BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
January 05 2025
Entry Point 14 - Little Indian Sioux River North
Number of Permits per Day: 6
Elevation: 1364 feet
Latitude: 48.1466
Longitude: -92.2103
Leaky Canoe on the Little Indian Sioux
Entry Date:
September 08, 2016
Entry Point:
Little Indian Sioux River (north)
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
6
Wednesday, September 07, 2016
We took off from the Twin Cities around 5pm, which we knew would put us getting in to our cabin at Big Lake Wilderness Lodge quite late. The ride up to Ely was fairly uneventful. Once we jumped on the Echo Trail it was pouring and the dirt road was more like a mud road. We were thankful that we were putting in tomorrow instead of today!
When we finally made it (~10:30), it was pouring so hard that the 25 foot distance between the car and the cabin was sufficient to get us completely soaked as we ran inside. We went to bed shortly after running inside, hoping for an early start tomorrow.
World Class fishing for all four BWCA Species
Pictographs
Soaring granite hills and cliffs
Small lakes
Small rivers
Tumbling rapids and waterfalls
Wildlife, including Moose
Vistas from high points across the region if you're willing to climb.
Rating Easy to Moderate.
Day One. Get to EP16 off of the Echo Trail early. The initial portage is long, but well worn and smooth, sloping gently downgrade to the launch area.
Load your canoe and head North. You'll be paddling with the slight current on this narrow winding river. The water is clear and make sure to tell the bowperson to watch for looming rocks!
Friday, September 9, 2016
The morning brought another beautiful day.
With our new relaxed schedule, we decided to leave late morning. A few people fished in the morning. A few of us took a trip to the eloquently-named Section Three Pond.
We packed up and retraced our steps over the Slim-Little Loon portage. It was much easier going the other way and on a fresh pair of legs. We paddled through Little Loon and back on to Loon. We decided to camp at the site next to the portage to Heritage. It’s a great site. A ton of elevation, very spacious, good trails for exploring, and to our delight, there was a sandy beach nearby right at the portage.
We went swimming at the beach and played some cards in the ‘card room’ on a flat rock near the top of the site.
We scoped out the portage for tomorrow. It took us a little while, but we found the portage at the south side of the beach in the tall grass. Dinner that night was spaghetti, which went over very well. While refilling water bottles, one of the guys took a spill in the lake—the rocks near the water are very steep. We all had a good laugh!
~Slim Lake, Little Loon Lake, Loon Lake
Saturday, September 10, 2016
I arose early and decided to get a fire started and put breakfast on. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. Soaking in the BWCA by myself, the smell and crackle of the fire, the joy of cooking hashbrowns and pancakes over in open flame. It was just a moment of tranquility that stuck with me.
We packed up and paddled across the bay to the beach portage. The portage was long but not difficult except for one sloped rock face in the last 20 rods that several people slipped down. As is our custom, we all took a shot of whiskey upon completing the portage.
We continued down the scenic Heritage Creek and through Heritage Lake. After completing the portage to Shell, we checked out all three vacant campsites on the northern island. By our account, the southernmost campsite on the point was the best. Therefore, that’s the one we chose. My friend and I chose to put our tent right on the grassy point since there was no wind to speak of. This may not be a good place if there is wind, since I bet wind would whip through there.
There’s a good rock ledge at about water level for jumping in to swim and this site offers great views of the lake.
We spent the day again swimming, playing cards, eating, and preparing wood for our evening campfire. We stayed up late tonight soaking in every last bit of BWCA before our exit tomorrow.
~Loon Lake, Heritage Lake, Shell Lake
Sunday, September 11, 2016
We awoke before dawn and packed up donning head lamps. Near the end of our packing we got to experience some awesome morning colors before the sunrise.
We shoved off before sunrise and made our way toward the portage to Lower Pauness.
The portage was long and the beaver pond a third of the way through was unexpected, but all in all not a bad portage. After that, the short portage back into Upper Pauness and we were paddling down the LIS in no time.
In my opinion, the LIS is a perfect exit paddle. Its beautiful, meandering nature is perfect for reflecting on the trip. Elm Portage was even more crowded today—many people entering today. In too short a time we arrived at the portage back to the parking lot. We left the aluminum canoes in the parking lot and headed back to Big Lake Wilderness Lodge. We threw on a fresh pair of clothes, informed the owner of the leaky canoe, and we were on our way back to civilization. We took a brief stop at Adventures in Virginia and made our way back to civilization in the Twin Cities. Another successful trip and even better, four new people introduced to the BWCA.
~Shell Lake, Lower Pauness Lake, Upper Pauness Lake