Starting Out
Pow Wow Parking Lot
We were grateful to finally get to the trailhead. I was already exhausted from driving on the detour. My hands were in the shape of the steering wheel. I was able to loosen up a bit, though. We took some pictures of the entry point. I tried filling out a self-issue permit, but there weren't any forms in the box. I guess the Forest Service hadn't been out this way yet. We got everything out of the car and started down the trail at 8:40 AM.
The trail was clear, the day was beautiful, and we were happy to be out in the woods together. The beginning of the trail followed some old logging roads, so the trail was very wide and easy to follow. Before long, we reached the sign that said we were officially entering the BWCA. We followed the trail to the bridge at Isabella Lake. There was a group of hikers camping at the campsite there. Our first indication that we weren't alone was the lab that started barking at us. He actually turned out to be very friendly. We would see the group one other time on our trip. The view from the Isabella bridge was gorgeous. We took a few pictures and moved on.
Pow Wow BWCA Entry
Pow Wow Trail
Isabella Bridge
View from Isabella Bridge
Crossing Isabella River
A little ways past the Isabella River we stopped because I was starting to get a blister. I made sure I took care of that as soon as possible because a blister could make the trip horrible. We then proceeded across a narrow strip of land in a swamp/pond. There was a massive beaver dam and lodge there. It was quite a feat of engineering. Finally we reached the fork in the trail. Since this was our first time on the trail, we knew we had to go left instead of right so we wouldn't get lost (too many people have gotten lost going right, including Jason Rasmussen in the book). The scenery was very pretty along the trail. We stopped to take pictures of a river we went by.
Crossing Swamp
Snowy River Scene
Wildlife
Snow covered a few parts of the trail. At one of these spots, we saw some moose tracks that were as big as my hand.
While Auralee was in front, she suddenly stopped and whispered, "There's a grouse." Sure enough, only about 10 yards in front of us, a male spruce grouse was showing his colors. He was trying to impress a "lady" spruce grouse that was just in the trees. I got several pictures and even a short
video. (I actually took two videos - one of him on the ground and then of him in a tree. However, it appears that the first video got deleted somehow.) We saw the female in the woods as we started moving again - she was much harder to find.
Moose Tracks
Spruce Grouse Male
Spruce Grouse Female
