BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
January 05 2025
Entry Point 16 - Moose/Portage River (North of Echo Trail)
Number of Permits per Day: 5
Elevation: 1348 feet
Latitude: 48.1230
Longitude: -92.0991
A favorite route offering many trip options and memorable things to see including;
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!
Moose River to LLC and Iron, near-tragedy on Agnes
Entry Date:
June 17, 2010
Entry Point:
Moose/Portage River (north)
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
9
The weather channel on our walkie-talkie said sustained winds of 30 mph on Friday, with gusts to 45...later upped to 55. They were right. Whitecaps were marching down the lake, south to north, by 8:00 am...only 3 kayaks and one canoe made it out going south. Only one group went north, at about 8:30. It was a warm, sunny day...we read, ate, napped, hiked a bit until the big tree fell across the latrine trail. And then about 2:00 the macho men arrived...three canoes came around the point to the south, riding the whitecaps right down the middle of the lake. Agnes is about 3.5 miles long, and they weren't more than .5 miles down the lake when two of the three capsized. The third knew they couldn't help, and headed to our shore. One swamped pair stayed with their canoe, but the other pair split, one with the canoe for a while and one swam off, chasing a pack as it turned out. We watched them try to swim their canoes and pack ashore for over 1.5 hours...three had life jackets on now, but pack rider did not. We knew we couldn't help them...another canoe out there would have meant two more people swimming. They finally all made it to shore...pack rider was a skinny/wiry 16 year old who was suffering from beginning hypothermia. We put him on a warm rock, got his shirt off, and made him drink some hot chocolate. His father, the leader, was so hyped about the event he and the other men couldn't seem to understand the kid was in trouble. They had seen people walking their canoes along Nina-Moose Lake, but said "Let's go for it!" and when they reached Agnes, with NO LIFEJACKETS ON, tried it again. The kid recovered, they found the lost canoe, and only lost one pack with a tent and sleeping bags. For over an hour I thought we would watch somebody drown and be helpless to save them, and I am just amazed at their stupidity.
The rest of our trip was fairly uneventful...took a great campsite in Tiger Bay on Saturday, daytripped about 20 miles on Sunday, seeing Iron Lake, very muddy Bottle Portage, lunching at Curtain Falls, and seeing the pictographs in the evening, after a swim and dinner. Fishermen at the falls told us of catching a 28" and a 30" walleye that morning, just below the main drop. They took pics and released them. Our 15 year old caught a walleye and northern, providing us with a fresh fish dinner...and Dad was proud.
Our last night we camped on the poison ivy campsite on Nina-Moose...from the north, the first campsite on the east. Tent sites for five tents, poor landing, lots of erosion, lots of poison ivy, two resident deer, and no longer an eagle nest tree in back. And it rained off and on from 2:30 to into the dark. Next day, 2 hours and 15 minutes from camp to the parking lot.
Several general points: Water levels high on Moose River, but low coming over Curtain falls. Campsites were available on Iron and in Tiger Bay...not too crowded yet. Every member of the group portaged a canoe at least once, and one young woman took one nonstop on the 160 rod. The pictographs seem even more faded. And the one otter we saw did not put on a show. It is still a thrill to see someone enjoy the BW for the first time.
The weather channel on our walkie-talkie said sustained winds of 30 mph on Friday, with gusts to 45...later upped to 55. They were right. Whitecaps were marching down the lake, south to north, by 8:00am...only 3 kayaks and one canoe made it out going south. Only one group went north, at about 8:30. It was a warm, sunny day...we read, ate, napped, hiked a bit until the big tree fell across the latrine trail. And then about 2:00 the macho men arrived...three canoes came around the point to the south, riding the whitecaps right down the middle of the lake. Agnes is about 3.5 miles long, and they weren't more than .5 miles down the lake when two of the three capsized. The third knew they couldn't help, and headed to our shore. One swamped pair stayed with their canoe, but the other pair split, one with the canoe and one swam off, chasing a pack as it turned out. We watched them try to swim their canoes and pack ashore for over 1.5 hours...three had life jackets on now, but pack rider did not. We knew we couldn't help them...another canoe out there would have meant two more people swimming. They finally all made it to shore...pack rider was a skinny/wiry 16 year old who was suffering from beginning hypothermia. We put him on a warm rock, got his shirt off, and made him drink some hot chocolate. His father, the leader, was so hyped about the event he and the other men couldn't seem to understand the kid was in trouble. They had seen people walking their cnoes along Nina-Moose Lake, but said "Let's go for it!" and when they reached Agnes, with NO LIFEJACKETS ON, tried it again. The kid recovered, they found the lost canoe, and only lost one pack with a tent and sleeping bags. For over an hour I thought we would watch somebody drown and be helpless to save them, and I am just amazed at their stupidity.
The rest of our trip was fairly uneventful...took a great campsite in Tiger Bay on Saturday, daytripped about 20 miles on Sunday, seeing Iron Lake, very muddy Bottle Portage, lunching at Curtain Falls, and seeing the pictographs in the evening, after a swim and dinner. Fishermen at the falls told us of catching a 28" and a 30" walleye that morning, just below the main drop. They took pics and released them.
Our last night we camped on the poison ivy campsite on Nina-Moose...from the north, the first campsite on the east. Tent sites for five tents, poor landing, lots of erosion, lots of poison ivy, two resident deer, and no longer an eagle nest tree in back. And it rained off and on from 2:30 to into the dark. Next day, 2 hours and 15 minutes from camp to the parking lot.
Several general points: Water levels high on Moose River, but low coming over Curtain falls. Campsites were available on Iron and in Tiger Bay...not too crowded yet. Every member of the group portaged a canoe at least once, and one young woman took one nonstop on the 160 rod. The pictographs seem even more faded. And the one otter we saw did not put on a show. It is still a thrill to see someone enjoy the BW for the first time.