Family Fun

We had a good family camping trip last weekend. We went with a neighbor family whose daughter is a buddy of Super Kid. We got packed up Friday morning and then cruised up the North Shore for a bit before going inland to a Forest Service campground. It was a nice, breezy day as we got camp set up and unloaded the canoes. We grilled brats and hot dogs over the fire for supper. After we ate, the other Dad and their 7-year old daughter joined me for a little fishing. The kid was really into it and talked a good fishing game. We ended up getting 4 walleyes and 1 smallmouth bass. They weren’t big, but she was excited to catch her first walleyes.

On Saturday, it was another beautiful day. After breakfast, I took Super Kid, the other Dad, and the 7 year old out for a canoe ride…we caught nothing. After listening to the Twins and get some rest, we all went swimming and shorefishing. We caught one decent smallie and the kids enjoyed the water. It was pesto pasta for supper and then we had a campfire and s’mores.

Sunday morning we went ahead and packed up after eating pancakes. It was an uneventful drive home on a warm and sticky day.

Let's Talk Moose to Moose

In June 2012 Camp Shitstorm went Moose (Lake) to Moose (River) in eight days of fun. The trip was notable for its rain-while we got wet, people back home in Duluth dealt with a deluge. Many areas flooded in the biggest rain in recorded history. A recap:

Day 1: The Colonel (formerly the Smoked Fish Guy) and I (Private Phillips) spent Thursday packing and prepping. The Iowa guys and Fran Tarkington Fan arrived to Duluth that evening. The Iowa van included Wear-Some-Shorts, Tick Check, and Gatorade, as well as a new tripper-The Bull. The Bull is a high school senior and broad at the shoulders...he’ll get the Big Ugly pack. On Day 1 (Friday) we got up early, heralded the arrival of the final team member, The Lieutenant, packed the gear in the vehicles and hit the road. We cruised up to Ely and zipped over to the tow boat dock. We had struck a deal with the tow boat operator to shuttle our vehicles over to our take out point about 40 miles west. We hit the water in the tow boats and headed into the BWCA...we did a truck portage into the next lake and were dropped off at the end of the motor zone. It was a beautiful day as we transferred the gear into the canoes and paddled north. We ate Smokehaus Italian sadwiches as we drifted on the pleasant breeze. We made our way around a point and were pleased that, despite the fact it was now Friday afternoon, our preferred campsite was open. It had a nice beach garage, a good swimming rock, and a great view. After getting camp set and taking a quick swim, we loaded up the fishing rods and set out to augment our supper. Wear-Some-Shorts and I put on flutter spoons and headed for the deepest hole in the lake in the hope of getting a lake trout. It wasn’t to be, we had no strikes. We worked our way home fishing the shallower shoreline and hooked a few bass and a couple eater walleyes. The others reported good luck-The Bull and Tick Check caught several nice smallies and the others caught several nice walleyes near camp. We had a great meal of steaks, fried fish, mushrooms, and asparagus and hit the sleeping bags after a picture perfect first day.

Day 2: It was sunny, but clouding up, when we packed up camp and ate our breakfast burritos. We hit the water and soon found some white caps and a quartering wind. Before long, we were hitting shore and making the first portage. This portage was the longest of the trip, but it was generally flat and had good footing. We made a few more portages and soon had all four canoes rafted on a narrow, river-like lake. We were discussing which campsites to head for as we watched rain showers heading our way. We headed down the lake fishing a few likely holes and getting a few walleyes. Finally our luck ran out and the skies opened up in a downpour. After shrugging our raingear on, Wear-Some-Shorts and I headed north and found The Lt. and Gatorade on a campsite we hadn’t planned on taking. As the rain continued to fall, the site began looking better and better. We shared some mohitos and laughs under the tarp until the deluge stopped. The Colonel caught a couple eater fish (including one sauger) to add to the pot and he whipped up some dirty rice with andouille sausage for supper…a new favorite.

Day 3: We enjoyed sunshine as we packed up our damp camp and headed down the large, winding lake. We found a few walleyes in several different narrows and I also caught an ancient old rod and reel someone had lost overboard. Wear-Some-Shorts dawdled behind the others a bit and we were pleased to come around the corner and see our partners setting up camp on our preferred site. It was amongst some larger pines and had good rain tarp options, tent pads, and garages. It was only missing a good swimming rock. We almost immediately discovered that the site had two resident red squirrels that had become good at finding snacks in packs and helping themselves. The Lt. made sure they got a clear, strong, rock-like message that their behavior wasn’t acceptable and they didn’t bother us again. After getting set up and taking another swim, we hit the lake to scare up some more fish for supper. We had some success, finding a few more walleyes, a few nice smallmouth bass, and one decent northern pike, which we kept and ate in the coconut Thai rice that accompanied the fried walleye. It was a beautiful day.

Day 4: We decided to stay in this camp one more night and so we switched up partners. I fished with Lt., mostly trolling crankbaits along shorelines. We had decent luck with walleyes that had a good average size. I even caught my biggest walleye ever…a chubby 27 inch fish (I know that isn’t big personal best for someone that fishes as much as I do…probably an anomaly). We dodged some thunderstorms all day but finally did have a pretty good rain late that afternoon. Others also had good luck either trolling spinners for walleyes or casting to shore for bass. It was gourmet mac and cheese and panko fried walleye for supper as we listened to a wet forecast.

Day 5: Under darkening skies, we pack up and headed west onto waters I had never explored before (that is getting to be rare in the BWCA for me). We trolled some shorelines without much luck and donned our raingear just before the showers rolled in. We continued to fish in a steady rain and were passing a weedbed when I felt my Rapala stop dead. I thought I had looked a log, but soon felt the “log” swimming away from the canoe. It took some time, but I finally battled what turned out to be a 38 inch northern pike to the boat and grabbed it. Wear-Some-Shorts snapped a few photos and I slipped the big “gator” back into the water. It was the only fish we landed all day. We made our way on a portage around a roaring cataract that was at water levels more reminiscent of spring thaw than mid-summer. It continued to rain as we looked for our friends and we were glad to see they were on the closest campsite to the portage. They reported generally slow fishing all day, but The Bull and Fran Fan each caught 27 inch walleyes. We set up rain tarps and set up the tents in breaks in the rain, but for the most part, it was a steady shower. The site was getting pretty muddy and few of us were dry anymore. There were some rousing hands of Euchre played under the tarp and we made a simple meal of mashed potatoes, veggies, and fried fish.

Day 6: The previous day’s rain must have taken some spark out of us, because we all woke up after 10am. Even so, it was still raining. We had a lazy breakfast of Quetico Supremes (grilled elk summer sausages, swiss cheese, mustard sandwiches) and decided to stay in the same site for one more night and wait out the rain. It stopped around noon, but the sky continued to threaten rain all day. We made it out to some fishing and Gatorade and I found a mid-lake reef that wasn’t on the map. The reef gave up several nice walleyes to spinners with white blades. The others found some walleyes as well. We tried another new meal, fried fish and black bean tacos. I liked it.

Day 7: We set an alarm in order get up earlier, and we greeted a bright sunny morning. We had our damp camp packed up and we were on the water at 8:30am. It was a nice sunny day, but the wind picked up as we made our way across the only portage of the day. We paddled on, using islands as windbreaks. Every single campsite was taken as we headed for our preferred site on a bay that is out of the main travel route. It was open and very nice…pine trees, good swimming, nice kitchen. We got camp set up and set out to a nearby deep hole to try and get some lake trout. Only smallmouth bass and northern pike were around. It was camp pesto pasta that evening-a last night tradition.

Day 8: We packed up camp and made our way to an incoming river-our route back to our vehicles that had been dropped off by the outfitter. The initial river section was supposed to have some rapids to fish under, but the water was so high the rapids were covered up. The third set of rapids had to be portaged, as were the several rapid sets upstream. The normally placid river was up into the trees and it was slow, hot paddling slog to the parking lot, but we eventually reached the cars. We loaded up and had some burgers and beer at a local tavern. It was late when we got back to Duluth, where we heard all the stories about the flood. I said goodbye to the crew and headed home. The other guys hit the road the next morning. Despite the weather, it was another fun trip.

Nature Moment: There were a few encounters with wildlife on the trip, including a fox in camp on night 1, a very well fed garter snake on the last portage, and lots of loons and eagles. The insects were particularly interesting on this trip. We observed several different kinds of mayflies hatching and we witnessed dragonflies crawling from the water, shedding their exoskeletons and eventually flying away to eat some of the abundant mosquitoes.

A Tribute to a Dear Friend

I heard the news of Teresa’s passing on my way to a work meeting that took up most of my evening. The impact really didn’t hit me until the meeting was over and I was headed home. When I opened our side door and looked up the stairs my eyes happened focus on the bulletin board where Cameron keeps the photos of nieces and nephews and others when people send them to us. The picture in the center of the board was the one I was looking at…Kurt (Chief Many Little Bottles) and Teresa’s Christmas Card picture. The photo features the Johnson family at their home away from home, Ontario's Crow Lake. Kurt and Teresa, Heather and Michelle, and the girls’ husbands (aka “the two luckiest guys on the planet”), plus the two dogs, were all smiling and obviously happy to be spending time with each other. Underneath the photo were the words Faith, Hope, and Love. Those words summed up Teresa perfectly.

Faith. I admit I don’t know much of Teresa’s spiritual faith except that I know it was strong and has sustained her through the past three years. I do know of another faith she had that I am sure is similar to her spiritual faith-Fishing Faith. I have heard many stories from Kurt around campfires and in fish houses about Teresa’s dedication to and love for fishing. She was the one with the unending confidence that the lake trout (Is there any other fish?) would eventually bite. I saw the best example of her fishing faith firsthand. Our crew held a couples weekend up at Gunflint Lake one winter. The fishing was slow, or more accurately, non-existent. One by one, the other anglers gave up and headed off for other activities. A few of us stayed at it, with Teresa being the only woman to stick it out. Late in the afternoon I gave up and drifted off for a nap. I was awakened by a whoop. I looked out my fish house door to see Teresa fighting a fish on a tip-up line. Now, Teresa was not known for her athletic talent, but I swear she jumped three feet in the air when that lake trout came through the hole. It was our only trout of the day. She had faith. It is that same faith within Kurt, Heather, Michelle and all of Teresa’s loved ones that will keep us all moving forward toward better days ahead.

Hope. Teresa was an example for all of us. Despite handling two blonde kids and one larger, Finnish one; despite having debilitating headaches; despite gaps in time between her educational endeavors; she went to pharmacy school, graduated and got a job as a pharmacist. The odds were stacked against her, but she worked hard and became an inspiration to us all. She gave us hope for any risks we want to take, for any dream we finally follow. She continues to give us hope.

Love. This is the attribute we know Teresa for the most. While she had faith and gives us hope, we will never forget her love. She held family first and Heather and Michelle were her joy. Her pride shown easily when discussing their accomplishments and she cherished their company. I always laughed when they were together…Hey there’s Teresa and the two mini-Teresa’s. Your mom will live on in you forever. It is Teresa and Kurt’s love for each other that we all admire. Peas and Carrots. Partnership. Fun. Dedication. Meant for each other. I always looked at your marriage as an example for my own. Her love will always be there for you.

Faith. Hope. Love. Teresa Ann Johnson.