The Delorme Inreach is a two-way satellite communication device that allows you to send and receive text messages from loved ones. Its SOS feature provides a sense of security for your time spent in the wilderness. Pairing it with your smart phone makes it incredibly easy to use. One of the features I like most about it is the tracking feature. Take a look at my May 12 - 13 route below:
Your family and friends can follow your progress in the woods. (My mother loves it!)
-- Adam
Rental: $15/day
Text: $.50/text
Call Adam or
Drew 1-800-223-6565 to reserve yours for a trip today or purchase your own from the Boundary Waters Catalog here:
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What follows are Adam's trip Journal Entries from May 12 - 13, 2014. He was chasing the ice-out, hoping not to find any. It was just him and his dog Agnes, happy to be out on the water for an overnight. They took along a Delorme InReach device so we could track their progress and so they could contact us in case of a cold water emergency.
Watching the dots connect on the computer screen (see map above) as the day progressed, I have to confess that we were more than a little jealous and impressed. When Adam wants to paddle, he really moves! What he found was that the water was high and the current was fast. We've heard similar reports from many trippers, right up to this afternoon.
Check out his noted entries. This is a cool thing to do as you paddle, just jot down notes in a waterproof
rite-in-the-rain notebook and amend them for longer, more expanded journal entries or blog posts later. You'll be glad after a few years pass that you took notes and it'll be interesting to go back over them and compare how things looked different on return trips.
Entered at #8 Moose River South. The river had a lot of water, and there was a fair amount of current.
It was a little bit of extra work paddling against the current. Some of the portages had standing water, but they were below my chotas for the most part.
Paddled across Big Moose (uneventful, no wind, no ice).
The long portage from Big Moose to Cummings was in good condition. Portions of the portage were wet, but there were no issues. It is a long walk, but a beautiful portage. Lots of moose sign on the portage.
Paddling across Cummings Lake was a challenge. The wind was cold and in my face. I camped on the point on the west end of Cummings Lake. It was a nice campsite with a great view to the east. Good early morning sun.
Day 2 was a long day; a little bit over 20 miles in total. I headed west out of Otter Lake into the Little Indian Sioux River. It was a good thing I was going with the current. There was a pretty strong flow moving through here. The portages were hard to find, as portions of them were under water. I actually paddled past a couple of them and had to find my way through the woods along the shore. I really
enjoy this section of the Indian Sioux River. It is a very pretty, winding section of river.
I have always had good luck spotting wild life in this area. Last year, I saw three moose this time of year. On this trip, I saw a bear. I was able to watch it for about 10 minutes, until it swam across the river and disappeared into the woods. On that note, I also saw a great grey owl and a swam on this trip.
Sioux Falls was rushing. There was a ton of water. I finally got out of the woods around supper time when a friend who had been following my trip's progress with the Delorme InReach picked me up by surprise. I was very pleased to see him, as I was tired and not looking forward to the 7 mile walk back to my truck.
-- Adam
