more excited than mine! Now that's hard to come by !  Anyways, he made Evan and I watch a movie on the rights and wrongs of the BWCA.  Like if you see a bear get really big and bang pots and pans.  However, Evan and I had a different plan.  Evan was going to put the bear in a headlock and I was going to take pictures (of his last moments)!  

Awkward moment: We were buying fishing licenses and Crazy Eyes asked if we were married (if we were married we would get a cheaper rate which was like $20 cheaper).  

Evan - "No, we're not married."

Emily - "I wish we were married though."

After signing a sheet saying we were going to abide by the BWCA laws, Crazy Eyes asked if we wanted to just take the canoe that night so we could leave bright and early in the morning.  

Emily: "Is that going to hurt my car?!"  

Yes, a canoe was strapped onto my little car.  As we drove down the road looking for a camp site, the canoe started to shift.  Talk about nerve racking!

Also Evan asked Crazy Eyes if we did want to stay a couple extra days if that was okay.  The BWCA only allows so many people to enter the BWCA each day.  Crazy Eyes said "SURE! I won't worry about you unless three additional days go by."  I wasn't too sure what to think about this laid back mentality.  I mean what happens we sank our canoe and had no way of getting back… we would sit out there stranded for three more days and he wouldn't care?! Crazy Eyes was literally crazy.  Evan was just fine with the idea though… Uffda!

That night we found this adorable place :)  Awesome!! We were able to set up our new tent and organize our stuff a little better.  This also was the last night to shower before our 4 day excursion into the unknown :S.  

As for packing this was everything I needed for a week.  Actually it was more than enough.  Turns out that I just slept in my same clothes.  It maybe gross, but really we didn't care.  

Ridiculious moment: I  admit I did make a mistake.  I convinced Evan we didn't need a sleeping mat or air mattress.  The ground wouldn't be that hard.  FYI people: It is hard.  Like we were sleeping on gravel and tree roots.  By the end of the trip we felt like 80 year olds with our backs!  

Day 1

Pushing off!  

Crazy Eyes told us that Insula Lake had awesome fishing.  Our goal: Insula Lake.  

We took our fishing poles, 1 large pack that weighed 120 lbs (included all our clothes, cooking gear, one-burner stove), life jackets, 2 five gallon pails (one full of food like pop tart, potatoes, fruit snacks, etc.), two lawn chairs, and water filter.  

Insula Lake meant 6 portages and miles of paddling.  Everyone we passed said we wouldn't make it to Insula Lake in one day.  

Evan was determined.  I was determined not to cry.

Fun story: Evan was super excited, but I had a secret.  I was terrified of canoeing!  And yes, I knew this was a canoe trip and was even my idea… I just wanted to be "that cool girlfriend".  As we canoed along I was extremely quiet.  Finally, after a slight boat rock I confessed:

"EVAN, I'M TERRIFIED OF CANOEING!!!"

The picture of my leg was the bruise I received from pushing my leg against the canoe to stabilize myself.  

The fear was a result of my cousins pretending to tip the boat on the James River and an evil canoeing trip with Darin which involved white caps.  In return, canoes hate me too.
Those times were pretty traumatic for me. 

But we were out there.  I had to get-myself-together.  We canoed for about 8 hours the first day.  Only once there were big waves.  Notice the lifejacket on me and not Evan.

"Anyone who says they like portaging is either a liar or crazy." - Bill Mason

This is what a portage would look like when approaching…

Obviously this isn't Evan, but now you know what we both did!

Evan is portaging here!  

Funny story: Crazy Eyes asked if we wanted the Keviar canoe.  However, the Keviar was going to be $22 more per day, but 18 pounds lighter than the aluminum canoe.  I told Evan we could definitely haul the 68 aluminum canoe without a problem through the portages.  

I ate my words at the first portage.  Evan and I decided I could take the 68 pound canoe on my back.  As we hoisted on my shoulders a man looked at Evan and gave him the look of "man how did you work that one!"  I was determined to portage.  I walked the 30 rods while only slightly struggling.  At the end the portage the trees parted and there was a wind.  The wind grabbed the canoe and I felt as if I was going to topple over!  Luckily, Evan was there to help me place the canoe into the water.  After the first portage Evan decided to do the rest.  

Honestly, we paddled and did not take long breaks.  Evan was so determined to make it to Insula Lake.  Yet, I needed a break.  At one point I asked Evan if we could take a break.

 "Let's finish these next three portages than we can!  Fruit snack?!" 

Apparently fruit snacks make everything better. 

For the record we did have fun along the way.  The reason why there are portages is because of the rapids.  Above, Evan and I stopped to take a breather… and probably eat a fruit snack.

The last portage was a killer.  The darn thing was 1/2 mile long! We both put the canoe on our shoulders and climbed the portage.  Basically Evan pulled me along.  But to do the portage it took about 35 minutes of walking back and forth three times.  This was the gateway to Insula Lake!! YEA!

 Now since we were on Insula we had to find a camp site.  We paddled by some pretty nice ones, but discovered a kickin' site, which we called True Earth.  Check it out!  

There was a peninsula rock, where we spent a lot of time because no bugs would come out there.  Also it was deep enough to bobber fish.  In the picture you can how we hung our food.  We had to do that so the bears didn't come visit.  Unfortunately, there were no headlocks :(.  When Evan was climbing down the tree from hanging the pulley to raise and lower the bucket, the branch broke and he basically fell 4 feet.  He scraped his arm, which was the only "injury" on the trip.  Thank goodness I prepared a first-aide kit!

Also included at True Earth was a latrine aka toilet.  Basically it was stump sticking out of the ground.  Honestly I wasn't too thrilled by it because...

1.) It was in the woods. When I went back there I was always looking around waiting for a bear to eat me. 

2.) I didn't trust the seat.. it looked unsanitary.  Hovering was necessary.

3.) I love picking up spare change, and there was a penny next to it.  I didn't pick it up.   

Day 2

In the morning Evan was able to catch two Walleyes off a nearby rock.  After a fish lunch we headed out on the canoe to try catching more.  The weather didn't look ideal so we took our ponchos.  Soon after paddling out a ways and casting the rain started.  We put on our ponchos, but the rain was too much.  Again, I wanted to be that 'cool girlfriend' and wasn't going to admit that I wanted to go back to the tent.  As Evan sat in the canoe dressed in his oversized green plastic, he finally said it: "I'm not having any fun in the rain." Back to True Earth!!

I may have not brought a sleep mat, but I did bring Scrabble Slap!!  It rained all day.

Fun story:  After the rain, Evan was determined to make a campfire.  I told him if he could do it from the soaked wood he would earn his "Man-a-gawea" badge.  Sacagawea was taken by Lewis and Clark because of her great navigation and outdoor skills.  So if Evan could do it, he would be like a Sacagawea, but man style.  

He did it! Honestly it was a lot of fun trying to figure out the solution for the problem, and it didn't even take him that long.  So we got to eat warm Roman!  

Day 3

GORGEOUS WEATHER!!  We decided to paddle around Insula Lake and fish.  

Fun story: I never realized Evan loves Loons.  He seriously took eight pictures and instructed me not to delete any.  Instead I needed to delete my older pictures.  Oh goodness.

 Ps. Please ask him what sound a Loon makes.  I was blessed to hear it… ALL DAY LONG.

After fishing in the canoe for a while, we decided to jump from rock to rock. So much easier!  At the first rock a Northern Pike was messing with us.  He would bite my bait off and swim right up to the edge of the rock.  We were determined to get him.  

At one point the Pike snapped Evan's line, and Evan really wanted his bobber back.  So this is what a canoe looks like with only 1 person.  The front is a little out of the water :)

"There is a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot."

I took the idiot approach :)  I thought it was more sneaky/relaxing/fun to just set the bobber out and lay in the sun.  I didn't catch a fish.

As the day went on Evan and I had a lot of fun going rock to rock and trying to find the hot spot.  It was so much fun to see him get excited about a spot and was impressed his luck/skill in catching them.  Above is the Small Mouth Bass he caught on rock #2.  

For day 3, Evan caught a Northern Pike, Small Mouth Bass, and Walleye.  That was plenty for us to eat!

I like to take some credit.  All I did was sun myself though :)

On the way back to True Earth, I saw a huge pile of sticks.  With a little help from Mr. Beaver, we had a blazing campfire to cook over :)

First we had to fillet the fish.  Evan taught me how to fillet and I actually did it!
I earned my Woma-ga-wea Badge.

Since this was our last night on the lake we needed to eat as much food as possible.  Heaven forbid that I carry a 5 gallon bucket full of food back to the mainland with us.  No we were going to feast like a king and queen.  Therefore, Evan ate 5 potatoes with the fish.  Another first for me - peeling potatoes!

Funny story: I admit it, I had a break down.  We were fishing and Evan was absolutely LOVIN' IT.  He kept suggesting that we stay out a couple of more days to fish and relax.  I just kept saying "sure if you want to…" I wasn't too enthusiastic.  Finally, after fishing for hours I had to tell my true feelings.  We had stopped by a big rock and Evan wanted to jump off it.  I told him not to because if he broke his neck I wasn't going to be able to paddle back and get help.  He jumped anyways.  I told him to do it again and see what happens (we have a funny way of loving each other sometimes :)).  He did again.  I couldn't take it.

I broke down.
"Evan I want to go back tomorrow.  I want to shower - I smell, I want to sleep in a bed, and I'm tired of padding.  I'm not a wilderness girl - I lied!  I'm sorry, but I just can't do it!!!"  I had tears in my eyes and I was just furious at myself for not being a wilderness girl.  As I sat on the rock ranting, Evan started to poke fun (he does this, which usually turns my attitude around... weird).  Then he said we should head back to True Earth.  As I started to climb back into the canoe Mother Nature struck back for me dissing her.  I lost my footing and I landed SMACK on my butt in the water.  I was cold, wet, and stuck in the wilderness.  All I could do was laugh at myself.

Day 4

We pushed off bright and early.  In this picture I can say I feel pretty stellar - we're caked with bug spray, suntan lotion, and our own juices.  Disgusting!  What I like about camping is you can get really dirty.  Either you're all by yourself, so no one else sees you, or everyone you're with is just as dirty as you are, so nobody cares.

On the flip side - it was gorgeous out!  

If you haven't picked up the BWCA isn't really a prissy girl place.  I saw only a couple of ladies on the water, and most were with their children just leisurely paddling with full fishing vests on.  The men were the type that would scratch chests and have male bonding time.  These stereotypes didn't stop me from sunning myself more in my bikini :) I will admit that I was a little shy about doing this.  Especially when we paddled by a Boy Scout camp site.  Chin up and eyes straight forward.

The scenery was gorgeous.  A lot of times we didn't talk while canoeing because Evan was reading the map and campus.  He actually did an awesome job maneuvering us through this massive lake system!  Man-a-gawaea Badge earned.

We did try playing a game of naming cities in South Dakota, but we got too distracted.  

Fun fact: When we stopped for lunch on a small island we noticed a ton of fish skeletons.  Then we heard it - GRUNTS!! This means only one thing - DA BEAR!  Naturally, we didn't use common sense and we went exploring with our camera.  If we did this just right Evan could give him a headlock!  Unfortunately we didn't find DA BEAR, but I claim we were in the presence of DA BEAR.  Awesome.  

Other animals we saw on the trip were Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, LOONS, turtles, beaver, and just a lot of avians. Evan and I get a good kick out of making the animal noises; therefore, the BWCA heard some horrible sounds that were probably similar to what the animal would make if it was dying.  

Fun fact: If we wanted to drink water we would have to filter the water by pumping the water through a hand-held filter.  It was cold but tasted like lake.  Take Crystal Light packets.  Saved the day!

The view from our camp site on the last night.

Overall the trip was memorable, challenging, and rejuvenating.  We were able to create fantastic stories and gain a new respect for each other.  Evan learned I was not as tough as I act, I need to shower otherwise I cry, and I was terrified of canoeing.  I learned that Evan is a pretty good fisherman, is awesome at climbing trees, and could survive in the wilderness without a problem.

We encourage anyone to go experience the BWCA, but know that it is the wilderness.  You will come away with a new respect for the outdoors and each other.  


As Pierre Elliott Trudeau stated, 
"What sets a canoeing expedition apart is that it purifies you more rapidly and inescapably than any other travel. Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature."