Our boat shuttle journey would begin Saturday morning at Crane Lake, located not far from the Canadian border near....well, it's not near anything really. How about this: it's 1.5 hours north of Virginia, MN. Anyway, most of us headed up the day before so that we could gather all our stuff and finalize our packing strategy.
Chuck and his wife Lori had volunteered to plan the menu, so by the time we left the Twin Cities they had already packed our food into one large container. Done! Amazing really. Left to our own devices, we bandits would simply eat jerky and mashed potatoes (and Mountain House Chili Mac with Beef of course), suffering severe cases of scurvy (and constipation) by weeks' end.
Each of us was given one Duluth pack (large square-ish canvas bags that fit well in canoes and have straps for portaging) for our personal gear. Well, except Gary. He was given special dispensation to employ 2-3 personal packs, but that's expected of our beloved "Gear Daddy." And who of us would dare cast the first stone? We all benefit from the extra gear that Gary brings.
So, the major decision left was what group gear to bring, including what we would bring for spirits. As for that, we had several options, from tequila to bourbon and beer, and one newcomer to the Bandit repertoire: Fireball cinnamon whiskey! Turns out the world in general has been turned on to this stuff for quite awhile now, but we Bandits live in an obscure world where craft beer rules the day. Alas, copious amounts of craft beer would be impractical for a trip such as this, but that didn't stop us (Joe, specifically) from packing some Surly craft beer in a special lightweight cooler. In the end, we brought it all, or more accurately, we brought whatever we could fit in the various metal containers we had. That also included Chuck's personal supply of boxed wines and brandy. Now, Chuck can have his wine, but he had to remember from our BWCA trip that his brandy was a personal favorite of Jeff's. Seeing how Jeff liked to unwind in the evenings, I wonder if Chuck had any intention of tasting his own brandy stash!
All but Jeff took off from the Twin Cities about noon on Friday, heading north to Voyagaire Lodge on the shores of Crane Lake. (Jeff would arrive later that evening.) Voyagaire is a beautifully refurbished resort hotel, and we arrived about 5 pm after a quick stop in Cook, MN to pick up our BWCA permit. Why BWCA? I thought we were going to Quetico! Yep, but since we would be paddling along the US/Canadian border for part of the time, we wanted the option to nab the best campsite on either side of the border, and still be legal about it.
After a bite to eat and a couple beers at the bar, we retired to our rooms to pack. One of the rooms had a large open space, perfect for laying out group gear. Gary and Chuck did most of the deciding/packing, except for the alcohol. That's where we all lent a hand, "researching", comparing notes, and further researching the various alcohol options, and in the end declared that it was ALL coming with us. Er, whatever was left that is.
