Paddling Pageant and the Sioux Hustler portage
by Benutzer
Trip Type:
Paddling Kayak
Entry Date:
08/22/2006
Entry Point:
Moose/Portage River (north) (EP 16)
Exit Point:
Little Indian Sioux River (north) (EP 14)
Number of Days:
10
Group Size:
2
Part 5 of 14
Day 2 Wednesday August 23, 2006 77 high/46 low
Lac La Croix, Iron Lake
The hammocks turned out to be a nice choice, as I opened my eyes to a beautiful sunrise the next morning, right in front of me. I also got an ear full from the red squirrel who was busily harvesting from the cedar trees around us and must have been worried that we wanted some too. He seemed pretty annoyed that we were in HIS trees and made sure to comment about it on a regular basis.
After a breakfast of oatmeal, we got a late start (9:00) and headed across to Bottle Portage after seeing that there was no way around it with the water as low as it was. Thought maybe with the kayaks we could sneak through, but no such luck. We saw a marker for the International border, and ran across some folks who had come over from Crane Lake and were following the border route. They did 1/3 of it last years and were looking to do another 1/3 this year. We also saw a bald eagle for the first time on our way over towards Rebecca Falls. Didn't really get much of a view from the top, so we portaged around to see them from the bottom. Just as we got there, we saw a guy on shore catch what appeared from a distance to be a 12-14" walleye.
We portaged back over to the American side and grabbed a quick lunch of foil packed tuna on tortillas and some jerky before we headed towards Curtain Falls. Saw some otters playing around an island on the way, but they disappeared pretty quick when they spotted us.
I kept teasing Jeremy every time we came across a small set of rapids saying, "Well, there's Curtain Falls, what do you think?", and then laughing and working our way further upstream, lifting over when necessary (not often). We rounded the last corner though, and Jeremy's eyes about popped when he saw them. The level was low, but it was still quite impressive. It evidently didn't spoil his wilderness experience to find a couple of pretty girls in bikinis sunbathing on the top of the falls either.
By the time we got back, it was getting close to suppertime so we put off more sightseeing until the next day. Chicken Teriyaki with Rice and a bit more gorp was dinner, and we sipped some hot cocoa afterwards while we enjoyed listening to the loons.
Lac La Croix, Iron Lake
The hammocks turned out to be a nice choice, as I opened my eyes to a beautiful sunrise the next morning, right in front of me. I also got an ear full from the red squirrel who was busily harvesting from the cedar trees around us and must have been worried that we wanted some too. He seemed pretty annoyed that we were in HIS trees and made sure to comment about it on a regular basis.
After a breakfast of oatmeal, we got a late start (9:00) and headed across to Bottle Portage after seeing that there was no way around it with the water as low as it was. Thought maybe with the kayaks we could sneak through, but no such luck. We saw a marker for the International border, and ran across some folks who had come over from Crane Lake and were following the border route. They did 1/3 of it last years and were looking to do another 1/3 this year. We also saw a bald eagle for the first time on our way over towards Rebecca Falls. Didn't really get much of a view from the top, so we portaged around to see them from the bottom. Just as we got there, we saw a guy on shore catch what appeared from a distance to be a 12-14" walleye.
We portaged back over to the American side and grabbed a quick lunch of foil packed tuna on tortillas and some jerky before we headed towards Curtain Falls. Saw some otters playing around an island on the way, but they disappeared pretty quick when they spotted us.
I kept teasing Jeremy every time we came across a small set of rapids saying, "Well, there's Curtain Falls, what do you think?", and then laughing and working our way further upstream, lifting over when necessary (not often). We rounded the last corner though, and Jeremy's eyes about popped when he saw them. The level was low, but it was still quite impressive. It evidently didn't spoil his wilderness experience to find a couple of pretty girls in bikinis sunbathing on the top of the falls either.
By the time we got back, it was getting close to suppertime so we put off more sightseeing until the next day. Chicken Teriyaki with Rice and a bit more gorp was dinner, and we sipped some hot cocoa afterwards while we enjoyed listening to the loons.
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