Anyone been to Rom Lake here? Besides Rom of course. Haha.

Weve went to the man chain for three years back 5-8 years ago. Were going back this summer to revisit it and I'm looking for a day trip we havn't done arround there. I think I might try this lake out. Did you ever go to it?

Did Rom ever actually get to the lake? It has been years since reading his book, but I think they just spotted from the air and asked the mapmakers to name it Rom Lake? My memeory could be messing up the story though.

T

Its been a while for me too, but I thought he did bushwhack back there. I'm sure there has to be a bunch of people who followed that book there, but I still think it would make an interesting daytrip.

Forgive my ignorance. Who is Rom?

Canoe King of Ely.

I bet few people have been to Rom Lake---Maybe only ROm himself.

Bill Rom's dad--Senior was one of the first canoe outfitters in ELy started Canoe Country Outfitters in the 40's after he returned from the War. He was one of many that campaigned for making the BWCAW a wilderness area. He sold the business when some bitter locals against the BWCAW parked logging trucks blocking his business and someone even set a bomb go off near his store or house to intimidate him. I think this was in the 70's. He passed away almost exactly two years ago.

His son Bill Rom junior wrote a book about his travels/guiding in the BWCAW and Quetico as a teenager working for his dad.



Star Tribune Story
T

To add to SC's link. Bill Rom's family were the original owners of Canoe Country Outfitters in Ely.

The book link below is pretty good IMO. Tells the tales of Rom's journeys throughout the BWCA and Quetico including Rom Lake. He talks about one of his trips to Rom Lake in the book along with an interesting story of getting the lake named after him as well as trying to get a nearby lake named after his brother I believe.

Canoe Country Wilderness

This book was written by Bill Rom Jr. right? Bill Jr. now lives in NY.

A very good book BTW.

Yeah the book was written by Bill Rom Junior.

It is a good book. A lot of lakes talked about that people rarely venture to.

T

Thanks. Ordered the Book today via Amazon.com Used $0.32 + shipping

I love History and this will be added to my growing Canoe Country library.

You beat me to it Bojibob...in fact I ordered it as I was reading the thread and then came to your note...should be good reading Love this forum...learn something new every day. :-)

If you have the book, or get it, look on page 66 (in my copy). Here is what he says about Rom Lake:

"Several more unnamed lakes to the northwest of This Man looked wild and interesting on the map. We named the largest lake Rom Lake and sent the name to several map companies. Their next issues all carried the names, and I began to wonder how all the lakes had actually been named. Perhaps they were named at a map company's Christmas Party?

Those lakes to the northwest beckoned. What did they look like? Were there any portages or campsites there? What kinds of fish were in the lakes? I ventured northward from This Man along a stream to a narrow lake we named Rog Lake after my youngest brother. From there, I explored westward to find Rom Lake. It took at least two hikes, but on the second I spotted the lake. I blazed a trail and portaged in the canoe. It was a pretty lake with white pines and clear water, but it seemed a bit shallow. We tried fishing and caught nothing."

A sketch map of this area appears on page 62 and shows Rom Lake, but "Rom Lake" is not listed in the index. Great book -- a "must have" -- in my opinion. --Goose