My son Danny was twenty four on a hot San Diego day when we flew to Minneapolis to meet my older son Barry who had driven his little car from Milwaukee. We rented a larger car on a cool Minnesota day August 24, 1986. I felt foolish to be wearing only a light jacket expecting the same hot weather I'd left in California. It was a long drive to northeastern Minnesota to the village of Ely. I left my dark glasses in a cafe on the way. We spent the night in a motel after eating at the Pizza Hut in Ely. The next morning we found a place to rent camping equipment. We rented a tent and a canoe large enough for the three of us. We bought a folding saw for cutting campfire wood and bought dried food, granola and snicker bars. Barry teased Danny for bringing Fig Newtons. We expected to feast on the fish we would catch. We tied the canoe on top of the car and had breakfast at the A & W Root Beer Cafe before starting our drive to find Little Gabbro Lake.
The muddy dirt road ended, and we portaged about a mile on a narrow twisty path leading to the lake. We took turns carrying either the fishing equipment or the other two of us carrying the heavy canoe. We carried the canoe upside down with our heads covered by the boat. It was hard to see where we were going. Sometimes we bumped into trees.
We launched in shallow water at two in the afternoon and paddled and poled a half mile to a narrow opening. It led to the larger, deeper Gabbro Lake with more open water. Two of us paddled while the third fished dragging a fish lure behind the boat using a trout pole. I caught a fifteen inch yellow trout.
We landed on the point of a small island and set up camp. We built a small campfire where we warmed our chilled hands. Barry fished from the bank and returned with a small pike fish he had caught. We warmed the tea colored lake water over the fire to make noodle soup, and we cleaned and fried the small pike and trout fish on tinfoil. We had forgotten to bring butter, salt or anything to season the fish. Danny and I did not want to drink the rusty colored water. Barry told us the tinted water was O.K. to drink. Since he was a chemist from Stanford and a medical doctor, we believed him and closed our eyes to the ugly lake water. We had a very light meal. It included snicker bars, and Barry didn't complain about eating the Fig Newtons. It grew dark and cold as Danny blew up the mattresses in the little tent.
Both boys had been good boy scouts and had learned survival skills. They are twenty nine months apart and Barry was older at twenty six. They decided how to get along well together when they were in scouts. Barry said, "I'll do most of the fishing, food gathering, and cooking if you clean up after me."
Now as an adult Danny accepted the tasks of gathering wood, packing, and cleaning up the campsites for campers who would use them next time. He worked hard to make everyone more comfortable.
We had trouble sleeping that night because the temperature dropped to forty degrees, and we were not prepared for the cold. We slept in sleeping bags wearing our clothes and coats. We were not able to get warm. We tossed and turned all night.
It was the third day of our adventure. We were all up by seven and we fished for an hour. Guess what? We couldn't catch any fish, and we felt chilled. We built a fire that did not get us warm. When we turned around to warm our back sides, we got cold in front. So we kept turning, and the wind changed causing smoke to burn our eyes. Finally we all went back to bed and didn't get up until after nine. We used the iron tinted lake water to mix with cereal for breakfast.
After breakfast we packed up and canoed south for two hours and landed on a sandy beach. By now we were feeling a little lonesome. We found a sand castle someone had made, but there were no people nearby. We found moose tracks and for the rest of the trip we looked for a wild moose. We had to use wet wood to build a fire because it had rained that night. We had lost our folding saw on the first little island. We broke tree limbs over our knees for the fire. It was shivering cold. Barry loaned me his heavy coat to wear. I felt guilty taking his coat but tried to justify it by thinking of my heart disease. I knew I was a heart attack waiting to happen because I had angina during and after exercise. I often took nitroglycerin to stop or avoid the pain. I have always leaned on Barry as a stronger than normal human being. He has proved to me and to himself that he can take it when the going gets rough. He is also an independent thinker and the type of person who finds it easy to take charge. Once sitting in a hot auditorium with a hundred perspiring medical interns, Barry refused to take it. He searched and found a thermostat to turn down and became a class leader. As a child Barry refused to show weakness by complaining or crying. He decided to grow up to be a doctor when he was about five years old.
We set up the tent and put our dry food in a tree before paddling north to a creek where we fished and caught nothing. Finally Barry caught a small pike, and we paddled a mile to another larger creek. On shore in a wooded area I found some fat grouse that reminded me of chickens. We were not able to catch any more fish, and we paddled back to camp where we built a fire and cooked Barry's little pike. When it was cooked Barry said, "Here, Dad. You eat the fish."
I said, "I don't want it. I don't like fish. Let Danny eat it."
Danny said. "I don't like fish either, Barry. You are the one who likes fish. You eat it."
Barry said, "I never said I liked to eat fish. I said I liked to catch them, not eat them. Anyway, fish needs salt and pepper and lemon juice. We don't have any."
Danny said, "You mean to tell me none of us likes fish? And we don't have any meat? This is stupid!"
We cooked and ate freeze dried stew. Later in the day Barry and Dan caught fish that were too small. They threw them back. We went to bed a little hungry and were cold again. Barry's air mattress leaked, and he had to keep waking to blow it up with his mouth. The ground was cold and hard. The night seemed to last forever.
We had warm mush for breakfast. Barry got lucky and caught a couple of pike. They are strong fighters and reminded me of ocean barracuda because they are long, skinny, and their mouths are full of teeth.
We struck camp and canoed southeast looking for a river. After paddling a long time we found the mouth of the river. It was after noon before we set up camp, cleaned and cooked the fish we had caught. I took some snap shots of Barry, Danny and the pretty campsite. I felt proud to be with my two sons in the wilderness. We were very close to the unmarked line that separates the United States from Canada. We were in a maze of lakes and islands with thick brush and trees everywhere. There were almost no people and very few animals or birds to see.
When I was not busy I read a wonderful book written by Billy Holliday called "Lady Sings the BluesÓ. Dan read ÒI Sing My Body ElectricÓ by Ray Bradbury.
Danny blew up the mattresses after we ate the fish. Then we all napped or read while it rained outside the tent. It stopped raining at 3:00 PM, and we canoed to the mouth of the Isabella River. We parked the canoe and walked upstream through small rapids for half a mile when we came to a pond. We fished using spinners, spoons, or flies and didn't even get a nibble. We waded back to the canoe and fished along the bank. At five thirty Barry caught and threw back a small pike, and we headed back to camp. We cooked and ate stew again. The weather had been cold all day. We went to sleep at ten, and it was a cold night. I couldn't get warm. During the night Barry heard a bear sniffing and grunting outside our tent. He was smart enough to stay hidden from the bear.
The next morning was Thursday the fifth day of our fishing trip. We got up early, built a fire, and went right back to bed. It was too cold for Californians. Later in the morning we got up and saw a large black eagle land in a tree over our heads. He had a few white feathers too. We were at Lake Bald Eagle, so probably we had seen a young eagle before his head had turned white.
We packed up, cleaned the camp and paddled through the lake. We passed through rapids dodging rocks that stuck out of the water and entered Gabbro Lake. We landed at the little island we had camped on the first night. Barry found the folding saw we had left there. Then we paddled through Gabbro and entered Little Gabbro Lake where we had started the fishing trip. We had paddled eight miles that day against the wind in white capped water. I worked hard and kept up with the boys paddling.
We were tired as we carried our equipment on the narrow path back to the car. We drove to Ely were we checked in at Mosser's Motel. We savored delicious malts at the A and W. We went to the motel and took hot showers. The hot water was wonderful. Then we drove to the center of town and ate Reuben sandwiches. We saw Legal Eagles at the movies, and played pool at Cranberry's Tavern. That night we slept warm in the motel. There was no tossing and turning that night.
On Friday morning we ate hot cakes at A and W's and returned the rented equipment. Barry drove the car, and we traveled south on Highway One. We fished a small creek in a small town called Finland. Later, while Dan was driving, he stopped to let three deer cross the road. After passing the Baptism River we sighted Lake Superior ninety miles from Canada and Sixty miles from Duluth. We crossed the Baptism River again and stopped to see the water falls at Beaver Bay River. I felt too weak to go with the boys when they hiked down a trail to the river where they caught some rainbow trout. I think it was hard for the boys to see me hold back and rest. It was a long steep hike down to the creek, and I felt like playing it safe.
While fishing in the shallow creek Barry saw an otter. Barry got soaking wet retrieving his lure in the freezing creek. He caught several trout and released them for someone else to catch. I don't think Danny caught anything.
We took a twenty mile scenic drive to Duluth where we visited the Duluth Harbor Museum and the Army Corps of Engineers. We saw a three masted sailboat called Victory Chimes. It had been under sail and had only just arrived.
Duluth is the largest inland port in America. It serves thirty nations. It is known as the gateway to mid America. Major exports are grain now, but it used to be iron before pollution control stopped the iron industry. Duluth Superior has six major railways leading to the three hundred year old port.
We stopped to have a beer at Grandma's Saloon. Pictures were taken of our bearded faces and fishing clothes for a fake magazine cover. In the late afternoon we looked east over the lake and saw Wisconsin in the distance. Then we drove south and stopped at the eating place to retrieve my lost glasses.
We arrived at Minneapolis, Saint Paul and had dinner at a restaurant called Mr. Steak. We bowled two lines at a bowling alley. Afterwards Barry said goodbye and drove away going back to Milwaukee expecting to sleep in his little car.
Danny and I spent the night at Motel 8 where we watched an R rated T.V. movie. The next morning was Saturday 8-30-86, and we watched the boob-tube before going to the Zoo. We enjoyed seeing the animals. Later we visited the beautiful state capital building at St. Paul. At 1:30 we drove to old downtown Minneapolis and sat at a Taco Bell for about an hour watching the interesting people outside. We saw old Indians walking by. We studied drunks of all races, sizes, sexes, and shapes. We saw people trying to get handouts and people selling drugs on the sidewalk. It made us feel daring but safe sitting inside where nobody would molest us.
At 3:00 PM we got on standby at the airport and turned in the rental car. We played pool at a bowling alley until 5:00 in the evening. Then the rent-a-car gal gave us a ride to the international airport. Our plane was delayed until 8:30 so we read our books. We left Minneapolis and landed in San Diego. It was after ten at night and we must have looked thin and haggard when my wife Barbara met us at the airport. Barbara framed the fake magazine cover of her three scraggly outdoor men. It hangs on our wall as a reminder to me of our adventure.