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I'm looking forward to heading out of SeaGull Lake in two weeks for a 10-day solo trip. I plan to travel through Alpine and into Ogishkemuncie, then to South Arm Knife, up Knife, through Cherry, Ester and Hanson, around American Point and back down through Alpine. I've tried to do this loop twice before and each trip was truncated, first because of the Emerald Lake fire in Canada, and then there was that little atrial fibrillation thing a year+ ago. I'm not done with this area yet!
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Sounds like a great trip and area. Here's to hoping you can complete it this time! I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures.
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Thanks. I'll post a trip report (and will probably need your help with it) as usual.
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Be careful around American Point.
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I remember reading that trip report a few years back. You had a nice trip despite the rain. Have you and V done (m)any trips since then?
I won't be going into Kek unless I'm feeling really strong and want to add a bunch of portages to my route. Maybe one of these days. My issue now is to settle a score with EP 54. My trip in Sept. 2012 was cut short by the Emerald Lake fire (in Canada). All the portages west of, and including, the Monument portage were closed so I ended up with an out-and-back via the SeaGull River. Then in May 2013 I had a bout of atrial flutter (a-fib) that motivated me to get to Grand Marais asap instead of lollygagging through Ogish, etc. Now that my heart is back in great shape I intend to do that trip in proper style - 50 miles (or more) in 10 days with 4 layover days.
Nice to see you here,
Koda
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I've been around American Pt a couple of times but not on windy days. I can imagine that one could easily see a maelstrom depending on which way a big wind is blowing. But I don't travel when the wind is over 20 mph. That's why I build in 4 layovers days in 10, plus a few days' extra food.
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Originally Posted by: Gavia  I remember reading that trip report a few years back. You had a nice trip despite the rain. Have you and V done (m)any trips since then? I won't be going into Kek unless I'm feeling really strong and want to add a bunch of portages to my route. Maybe one of these days. My issue now is to settle a score with EP 54. My trip in Sept. 2012 was cut short by the Emerald Lake fire (in Canada). All the portages west of, and including, the Monument portage were closed so I ended up with an out-and-back via the SeaGull River. Then in May 2013 I had a bout of atrial flutter (a-fib) that motivated me to get to Grand Marais asap instead of lollygagging through Ogish, etc. Now that my heart is back in great shape I intend to do that trip in proper style - 50 miles (or more) in 10 days with 4 layover days. Nice to see you here, Koda Yes, Vickie & I usually try to get 2-3 canoe trips a year in. We've since added a 3 year old daughter to the crew which provides an all new perspective on things, Which is mostly a good thing.
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Originally Posted by: TuscaroraBorealis Yes, Vickie & I usually try to get 2-3 canoe trips a year in. We've since added a 3 year old daughter to the crew which provides an all new perspective on things, Which is mostly a good thing. indeed!
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That was the shortest BW trip ever. One night on Alpine Lake and my knees and the weather forecast (three days of wind) drove me back out. My pack fit so snugly in the boat (Hemlock Peregrine) that there was no room for my feet. Each time I got out of the boat - at portage landings, campsites and rest stops - it was hard to stand up. The insides of both knees hurt from kneeling all the time, and the pain on standing got worse with each landing. I was concerned about doing real damage by the time I'd gotten out of the boat a couple dozen times or more. I had to kneel because with a pack in the boat there wasn't enough room to stretch out my legs, even one at a time. As the attached picture shows, there's very little room between the pack and hull, and my boots are too wide to get a foot very far forward. When the wind is up I can't put the big pack behind me or the boat would be impossible to control, so there weren't any workable options. Next time I might use two dry bags laid end-to-end instead of a single pack. (I also had a dry bag with harness, which was in the stern.) 
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That is too bad that you couldn't complete your trip. You'll have to try it again next year. Perhaps that route just doesn't like you, so you'll either be stubborn and try it again or choose a different route.  I've never done a solo but have considered it. What canoe do you use?
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Nice boat! I like the smaller solo boats. I paddle a Rapid fire which is 15 Ft. a little shorter than your Peregrine. I think the smaller boats are more sensitive to weighting than the slightly bigger solos. My knees don’t kneel for long. I had to do some experimenting to get good load distribution. I take 2 back packs and 2 soft sided fishing bags. The small back pack is for food and some cooking gear and weighs less than 20 Lb. The small backpack goes in front shoved as far forward as it will go. The big back pack (45 to 50 Lb) goes up tight against the back of the seat. The 2 little packs can then be moved around to balance the load but usually go between my knees or feet. The 2 little bags can be clipped to either backpack for easy portaging. The picture is of my big backpack with the 2 bags hanging from it. The small bags will have all the items I will need during the day(rain gear, water bottle, lunch, fishing gear, spade&TP, map, etcetera). For portaging I take the big pack and the 2 small bags on one trip and the small backpack and the canoe on another. 
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MP, that's a whole bunch of packs, but it looks like you've worked out the issues around that. You're right, shorter boats are more sensitive to weight distribution, but when you don't have room to move packs around you have to take what you get. I actually had a double problem. One was the knees because I couldn't straighten my legs. The other was that I was in strong cross- and tailwinds (20-25 mph). The stern was about an inch lower than the bow, which meant it was sticky, and of course waves just love to push the stern around. Plus the waves were from the SW while the wind was from the south (go figure). There were times I simply could not turn the boat dead downwind. The great saving grace of the Peregrine was its secondary stability. A few foot-high waves hit it broadside before I realized I needed to lift the upwind side in advance. That enabled it to rise up on the waves without feeling unstable. Whoever came up with that flared hull design deserves sainthood.
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Originally Posted by: bstrege That is too bad that you couldn't complete your trip. You'll have to try it again next year. Perhaps that route just doesn't like you, so you'll either be stubborn and try it again or choose a different route. I've never done a solo but have considered it. What canoe do you use? Thanks, Ben. That's the third time I've shortened a trip out of SeaGull. I'm determined to complete it someday. There are lots of different routes, but I really don't want to give up on this one. I've used several boats on solo trips: Wenonah Prism, Mad River Independence, Bell NorthStar, and this last one with a Hemlock Peregrine. If you want to get an idea of what going solo is like, read a few of my trip reports at www.codabone.net. I haven't gone into depth on the inner issues related to solitude, but if you read between the lines you'll pick up some of the subtleties.
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