Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Wandering Women 2008
by sterngirl

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 07/21/2008
Entry & Exit Point: Mudro Lake (EP 23)
Number of Days: 8
Group Size: 4
Day 2 of 8
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

We had a quick breakfast at the coffee shop. I had a great piece of quiche and a latte. Great way to start the morning. We took off for Mudro around 7:30am. When we arrived at the former "Chainsaw Sisters" parking lot, there wasn't anyone else heading in. It was nice to not feel rushed to get on the water. We portaged all of our gear, and then waded out with our loaded canoes until the water was deep enough to paddle. We paddled through Mudro, and then made our way across the portage to Sandpit. I always read others writing about how "difficult" this portage is to travel. Sure, it has a steep part (better going from Mudro to Sandpit because it's downhill) but it's really not a big deal. We paddled across Sandpit and took the portage to Tin Can Mike. That's one of my favorite portages. A really nice walk in the woods, with a boardwalk on the Tin Can Mike side. When we arrived on Tin Can Mike, another group had caught up to us and was also completing the portage. They stopped after carrying their first load, and had a quick snack, then headed back for the rest of their gear.

We paddled Tin Can Mike and decided to spend the night there. We took the campsite closest to the portage. (#1120) It's not a great site, but we always believe that it's bad karma to have a great campsite the first night. We like to think that we work our way up to a great site. There is really only one tent pod at this site, and it's on a slope. We explore further around the site, looking for a more level spot. Nothing found. We put up the tent, unpack our personal packs, hang one hammock, and do some swimming. It's a beautiful day and we are happy to have time just to hang out.

Dinner that night was brats (from Zups) and pringles. We had a small fire and cooked the brats on the grate. (after rinsing the grate with water, and allowing the fire to burn for a while, heating the grate... since guys seem to use pee to put their fires out ;-) After eating we find a tree to hang the pack from. We wrap the rope around a rock, and hit the right branch after three attempts. The pack goes up, and we call it a night. It's a beautiful night, and the weather is perfect for sleeping. Last year it was so hot on our trip, that we rarely took our sleeping bags out of their stuff sacks. This year, we used them every night!