Hey everyone, planning this years trip with my friends. Would like to finally see Curtain falls. We're going the first week of June. I'm considering a base camp on Iron lake coming up through EP 19, but Crooked has been on my bucket list forever, I'm just worried 5 nights wont be enough to an LBF - Thursday (with an extra day trip to Curtain Falls from Friday or so), what do you think on this base camp vs loop idea? A base camp out of Saturday or Friday bay would also be fun, but I'd feel like I missed out not seeing LBF and the Pictos. What do you think? Thanks for your feedback!

Also, we're 20s-30s, have tripped many times, single portage, and pack light. I like the idea of the good and easy fishing in Crooked/Iron.

A more efficient use of your time would be to enter at Moose R North, do a one way through LLC, Iron, Crooked, and exit at Mudro. You’ll need to arrange a shuttle, but the pace will be more relaxing and more time to fish and explore. Also, early June can have unsettled weather which can slow you down.

+1
This is an incredible route

Yep, do 16 to 22/23 or the reverse. If going west to east....one very long day could have you on Iron. Say it takes 2 to get to curtain falls and into Sunday or Sat bays. Another day of just paddling gets you to LBF. Another day out at Mudro. 5 nights means 6 days? I listed 4 travel days, so that leaves 2 for layovers or weather issues or fishing or shorter travel days.

If you want to see the upper falls, take the connoisseurs route out and do the mile long portage with the now-light food pack and paddle down Jackfish Bay and back to Mudro. Great area as long as there isn't a southwest wind that day.

You can do a loop from EP23 and hit both lakes on this route. You'd have to be moving to get it done it 4 nights but I'd consider it doable. This would be my itinerary:
Day 1: Put in early and get as close to Beartrap Lake as you can. Camp on Beartrap, Thunder, or maybe Gull.
Day 2: Take the Beartrap River to Iron. It is PMA so the portages are unmaintained but they are easy enough to find. Camp on Iron.
Day 3: See Curtain Falls on the way to Crooked. Camp wherever on Crooked makes sense.
Day 4: Paddle the rest of the way down Crooked. Camp on the Basswood River above LBF.
Day 5: Return to the entry point by the route of your choice, either Jackfish Bay or the Horse River.

I did this same loop a couple years ago, but we took our time and spread it out over 9 days. It's a really cool area.

I've also done the Moose River North 16 EP to Mudro 23 EP. We like to move every other day & double portage, so we took 11 days to do it a few years ago. I was glad we had that kind of time to get where we were going because in late May/early June we had heavy rain & wind all or part of every day. 2 hail storms. We watched the LBFalls roar without another soul around, but could not linger because it was pouring & we had to move when we could. I enjoyed that route & caught a huge Bass on Iron but we bypassed the pictos & so one day I hope to return. It's an ambitious route for the time you have, I would add a day if at all possible. We stayed on Agnes, LLC, Iron, Crooked x2 & Horse then out.

Don’t shy away from EP 19, it’s beautiful and Stuart River/Lake is awesome. I’ve gone that way to Iron/Crooked twice. The three lakes heading to Iron are nice too, especially Fox. Not for the feeble portager though. Everybody dreads the 460 rod opening portage, but it’s down hill and easy, the portage out of Stuart heading towards Iron is much harder even though it’s shorter. You guys should have no problems judging by your description of everyone’s capabilities. Watch for moose back there, saw lots of sign both times. Wolf sign too. I have a trip report or two out there about it if you’re interested. Have a great trip!

Tony

I would say it is doable to see both. Last summer we went in at Mudro EP22 and camped at Tin Can Mike the first night, due to a late start. I bet we could have camped at Lower Basswood Falls that first night if we had gotten an early start. So we ended up camping at the falls the second night what a beautiful spot! But from LBF we made it to the southern most campsite (#1870) of Friday Bay in 5 hours in not the fastest canoe and not trying to set any records. I think you could get from Mudro to Curtan in 2 or 3 nights. Also going from Mudro we where with the current on the Horse River and Basswood and parts of Crooked.

I went with 2 other guys; we went from Mudro to Big Current area (before Thursday Bay) on Crooked in 6 hrs. 4 packs and a Kevlar. Had lunch at Lower Basswood Falls. It was 4 1/2 to there and 1 1/2 hr of paddling up Crooked.

anthonyp007: "Don’t shy away from EP 19, it’s beautiful and Stuart River/Lake is awesome. I’ve gone that way to Iron/Crooked twice. The three lakes heading to Iron are nice too, especially Fox. Not for the feeble portager though. Everybody dreads the 460 rod opening portage, but it’s down hill and easy, the portage out of Stuart heading towards Iron is much harder even though it’s shorter. You guys should have no problems judging by your description of everyone’s capabilities. Watch for moose back there, saw lots of sign both times. Wolf sign too. I have a trip report or two out there about it if you’re interested. Have a great trip!


Tony"

^ +1---- done this 4 times. Another advantage is no real big water except maybe Stuart. Anthony is right on the port from Stew to Fox-- make sure your ankles are in shape-- they will be after that 320 rooty bas!ard.

Straight north of Friday bay is a pretty good island campsite. We dubbed in county line island for obvious reasons. I remember one early trip going around the said island casting in catching fun fish every cast about. You could easily day trip to Curtain and sneak over to Rebecca falls. Rebecca is of course in Canada so best to have the RABC permit and if you see it in higher water then in low I think you might be disappointed for what the little detour is worth. Mudro to Horse River to crooked and down to Gun and either Moose Camp or the Boot Fairy way and back ain’t bad. One mile portage that is basically level.

I've done a couple of different routes to Iron that have already been mentioned including the Beartrap River. My favorite so far is the Moose R. north entry via Agnes to Iron which is do-able in a day. You could push on to Crooked if you have the energy. Beartrap is fun, worth the effort and every bit the challenge. I've probably entered via Horse River the most however so you'll either be running short rapids (with great caution!) or portaging around them in addition the 3 existing portages on that route before you hit lower basswood falls. It's a very pretty, scenic route and an easy paddle.

I saw Curtain Falls for the first time last June. I went with one buddy, the canine and a tandem canoe with the intention of seeing the falls and doing maximum portaging. Our route started and ended at the Angleworm Trail. Picked up our permit at Piragis at about 7pm day of, drove up to the entry point and hiked all of our gear into Angleworm Lake the first night. The canoe didn't get wet until day 2, when we took it easy and got the site on Beartrap. Day 3 was our biggest day with us traveling the length of the Beartrap river and a bit more. We took the first available site after finishing the Beartrap river which was all the way over by Saturday Bay... and we checked every site on the American side. Day 4 got us to Home for an easy Day 5 back to the car. I would love to do this route again with a couple more days to enjoy it as our trip was as much about the workout as it was the scenery.

The portages on the Beartrap were easily identified and well maintained when we went through. I believe that this route gets far more traffic than most people think.

I was disappointed with the amount of groups that were on Iron and Crooked.
I've read a lot about this area, particularly using the Mudro entry and how popular the sites on Horse, Fourtown and Moosecamp are which is why I chose Angleworm as the entry. Other than on Iron and Crooked we saw relatively few groups going this way. We did not go east or south of Gun.

The Angleworm trail x2 + Gull-Home x2 + Wagosh-Gun x1 adds up to about 2300 rods or approximately 7.2 miles in 5 portages.

Everyone should be afraid of the Angleworm Trail if you're double portaging. It's not difficult, just long, but as long as you guys stay away from it there'll be less people when I go back again. Next time I might finish at Hegman to check out the pictographs and experience the infamous Trease portage.

Z4K: "I saw Curtain Falls for the first time last June. I went with one buddy, the canine and a tandem canoe with the intention of seeing the falls and doing maximum portaging. Our route started and ended at the Angleworm Trail. Picked up our permit at Piragis at about 7pm day of, drove up to the entry point and hiked all of our gear into Angleworm Lake the first night. The canoe didn't get wet until day 2, when we took it easy and got the site on Beartrap. Day 3 was our biggest day with us traveling the length of the Beartrap river and a bit more. We took the first available site after finishing the Beartrap river which was all the way over by Saturday Bay... and we checked every site on the American side. Day 4 got us to Home for an easy Day 5 back to the car. I would love to do this route again with a couple more days to enjoy it as our trip was as much about the workout as it was the scenery.


The portages on the Beartrap were easily identified and well maintained when we went through. I believe that this route gets far more traffic than most people think.


I was disappointed with the amount of groups that were on Iron and Crooked.
I've read a lot about this area, particularly using the Mudro entry and how popular the sites on Horse, Fourtown and Moosecamp are which is why I chose Angleworm as the entry. Other than on Iron and Crooked we saw relatively few groups going this way. We did not go east or south of Gun.


The Angleworm trail x2 + Gull-Home x2 + Wagosh-Gun x1 adds up to about 2300 rods or approximately 7.2 miles in 5 portages.


Everyone should be afraid of the Angleworm Trail if you're double portaging. It's not difficult, just long, but as long as you guys stay away from it there'll be less people when I go back again. Next time I might finish at Hegman to check out the pictographs and experience the infamous Trease portage."

I hear you about lack of sites on Iron last June. We were there the second week of June and every site on the lake was taken, at 11 am. We were just about to head up to Crooked when a site opened up. First time there hasn’t been a site available in the four times I’ve been to Iron. I speculate that the whole BWCA was crowded that week because a lot of people canceled May trips and moved them to June due to the late ice out last year. If I remember right, Ice went out on the big lakes less then a week before opener.

Tony

I was just going to edit/rewrite my post but Tony had already commented so I'll make a new one.

Think about starting at the Angleworm Trail. I like to get up into the area the night before a trip anyway and normally stay at a bunkhouse or a campground so it's easy to be on the water at dawn. By making a late entry at the Angleworm trail, you can not only eliminate the cost of a campground/bunkhouse but also take the challenge out of a two mile portage by isolating it at the end of a day of otherwise driving. We picked up our permit at Piragis at 7pm and were eating steaks at a campsite on Angleworm at dusk. From there you should be able to run the Beartrap and camp on Iron or Crooked on night two. Then you'll be in great shape to take the next 3 or 4 days to see all of the falls and exit at Mudro.

I made sure to check hiking permit sales for a week ahead of our trip so I was positive that one of the three hiking sites at the end of the Angleworm trail would be available.

For those who have done EP 16 Moose River --> EP 23 Mudro through iron/crooked; who did you use for the shuttle?

I was late on the game to permit morning and all the mudro permits were taken for the trip dates I have, so i have a EP 16 permit now.

We have 8 days 7 nights and am not sure if we want to do a in/out route from EP 16 and come out the way we came in. Or if the shuttle is worth it/easy enough to coordinate, do the loop.

Enter at 23 and camp the first night in LBF area. On day 2 move to Friday bay area. The island site at the mouth of Friday and the 2 sites just east of Friday are all good sites. It's a 1.5 to 2 hour paddle to Curtain from the Island site for a day trip on day 3. On day 4 go to Gun and out from there on day 5. My favorite loop but I normally spend 2 nights at each camp.

schwartyman: "For those who have done EP 16 Moose River --> EP 23 Mudro through iron/crooked; who did you use for the shuttle?


I was late on the game to permit morning and all the mudro permits were taken for the trip dates I have, so i have a EP 16 permit now.


We have 8 days 7 nights and am not sure if we want to do a in/out route from EP 16 and come out the way we came in. Or if the shuttle is worth it/easy enough to coordinate, do the loop.




"

Big Moose and Fenske are your closest folks. It helps if you do business with them to get a shuttle lined up but it can't hurt to ask. Going from 16 to 23 is a sweet trip.

Thanks, thats the problem. I'm self outfitted only need a bunkhouse and bait. From the internet what im reading is most the outfitters want a canoe rental in order to shuttle, like you've mentioned.

Time to make some calls and do some schmoozing and see what i can come up with.

schwartyman: "For those who have done EP 16 Moose River --> EP 23 Mudro through iron/crooked; who did you use for the shuttle?

I was late on the game to permit morning and all the mudro permits were taken for the trip dates I have, so i have a EP 16 permit now.

We have 8 days 7 nights and am not sure if we want to do a in/out route from EP 16 and come out the way we came in. Or if the shuttle is worth it/easy enough to coordinate, do the loop. "

With this much time you can to EP16 to EP24.
Day 1 EP16 to LLC.
Day 2 Pictos, Warrior Hill
Day 3 Iron Lake, Curtain (Rebecca if you get RABC), Sunday Bay
Day 4 Sunday to Wednesday
Day 5 Layover
Day 6 Wednesday to LBF, Wheelbarrow, UBF, Basswood Lake
Day 7 Layover
Day 8 Basswood to Pipestone to Newton to EP24

This is a fantastic loop and you'll hit a ton of BWCA landmarks.

After many changes to our itinerary this year we are going to start at Mudro, camp on Horse Lake first night (if open).
Day 2 head to Wheelbarrow Falls via the Horse River into Basswood River. Then turn and head north and see the Lower Basswood Falls and then head up and camp somewhere in the vicinity of Wednesday Bay.
Day 3 head over to a campsite in Friday, Saturday or Sunday Bay. Whichever has a good available site.
Base camp here for two days and do a day trip over to Curtain Falls and Rebecca Falls.
Day 5 head south out of Friday Bay and spend the night on Gun or Gull Lake
Day 6 continue south and procure a site on Boot or anything in the vicinity, maybe Fairy if open.
Day 7 continue south into Fourtown and out Mudro.

We are calling it the 4 waterfall tour.

Nice loop, been thru there twice or 3 times. Search here about the alternate portage landing when coming back east around Curtain Falls. Some have swamped that time of year trying to get to original landing.

On Day 1, if you're not afraid of a long portage early on Day 2, you could add another falls to your list. Go from Sandpit to Range River to Jackfish Bay of Basswood lake. Camp somewhere north of the no-motor line and no issue for finding a site.

Bushman: "After many changes to our itinerary this year we are going to start at Mudro, camp on Horse Lake first night (if open).
Day 2 head to Wheelbarrow Falls via the Horse River into Basswood River. Then turn and head north and see the Lower Basswood Falls and then head up and camp somewhere in the vicinity of Wednesday Bay.
Day 3 head over to a campsite in Friday, Saturday or Sunday Bay. Whichever has a good available site.
Base camp here for two days and do a day trip over to Curtain Falls and Rebecca Falls.
Day 5 head south out of Friday Bay and spend the night on Gun or Gull Lake
Day 6 continue south and procure a site on Boot or anything in the vicinity, maybe Fairy if open.
Day 7 continue south into Fourtown and out Mudro.


We are calling it the 4 waterfall tour."

This will be a nice trip.

cyclones30: "Nice loop, been thru there twice or 3 times. Search here about the alternate portage landing when coming back east around Curtain Falls. Some have swamped that time of year trying to get to original landing.


On Day 1, if you're not afraid of a long portage early on Day 2, you could add another falls to your list. Go from Sandpit to Range River to Jackfish Bay of Basswood lake. Camp somewhere north of the no-motor line and no issue for finding a site. "

Which falls would that be?

Upper Basswood. If you're going down the Horse river and turning left (west-ish) you're already downstream of the upper falls. They go Upper, Wheelbarrow, Lower in order from top to bottom. But it is a mile-long portage to get around the upper ones. (but it's super flat and well kept) Plenty of off-shoot trails that go to fishing spots, picture spots, and a campsite or two near the portage and basically next to the falls/rapids.

If you didn't want to do the Jackfish Bay paddle on Day 1, then haul your stuff down the mile long portage on morning 2....you could turn right when you hit the Basswood River from Horse river on your original route and go up to the base of the rapids where the long portage starts. Pull your boats up and well out of the way and just hike the portage trail. Take a camera and fishing rod if you're into those things, check another falls off the list. Come back and take off downstream like you would have before without hauling your gear across it.

I'm taking a couple of newbies to the BWCA for their first trip this summer. We are heading out of Mudro to LBWF on the first day, staying two nights and then up to Crooked for two nights. On the layover day we are going to go to the falls into Iron and kick around for the day.

I then an planning on leaving Crooked out of Friday Bay, staying on Nikki, Wagosh or Gun for two nights before heading out. It's six days so if you took two days to get out from Friday Bay, you'd be on track.

schwartyman: "Thanks, thats the problem. I'm self outfitted only need a bunkhouse and bait. From the internet what im reading is most the outfitters want a canoe rental in order to shuttle, like you've mentioned.


Time to make some calls and do some schmoozing and see what i can come up with.


"

I'm in the same boat. You're looking at $120-150. Piragis will do it. Big Lake uses their cabins as bunkhouses, and didn't have anything available in July. However, I found a guy to just shuttle me up...haven't used him yet, but am planning to in late July. If you want to email me at scotttimm@hotmail.com, I can pass on his info.

bombinbrian: "I'm taking a couple of newbies to the BWCA for their first trip this summer. We are heading out of Mudro to LBWF on the first day, staying two nights and then up to Crooked for two nights. On the layover day we are going to go to the falls into Iron and kick around for the day.

I then an planning on leaving Crooked out of Friday Bay, staying on Nikki, Wagosh or Gun for two nights before heading out. It's six days so if you took two days to get out from Friday Bay, you'd be on track."

I think Wagosh would be a cool lake to stay on! I passed through last year, it feels very secluded with thick forest surrounding. There is only one site on the lake and I believe most people tend to stay on Gun before traveling to crooked due to the mile portage. I saw tons of wolf scat and prints on the portage between Gun and Wagosh and heard a howl while crossing Wagosh. I did not visit the site or fish the lake so I cannot comment but I doubt it gets fished much and is plenty big to hold some nice fish.

Tyson: "

bombinbrian: "I'm taking a couple of newbies to the BWCA for their first trip this summer. We are heading out of Mudro to LBWF on the first day, staying two nights and then up to Crooked for two nights. On the layover day we are going to go to the falls into Iron and kick around for the day.


I then an planning on leaving Crooked out of Friday Bay, staying on Nikki, Wagosh or Gun for two nights before heading out. It's six days so if you took two days to get out from Friday Bay, you'd be on track."

I think Wagosh would be a cool lake to stay on! I passed through last year, it feels very secluded with thick forest surrounding. There is only one site on the lake and I believe most people tend to stay on Gun before traveling to crooked due to the mile portage. I saw tons of wolf scat and prints on the portage between Gun and Wagosh and heard a howl while crossing Wagosh. I did not visit the site or fish the lake so I cannot comment but I doubt it gets fished much and is plenty big to hold some nice fish. "

Might try it a night then. Thanks!

Tyson: "

bombinbrian: "I'm taking a couple of newbies to the BWCA for their first trip this summer. We are heading out of Mudro to LBWF on the first day, staying two nights and then up to Crooked for two nights. On the layover day we are going to go to the falls into Iron and kick around for the day.


I then an planning on leaving Crooked out of Friday Bay, staying on Nikki, Wagosh or Gun for two nights before heading out. It's six days so if you took two days to get out from Friday Bay, you'd be on track."

I think Wagosh would be a cool lake to stay on! I passed through last year, it feels very secluded with thick forest surrounding. There is only one site on the lake and I believe most people tend to stay on Gun before traveling to crooked due to the mile portage. I saw tons of wolf scat and prints on the portage between Gun and Wagosh and heard a howl while crossing Wagosh. I did not visit the site or fish the lake so I cannot comment but I doubt it gets fished much and is plenty big to hold some nice fish. "

There are three campsites on the route between Friday Bay and Gun Lake. We paddled that route in Sptember 2018. I felt that Chippewa was the nicest Lake, the campsite is fairly flat and low to the water with a swampy area behind it to the east. Niki was my least favorite lake, the campsite is on a steep slope with poor landing areas and felt closed in. Wagosh was my second favorite lake with in my opinion the best campsite. It has decent low landing areas with higher located tent pads and fire grate. This is a narrow travel route and you are bound to see other groups pass through.



Wagosh campsite

The sites between Friday Bay and Gun aren't great and it can be busy. Be prepared to keep traveling to find a site.

We left Wednesday bay planning on camping at one of the lakes before the long portage. We got to camp on the site on Chippewa planning on camping there to give us a reprieve from the terrible weather. It was raining and cold with an uncommon Easterly wind. We stopped at the site on Chippewa and it was nothing special, very rocky, not great tent pads and was getting blasted by wind. Might be fine on a warm dry day but we ventured on. We passed through Nikki and Wagosh and passed on those sites as well despite the weather. The available sites on Gun were not great and the Fairy campsites were taken, we ended up getting a site on Boot that was great. Boot was a Great Lake with dynamite fishing. We were windbound for a day and fished from shore. Caught over a dozen walleye on slip bobbers and minnows right off our campsite in a few hours. Nice area, but busy, plan accordingly.

email sent scotttimm

schwartyman: "email sent scotttimm"

It landed in my junk mail - I responded.