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 6 of 14
Day 3 Thursday August 24, 2006 70 high/54 low
Lac La Croix, Pocket Creek, Ge-be-on-e-quet Creek, Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake, Charm Lake
Got up to a breakfast of grits and to our surprise we heard wolves howling. We didn't realize there were any in this particular area, and we had expected to hear them in the evening more than in the morning, but it was pretty cool to hear them.
It had been a bit windy the day before, but the wind had picked up a fair amount since. We got a late start (again) and headed off to see Warrior Hill. Saw a towboat on the way and I was glad he saw us because he was really moving.
I'd have loved to see the Indians racing up that hill. We climbed up to the top much more quickly than I expected to though. The view from up there is tremendous. We were wondering about the rocks placed up there and whether they were a recent addition or if they'd been up there for centuries. There were a couple of pretty large stones. I'd hate to have been the guy who had to carry those up there.
Off to see the pictos and found the one set (east ones) but not the others. It was pretty interesting to see the hand prints and wonder why they were placed there. And there was one hand print well above the others. Was that an extra tall Indian, or was it the chief or best warrior? Maybe one with a sense of humor, placing it that high just to make people wonder about it centuries after he was gone. All of the pictos were cool, but I think it was the handprints that I was most intrigued with. There's definitely something personal about seeing a handprint that looked like one you could have put there the day before, and it was rather surreal to realize it's been there for centuries. We finally gave up trying to find the western set and headed northwest through Fish Stakes Narrows where we stopped for lunch (tuna and tortillas again). Finally we were paddling with the wind on this day instead of against it. It had been coming from the north and east which I found odd, and had remained pretty strong for the past couple of days.
Got to Pocket Creek and did a carryover at the 25 rod portage. Ran into a group of folks from Seattle. One of the canoes was a stripper which I always enjoy seeing, and the pretty young lady in it said that her uncle who was a bit further ahead had made it. We ran into them and their dog Ginger a few times during that day (and the next) as we headed up Pocket and Gebe Creeks.
Gebe is a beautiful lake and had very nice looking water, but we elected to push on past the site with the recliners and bushwhack into Charm for our first PMA camp.
We followed the creek a short way until it got too boggy for us to continue, and then scouted on foot for a way into Charm. We had to work our way to more solid ground, dragging the boats through the grass fairly far, and then followed a moose path most of the rest of the way. It wasn't overly difficult, but took some time. Once we crossed a beaver dam, we were in Charm which is a pretty little lake. We spent quite a while looking for a campsite, however very few places looked inviting. Mostly because nobody had been in here to use some of the downed wood for firewood I suppose. There were a LOT of downed trees and swampy areas around the edges of the lake. We ended up picking a point and then erecting the tarp fairly high up between two trees, and then slung the hammocks bunk bed style beneath it.
We had dinner of lasagna, then tried our hands fishing. Jeremy caught a 17-18" pike on his first cast with a Mepps spinner, then a 19" one on the 3rd cast after that. Three more casts and he had caught his third which was an 18 incher. By that time, I put the camera down and had to try a few casts myself before he caught all the fish in the lake. I caught a 17 incher on my 3rd cast. That was it for the day but we were pretty happy. The 19" one that Jeremy had caught was the biggest fish he'd ever caught in his life, so he was pretty tickled.
Our fuel cannister finally burned out while running the lantern, but that didn't seem to be a problem as we were heading to bed. Little did we know that we were in for a nasty surprise. One of the trees that we'd tied the tarp and the hammocks to had a split in it, and wouldn't hold the weight of both of us. I'd gotten into my hammock, and when Jeremy started getting in his, the tree leaned sharply over (scaring the bejeezus out of me!). With the wind whipping around the way it was, and threatening to get worse (smelled like rain), we had no desire to have the tree blown the rest of the way down on us. Since it was pitch black (new fuel cannisters in the bottom of the gear bag), getting very late, and since we hadn't been able to find a better place in the light, we just laid the hammocks on the ground uphill (and upwind) from the tree with a sleeping pad and bag and slept there. The ground wasn't level and we had to scoot ourselves up a few times during the night, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Lac La Croix, Pocket Creek, Ge-be-on-e-quet Creek, Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake, Charm Lake
Got up to a breakfast of grits and to our surprise we heard wolves howling. We didn't realize there were any in this particular area, and we had expected to hear them in the evening more than in the morning, but it was pretty cool to hear them.
It had been a bit windy the day before, but the wind had picked up a fair amount since. We got a late start (again) and headed off to see Warrior Hill. Saw a towboat on the way and I was glad he saw us because he was really moving.
I'd have loved to see the Indians racing up that hill. We climbed up to the top much more quickly than I expected to though. The view from up there is tremendous. We were wondering about the rocks placed up there and whether they were a recent addition or if they'd been up there for centuries. There were a couple of pretty large stones. I'd hate to have been the guy who had to carry those up there.
Off to see the pictos and found the one set (east ones) but not the others. It was pretty interesting to see the hand prints and wonder why they were placed there. And there was one hand print well above the others. Was that an extra tall Indian, or was it the chief or best warrior? Maybe one with a sense of humor, placing it that high just to make people wonder about it centuries after he was gone. All of the pictos were cool, but I think it was the handprints that I was most intrigued with. There's definitely something personal about seeing a handprint that looked like one you could have put there the day before, and it was rather surreal to realize it's been there for centuries. We finally gave up trying to find the western set and headed northwest through Fish Stakes Narrows where we stopped for lunch (tuna and tortillas again). Finally we were paddling with the wind on this day instead of against it. It had been coming from the north and east which I found odd, and had remained pretty strong for the past couple of days.
Got to Pocket Creek and did a carryover at the 25 rod portage. Ran into a group of folks from Seattle. One of the canoes was a stripper which I always enjoy seeing, and the pretty young lady in it said that her uncle who was a bit further ahead had made it. We ran into them and their dog Ginger a few times during that day (and the next) as we headed up Pocket and Gebe Creeks.
Gebe is a beautiful lake and had very nice looking water, but we elected to push on past the site with the recliners and bushwhack into Charm for our first PMA camp.
We followed the creek a short way until it got too boggy for us to continue, and then scouted on foot for a way into Charm. We had to work our way to more solid ground, dragging the boats through the grass fairly far, and then followed a moose path most of the rest of the way. It wasn't overly difficult, but took some time. Once we crossed a beaver dam, we were in Charm which is a pretty little lake. We spent quite a while looking for a campsite, however very few places looked inviting. Mostly because nobody had been in here to use some of the downed wood for firewood I suppose. There were a LOT of downed trees and swampy areas around the edges of the lake. We ended up picking a point and then erecting the tarp fairly high up between two trees, and then slung the hammocks bunk bed style beneath it.
We had dinner of lasagna, then tried our hands fishing. Jeremy caught a 17-18" pike on his first cast with a Mepps spinner, then a 19" one on the 3rd cast after that. Three more casts and he had caught his third which was an 18 incher. By that time, I put the camera down and had to try a few casts myself before he caught all the fish in the lake. I caught a 17 incher on my 3rd cast. That was it for the day but we were pretty happy. The 19" one that Jeremy had caught was the biggest fish he'd ever caught in his life, so he was pretty tickled.
Our fuel cannister finally burned out while running the lantern, but that didn't seem to be a problem as we were heading to bed. Little did we know that we were in for a nasty surprise. One of the trees that we'd tied the tarp and the hammocks to had a split in it, and wouldn't hold the weight of both of us. I'd gotten into my hammock, and when Jeremy started getting in his, the tree leaned sharply over (scaring the bejeezus out of me!). With the wind whipping around the way it was, and threatening to get worse (smelled like rain), we had no desire to have the tree blown the rest of the way down on us. Since it was pitch black (new fuel cannisters in the bottom of the gear bag), getting very late, and since we hadn't been able to find a better place in the light, we just laid the hammocks on the ground uphill (and upwind) from the tree with a sleeping pad and bag and slept there. The ground wasn't level and we had to scoot ourselves up a few times during the night, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
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