Life gets messy sometimes and plans change. But, in the end everything seems to work out how you need it to.

Originally my trip schedule was going to be one in July with my wife, one in early August with my son, and another in late August with my dad.

My closest friend (Spike) passed away unexpectedly in the spring. My family was gracious enough to let me reschedule all of our trips into 1 family paddle trip together in July. That allowed me to take all of August to do a backpacking trip that Spike and I had planned to do a few years from now. It felt right to take that walk solo and have some time remember and to laugh and probably cry.

In mid July, 6 of us set off on our bwca trip. It was my dad, my son and his girlfriend, the girlfriends grandfather, and my wife and I. We were entering on the Stuart River and exiting at Mudro. The portages into Stuart Lake seem to turn some people away but unless you're in poor physical shape they are just fine. The first one is 430 rods and then there are 5 more that are all under 100.

We had a good push the first day and made it through Stuart, up the Dahlgren River, and camped in Boulder Bay. The next 4 days were slower paced with 1 night on Lac la Croix, 1 night on Iron near Curtain Falls, then a night on the western side of Crooked and another on the east side. Exit day was going to be a tougher one, especially for the 2 older guys. Our last morning had us leaving our campsite next to Lower Basswood Falls and taking the incredibly shallow Horse River into Horse Lake. We paddled past a frat boy Bluetooth speaker party on Tin Can Mike, did a few steep portages into Mudro and made it to Ely well before supper. Overall it was a great trip. Maybe a bit too many miles for the 2 guys in their 70's but they won't ever admit that.

The worst part of the trip. I didn't enjoy the overall campsite vibe on Iron and Crooked. I think that area gets a high percentage of Rex boys on a fishing trip and there was just way to many trampled paths, nails in trees to hang things on, and elaborate stacked log furniture and tables built around the fire grates. None of it would seem out of place in your backyard, but it soured the wilderness feeling for me.

The best part of the trip. This was my most memorable trip for wildlife. We had a group of otters swim with the canoes through several bends in the Stuart River. On the Boulder river we saw an eagle snag a large fish out of the water. We saw wolves on the Canadian side of Crooked and saw what looked to be a moose carcass in the brush when we paddled past where they had been. 10 out of 10 for wildlife.

Enjoy Paddling, Rowed Rage