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March 18 2024

Entry Point 23 - Mudro Lake

Mudro Lake entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Kawishiwi Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 19 miles. Three accesses into Mudro Lake involve portages ranging from 20–185 rods.Easiest access is from private la nd with parking fee.

Number of Permits per Day: 5
Elevation: 1166 feet
Latitude: 48.0356
Longitude: -91.8301
On the Water- Monday July 20th-
On the water late considering how far we need to go today. Up the Horse river to the falls by 6pm. Started raining and NO campsites available. Mudrow-Alruss-Tin can Mike-Horse Lake-Horse River-Basswood. 13 miles by water. (not counting portages)

Tuesday July 21st-
Rain all night, all morning and all day. Went north by petroglyphs, table rock and the the Crocked Lake Narrows across Thursday bay to campsite. Basswood-Crooked Lake-Wednesday Bay-Thursday Bay. 11 miles in the rain.

Wednesday July 22nd-
Up early and calm winds to take advantage of, considering the big water we have to cross. Found beaver dam to lift over and did a portage from hell between Pandos lake and Chippewa Lake. VERY steep and slippery after rain. Many mud holes. Then the mile portage after Wagosh Lake to Gun Lake. Never saw another soul in a canoe or campsite the entire day! Thursday bay-Friday Bay-Pandos Lake-Chippewa Lake-Wagosh lake-Gun Lake. 11 miles by water.

Thursday July 23rd-
Finally had a dry night. got everything dry!!! A few portages today to Fourtown Lake campsite. Easy day by comparison. Gun Lake-Fairy Lake-Boot Lake-Fourtown Lake. 6 miles. Put the long miles at the first of the week for a buffer for contingencies!

Friday July 24th-
Last day. Stormed last night bad. A few portages today with one bad one between Fourtown Lake and Mudrow lake. To entry point by 1pm. Ready for a hot shower! 4 miles

Total-
45 miles by water
13 miles by portage (3 trips each)
58 miles total.

Mudro to Just Past Wednesday Bay on Crooked Lake

by IHearTheRain
Trip Report

Entry Date: August 12, 2015
Entry Point: Mudro Lake
Number of Days: 6
Group Size: 8

Trip Introduction:
4 Canoes; 8 crew and a plan for a long loop, good fishing and a visit to Curtain Falls

Day 1 of 6


Wednesday, August 12, 2015 we stayed overnight in a camper cabin at Bear Head Lake State Park. As it turns out, after taking a culinary tour of Ely, we spotted a large black bear on our drive back to the cabin.

 



Day 2 of 6


Thursday, August 13, 2015 we drove to the parking lot at entry #23 for the start of our trip which began with Mudro Lake, Sandpit Lake, Tin Can Mike Lake, Horse Lake and up the Horse River to Lower Basswood Falls. The traffic along the numerous portages make the entry trek slower than planned and we ended up breaking for lunch at campsite #1551 on the US side of Crooked Lake. After lunch we paddled another 6-7 miles to a small bay in between Wednesday and Thursday bays where we stayed for two nights.

 



Day 3 of 6


Friday, August 14, 2015 the weather was warm and sunny, which wasn't necessarily the best for fishing the "big" current. For those that went fishing, we caught some keepers that were filleted, bagged and sunk deep in the bay in front of our campsite as a way to keep them fresh for dinner the next night.

 



Day 4 of 6


Saturday, August 15, 2015 three of us decided to take provisions to paddle over to Curtain falls. Aside from the beauty of the falls, we were rewarded with a number of first-cast Northerns that hammered whatever lure we threw at them. We chose to release everything we caught given the 10 mile paddle back; plus we figured the rest of the crew would catch enough for dinner...which they eventually did.

 



Day 5 of 6


Sunday, August 16, 2015 an overnight rain made it a bit wet to pack up camp, but we got off to a fairly early start. We were rewarded with clear skies, but it came with a significant head wind that made crossing to the south end of Thursday Bay harder than expected. From there we worked our way acroos Papoose Lake, Chippewa Lake, Niki Lake, Wagosh Lake, Gun Lake, Fairy Lake, Boot Lake. Given our direction of travel, the southwest headwind and whitecaps on Gun were quite daunting, but we powered ahead to the turn and waited to make sure the rest of crew made it safely.

 



Day 6 of 6


Monday, August 17, 2015 we packed up camp one last time going with an easy coffee and hot oatmeal breakfast. We only had to work down Boot, through Fourtown Lake, into Mudro Lake and we were done.

 

Lakes Traveled:   Fourtown Lake, Mudro Lake,

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