Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

The Sundial PMA
by PaddleAway

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 05/26/2008
Entry Point: Mudro Lake (EP 23)
Exit Point: Stuart River (EP 19)  
Number of Days: 8
Group Size: 3
Day 3 of 8
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Another sub-zero morning, although we slept a little later to rest up for our entrance to the Sundial PMA.

We found the first “portage” around the mouth of the Beartrap River easily enough. The trail was rough & had deadfall - they all were and/or did - but wasn’t too bad. The Beartrap River was beautiful. There were beaver dams big & small, vertical portages, false portages, more dams, leeches, & finally a welcome widening where Spring Creek joined the Beartrap headed north. All told we counted eight beaver dams, some mercifully blown out, others requiring a graceful leap from the canoe. We were happy to reach Sunday Lake, with an obvious & open campsite-area on the northern point of the lake. Before I had my tent out of the pack I had six ticks. I moved.

My first cast off the camp yielded a 30”, 8 lb. Northern, & I caught another of similar size not long after. We spent the late evening drifting for a walleye dinner, catching one eater, a couple of walleye dwarves, & another eater with a massive tapeworm trailing out of his, ah, you-know-what. One of my companions promptly declared he’d lost his appetite & the lucky ‘eater’ fish went back in the water, little worse for the wear. Freeze-dry for us tonight!

Sunday’s a beautiful lake. Even if we don’t do the PMA again, it would be worth it as a stopover on the way to Iron.