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Greetings!

The Tribute to American Wilderness Tour has completed yet another stop. Since we've talked to you last we've spent five days paddling, hiking and exploring in Voyageurs National Park. The following recaps our experiences in the park.

Voyageurs National Park is set in Northern Minnesota along the Canadian border. The area was shaped by glaciers and contains over thirty lakes. There are over five hundred islands within the lakes. The park lies entirely within the artic Hudson Bay Watershed. The best way to explore the park is by watercraft. Both motorized and non-motorized craft are allowed in the park.

We set out from the National Park Service landing on Kabetogama Lake for a campsite midway to Lost Bay. There are over 120 designated sites in the park, but camping is not limited to these designated sites. The site we had planned on was taken and so we decided to camp at a rocky peninsula on Cuculus Island. The island was small and heavily wooded, definitely no room for a tent, so we opted for our bivy sacks. The bivy sack provided us with protection from the bugs and the elements like a tent, but the bugs could occasionally bite thought the no-see-um netting that lay against our bare skin. As the temperature dropped below the dew point, water condensed on everything, including our bivy sacks. Luckily, our sleeping bags are water resistant, so we stayed bone dry.

Judging by the abundance of animal droppings scattered about the island, we knew we were guests in someone else's home, but we weren't sure whose. Our questions were soon answered as a trio of otters approached the island. We were awakened later that night by another otter who showed his displeasure by barking at us.

The next day we paddled to the Lost Bay designated campsite. The site had a level tenting platform, picnic table, pit toilet and a steel food storage container. We stayed at this site for three nights while we explored the Lost Bay area. While in Lost Bay we fished for Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass, landing quite a few nice ones. We also canoed to a short portage trail that led to a small inland lake named Ek Lake. More Northern Pike were caught here and beavers and their large dams were present.

It was now time to stretch our legs, and boy did we. On our third day we woke to a sunny day and had a quiet relaxing morning on the lakeshore. This was soon to change. We set off in the canoe to the Cruiser Lake Trailhead. The Cruiser Lake Trail is a twenty-mile roundtrip trail that crosses the wild Kabetogama Peninsula. The terrain varied. It consisted of thick woods, beaver ponds, marshes, meadows and high rocky ridges. The rain arrived just as we started hiking. It poured on us, but we were determined to make this hike. We were properly equipped with rain gear, but unfortunately with the temperature hovering around eighty degrees, it felt as if we had no rain gear on at all due to perspiration. The rain subsided as we reached Cruiser Lake. The sun came out briefly and allowed us to dry out some of our clothes. After a short break we started out for the shores of Rainy Lake, the halfway point of our hike. The rain started again. It was the heaviest downpour we had seen yet. We finally made it to Rainy Lake, which lived true to its' name. Even in the rain, it was an awesome sight. Now we had to hike back ten miles. Luckily the rain held off. We did see many interesting things on the trail. There were ripe blueberries everywhere. The succulent berries definitely slowed our pace. There was also evidence of the wolf packs that inhabit the peninsula in the form of scat. We also saw bear and moose scat as well. At one point, when coming around a bend in the trail, we came face to face with a large Pine Marten that had just killed a hedgehog for dinner. A Pine Marten is like a cross between a wolverine and a weasel. We passed ancient beaver dams and although we didn't see any, we did hear the tail slap warning. We finally made it back to the canoe at dark and paddled back to camp.

The weather on this trip was sunny and warm for the first two days and rainy and cool the last three. It was the wettest trip so far.

Once again biting insects were abundant. During the day we were attacked by speedy, biting flies. At night we were besieged by swarms of mosquitoes. The swarms of flying insects were so great that it caused the air to be filled with humming sounds of their wings.

As usual we saw many animals. We were visited regularly by a Red Fox at our Lost Bay campsite. We saw deer feeding along much of the shoreline along with the otters and beaver. The birds included Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Cormorants, Common Loons, Great Blue Herons, Mallards, White Pelicans, Blue Jays, Belted Kingfishers and Common Crows.

As like trips in the past there were many people who helped us along the way. we would like to extend thanks to the following people: Jeff Dick, for transportation to and from the airport in Chicago; Tammie Jo Stevahn for organizing our stay in the Bismarck, ND area; Sid and Pam for two fantastic meals; Clinton and Kitty for a crash pad and a great breakfast; and to Rod and Ellen Eckroth for becoming such great friends and making us feel like one of the family. The tour will continue into the mountains of the Northwest.

See You in the Outback!

Kevin and Steve