October 2018 Boundary Waters Trip Planning

2018-10-10 Thankfully, planning is half the fun of a backpacking or canoeing trip! So they say. We cancelled our trip to the Boundary Waters as the weather is just not working for us! Up to two inches of snow is in the forecast and watching it now for a while we are obviously in a very unpredictable time and anything could happen. Somehow temperatures in the 30s or lower at night, 40s or lower in the day with rain and possible snow are not compatible with where we are in our outdoor enthusiasm! So, as admonished in James 4:15, "If the Lord wants us to...."  next year!
2018-10-04 Will it happen? We've decided to decide the day before, one week from today. Current extended weather forecasts make it look doubtful with temperatures in the low 30s at night only into the low 40s during the daytime. And cloudy as well. The clouds are potentially good at night as they will keep it a bit warmer. But on the other hand they hold back the sunshine during the day keeping daytime cooler. So... we'll see!
2018-10-04 In hope that the trip will be on, I've been working on some of the food for our trip. The photo at right shows what I have so far.
The right two columns have dinners or lunch. The freezer plastic bags second from the right are Cheesy Beans and Rice. Below that is a pouch of PackitGourmet Austintacious Tortilla Soup left over from a previous trip. It's really good but a bit fiddly to make.
The right column contains two packets of PackitGourmet Dotties Chicken and Dumpings. Next are two packets of PackitGourmet Texas State Fair Chili. From a previous trip our judgment was that this is one of the best trail meals anywhere. It's hardy and just plain good! Finally is a 2-serving Good-to-Go Pad Thai meal. I had it for a previous trip and have not tried it. Sure hope it's good!
The left column has breakfasts. The top two packets are PackitGourmet West Memphis Grits. On a previous trip everyone liked them. I'll bring along some real bacon bits to give it a bit more taste and body, not that it needs it.
My son it tending to our lunches and I'm sure we'll have some trail food, Cliff Bars and the like as well. And of course coffee!
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Some of our Boundary Waters trip food items.
2018-09-27 We're two weeks away from our hoped for Boundary Waters trip. Weather could be a factor as this is well into Fall and temperatures will likely range from the 30s at night into the 40s daytime. Predicted rain would probably scuttle the trip altogether, certainly prolonged or heavy rain. Showers would be undesirable but maybe OK. talking with my son he suggested that we have a plan B if showers are predicted and temperatures not too bad. His suggestion is that we drive to Moose Lake, canoe to a campsite and set up a base camp. We could take along some heavier gear, larger tent and be able to stay dry and warm that way through showers. Not having to portage canoes in the rain would be a big plus. But we are going to forge ahead with plans and hope for Plan A, which is Entry Point 77-1. See the buttons below.
2018-09-12 Today I decided to get out my hammock stuff and make sure I have everything lined up for the trip. Three of us will be sleeping in hammocks and two in a tent. I'm one of the hammock-three. I'm putting together two of the hammock kits. My son is doing the third one. My garage is my staging area with places to hang three hammocks. And as you can see in the photo the garage serves a number of other purposes as well, none particularly well organized.
Hammock Kit One consists of my ENO DoubleNest Hammock, ENO Guardian Bug Net and a Yukon Outfitters Kindle Under Quilt. The under is rated to the mid 30s so I have attached a Black Diamond Down Throw from Costco with snaps which hopefully will keep us warm down to the 20s at least.
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Two of the three Boundary Waters Hammock setups. The left one is based on an ENO DoubleNest Hammock, ENO Guardian Bug Net with a Yukon Outfitters Kindle Under Quilt. The right one consists of a SnugPak hammock with integrated bug net and a Snugpak underblanket.
 I have an ENO ProFly Hammock Tarp which I plan to use with the ENO setup above. For suspension I'll use the ENO Atlas Straps. I normally use six foot polyester tree straps and whoopie slings which are a bit lighter weight. But last time I used them the trees were too big around and it took some creativity (and a bout with poison ivy) to find a less suitable spot with smaller trees. The Atlas straps are plenty long! This hammock setup including the rain fly weighs 7.3 lbs.
Hammock Kit Two includes a SnugPak Jungle Hammock with Mosquito Net, tree straps (including an extra pair for large trees), whoopie slings and a Snupak Under blanket to which is attached a Black Diamond Down Throw from Costco with snaps.
I plan to use a Yukon Outfitters Walkabout Rain Fly  with the Snugpak setup. Setup two including the rain fly weighs 7.2 lbs.
Black Diamond Down Throw from Costco withI haven't decided about the top covering yet. I have one SnugPak Hammock Quilt and several sleeping bags. We'll see. I also have several more Black Diamond Down Throw from Costco which I have made into hammock quilts which can be used to supplement a top quilt or sleeping bag.
2018-09-08 We're actually considering two more trip options. One uses Entry Point 22. The other Entry Point 77. Below are the routes based on the Rober Beymer and Louis Dzierzak book entitled Boundary Waters Wester Region.
2018-08-28 My two son's, my 13 year old grandson and perhaps one or two more guys are planning a trip to The Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area east of Ely Minnesota either the first to second weekend in October. Likely two or three canoes, depending on who goes. We only have two nights to give so are considering The Clearwater Turtle Loop, entering the water at Entry Point 30.
Day 1, Friday morning will take us from entry Point 30 at the end of the Fernberg Road through Lake One, Lake Two, rock Island Lake and ends at a campsite on Clearwater Lake. Total distance about eight miles. It contains five portages, the longest being about 240 rods, about 3/4 mile.
Day 2, Saturday we leave the campsite on Clearwater Lake, traverse Turtle Lake, Bald Eagle Lake, Gabbro and Little Gabbro Lakes and ends on a campsite on the bank of the South Kawishiwi river. Approximately 9 miles. There are just three portages on this day with the longest being 200 rods, about 2/3 miles.
Day 3, the last day goes from the campsite on the Kawishiwi River and travels north on the river back to the starting point on Fernberg Road. Again, about nine miles, all on the Kawishiwi River. This, the last day has seven portages with the longest being 40 rods, just under 700 feet.
My one son, John, and I plan to hammock camp. Charles and his son will tent camp. I'm excited!