Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Malberg Basecamp
by 30Smoke

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 06/06/2017
Entry & Exit Point: Kawishiwi Lake (EP 37)
Number of Days: 6
Group Size: 2
Day 2 of 6
Wednesday, June 07, 2017 This day would start like many, me sleeping in and Peter fishing for the predawn lunker! We finished the bacon with our pancakes and planned a paddle trip over to Boze. The Louse River from Malberg was beautiful and the water levels high enough that we were able to paddle over the partial beaver dam and skip the first short portage. The river all the way to Frond was full of boulders and twists and turns. I got to hear stories of the difficulties in passing this way when the water is low and the boulders high. After crossing Frond, it looked like we could pull the canoe through the falls and skip the portage. About half way up, I took to shore while Peter kept going until he came around the portage to my surprise and delight! We would have one more portage and then we could paddle Boze. Once across Boze, we pulled out some snacks and checked out the campsite, just a few yards south of the portage. Boze is a beautiful long slender lake with a couple small islands on the north end. We paddled around the island and were entertained by a Beaver chasing us away from his area. I got many good photographs of Mr Beaver swimming and splashing his tail. We paddled around the island and then south down the east shore. There was a very pretty rock wall to the Northwest of the island, and we could see in the forest paddling the shore. Rumor is there was a camp set up on this lake way back when, and some of the equipment was still out there. We could not see any remnants of this story, but it was a beautiful day and we had a great trip. Heading back out was just as pretty as the trip in. We decided to try fishing in front of the big boulder on portage from Malberg to Koma, but the water was shallow and the fish scarce. Again we got back before dark, had supper and plotted for our great adventure the next day. I slept well again, rising well after sunrise. Apparently, I’m not a morning person!
~Malberg Lake, Frond Lake, Boze Lake

Lakes Traveled:   Malberg Lake, Frond Lake, Boze Lake,