Radtke's on Lac La Croix '08
by Airrick13
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
08/08/2008
Entry & Exit Point:
Moose/Portage River (north) (EP 16)
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
4
Day 2 of 6
Friday, August 08, 2008
I woke up at 3:45, and couldn't fall back asleep. Eventually, at 4:30, I decided that sleeping was a hopeless so I showered and started getting ready for the day. We rented a Graphite Wenonah Minnesota II from Piragis, so I drove over and picked it up at 6:00 am. We woke everybody up, and after rearranging some gear and bodies, Kristen, Justin, and I left the hotel at about 8:00. My dad stopped at the grocery store for bread, eggs, and vegetables. We reached Entry point 16 around 8:45. I know it is supposed to be an hour drive, but I have been looking forward to this trip all summer, and that excitement seemed to translate to my right foot.
After some last minute load balancing at the parking lot me began the double tripping of the 160 rod portage. We were ready for our first paddle stroke at about 10:15 am. Our goal today was to make it to Oyster Lake, but we were now on Boundary Waters time, so we were all flexible. Flexibility was important, because traveling down the Moose River in August meant that we encountered 4 places were we needed to step out and lift our boats over damns. Our going was slow. There is a very nice sand beach on the north end of Nina Moose Lake that was great for a much needed lunch stop.
After the 70 rod portage on the Moose River we were treated to a wonderful BWCA welcoming committee. We were alerted by south-bound travelers that there were two cow moose around the next bend. We all got our cameras ready, and were shocked, and a little nervous, how close they allowed us to paddle.
At the end of the 96 rod portage on the Moose River we checked our clocks and it was after 3:30 PM. We were all feeling like shooting for Oyster Lake was a little more than we were willing to commit to, so we decided that Lake Agnes would be our stopping point tonight.
17 out of 17 campsites on Agnes were already taken. When you have two boats and 2-way radios it is a good idea to split up and each boat take a shoreline. We didn’t do that, and proceeded to zigzag across Agnes for what felt like hours only to learn that the last site had been grabbed before 2:00 PM. There were several sympathetic travelers that offered to let us double up, but we elected to push on to Lac La Croix. Fortunately, one of the nearest campsites to the 65 rod portage was available. Our Canoes came to a rest at about 8:15 PM.
Tent went up, dinner went down, and we were out.
I woke up at 3:45, and couldn't fall back asleep. Eventually, at 4:30, I decided that sleeping was a hopeless so I showered and started getting ready for the day. We rented a Graphite Wenonah Minnesota II from Piragis, so I drove over and picked it up at 6:00 am. We woke everybody up, and after rearranging some gear and bodies, Kristen, Justin, and I left the hotel at about 8:00. My dad stopped at the grocery store for bread, eggs, and vegetables. We reached Entry point 16 around 8:45. I know it is supposed to be an hour drive, but I have been looking forward to this trip all summer, and that excitement seemed to translate to my right foot.
After some last minute load balancing at the parking lot me began the double tripping of the 160 rod portage. We were ready for our first paddle stroke at about 10:15 am. Our goal today was to make it to Oyster Lake, but we were now on Boundary Waters time, so we were all flexible. Flexibility was important, because traveling down the Moose River in August meant that we encountered 4 places were we needed to step out and lift our boats over damns. Our going was slow. There is a very nice sand beach on the north end of Nina Moose Lake that was great for a much needed lunch stop.
After the 70 rod portage on the Moose River we were treated to a wonderful BWCA welcoming committee. We were alerted by south-bound travelers that there were two cow moose around the next bend. We all got our cameras ready, and were shocked, and a little nervous, how close they allowed us to paddle.
At the end of the 96 rod portage on the Moose River we checked our clocks and it was after 3:30 PM. We were all feeling like shooting for Oyster Lake was a little more than we were willing to commit to, so we decided that Lake Agnes would be our stopping point tonight.
17 out of 17 campsites on Agnes were already taken. When you have two boats and 2-way radios it is a good idea to split up and each boat take a shoreline. We didn’t do that, and proceeded to zigzag across Agnes for what felt like hours only to learn that the last site had been grabbed before 2:00 PM. There were several sympathetic travelers that offered to let us double up, but we elected to push on to Lac La Croix. Fortunately, one of the nearest campsites to the 65 rod portage was available. Our Canoes came to a rest at about 8:15 PM.
Tent went up, dinner went down, and we were out.
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