BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
September 28 2024
Entry Point 77 - South Hegman Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 1.5 (varies by day)
Elevation: 1282 feet
Latitude: 48.0336
Longitude: -91.9250
South Hegman Lake - 77
Crab Lake
Entry Date:
May 25, 2006
Entry Point:
Crab Lake and Cummings from Burntside Lake
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
4
We again had a gorgeous morning to start out paddling. It was knowing we were heading out that gave us freedom dawdle so we took some time and explored the island at EP 32 and found a couple of duck families out for a swim which was fun to watch.
I took as much as I could carry on the final portage dropped it off in the parking area and proceeded on a hike to EP 33 to retrieve the van and trailer while the rest finished the portage. When I got back my crew was chatting with a gentleman and some kids that had just come out from the island campsite on Clear Lake. He was really disgusted over how busy the area had become. I heard he’d been coming to the area for almost 20 years and this was the busiest he’d ever seen it.
Our 2010 trip will take us farther into the interior from a more distant EP. However we again had a wonderful river trip in the BW, enjoyed mostly warm and sunny skies, and were making plans to return on the drive home.
The end. 
This was our layover day so we decided on some fishing and a day trip over to Coxey Pond to see if we could find any of the remnants of the old sawmill that used to be between Coxey Pond and Silaca Lake. Upon reaching the 30 rod portage from Cummings to Korb, Brandon and Drew did some fishing and Brandon came up with a nice sized smallmouth where the Korb empties into Cummings. We then headed up the Korb River and over toward Silaca Lake. We came across the beginnings of a beaver damn pretty quick, then had another liftover about a 1/2 toward the 160 rod portage. After quickly coming to another liftover with a beaver damn in sight behind it, we decided to bag the day trip and head back to Cummings for some more fishing. Drew and Brandon tried their fishing spot again and Jet and I went out to filter some water. After numerous attempts to figure out why the filter was being so slow, Jet finally fixed it and we were once again filtering water with ease. Unfortunately, Jet removed the casing from the filter and went to clean it off in the lake and proceeded to drop it and we watched as it quickly sank to the bottom of the lake. Luckily, I had tablets so we decided on boiling water and using tablets as our methods of cleaning the water. The highlight of the afternoon was making Jet go fill a big pot up with water paddling alone. After realizing he didn't know how to turn the canoe around, we got to watch him curse and finally land the canoe on the back side of the island after finally landing on some rocks. We got in the water a bit, then enjoyed some pasta and tomato sauce for dinner. Fishing and whiskey ended the second night. 
We had our sights set toward camping on Maxine Lake for our last night but were unable to locate the turnoff on the Korb River to take us over toward Maxine. We then decided to move to Crab Lake and paddle toward the closest campsite to Crab Creek which would be our exit the following day. The first two sites we passed on Crab were full so we were hoping our site would be open. It was but the campsite left a lot to be desired. There were no good tent pads, no good landing, and the entire site was on the side of a hill. One cool thing though was a chair that someone had built with logs and rocks that offered a nice westerly view of Crab Lake.
We rested for the afternoon, then made rice and baked beans for dinner while tuning into the Twins game. After dinner we headed down to the lake to fish a bit and continue listening to the Twins. We caught a couple fish and the group got to enjoy me trying to get a lure out of a branch over water while I was standing in the canoe. Without anymore whiskey to drink, we were forced to eat the rest of the bag of marshmallows and play a game of Uno before bed. 
We got up around 7 and were on the water by 8. No one was excited to take the mile portage back to Burntside so we had decided to try Crab Creek as our exit. I checked with the Forest Station before our trip and was told that water levels were high enough for travel on Crab Creek. I had told our group that I had read on the forum that there were a couple portages along the way but that I didn't know how long or how many over obstacles we would come across. Up until now, everything had gone smoothly, nothing real unexpected, but we were about to get our adventure for the trip on the way out.
Right away, we hit some downed trees that we have to carry around, which was then followed by some more logs that we had to pull the canoe over. Then we had some decent paddling down the creek until we hit about a quarter mile area with five or six liftovers and beaver damns. Meanwhile, we were listening to thunder to our north and south and the clouds seemed to be bearing down on us. We finally got to a portage and it started raining for a bit. We took one trip with the packs down the portage to see how long it was and what was at the other end. Greeting us at the end of the portage was a large muddy area with some fresh bear tracks through it. After trudging through the mud and seeing that the creek did continue, we headed back up the 70-90 rod portage and got the canoes. For the next half mile or so Crab Creek was curve after curve back and forth until we reached a second portage which we decided to single trip. This portage was shorter than the first, 40-60 rods, but the landing was incredibly muddy. Wondering if we would ever come to Burntside, we put back in the water and paddled through some more curves until we started seeing lighting and Drew made us get off the water. We pulled into a muddy area and got out and headed into some trees for about 20 minutes as lightning passed through the area. Back on the water, we came to another liftover but our morale was rising because we were pretty sure we were closing in on Burntside. Then we rounded a corner and the lake was visible past another little liftover. We all cheered but then we realized that there was heavy wind on Burntside. It took us about an hour of intense paddling to get back to the public access and we were exhausted. The creek probably took about 2.5 hours to complete and while now the experience was worth it, if I go back to Crab Lake, I will take the portage every time.
To finish the experience, we headed to the Ely Steakhouse after dropping our canoe back off at VNorth and had some burgers and beer. Overall, the trip was great and we couldn't have gotten much better weather in May. Looking forward to a longer trip in July. 
