Zen Buddhism and the Art of canoeing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness

For lots of reasons we were down to two of us for a spring trip into the BWCA; Jeff Norby and me.  At one point both of us were considering solo trips this spring, from coincidentally the same entry point (number 14, Little Indian River Sioux North), so the stars aligned and we decided to to a two man trip.  We had never gone in at this entry point or to any of these lakes and rivers.  Brief summary: great trip, nice weather, buggy and decent fishing the first half - cool wet weather, few bugs, and poor fishing the second half of the week.  Nice area - would return to continue exploring the area.  Ok first campsite on Lower Pauness Lake, some gun toting nut jobs on another campsite on the lake (shot several times - target shooting??, including from their canoe once), long portage into Shell Lake, 4 star campsite, 1 star toilet (looked like mortar rounds had landed all around the vault); some nice walleyes before the weather changed; steak three nights in a row, lots of bald eagles (8 in one spot).  Also, fabulous long philosophical discussions, leading to my conclusion that Jeff is a dedicated Catholic who is headed toward being a Buddhist....thus the Zen Buddhism title to this post.  Great time, although I am a bit tired of the springtime black flies....didn't have them the first few years, now they are an annual nuisance in the spring...may need to stick with the fall.