We traversed 2 portages and 3 lakes in 4 hours Wednesday afternoon/evening on our way into the BWCAW. We selected a site at 7:30pm, after our first 3 candidate sites were occupied. Everyone was tired, but we consoled ourselves with the promise of freshly grilled pork chops:) As we began pulling out tents, lighting fires, and generally settling in, the pork chops were nowhere to be found.
They'd been packed in a small soft sided cooler which no one remembered carrying on either portage, or in their canoe. Perhaps we'd left them in the van? No, Jessica distinctly recalled packing them into a canoe at the entry point. Clearly they'd been left on one of the portages, but it was getting dark Wed. night. Lacking pork chops, supper was going to be rather sparse... or was it? At this moment, everyone began admitting to the "little bit of extra" food they'd brought in their pack. Bagels, tea, gum, 2 gallons of beef jerky, 2 pounds of peppered beef sticks! Apparently we could have survived quite nicely even if the entire 60 pound food bag had been misplaced.
Thursday morning arrived and, I still hadn't had my fill of paddling... or pork chops. Uncle Jim and I hopped in an empty canoe, and set out at cruising speed to retrace yesterday's path. It was early; after 45 minutes of paddling, we began to see groups on their way in from the entry point. At the first portage, we realized that we should be interrogating these groups in case they'd picked up OUR pork chops and were making plans for THEIR lunch. I approached three young ladies who turned out to be from the Twin Cities. "We misplaced a pack on our way in last night, and we're going back to look for it," I explained, "Have you seen it?" "Did it have pork chops and cheese in it?" they asked. "Yes!" I celebrated. "Well," they said, "Your pack is at the beginning of the first portage, but we ate some of your cheese."
Encouraged by the girls assurances that the pack was still there and the pork chops were still cold, Jim and I paddled even harder. Each group we passed confirmed that the pack was sitting on a rock... except the very last group. 1/4 mile from Pork Chop Portage, we passed a family group: 3 adults and 3 kids w/ 2 canoes. They denied ever seeing the pack, and we wondered if they were hiding it in their canoe. But, we decided to assume the best (and chase them down if the pack wasn't there).
Fortunately, the pack was there. Most likely, the pack's camouflaged exterior had disguised it from that last group... and our group the day before. As an added bonus, one of the little boys in that group must have had a large box of malted milk balls. The entire 80 rod portage was sprinkled with freshly dropped candies. Having no packs to carry, Jim and I selected the least gravelly ones, and ate our fill as we walked with the pork chops.
The entire rescue mission lasted 4 hours, and we ate pork chop pita sandwiches for lunch. The double-time paddlinig took its toll though, and I avoided any paddling for the next 48 hours.
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