In August, we completed our first trip in the Boundary Waters. We went in at EP 55. Paddled Sag. Completed a 42-mile loop in seven days. Was a blast! Hard work for sure, especially for this big fella, but I lost 65 pounds over the year to make it happen.

I'm planning another trip for next summer and thinking about a Lac La Croix loop. My 11 year old is studying Native Americans in school and I've read there are some outstanding Native American pictographs. Also read that it gets pretty busy.

Should we be scared away by the crowds? Is there a different spot we should check out?

Congratulations on your first trip and weight loss! Sag is a great jump off point and a great choice for your first trip. You are an awesome father to take your son up there and it will be something you guys will always remember.

Yes, the Lac La Croix area is a great choice. It offers both river and lake paddles which, to me, is a plus. The rivers have very little flow to them and are easily paddled, plus you will get your first beaver dam experiences which may seem intimidating at first, but will boost your wilderness confidence and knowledge. Also the ones in this area are very small and doable so great for your first try at them.

It is no busier than other areas. Of course, the further you get away from the entry point, the fewer people you will encounter. When you go will greatly affect how busy it will be, too. I went in EP#16 (Moose River north) in mid-September this year and could have got any campsite I wanted. I have been there in July and August and dang near, if not all, sites were taken until I got past Lake Agnes.

I have gone in at all the EPs and paddled every lake you would be hitting on your trip, so if you would like specifics, please let me know more about your plans, how many days, what time of year, how much ground you want to cover, etc. Feel free to email me or just respond on this forum.

You are right about the pictograph on Rocky lake and Lac La Croix. The ones on Rocky Lake can be hard to find. The ones on Lac La Croix are pointed out on most maps. Warrior Hill is also just south of the Lac La Croix pictographs and has a history for Native Americans.

To help you find the pictos on Rocky Lake, watch the Nibi Mocs YouTube video from July 2015. He does a great job recording his trips and will give you an idea of the beauty of the area.

Congrats on the life changes that brought you to your first trip! Glad you & your son had a good time.

Don't be scared of "crowds." You guys could also do the Mudro to Lower Basswood Falls via Horse River, then Friday Bay of Crooked and back South via Niki, Papoose, Wagosh, Gun, etc.

Pictos after the lower falls on the West shore.

We will probably go sometime in August. My step dad likes that time of the year. Has good luck with weather and bugs don't seem to be a big issue. I like the idea of some rivers to paddle. We will go up for 7 or 8 days. Stopping for a couple days when we find a nice campsite. Seeing the pictos and waterfalls is on the top of the list. I would like to do a loop of some sort. We all like seeing as much of this beautiful place we can. Want to do as much research on the area we are in. Our trip in August we just missed Mueller falls and we were on the island campsite on ogish right infront of the portage to Mueller falls found that out after we came back home. So I don't want to miss anything this next trip

A nice LLC loop would be EP 16/Nina Moose River/Nina Moose Lake/Nina Moose River/Oyster River (just before Agnes)/Oyster Lake/Rocky Lake/Green Lake/Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake/Ge-be-on-e-quet creek/Lac La Croix down to Agnes and back out to EP 16. You will shake off most people once you hit the Oyster River. This loop can easily be done in the time frame you are looking at with at two or three layover nights.

We did a loop out of LIS a couple years ago. Although we didn't go up into LLC. Here is a map of our route and a link to my YouTube show from the trip. I highly recommend the area!
LIS Entry Slide Show

If you have the time, a great trip would be in at Moose R. north (16) and up to LLC to see warrior hill and those pictos. Then head east past curtain falls and into Crooked. Before you get to lower Basswood falls there is another set of pictos. Head out via Horse and Mudro. I've done all of these but never in one trip.

Yeah, keep her simple. Run up to lac la Croix. See the pictos then pocket creek to gebe and down to oyster. But if you think you’ve done enough padding stay in la Croix and go out the way you came. You have options.

ghamer: "We did a loop out of LIS a couple years ago. Although we didn't go up into LLC. Here is a map of our route and a link to my YouTube show from the trip. I highly recommend the area!
LIS Entry Slide Show
"

If you do Gary’s loop, there’s Picto’s on Finger Lake as well that very few people know about. They’re actually on a boulder at the island campsite (handprints). I did a solo through there a few years back and took video of them. If you’re worried about crowds, the lakes just south of LLC are great getaways. I saw nobody for three straight days during the busiest part of the season in that area.

I’ll attach my video trip report in case your curious.
LIS North Solo Loop

Hope you enjoy LLC, it’s amazing!

Tony

Another vote here for Moose River North to LLC, then back down through Ga-be and Oyster. Good pictos, interesting river segments, good fishing, beautiful area. Aside from the pictos, your son an learn a good deal more about native life in the area by doing a little googling. There was a recent thread here that mentioned how they used prescribed burns to help clear some forest areas (What is Wilderness?) , and here is one about tool making queries over on Knife Lake.

I would not worry about the crowds. Just plan to camp fairly early. I paddled 10 days just before Labor Day on some of these very lake and had no issues, but I did camp by 3pm every day. I did on Oyster see several groups out looking for camps between 6-9pm, and there were not left by then.

And finally, congratulation of your big weight loss! Well done!

Thanks for the links to check out. Excited to explore this area. Will look at some more maps of the area.

Thanks still got a bunch to go. But rome wasnt built in a day