Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Family Base Camp Trip to Horse Lake
by Mad_Angler

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe

Entry Date: 07/12/2008

Entry & Exit Point: Mudro Lake (EP 23)

Number of Days: 9

Group Size: 6

Trip Introduction:

This was the first trip for my 4 daughters (Emily 15, Allison 13, Olivia 10, and Bethany 7). My wife, Angie, had her first trip this spring. It was my third trip. We also took 2 dogs (golden retriever hunting dogs, Ginger and Rocket). It was a great trip. The girls got experience the boundary waters. The trip had fairly difficult portages in and out. There was also a pretty strenuous daytrip to Lower Basswood Falls. But there were several idle days in between to regain our strength.

Day 1 of 9

Saturday, July 12, 2008: Driving up and getting settled.

We had an old friend visit on Friday and spend the night. So we left a bit later than planned on Saturday. It worked out well though because he was heading the same way that we were . So we caravanned for a few hours.

We arrived at Jordan’s Canoe Outfitters around 8:30pm. We checked-in, took care of the paperwork, and did the final packing of the gear.

We decided to take 2 Souris River Quetico 18.5 canoes. The canoes are very stable and still pretty light. We put an adult in the back seat, a teenager in the front seat, a little girl and a dog in the middle seat. We still had plenty of space for 3 Duluth packs and other assorted gear.

We loaded the canoes on our minivan. We brought 2x4’s to set on the factory roof rack. The canoes were tied to the 2x4s. Then, the canoes were tied down to the front and back of the van. It was quite secure. By taking our own van, it was easier to leave on our schedule and gave us flexibility to determine when we came out of the woods.