Days 3-5 Vista Lake Challenging Site Day 3-4-5 Vista Lake-Challenging Site We headed over the short portage from Caribou to Horseshoe Lake with no problem. BUT on the Vista Lake end of things it was another story. It was very difficult to load the boat due to huge boulders. My husband had to carefully balance himself with bags and navigate the slippery rocks. I sat in the boat trying to keep it in one place while he walked in the water and loaded the bags in canoe. The paddle on Horse Lake was lovely-more like a river. Lots of white lilies. We passed a family eating lunch and they told us they hoped we would get the good site on Vista. Well, we didn’t. We ended up at the site that is very high up on the hill on the right side as you head towards Winchell Lake. We had to unload with more large slippery rocks. Then we had to lift the bags up and over a fallen tree and then carry them up a very steep incline. It was very treacherous for us but a good workout. Luckily we had no injuries. The site was very nice once you got to it but it was difficult to get water. Also, we had a vole problem so we ended up hanging all of our packs. There was a cliff that we sat on and overlooked a small island and boulder emerged which was great swimming spot. There was a tremendous thunderstorm as soon as we got our tent up. We had a weather radio that warned us of winds up to 70 mph! We had 2 nights of terrifying thunderstorms. We found a much better place to dock the canoe and unload -after the fact. The spot is not noticeable unless you new what to look for. So as you approach the site keep looking on the right side for a very tiny opening that a canoe could barely fit through. It is lake level-no rocks nearby. It is across from the island. I have posted a youtube video. BWCA Vista Lake Challenging site. LOL.