On Saturday we broke camp and paddled east into the south arm of Knife Lake. We portaged through a series of small lakes to Ogishkemuncie Lake. As the sun set we pulled up to a beautiful campsite with a smooth sloping rock with a commanding view of the lakes many islands and points. Amy was excited to identify the rock as conglomerate. Full of a mixture of various small rocks, it looked like cement. The campsite was right on the western edge of the Cavity Lake Fire. The fire exposed a rugged, rocky landscape.
In the morning we packed camp and moved east into Seagull Lake. Amy and I had not visited this area since the Cavity Lake Fire had burned the area in 2006. It is a beautiful, rugged, haunting landscape full of exposed rock and standing dead trees. From Seagull we tackled the 1 and 1/2 mile portage between Seagull and Paulson Lake. It had been nearly 20 years since I had done that portage. I was on a solo canoe trip, traveling fast and light. I was about 19, literaly half my age, and I remember thinking it was a hard portage because I had to stop and rest part way across.
This time Amy and I were carrying heavy loads and had to shuttle our packs and canoe slowly over the portage. The Cavity Lake Fire left sweeping vistas from the tops of the many ridges. The sun had set by the time we carried our last load to the edge of Paulson Lake. We pulled out our headlamps and paddled to a campsite. The stars shimmered overhead as we set up our tent and lit a fire in the wood stove.
What a spectacular landscape we are privileged to experience & inspired to help protect from proposed sulfide-ore copper mining. Visit @savetheBWCA, sign the petition, and speak loudly for this quiet place.
