Boundary Waters/Quetico Spring Trip for 2002

June 15th-23rd, 2002
Day 8:Saturday, June 22nd  , 2002Going Home


We decided that it would take at least 4 hours to paddle out of Fran, Slate, Cache Bay, and the finally Saganaga to American Point.  Since our Pickup was at 11:00 am, we figured we needed to leave no later than 7:00am.  Breaking camp was pretty uneventful.  I had packed up my fishing gear the night before.  I was done.  Most of my other gear had also been packed up the night before.   The only equipment not packed was my stove, breakfast for the morning, and my sleeping gear.  

Gadgetman and I broke camp pretty quickly.  Everyone managed to break camp by 7:00am.

Paddling Fran, Slate, and Saganagons were pretty uneventful.  We made the portage over Silver Falls in about 45 minutes.  Pretty good if you ask me.

It was nearing 8:30 by now, and we knew it was going to be pretty tough getting across Cache Bay and paddling the couple miles to American point.  When we finally reached Cache Bay, the whitecaps were already forming.  The wind was blowing directly into our face.  This was not a good sign.  It was not as bad as last year, but was still pretty bad.

We paddled as hard as we could...........about half way Cache Bay, here comes another boat towards us.  This boat is much bigger, and is significantly faster.  It blasts up to us..........Each of the 3 crew members are dressed in Black, and are armed.  After a few minutes, we realize they are Canadian customs.  They ask for our RABC's and ask if we have any contraband.  At this point, I'm sure they are going to want to search our gear.  Two of the three customs agents are pretty professional, but one of the guys was a total BUTTHOLE.  I told him that we had a tow in 45 minutes at American Point.  He said......."If you paddle really hard, you might MAKE IT".  Like I said..........he was a total Butt.

After about 5 or 10 minutes of dealing with this customs stuff, we were back on our way.  BTW..........with the wind blowing in our faces, we managed to lost about 300-400 yards of ground.  

Gadgetman and I noticed that the wind was blowing down Saganaga a little different than in Cache Bay.  We could actually paddle to the other side of Saganaga and then catch the wind going down the far bank.  Gadgetman and I decided we needed to try to make the tow, so we blasted out in front of our group.   Instead of paddling directly to the other side, we managed to catch the wind by paddling at a 45 degree angle.  This was a little scary, because every once in a while we would get sideways to one of the waves.  

Gadgetman and I reached American point, ,just as our towboat was arriving.  GREAT timing.

Once we arrived back at Superior North, we took showers, loaded the van, and made arrangements for our September Trip.

Our Final stop in the area was at the BlueWater Cafe for burgers, fries, and of course 1 or 2 chocolate milkshakes.

This page was last updated on: December 23, 2022