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March 19 2024

Entry Point 20 - Angleworm Lake

Angleworm Lake entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Kawishiwi Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 18 miles. Access is a 640-rod portage to Angleworm Lake.

Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1260 feet
Latitude: 48.0659
Longitude: -91.9303
Angleworm Lake - 20

Spring Creek - LLC - Moose River

by Porkeater
Trip Report

Entry Date: June 25, 2017
Entry Point: Angleworm Lake
Exit Point: Moose/Portage River (north) (16)
Number of Days: 8
Group Size: 4

Trip Introduction:
My daughter just graduated high school, so we decided to take a trip with her friend as well as my younger daughter (and our dog Rosie). They wanted to experience wilderness and not see a lot of people, so we chose Angleworm as an entry point and thought we would try taking Spring Creek down to Sunday Lake in the Sundial PMA. The theme of this trip was rain. It rained at some point on every day, including 28 hours straight. We dubbed the trip "Les femmes du Nord et un vieux gars."

Day 1 of 8


Sunday, June 25, 2017

We left our home in Iowa early on a beautiful Sunday morning. By the time we reached Black River Falls, it began to rain. Little did we know how indicative this would be of the weather for the week.

It was still raining when we reached Ely and checked into the bunkhouse at VNO. After dinner at Dairy Queen and double checking our gear, we turned in early.

 



Day 2 of 8


Monday, June 26, 2017 We met our van driver, John, from VNO at 6:30 first drove our vehicle to the Moose River North parking area, as this would be our exit point. He then dropped us off at the Angleworm EP. The compliment I paid John along the drive was that he did not drive like an outfitter, meaning our heads did not bounce off the roof of the van once during the drive. He was also kind enough to take our picture before leaving.

We only had to do roughly half of the two mile portage, as our plan was to put in at Spring Creek. The portage was mostly flat, but quite wet from the recent rains. We then loaded the canoes from the boardwalk over the creek. The trip down Spring Creek was quite challenging. It didn't appear that anyone had been down it for some time, as we had to clear downed brush in several spots. It is also a constant maze of oxbows, so the the roughly six mile straight line trip is probably double that in actual distance paddled. There are also beaver dams to lift over and rapids that must be lined.

Shortly before lunch, we spotted a thunderstorm approaching. We got off the water at one of the few spots along the way where solid shoreline is accessible (thanks to one of the largest beaver dams I have seen). About halfway down, after another small creek joins from the west, it opens up and straightens out a bit. This continued until the Beartrap river joins, and it is truly navigable. The portage around the second set of rapids, shortly before Sunday Lake, was under ankle deep water much of the way.

We made it to Sunday Lake just before sunset, and set up camp at a very nice spot on the east side of the lake. Although the woman who issued our PMA permission stressed that we should try to camp at places that had not previously been used, it was clear that there are really only two spots on the lake that are practical for camping. As a result, there was a rock fire pit and log furniture already there. The only way to tell that this was not a regular site outside of a PMA was the absence of a firegrate and latrine.

~Spring Creek ~Sunday Lake

 



Day 3 of 8


Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Misty morning on Sunday Lake:

The girls were still tired from the long day yesterday, so we took our time with breakfast and didn't leave camp until about 9:00. Our goal for the day is Iron Lake. The portages along the Beartrap river don't appear to get much use. The east end is still in the PMA, so they don't get much maintenance. Many large deadfalls to climb over during the day. The last 110 rod portage before Peterson Bay also had some calf-deep mud to contend with.

We reached Iron Lake about 3:00 in the afternoon. The first campsite, directly across the opening from Peterson Bay, was taken. This was the first sign we had seen of other users since we put in. We would not actually see anyone until Thursday on LLC. We ended up at a site in the southwest corner of the lake in a small bay. It was a nice site for our size group but would have been crowded with many more. We also later discovered it had a healthy population of ticks. ~Sunday Lake, Beartrap River, Iron Lake

 



Day 4 of 8


Wednesday, June 28, 2017 This was our planned layover on Iron. After a breakfast of pancakes and sausage, we tried fishing the area. Fishing was quite good, with several nice smallmouth, a keeper walleye, and a decent northern. (sorry, can't figure out how to fix the orientation)

Unfortunately, about 2 pm, it started raining. We thought we would go in the tent for a while, and then go out fishing again. But it kept raining. ..... For 28 hours straight. By 8 pm, it had slowed to a drizzle, so we ventured out to cook our fish dinner with the walleye and northern.

~Iron Lake

 



Day 5 of 8


Thursday, June 29, 2017

We awoke to a steady drizzle, but decided that traveling in the drizzle would not be any more unpleasant than spending it in camp, so we set off for Lac LaCroix. By now, the girls were getting quite efficient at paddling and portaging, so we covered the trip quickly. The only setback was trying to find the last portage from the beaver pond to Iron. It's hidden over a beaver dam, and I didn't remember that from my last trip though that area several years ago.

Once on LLC, we saw several groups paddling. These were the first actual other people we had seen since Monday morning. We camped at a beautiful site on Tiger Bay. Had some time to fish, but not nearly as much luck as on Iron.

~Iron Lake, Lac La Croix

 



Day 6 of 8


Friday, June 30, 2017

On our last full day, we continued to improve in efficiency, both packing up camp and on the water. We did the Boulder Bay portage in no time. This was the first time we encountered traffic on a portage. The girls thought we would never make it across Agnes, but actually did it in well under an hour.

We were going to stop at the south end of Agnes for lunch, but all the campsites were full, so we pressed on. In the mouth of the Moose River, we met a man from Georgia on a trip with his 13 year old son. I feel bad that I forgot his name, as we shadowed each other for the rest of the trip. We were both concerned, because the Agnes campsites were full, that we would have the same problem on Nina-Moose. And of course in started to rain on that stretch of the Moose River.

The first 160 rod portage along the rapids has what must be the most beautiful view along a portage in the park, as most of it is within view of the long stretch of rapids. It was also the first portage we encountered that did not have any significant mud holes. When we we arrived at Nina-Moose, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that we and the Georgia gentlemen were the only ones who would be camping on the lake for the night. And of course it rained again, which led to this beautiful rainbow. Our campsite is in the middle of the rainbow; our neighbors were kind enough to share the photo when we reached the parking lot on Saturday.

~Lac La Croix, Agnes, Lake, Nina Moose Lake

 



Day 7 of 8


Saturday, July 01, 2017 Our last morning produced our earliest departure from a campsite, and orr most efficient traveling. We made it from the campsite to completing the last portage in 2:45. I really wish we could have had a couple more days in the good weather that followed, as the girls were really becoming experienced trippers at this point. On the way out, we were able to count the six parties who would be entering EP 16 for the day. This included one large group that had to be two permits, because they had 8 matching aluminum canoes. I'm not sure where they were from, but it was a youth group with many of them being French speakers. They needed some instruction on the rules that don't allow parties to travel together, as they totally obstructed one of the portages for a good 20 minutes.

On the last portage, we had several free hands and help the Georgia crew with some of their gear. They were also staying at VNO, and we'd have another opportunity to wish them well later before departure.

Spent the afternoon cleaning up, visiting the wolf center, souvenir shopping, and pizza at Sir G's.

 



Day 8 of 8


Sunday, July 02, 2017 We packed up and left the bunkhouse at VNO bright and early by 6:30. Thanks to John and Lynn for their wonderful hospitality and assistance!

We stopped at Gooseberry Falls on the way home.

Other than the weather, and mosquitos to a lesser degree, everyone enjoyed the trip. We were talking about another trip on the way home, so I hope to do that in the not too distant future. Might pick an easier first day next time, though!

 


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