Express Ep coming at you this week as we discuss this rugged eastern BWCA access point. Beware our opinions, Gotter Lake and stairways to nowhere.
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Episode Transcript
[0:00:01 – 0:00:02] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:02 – 0:00:02] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:02 – 0:00:02] Erik: Choo-choo.
[0:00:02 – 0:00:03] UNKNOWN: Choo-choo.
[0:00:03 – 0:00:03] UNKNOWN: Choo-choo.
[0:00:03 – 0:00:03] UNKNOWN: Choo-choo.
[0:00:03 – 0:00:03] UNKNOWN: Choo-choo.
[0:00:03 – 0:00:04] UNKNOWN: Choo-choo.
[0:00:04 – 0:00:04] UNKNOWN: Choo-choo.
[0:00:04 – 0:00:04] UNKNOWN: Choo-choo.
[0:00:04 – 0:00:04] UNKNOWN: Choo-choo.
[0:00:04 – 0:00:05] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:05 – 0:00:05] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:05 – 0:00:06] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:06 – 0:00:06] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:06 – 0:00:06] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:07 – 0:00:08] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:08 – 0:00:08] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:08 – 0:00:09] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:09 – 0:00:09] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:09 – 0:00:10] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:10 – 0:00:10] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:10 – 0:00:11] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:11 – 0:00:11] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:11 – 0:00:11] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:11 – 0:00:12] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:12 – 0:00:12] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:12 – 0:00:12] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:12 – 0:00:13] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:13 – 0:00:13] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:13 – 0:00:14] Adam: Choo-choo.
[0:00:29 – 0:00:34] Adam: It’s brought to you by the new train whistle Eric has brought to Studio K. It’s a little too high-pitched, isn’t it?
[0:00:34 – 0:00:36] Adam: Yeah, Arrow’s totally fine with it.
[0:00:36 – 0:00:39] Adam: She should be frightened by a whistle of that magnitude.
[0:00:39 – 0:00:40] Erik: It’s too high.
[0:00:40 – 0:00:47] Erik: I remember the old train whistles of my youth where they were like…
[0:00:47 – 0:00:53] Erik: They have two varieties at the Ben Franklin in town, and I picked up the cheapest of the two, so that could be part of it.
[0:00:53 – 0:00:53] Erik: That’s what she did.
[0:00:53 – 0:00:55] Adam: You get what you pay for when it comes to a train whistle.
[0:00:57 – 0:00:58] Adam: Oh, boy.
[0:00:58 – 0:00:58] Erik: Where’s the train?
[0:01:01 – 0:01:03] Erik: We’ll leave this here for you in the studio.
[0:01:03 – 0:01:04] Adam: Chicka, chicka, chicka, chicka.
[0:01:04 – 0:01:05] Erik: Yes.
[0:01:06 – 0:01:08] Erik: Where is the train heading to this week?
[0:01:09 – 0:01:10] Adam: Actually, we’re not going to Los Angeles.
[0:01:10 – 0:01:13] Adam: We’re going to Brant Lake, entry point 52.
[0:01:13 – 0:01:15] Erik: Do they even use the numbers anymore?
[0:01:15 – 0:01:16] Erik: No, they don’t.
[0:01:16 – 0:01:17] Adam: We’re going to keep using them, though.
[0:01:17 – 0:01:17] Erik: We are.
[0:01:20 – 0:01:21] Adam: We got both the pets in here with us.
[0:01:21 – 0:01:24] Adam: Agnes and Arrow are with us to talk.
[0:01:24 – 0:01:25] Adam: Bryant Lake.
[0:01:25 – 0:01:30] Adam: Before we get into Bryant Lake, I got to go ahead and say, I don’t have anything against owls, Eric.
[0:01:31 – 0:01:32] Adam: You’re really backtracking.
[0:01:32 – 0:01:33] Adam: I’m not backtracking.
[0:01:33 – 0:01:33] Adam: You’re backpedaling.
[0:01:33 – 0:01:35] Adam: They got some nasty things about them.
[0:01:35 – 0:01:36] Adam: He’s a waffler.
[0:01:36 – 0:01:36] Adam: Don’t we all.
[0:01:37 – 0:01:40] Erik: He’s a flip-flopper, a waffler, and a backpedaler.
[0:01:41 – 0:01:44] Adam: I said a few nice things about them, and I mostly said they’re nasty.
[0:01:45 – 0:01:46] Adam: Doesn’t mean I hate owls.
[0:01:46 – 0:01:48] Adam: I actually really like owls.
[0:01:48 – 0:01:49] Adam: I think they’re really neat.
[0:01:50 – 0:01:53] Adam: I had a lot of fun re-listening to that episode today.
[0:01:53 – 0:01:55] Adam: I realized I was maybe a little too harsh on the owls.
[0:01:56 – 0:01:57] Adam: Or maybe it was just the tequila.
[0:01:58 – 0:01:58] Adam: Who’s to say?
[0:01:58 – 0:02:00] Erik: Stan tequila.
[0:02:00 – 0:02:01] Erik: Yes.
[0:02:01 – 0:02:02] Adam: Yeah.
[0:02:02 – 0:02:08] Adam: So we got no beef with the owls and their feathers.
[0:02:09 – 0:02:09] Erik: They’re cool.
[0:02:09 – 0:02:10] Erik: Don’t you say we.
[0:02:11 – 0:02:16] Erik: I had all of the respect in the world for the strigiform.
[0:02:18 – 0:02:19] Erik: But that is neither here nor there.
[0:02:19 – 0:02:21] Erik: This is an Express episode.
[0:02:21 – 0:02:22] Erik: We need to get to it.
[0:02:23 – 0:02:25] Erik: How many entry permits per day do you think are on brand?
[0:02:26 – 0:02:26] Erik: Two?
[0:02:26 – 0:02:27] Erik: Four.
[0:02:27 – 0:02:27] Erik: Four.
[0:02:28 – 0:02:28] Erik: All right.
[0:02:28 – 0:02:30] Erik: Which is seemingly appropriate.
[0:02:30 – 0:02:32] Erik: Last week, I don’t know if you listened to the course, should we like one?
[0:02:32 – 0:02:34] Erik: Nine was mind-blowing for that lake.
[0:02:34 – 0:02:35] Adam: Sure as heck did there, friend.
[0:02:36 – 0:02:46] Erik: So, yeah, if you’re following along at home and you’ve got your map out, this entry point is accessed via the roundlakepublicaccess.com.
[0:02:46 – 0:03:01] Erik: point on Round Lake, which is roughly two miles off the Gunflint Trail, which is roughly two-thirds of the way, if not more, maybe 80% of the way up the Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais, Minnesota.
[0:03:02 – 0:03:05] Erik: And first thoughts on Brandt.
[0:03:08 – 0:03:09] Erik: Anything come to mind?
[0:03:10 – 0:03:12] Adam: Yeah.
[0:03:12 – 0:03:18] Adam: My main thought on brand these days is I generally rag on it like an old owl.
[0:03:19 – 0:03:21] Adam: I say it’s nasty, etc.
[0:03:22 – 0:03:26] Adam: It burrows in the ground or it steals other animals’ nests.
[0:03:26 – 0:03:27] Erik: Well, they’re not using the nests.
[0:03:28 – 0:03:29] Erik: That should just be clarified.
[0:03:29 – 0:03:30] Adam: You know, and I was listening to that.
[0:03:31 – 0:03:35] Adam: You know, you think an eagle ever comes on back, and then there’s like a couple owls in their nest.
[0:03:35 – 0:03:37] Adam: What the heck is this?
[0:03:37 – 0:03:40] Adam: They got our good, that’s the campsite I wanted.
[0:03:40 – 0:03:41] Adam: Now where are we going?
[0:03:42 – 0:03:43] Erik: Yeah, maybe.
[0:03:43 – 0:03:43] Adam: Who knows?
[0:03:43 – 0:03:45] Adam: Somebody’s a tip ripper.
[0:03:45 – 0:03:47] Adam: Yeah, I bet it happens all the time.
[0:03:47 – 0:03:54] Adam: I left a clothesline up on this site with my feathers drying on it, and this guy just took it down.
[0:03:55 – 0:03:57] Adam: What your father has done is wrong.
[0:03:57 – 0:04:00] Adam: And I will not do the same to you and ruin your vacation.
[0:04:01 – 0:04:03] Adam: So I generally rag on Brant all the time.
[0:04:03 – 0:04:07] Adam: And then a coworker of mine was going out on Brant.
[0:04:08 – 0:04:09] Adam: We got a Brant permit.
[0:04:09 – 0:04:11] Adam: We’re just going out for like one night.
[0:04:11 – 0:04:11] Adam: I was like, oof.
[0:04:12 – 0:04:14] Adam: That was all that was available, huh?
[0:04:14 – 0:04:15] Adam: And that was kind of the thing.
[0:04:15 – 0:04:17] Adam: Like, yeah, it’s the only one that was available.
[0:04:18 – 0:04:31] Adam: I said, eh, it was rough because the last time I was through there was on our little SAG Heart of the Park trip where we zigzagged back through there on the top of the Helix going out on the final day there.
[0:04:32 – 0:04:36] Adam: And I don’t know, there was like bugs and we were like being chased by a storm the whole time.
[0:04:36 – 0:04:40] Adam: And I don’t remember seeing any campsites that were like, oh, that one was really nice.
[0:04:41 – 0:04:46] Erik: Well, there really aren’t any campsites besides the three relatively burnt.
[0:04:47 – 0:04:48] Adam: We didn’t stop in the campsites, though.
[0:04:48 – 0:04:51] Adam: I just kind of gave them the side eye going by.
[0:04:51 – 0:04:53] Adam: Look at that burrow.
[0:04:54 – 0:05:00] Adam: And then we went out and the couple portages getting from there back out to round were muddy.
[0:05:00 – 0:05:04] Adam: And then that was the only spot we had mosquitoes on the whole trip somehow.
[0:05:04 – 0:05:04] Erik: Hordes.
[0:05:05 – 0:05:05] Adam: Real bad.
[0:05:06 – 0:05:09] Adam: And it was kind of muddy, and that was my last memory of it.
[0:05:09 – 0:05:10] Adam: So I was like, eh, I don’t know.
[0:05:10 – 0:05:11] Adam: It’s not great.
[0:05:11 – 0:05:14] Adam: But then she got back, and she goes, I don’t know, Adam.
[0:05:14 – 0:05:16] Adam: I thought it was actually pretty nice.
[0:05:16 – 0:05:26] Adam: And we had a really nice campsite, which we famously, when I talk with her about anything in the Boundary Waters, if I say it’s good, then they come back from their trip, and they’re like,
[0:05:27 – 0:05:49] Adam: actually we didn’t like that campsite you recommended huh yeah and i said you know brant was trash and then she comes back they said no we actually had a really nice trip out there but uh dude fell in the like he like fell and like hurt himself in this campsite even though i was told the campsite was kind of nice so like i said brant you know you gotta watch your step out there
[0:05:50 – 0:06:11] Erik: Well, especially on the portages, which is what comes to mind for me right away, which is those rapid fire, rugged portages that essentially you need to take almost all the way until Green Lake before you kind of start easing off the pedal in terms of Danielson scale reds.
[0:06:11 – 0:06:13] Adam: Yeah, it’s a lot of reds in a row.
[0:06:13 – 0:06:14] Erik: You’re redlining through there.
[0:06:15 – 0:06:17] Adam: Borderline PMA style portages and sections.
[0:06:17 – 0:06:18] Adam: Yeah.
[0:06:18 – 0:06:31] Erik: For an entry point that is essentially, like, it’s right there, and almost inevitably you will find the first few portages off an entry point to be well used, easily traveled.
[0:06:32 – 0:06:34] Erik: No, you’re into the thick of it right away.
[0:06:34 – 0:06:46] Erik: You have to take three portages before you even technically enter the Boundary Waters through West Round Edith, and then on the west end of the Edith portage is where you actually put in on Brandt.
[0:06:46 – 0:06:50] Adam: Yeah, we were there kind of early in the season, so it was quite muddy.
[0:06:50 – 0:06:51] Adam: Yeah.
[0:06:51 – 0:06:56] Adam: So, you know, once everything dried out, I’m sure they’re a little more firm in their footing.
[0:06:57 – 0:06:58] Erik: Yeah, maybe.
[0:06:58 – 0:07:00] Erik: It is not a beginner’s entry point.
[0:07:03 – 0:07:05] Erik: I mean, unless you’re just going to Brandt and out.
[0:07:06 – 0:07:07] Adam: That’s what they did.
[0:07:07 – 0:07:07] Erik: Right.
[0:07:07 – 0:07:10] Adam: And they’re like, well, we got a site right on Brandt.
[0:07:10 – 0:07:11] Adam: It was a pretty nice site.
[0:07:13 – 0:07:15] Erik: It’s better than not going to the banjo hours, that’s for sure.
[0:07:15 – 0:07:25] Erik: But if you’re looking to put together a bigger trip, just be prepared for a pretty rough day one or really if you wanted to split it into two.
[0:07:25 – 0:07:35] Erik: Yeah, it’s not until you get to – and in terms of like routing, there’s really only one way to go through there up to a certain extent.
[0:07:35 – 0:07:38] Erik: You don’t have too many options until you get all the way out to Gillis.
[0:07:39 – 0:07:53] Erik: Um, most people are at least, I would think going to hit Gillis on the way out, which as an, as a day in, um, we’ll have a couple of the hardest portages that I can think of.
[0:07:54 – 0:07:59] Erik: Um, specifically the one from Brandt to Goddard and then the one from flying up to green.
[0:08:00 – 0:08:03] Erik: The one from flying up to green is, uh, I would say it’s a doozy.
[0:08:04 – 0:08:05] Erik: Yeah, there’s a couple of switchbacks.
[0:08:06 – 0:08:07] Erik: That one’s straight uphill.
[0:08:07 – 0:08:21] Erik: And then the one from Brant into Goddard is always super dependent on what the lake levels of Goddard are going to be.
[0:08:21 – 0:08:22] Erik: I’ve been in there where it’s totally fine.
[0:08:22 – 0:08:23] Erik: You can just float.
[0:08:23 – 0:08:26] Erik: I’ve been in there where it’s just a muck field and a nightmare.
[0:08:27 – 0:08:32] Erik: And then sometimes you can’t even put your canoe in that Goddard.
[0:08:33 – 0:08:35] Erik: Cause you have to like skirt the edge when the water’s low.
[0:08:36 – 0:08:41] Erik: And then like you get this short portage, which looks like it should be nothing between Goddard and flying.
[0:08:42 – 0:08:46] Erik: And that is the infamous stairways that, that just leads right into the water.
[0:08:46 – 0:08:47] Adam: Yeah.
[0:08:47 – 0:08:47] Adam: That’s a fun one.
[0:08:48 – 0:08:59] Erik: Yeah, and like imagine a large group of people trying to manage that situation with packs and canoes and like you got to have your stuff together if you’re planning on getting a bunch of people.
[0:08:59 – 0:09:02] Adam: Get it together, put it in a big bag.
[0:09:02 – 0:09:02] Erik: Get it together.
[0:09:03 – 0:09:06] Erik: These are some of the reasons why I noticed that this permit.
[0:09:06 – 0:09:06] Erik: What’s up with this thing?
[0:09:07 – 0:09:11] Erik: I don’t know if that portage down to Craig exists.
[0:09:11 – 0:09:13] Adam: Craig, like Agro Craig?
[0:09:13 – 0:09:16] Erik: Like Agro Craig, yeah.
[0:09:16 – 0:09:21] Erik: Maybe Mark O’Malley can send us an email and let us know if that portage truly does exist.
[0:09:21 – 0:09:24] Erik: I don’t believe that there is a portage into Craig and then up into Green.
[0:09:26 – 0:09:29] Erik: Or maybe more realistically, Andy at Tuscarora might know.
[0:09:29 – 0:09:32] Adam: Right, that looks like a nice square of portage there.
[0:09:33 – 0:09:36] Adam: And that would be a fun loop if that exists.
[0:09:36 – 0:09:37] Adam: Just go in circles.
[0:09:38 – 0:09:43] Adam: Yeah, just go in there with a nice aluminum canoe and do the old crag to green loop.
[0:09:45 – 0:10:08] Erik: do you have it got her got her but yeah the that whole area as well is uh until you get out onto gillis um pretty still still pretty noticeably affected by the ham like and or cavity like fire i don’t have the maps in front of me for sure but between those two uh until you get to gillis you’ll be traveling through um mostly old burns and uh
[0:10:08 – 0:10:09] Adam: Yeah, rugged portages.
[0:10:09 – 0:10:12] Erik: Again, that permit’s almost always available.
[0:10:14 – 0:10:15] Erik: Yeah, I don’t know.
[0:10:15 – 0:10:18] Erik: I’ve started and ended at it, and I think it’s a horse apiece.
[0:10:19 – 0:10:20] Erik: As they say.
[0:10:20 – 0:10:21] Erik: As they do say.
[0:10:21 – 0:10:25] Erik: But routing options really do open up once you get out onto Gillis.
[0:10:25 – 0:10:29] Erik: You can head south and head back down around and make a short loop into Tuscarora.
[0:10:30 – 0:10:33] Erik: You can head up north through, was it like French?
[0:10:34 – 0:10:35] Adam: I believe it is French.
[0:10:36 – 0:10:43] Erik: And those French and Peter, those are going to be some lakes that have still been affected by the fire.
[0:10:43 – 0:10:56] Erik: An underrated little underloop, which probably not much in terms of campsites through there, but you could go in through like Powell, West Fern, and Virgin down into Little Sag, where again, another hub lake.
[0:10:56 – 0:10:59] Erik: You can make any decision you want off of Little Sag in terms of a direction.
[0:11:01 – 0:11:02] Erik: So yeah, I mean…
[0:11:03 – 0:11:04] Adam: I’ve been to all these except for Rattle.
[0:11:04 – 0:11:10] Adam: I’ve never gone between Little Sag up through Rattle there.
[0:11:10 – 0:11:12] Erik: Up into Gabby, Michigami.
[0:11:12 – 0:11:12] Erik: Michigami.
[0:11:13 – 0:11:15] Erik: That’s a little bit confusing in there because of the burn.
[0:11:16 – 0:11:18] Erik: The Portage Landing’s in that little in-between lake.
[0:11:18 – 0:11:18] Erik: It’s almost…
[0:11:19 – 0:11:42] Erik: still like part of little sag that rattle i remember um this was early on in my paddling days i actually had to bust out the gps in there at one point because we could not locate the portage landing it’s one of the few times i’ve had to pull it out it kind of sounds like a train yes kind of you can make a good train noise with a rattle i’ll say that if you get rhythmic enough i’m sure yeah
[0:11:44 – 0:11:50] Erik: Um, fishing wise, you’re in a pretty solid lake trout lakes throughout this general area.
[0:11:50 – 0:11:51] Erik: Obviously the sky’s the limit.
[0:11:51 – 0:11:55] Erik: You can push in head farther out West and go wherever you want really.
[0:11:55 – 0:12:00] Adam: But the predominant didn’t tell me really like West Fern has like Brookies or something.
[0:12:00 – 0:12:11] Erik: I think that the West Fern, Powell, and Virgin are like kind of like special trout lakes where they do have like different like rainbows and browns and brookies, something along those lines.
[0:12:11 – 0:12:18] Erik: But like Peter, Gillis, Crooked, Tuscarora, Little Sag, Gabby, Michigami, those are all really good lake trout lakes.
[0:12:19 – 0:12:19] Erik: Bat.
[0:12:20 – 0:12:21] Erik: I don’t know anything about bat.
[0:12:21 – 0:12:22] Adam: I don’t know either.
[0:12:22 – 0:12:23] Erik: I do like bat though.
[0:12:24 – 0:12:25] Erik: Bat’s a fine lake.
[0:12:25 – 0:12:25] Erik: Yeah.
[0:12:27 – 0:12:41] Erik: But yeah, I mean, there are two entry points off of round, Brandt and Missing Link, and they both come with their difficulties in regards to portages and access to other parts.
[0:12:42 – 0:12:45] Erik: And I don’t know, I think I would still prefer the Missing Link entry.
[0:12:46 – 0:12:51] Erik: I’ve kind of just made my peace with that Missing Link to Tuscarora portage at this point.
[0:12:51 – 0:12:53] Adam: Yeah, I’m pretty good at that Tuscarora portage now.
[0:12:53 – 0:12:54] Erik: Yeah, I’m pretty much over it.
[0:12:54 – 0:12:56] Erik: And then you get it all over with.
[0:12:56 – 0:12:56] Erik: Yeah.
[0:12:56 – 0:12:58] Erik: Instead of that rapid fire hellscape that is Brandt.
[0:12:58 – 0:13:03] Adam: I’d much rather do the one long portage than three short portage for sure at this point in my life.
[0:13:03 – 0:13:08] Erik: Especially if they’re at the degree that those Brandt, between Brandt and Bat.
[0:13:08 – 0:13:11] Adam: Yeah, the trouble with Brandt isn’t getting to Brandt.
[0:13:11 – 0:13:12] Adam: It’s then what’s beyond it.
[0:13:12 – 0:13:15] Adam: Unless you’re going to sit, like you said earlier, stay on Brandt.
[0:13:15 – 0:13:21] Adam: If you’re trying to go through Brandt all the way into Bat and Gillis in the first day, that is a…
[0:13:22 – 0:13:26] Adam: Especially if you’re going in that way with the full packs.
[0:13:26 – 0:13:27] Erik: Yeah, day one, that’s a rough day one.
[0:13:27 – 0:13:29] Adam: That is a very tough day one.
[0:13:29 – 0:13:31] Erik: Especially if it’s like your first trip of the year.
[0:13:32 – 0:13:43] Adam: Yeah, I would just say if you’re going to do it, and I’ll sneak my pro tip in at this point in the episode, don’t overdo it and burn yourself out and don’t zap yourself on day one.
[0:13:43 – 0:13:45] Adam: I would recommend throwing in a bunch of double portages.
[0:13:45 – 0:13:46] Adam: They’re short enough anyways.
[0:13:47 – 0:13:53] Adam: And if you’re going in there on day one on a longer trip, like you’re going to single porters through there, sure, you’ll make it, but you’ll pay for it later.
[0:13:53 – 0:13:55] Adam: It’s like the Iditarod.
[0:13:55 – 0:13:58] Adam: You got to keep your foot on the brake early in a trip.
[0:13:59 – 0:13:59] Erik: Yeah.
[0:13:59 – 0:14:00] Adam: At least the drag mat, Eric.
[0:14:01 – 0:14:01] Erik: Exactly.
[0:14:02 – 0:14:02] Erik: Yeah.
[0:14:02 – 0:14:07] Erik: I mean, I guess my pro tip is generally sounds like yours, but sort of not.
[0:14:07 – 0:14:10] Erik: My pro tip would just be get a missing link permit.
[0:14:10 – 0:14:12] Adam: Oh, you’re going to say go as fast as you can.
[0:14:14 – 0:14:14] Adam: Push it to the limit.
[0:14:14 – 0:14:15] Adam: Like oil and goddamn water.
[0:14:18 – 0:14:19] Erik: Yeah, we did.
[0:14:19 – 0:14:29] Erik: Before we fired up the mics, we said we were going to try to get Stephen A. Smith on everybody today and have always opposing viewpoints, regardless of whether it’s the truth or not.
[0:14:30 – 0:14:33] Erik: Yeah, I mean, it’s just obviously my opinion, subjective.
[0:14:33 – 0:14:35] Erik: Obviously, we started with that conversation on like,
[0:14:36 – 0:14:38] Adam: yeah, that site you recommended was sort of meh.
[0:14:38 – 0:14:41] Erik: And the area you said was sort of meh was totally great.
[0:14:41 – 0:14:48] Erik: Like, all right, well, I mean, I would hope at the end of the day there isn’t too many people that are taking our words as gospel.
[0:14:49 – 0:14:51] Erik: It’s more fun to just talk about than anything else.
[0:14:51 – 0:14:58] Erik: But I don’t think that there’s any questioning that those portages starting out on that brand entry point are rougher than most.
[0:14:58 – 0:15:00] Adam: The Goddard region is nuts.
[0:15:01 – 0:15:04] Erik: It’s like almost like there shouldn’t be a route through there.
[0:15:04 – 0:15:05] Adam: It’s tough.
[0:15:05 – 0:15:06] Adam: It’s really tough.
[0:15:06 – 0:15:07] Adam: I was shocked.
[0:15:07 – 0:15:09] Adam: It had been a long time.
[0:15:09 – 0:15:11] Adam: It had probably been 10 years since I went through there.
[0:15:13 – 0:15:18] Erik: Well, the last time you had been, that last time when we exited there, we entered there for that long day trip.
[0:15:20 – 0:15:21] Erik: When we went out to Mueller Falls.
[0:15:21 – 0:15:22] Adam: Right, that was it.
[0:15:22 – 0:15:24] Adam: Yeah, so it was less than 10 years ago.
[0:15:25 – 0:15:28] Adam: But yeah, we went right from there out to Mueller Falls and then all the way back.
[0:15:29 – 0:15:32] Adam: After paddling out of a camping spot that morning.
[0:15:32 – 0:15:33] Adam: That was a long day.
[0:15:34 – 0:15:35] Adam: Where we essentially stayed up all night.
[0:15:35 – 0:15:37] Adam: That was back when I could do that kind of thing.
[0:15:37 – 0:15:39] Adam: I don’t think I would make that run today.
[0:15:39 – 0:15:40] Erik: Yeah.
[0:15:40 – 0:15:43] Erik: I got maybe like one or two of those in me a year at this point now.
[0:15:44 – 0:15:51] Erik: We were pushing like almost weekly occurrences of like bananas trips after like being up all night.
[0:15:51 – 0:15:52] Adam: Yeah.
[0:15:52 – 0:15:53] Adam: You gonna go to bed?
[0:15:53 – 0:15:54] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:15:54 – 0:15:57] Adam: We can go do like a 38 mile or 14 portage day.
[0:15:57 – 0:16:01] Erik: Let’s go see what Mueller Falls looks like and halfway through think we’re seeing daytime auroras.
[0:16:01 – 0:16:03] Adam: Yeah, that’s what happens.
[0:16:03 – 0:16:05] Adam: So, you know, I was in better shape then.
[0:16:05 – 0:16:07] Adam: So that’s probably why I went back through.
[0:16:07 – 0:16:09] Adam: I was a little shocked at how tough it was getting out of there.
[0:16:09 – 0:16:11] Adam: But we also had packs, too.
[0:16:11 – 0:16:17] Adam: I think that Mueller fall trip, I think we brought two granola bars and probably a bag of wine.
[0:16:18 – 0:16:18] Adam: That was probably about it.
[0:16:19 – 0:16:19] Adam: Probably about it.
[0:16:20 – 0:16:20] Erik: Pretty light.
[0:16:21 – 0:16:21] Erik: Very light.
[0:16:21 – 0:16:23] Erik: That is the beauty of the long day trip.
[0:16:23 – 0:16:24] Erik: Mm-hmm.
[0:16:25 – 0:16:36] Erik: So yeah, I mean, if you could, I don’t know what the situation on the Canadian border is going to be this year, but you know, you could use it as a Quetico training run considering how close that entry point is.
[0:16:36 – 0:16:41] Erik: You could just, uh, yeah, you want to get a feel for what I would say most Quetico portages are like.
[0:16:42 – 0:16:49] Erik: The portages between round and bat are pretty much pretty comparable.
[0:16:49 – 0:17:03] Erik: Besides the length, overall like ruggedness, footing, poor landings, and just like being subject to the water level conditions, you’re not going to find too many areas that are unrelenting than that first stretch on Brandt.
[0:17:04 – 0:17:06] Adam: I got a second pro tip, bonus pro tip.
[0:17:06 – 0:17:07] Erik: Bonus pro tip.
[0:17:07 – 0:17:11] Adam: If you actually do make it to Craig, you officially get your PMA badge.
[0:17:12 – 0:17:15] Adam: It’s a little known loophole in the PMA program.
[0:17:16 – 0:17:23] Adam: So that is a unidentified PMA, but it does count if you file the paperwork.
[0:17:23 – 0:17:27] Erik: I thought you were going to say that you got a piece of the aggro crag that glowed.
[0:17:27 – 0:17:27] Adam: You do.
[0:17:27 – 0:17:29] Adam: You get that mailed to you as well.
[0:17:29 – 0:17:31] Adam: It actually is on a sash that you wear around your neck.
[0:17:32 – 0:17:33] Erik: Doesn’t seem cumbersome at all.
[0:17:33 – 0:17:34] Adam: There’s LED lights in it.
[0:17:35 – 0:17:35] Adam: Pretty cool.
[0:17:37 – 0:17:42] Erik: We were talking about Nickelodeon shows last week, and we were talking about Global Guts and the aggro crag.
[0:17:43 – 0:17:46] Erik: Do you think there’s any of those floating around still, and do you think that they still glow?
[0:17:46 – 0:17:49] Adam: I bet we can find one on eBay, no problem.
[0:17:49 – 0:17:50] Erik: Do you think it’s still glowing?
[0:17:51 – 0:17:52] Adam: Yes, I do.
[0:17:52 – 0:17:53] Adam: Oh, wow.
[0:17:53 – 0:17:55] Adam: Gak, it does glow.
[0:17:55 – 0:17:59] Erik: Well, Gak is something different than whatever made the piece of the aggro crag glow.
[0:17:59 – 0:18:05] Adam: Yeah, I think the glowing crag was just the byproduct of the Gak, or vice versa.
[0:18:05 – 0:18:08] Adam: Maybe the process of making Gak, you end up with crag.
[0:18:09 – 0:18:09] Erik: Wow.
[0:18:09 – 0:18:10] Adam: That’s how you get a crag lake.
[0:18:11 – 0:18:13] Adam: That’s a rock fact, Derek.
[0:18:13 – 0:18:14] Erik: That’s a crag fact.
[0:18:14 – 0:18:15] Adam: That’s a crag fact.
[0:18:15 – 0:18:16] Adam: That’s a…
[0:18:19 – 0:18:20] Erik: All right.
[0:18:20 – 0:18:24] Erik: Well, this is dropping either Thursday or Friday.
[0:18:26 – 0:18:31] Erik: And it should be known, if you’re listening, that the next time you hear our voices will be this Sunday.
[0:18:32 – 0:18:41] Erik: And if you want to tune into them being live, lively, sent out into the world, this is upcoming February 28th at noon.
[0:18:42 – 0:18:44] Erik: It’s Selection Sunday for the Tumble Tourney.
[0:18:46 – 0:18:47] Erik: And we’d love to see you.
[0:18:47 – 0:18:51] Erik: Otherwise, that podcast will just come out and you can listen to it at your leisure.
[0:18:52 – 0:18:56] Adam: And we’re meeting with the unassociated press here this afternoon.
[0:18:56 – 0:18:58] Adam: We’re going to have final rankings coming out.
[0:18:58 – 0:19:00] Adam: Studio K, we’re locking the door and we’re not coming out.
[0:19:01 – 0:19:07] Adam: We’ve come up with our consensus final season top 25.
[0:19:07 – 0:19:09] Adam: And then the selection Sunday, though.
[0:19:09 – 0:19:10] Adam: Oh, boy.
[0:19:10 – 0:19:15] Adam: We won’t even know until Sunday what’s going to really happen on the brackets, though.
[0:19:15 – 0:19:19] Erik: Well, we are actually going to be putting together a bracket today as well.
[0:19:19 – 0:19:21] Adam: I’m not sure you’re supposed to say that out loud.
[0:19:22 – 0:19:30] Erik: Well, we’re going to be talking… Oh boy, we really put our foot in our mouth now, Eric.
[0:19:32 – 0:19:43] Erik: No, we’re going to be doing Tumble Home Cinema Classics as well as what it sounds like to be in the committee room as the tournament is being built.
[0:19:44 – 0:19:46] Erik: So if you’re a patron, you can look forward to that.
[0:19:46 – 0:19:47] Erik: It’s not going to come out early.
[0:19:47 – 0:19:48] Erik: You’ll still…
[0:19:48 – 0:19:49] Adam: Yeah, you’ll be in the dark.
[0:19:49 – 0:19:51] Adam: This will be behind the scenes.
[0:19:51 – 0:19:54] Erik: Yeah, it’ll be like a next week behind the scenes thing if you really want to hear it.
[0:19:54 – 0:20:08] Erik: If you really want to hear the slamming of fists on tables, throwing of coffee mugs across the room in defense of muck boots, then you can become a patron and listen to that conversation sometime next week.
[0:20:08 – 0:20:15] Erik: But if you are currently a patron, you can expect A River Runs Through It, Tumble Home Cinema Classics, the movie that started it all.
[0:20:16 – 0:20:32] Erik: um in terms of the tcc movement one of the best fishing movies of all time no doubt no doubt um we have once again gone over our 20 minute threshold on the toot toot choo choo that’s brant anything that we missed you think or can we get out of here
[0:20:33 – 0:20:34] Adam: No, we can get out of here.
[0:20:34 – 0:20:41] Adam: I just want to say Watercolor Painting Set has won their last five games, and I really hope they make the big show.
[0:20:41 – 0:20:41] Adam: Toot toot.
[0:20:44 – 0:20:44] Adam: All right.
[0:20:45 – 0:20:49] Adam: I’ve accepted a job as a professor at the University of Chicago, and we got a board of train.
[0:20:50 – 0:20:52] Adam: I’m never coming back to Montana.
[0:20:52 – 0:20:53] Adam: I’m like Brother Paul.
[0:20:56 – 0:20:57] Erik: I am pleased.
