On the hunt for Fisher Map F-3

Seems like it's been a long time since our last update! I guess it has been. We've been alternating between busy times at work, and trying our hardest to kick back and relax on the weekends.

We did do a bit of paddling last weekend, again in the kayaks...on Fish Lake and Rice Lake in Maple Grove. Fish Lake was another end-of-the-day paddle, where I discovered that it's not the most intelligent idea to attempt to navigate through weed beds. Now that we're well into summer, aquatic plant life in the lakes around the Twin Cities is going gangbusters. My kayak floated over the "weeds" with ease, but the rudder got a bit hung up and, worse, the plants seemed to be grabbing at my paddles. It was like venturing into the tentacles of a submerged creature that was hungry.

Jenni, smartly, stayed out in open water.

That was Saturday. Sunday we went for a short afternoon paddle on Rice Lake - the same waters where we first launched the kayaks. The water was of questionable quality even in June, but a month and a half later it was even more cloudy, smelly, and in some places nearly fluorescent green with thick algae at the surface. As we paddled past homes along the lake, the cause of this eutrophication was obvious: lush green lawns mowed right to the water's edge. Dipping our paddles in such muck was reinforcement that "buffer zones" of natural vegetation along lakes, rivers, and creeks are a must to preserve water quality.

Our launch countdown clock on the page caught my attention today. Only 28 days to go. We've been talking about the big canoe trip for so long that it still seems a somewhat distant and vague notion in my mind. But a month from today - September 9 - we will be three days into the wilderness! We still have a lot of preparation ahead...packing lists, menu planning, and detailing our day-to-day campsite goals along the route.

Until recently, we were also missing a map. We purchased wonderful McKenzie Maps of the Boundary Waters at REI in March. These maps are fantastic: they show a detailed overview of lakes, portages, campsites, and shaded topography of the land. Unfortunately, McKenzie's coverage doesn't extend much beyond the beautiful BWCA and Quetico. As far as our route was concerned, we would paddle off the edge of the world right halfway across White Iron Lake southeast of Ely.

We know there's not a giant waterfall into the infinite abyss here because we continued tracing our route in the Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer (and we confirmed it thanks to Google Maps' satellite photos). But we can't truck a computer along in the canoe, and pulling out the newspaper-dimensioned map atlas with lakes the size of a thumbnail isn't practical.

The other (and perhaps foremost) authority on BWCA maps is W.A. Fisher Co. Fisher has been publishing maps of the U.S.-Canada boundary lakes region for a good 75 years. Fisher Maps are of a bit larger scale than McKenzie...and Fisher boasts a larger coverage area (the BWCA, Ely, Lake Vermilion, Quetico, and other lakes in Canada). Of course Fisher had a map that covered the remainder of our route. It would have been easy to order it online, but I didn't want to pay tax and shipping. So I searched for it in stores. The Bloomington REI had some Fisher maps, but not F-3. I tried Gander Mountain in Maple Grove: nada.

Frustrated nearly to the point of forking over shipping and handling, I was headed up to the cabin a couple of weeks ago when the ol' idea light bulb clicked on: I bet I could find said map Up North!

Few cabin trips are complete without a stroll down to the road to Clearwater Outfitters and Lodge, usually to buy a candy bar. (And the candy is even more satisfying when the trip to the lodge is via kayak.) This time, I went sniffing around the tall map shelf that sits along a log wall beneath a stuffed moose head. Alas, I was skunked again - while the lodge had a great selection of Fisher maps, especially for the eastern Boundary Waters, F-3 remained elusive. I asked the lodge owner about ordering a map, but she said she wasn't able to order single maps (and, admittedly, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for Clearwater Lodge to stock up on maps of the Ely area). She suggested a couple of websites - whoops, more S&H plus no instant gratification of a map-in-hand - or the Lake Superior Trading Post in Grand Marais.

Ah, yes - the Lake Superior Trading Post. A visit to Grand Marais isn't complete without stopping here. It's a fairly typical Up North Shop for Tourists, but bigger and better, and a literal stone's throw from the Grand Marais harbor. The usual suspects are in stock, from gifts to pricey outdoor wear to stuffed animals and books. (I admit I've bought many a regionally themed book here and enjoyed them all.) But LSTP also has practical camping equipment, knives and fishing lures, a great selection of hats, and yes, maps.

And not just your typical ratty, disorganized, forgotten shelf tucked in a corner. This was a whole section, with a complete catalog of McKenzie and Fisher maps, maps of the Superior Hiking Trail, detailed overviews of Isle Royale and some of the larger inland lakes, and Lake Superior navigation charts (not the laminated place-mat crap stamped "NOT FOR NAVIGATION" - these were the real deal).

There, tucked neatly on the shelf with the "F-3" label, was my map. White Iron Lake, in its massive windswept entirety. One Pine Lake. The northeast finger of Bear Island Lake. And the Bear Island River connecting them all.

When I brought the map to the checkout counter, I remarked that I'd been looking all over for it, including in the Twin Cities, and LSTP was the first place to have it.

"We have the most complete selection of Boundary Waters maps of anyone," the guy behind the counter replied. "Even anyone in the Twin Cities."

No kidding. If I need maps in the future, I know where to go.

Incidentally, while the time at the cabin was enjoyable, the weather was generally windy - gusty during the day, breezy all night, every day I was there. It made fishing difficult and canoeing unappealing. Plus, my canoe partner was back in the hot-and-humid Twin Cities, as her work schedule hadn't allowed for the time off.

Pathetically enough, we still have yet to set foot in a canoe this year. But we're feeling the countdown now, and we're headed Up North again next week. I'm sure the canoe will hit the water this time - wind and weather be damned!