Boundary Waters Trip Reports, Blog, BWCA, BWCAW, Quetico Park

BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog

March 28 2024

Entry Point 1 - Trout Lake

Trout Lake entry point allows overnight paddle or motor (25 HP max). This entry point is supported by La Croix Ranger Station near the city of Cook, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 30 miles. Access from LakeVermilion via 60-rod canoe portage or 180-rod portage that allows the use of portage wheels. This area was affected by blowdown in 1999.

Number of Permits per Day: 12
Elevation: 1381 feet
Latitude: 47.9144
Longitude: -92.3220
Trout Lake - 1

Mudro to Horse

by Mad_Angler
Trip Report

Entry Date: June 20, 2007
Entry Point: Mudro Lake
Number of Days: 4
Group Size: 6

Trip Introduction:
This was introductory trip for 6 guys who had not been to the Bournday Waters before. It was a great trip. A good time was had by all

Day 1 of 4


Wednesday, June 20, 2007:

Day 0: Drive from Minneapolis to Ely:

This was our first trip. Stickman from Minneapolis arranged the trip…

We met at Stickman’s work on Thursday, loaded all our stuff in his minivan and headed north. We left around 1pm. It was good to be on the road. We felt somewhat less manly by taking the minivan but it sure was comfortable. There was plenty of space for everyone and their gear. Most of the group only knew Stickman. So we got acquainted on ride up.

We stopped for Mexican food and leaches in Cloquet and continued on.

We arrived at Jordan’s Outfitters around 8pm. This was a fully outfitted trip so we just had to worry about our clothes, fishing stuff, and accessories. We organized our stuff, watched the video, and got a trip preview by Doug Jordan. We settled into the bunkhouse and ate fresh, homemade salsa and chips. We eventually got to sleep.

 



Day 2 of 4


Friday, June 22, 2007:

Day 1: Start at Jordan’s Outfitters and end at Horse Lake camp site:

We woke around 7am and had a great pancake breakfast with Jordan's secret pancake recipe. Then, we piled into Jordan’s vans and headed to EP23.

We arrived at the EP and unloaded our stuff. As the Jordan van pulled away, we realized that we alone in the woods and the trip really was going to happen.

The portage to the entry was easy. We loaded the canoes and pushed off. The paddle down the river was exactly what I expected of the BW: The water was cool, the air was fresh, and the paddling was easy. When the creek opened into Mudro, the feeling continued.

We paddled lazily across Mudro. We found the portage and made the portage to Sandpit Lake. The portage was a tough one to be our first one. It was short but included a pretty good climb and had several ankle-turning rocks.

Once in Sandpit, we decided to fish a bit. Stickman caught the first fish. He doesn’t fish and said something about blind squirrels and acorns. It turned out to be the only fish he caught during the entire trip.

We fished Sandpit for about an hour. We caught several nice smallmouth and largemouth bass. The most successful rig was leaches under slip bobbers.

We started to get concerned about finding a camp site on Horse so we wrapped things up and found the portage. This portage was long but wide with a boardwalk at Tin Can Mike. We paddled quickly across Tin Can Mike, found the next portage, and made our way to Horse.

The first few sites on Horse were full and we were starting to get concerned. We made our way across the lake. We were hoping the island site on the north end of Horse. We assumed it would be full too. We kept checking with binoculars and could not see any signs of tents. So we paddled on. We made it to the camp site and found it vacant. We were pretty excited since it seemed to be a perfect site: away from crowds, open with a nice breeze to control bugs, a nice rock “beach”, several good tent sites, etc.

We settled in. We set up camp, pumped water, fished a bit, and relaxed. It was great to be in the woods….

We had a nice swim off our rock beach and put on dry clothes. The water was perfect: clear and not to warm, not too cold.

We had steak for dinner that night. They were cooked right on the grate and tasted great.

After a few Maker’s Marks and BW water, we called it a night…

 



Day 3 of 4


Thursday, June 21, 2007: Day 2: Horse Lake camp site:

We woke fairly early. Breakfast was Jordan’s pancakes, bacon, and coffee. It all tasted great.

Today was dedicated to fishing. We started exploring around camp and caught a few fish.  We went back to camp and had a quick lunch.

Then, we worked our way all around Horse. We caught a few fish but nothing too exciting. After fishing the south end, we decided to troll back to camp. We already had enough fish for dinner.

As we were trolling north, we cut between a small island and the west shore. I snagged a log with my trolling rapalla. The lure would not move at all; the drag just screamed as the canoe slowed down. Eventually, the “log” started to fight. As it pulled, I quickly realized that it was the biggest fish I had ever fought. After about 15 minutes, we saw a very large pike near the boat. I panicked and grabbed the pike by eyes and hoisted it into the boat. It was huge. It turned out to be about 39 inches. We tried to revive the fish but he just kept floating. So we released a few other fish from the stringer that we still very alive and decided to keep the pike for dinner. I felt bad about killing such a nice, big fish but at least it wasn’t going to waste.

We had another nice swim off our rock beach and put on dry clothes. It felt good to wash of some of the bug spray and be sorta clean. The water was perfect again.

We had a massive fish fry this night. Everyone had their fill and then some.

After cleaning up camp, we relaxed around the fire. We finished the Maker’s mark, 151 rum, and a few cigars.

Eventually, we called it a night.

 



Day 4 of 4


Saturday, June 23, 2007:

Day 3: Horse Lake camp site and back to Jordan’s and then to Minneapolis:

We had breakfast of dehydrated western omelet. We were warned that the omelet might not be good. So we all had low expectations. It turned out to be quite good.

We took down camp, packed up, cleaned up, took a few pictures, and headed home.

The paddle down horse was a little harder than earlier. The wind was against us and the canoes were loaded again.

The portages to Fourtown were interesting. Two were mild rapids. We pushed the canoes up the rapids. The rocks were quite slippery and our efforts would have been a contender on America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Once in Fourtown, we decided to fish and explore a bit. We didn’t catch anything.

We stopped on a nice rock point and had summer sausage and cheese sandwiches. They tasted especially good…

The portages from Fourtown to Mudro were challenging. There were a few other groups making the trek so that added a bit to the difficulty. But the hills and distances would have made the portages challenging anyway.

We arrived at Mudro and had some time before Jordan’s was expected to pick us up. We relaxed and fished a bit. There was large bald eagle that watched us.

Eventually, we had to call it quits and make the paddle back up the creek to the entry point.

Jordan’s arrived right on time and brought cold sodas in their coolers. The gear was quickly loaded and we were back on the road.

There was some miscommunication about the lodging that night. So we took a shower at Jordan’s and started the drive back to Minneapolis.

We stopped in Cloquet for a beer and burgers. They tasted great.

We arrived at Stickman’s house around 9pm.

Summary:

It was a great trip. The goal was to learn a bit about the Boundary Waters and relax. Those goals were certainly accomplished.

The group was good. We had 6 guys who didn’t really know each other. The group gelled well and there were no issues.

The fishing was good for our first time.

 


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