South, Rat, Rose - Day 304

  This was our first full day of backpacking. We worked our way east along the lakes that define the Canadian border. That's why it's called the Border Route. As far as I've been able to research, this chain of lakes was a pre-glacial river. The glacier moved west to east deepening and widening the valleys. This is the narrow west end of Rose Lake.


Now we are farther along and looking back to the west with Rose Lake in the foreground, Rat Lake (small) in the middle, and South Lake beyond that. These lakes were also known as the Voyageurs Highway, because they provided access to the far north country for trappers, traders, and explorers.


These are the Rose Lake Cliffs.


I can't get enough of these views. This is the wider portion of Rose Lake.


We passed that wide part of Rose Lake and then dropped down to a portage between Duncan Lake, which is not on the border, and Rose. Duncan is about 100 feet higher, and the outlet is swift, ending in a waterfall. We didn't go down to look at it. When you have miles to cover in a full pack, side trips are less appealing. The water was clear and fast, and we filtered water here. I think moving water tastes better than lake water.


That afternoon, we met Bob, a volunteer doing maintenance on the trail. It's been great to meet so many people who are working hard to keep the trail open.


We spent the night at West Rose Lake campsite.


It was a little chillier, and we built a fire to keep us company in the evening. Each campsite has a fire grate and a latrine. Fires are only supposed to be built in the grates.


Miles today: 8.2 (plus 0.3 on a spur). Total miles so far: 3556.4.

See Sock Lake