BWCA Kids Canoe Boundary Waters Trip Reports
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K.Sheff
Guest Paddler
  
08/10/2019 02:54PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
There where 5 in our group on this trip. We planned for a 4 day/3 night trip. It was my other halfs 9th trip, our 2 girls (age 11 & 12) and my 2nd trip and my son ( age 10) 1st trip. We have 2 more at home that will join us next year when they are 9. Any ways, we planned to camp at Horse lake and day trip to lower bass wood falls to see the falls and the pictographs. In addition, the girls wanted to man their canoe with their gear alone this year. We each had our own packs, a food barrel and a fishing pack..in addition we had a 2 person and a 3 person kevlar canoes. We always pack our individual bags, then disburse the camping gear amongst everyone. We put in on at the parking lot where the 30 rd portage takes you to Mudro Lake. We put the 3 kids in the 3 seater with just their gear. My other half and I took the remaining gear and our packs in our canoe. Mudro was a nice easy lake to break the kids in on paddling and keeping up with us. The first 3 portages I was able to portage the smaller canoe and my pack in one trip with my other half portaging his bag and the larger canoe. The kids handled the rest of the gear. I had to double portage for the food barrel. Not an ounce of arguing or belly aching from the kids yet! They met the challenge head on the whole trip! We made it to Horse only to find the lake had no empty camp sites. So we took a short break and continued on up Horse river to find a site at lower basswood falls. We came across 3 carry over spots and 3 portages on the river. We made it to the falls only to find out there where no open sites....again. we paddled to the NE of the falls, still no sites. We paddled half way to Crooked Lake, still no sites. It was getting dark and the kids where getting tired and hungry. We ended up setting a small camp on the portage mouth of lower basswood. We got up the next morning to find another group had also set camp on the other side of the portage. We packed up and headed back down to Horse lake In Hope's that something opened up, but there where groups ahead of us on the river that made it there first and took the sites. (Lol, no luck for us). We then decided to head over to Four Town lake. A few more portages and some additional carry overs and we found a site!! The kids where excited to be able to set camp for a couple nights. We took the 4th site to the North of the lake on the east side. We would have rated it 5 stars except the landing was rocky and the pit was quite exposed making fires difficult to start and maintain due to the wind. The next day the wind was up making white caps on the lake that would have been unsafe for the kiddos. So we explored the land and tried some shore fishing. The last day we set out down Four town to the last 4 portages. Not once did the kids complain or give up! In fact they are already talking about how to make the trip next year amazing for additional siblings??
 
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