BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
August 12 2025
Entry Point 23 - Mudro Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 5
Elevation: 1166 feet
Latitude: 48.0356
Longitude: -91.8301
On the Water- Monday July 20th-
On the water late considering how far we need to go today. Up the Horse river to the falls by 6pm. Started raining and NO campsites available. Mudrow-Alruss-Tin can Mike-Horse Lake-Horse River-Basswood. 13 miles by water. (not counting portages)
Tuesday July 21st-
Rain all night, all morning and all day. Went north by petroglyphs, table rock and the the Crocked Lake Narrows across Thursday bay to campsite. Basswood-Crooked Lake-Wednesday Bay-Thursday Bay. 11 miles in the rain.
Wednesday July 22nd-
Up early and calm winds to take advantage of, considering the big water we have to cross. Found beaver dam to lift over and did a portage from hell between Pandos lake and Chippewa Lake. VERY steep and slippery after rain. Many mud holes. Then the mile portage after Wagosh Lake to Gun Lake. Never saw another soul in a canoe or campsite the entire day! Thursday bay-Friday Bay-Pandos Lake-Chippewa Lake-Wagosh lake-Gun Lake. 11 miles by water.
Thursday July 23rd-
Finally had a dry night. got everything dry!!! A few portages today to Fourtown Lake campsite. Easy day by comparison. Gun Lake-Fairy Lake-Boot Lake-Fourtown Lake. 6 miles. Put the long miles at the first of the week for a buffer for contingencies!
Friday July 24th-
Last day. Stormed last night bad. A few portages today with one bad one between Fourtown Lake and Mudrow lake. To entry point by 1pm. Ready for a hot shower! 4 miles
Total-
45 miles by water
13 miles by portage (3 trips each)
58 miles total.
Fishing Trip To The Boundary Waters
Entry Date:
September 07, 2020
Entry Point:
Homer Lake
Number of Days:
3
Group Size:
4
The full day by day report is on my website.
Lessons Learned
Things To Do Differently
Use the hatchet safely.
Holding the round to be split with a stick is the safe way. Another safe way would be to use the hatchet as a splitting maul. Instead of swinging the hatchet, the head is placed on the round to be split. Then the head of the hatchet is struck with a log.
Leave Wool Blanket At Home
We packed in an old USGI surplus wool blanket. These blankets will add extra warmth. However, my sons moved around so much at night that by the morning the blanket was on the floor of the tent next to them instead of covering them. It was not worth its weight to pack in.
No More Wet Footing in September
I wet footed on my previous September trip. I wet footed on this trip. The water temp was fine for wading and wet footing. However, on the second day when the air temp was in the 40s, I found myself trying to keep my feet dry. I would bring muck boots or hip waders if I go in September again.
Things That Went Well
Bagels and Cream Cheese
I brought bagels and cream cheese. This was a nice change of pace from oatmeal. I froze the bagels and packed them in a soft sided cooler. I tried to make block ice out of plastic bottles of 100% juice. However, this ice was the first that melted. Ultimately, I didn’t need to worry about the cream cheese going off though because of the cold temps.
Mac and Cheese
The four cheese variety of Bear Creek mac and cheese worked well. It is a just add water side dish. We had tried it once before our trip. It tasted pretty good and was eaten without leaving any leftovers. I can’t speak to other varieties, they seem to have bad reviews and I haven’t tried them.
Night Crawlers
Night crawlers are a viable plan B. We were able to catch small mouth bass, walleye and northern pike using night crawlers under a slip bobber.
Removable Portage Yoke
My oldest son was able to portage his own canoe on this trip. The clamp on portage yoke from North Star Canoe did its job.
Wool Gloves
We brought wool gloves to keep our hands warm. They served us well.
Puffy Throw Blanket
On the two coldest nights, I used a down puffy blanket (from Costco) for added warmth. I think I would have been warm enough in my 20 degree bag but the extra blanket kept me toasty warm.~Homer Lake, Vern Lake