On July 22 2001 my canoeing buddy Mike and I took a short trip into the BW, entering at Baker Lake and staying several days.

The weather was hot and sunny; 90 degrees all day, cooling only to about 70 degrees at night. Still, it was an enjoyable trip. No rain, great fishing, calm waters.

Here are some photos from that trip. All photos were shot with a Sony DSC-S50 digital camera.

I've included comments on equipment for those who are interested.

This trip started as many others do, with meticulous planning and preparation. One of us calls the other and starts the planning process;
"Do ya think you can get away for a little fishing?"
"Yup"
After a half-day or so of negotiating yet another weekend away from our wives the planning part is done. Our wives, jokesters that they are, always pretend they don't want us to go; "WHAT!!! AGAIN???"
Mike drives up from his home in southern Minnesota the night before. We both own full lines of gear. He brings a few things, I throw in what he hasn't brought. We toss the canoe on the truck. The packing and loading is done. Later that evening my wife takes us out for the traditional Voyaguer pre-trip repast of buffalo wings and beverages. Thus fortified, my wife drives us back to my house. Although it's not the same as sleeping under an overturned birchbark freighter, we manage to get a few winks before the dawn.
We are up and around bright and early the next morning and start the drive up the shore. I'm fortunate to live less than two hours from some of my favorite entry points so the drive is just not the hassle that it is for many people. We stop at the bait shop in Two Harbors for leeches. The sign on the shop still reads "10,000 UNEMPLOYED WORMS FOR SALE." I feel badly for those worms, but we've already decided to hire a crew of several dozen leeches for the job that lies ahead. Hopefully, the worms will find work soon.
We load the leech-work crew into bottles, head out of Two Harbors, and a short time later arrive at the Ranger Station in Tofte. We are the only customers this morning. We visit with a very pleasant lady working the counter, watch the video, pick up our permit, and are on our way.
After picking up a snack in Tofte we head north on the Sawbill Trail and shortly arrive at the landing.

A photo of the stern of the Champlain showing some of it's features. I have a spare paddle semi-permanently bungied under the seat. There's a ball compass and a net anchor mounted on the thwart. I replaced the tractor seats with web seats.