Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

South Hegman
by SevenofNine

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 09/03/2010
Entry & Exit Point: South Hegman Lake (EP 77)
Number of Days: 4
Group Size: 3
Day 2 of 4
Saturday, September 04, 2010

A cool night of sleeping but we were exhausted and slept through the night never waking up like we usually do.

Tried a little fishing today in the morning from shore with no success. My wife tried a bit and didn't get a bite as well. With the rain I could see fishing an issue. I tried in earnest with a different rig and bait that night and still couldn't get a bite from shore.

My buddy decides it's time to swim so in he goes. Followed shortly by me. Of course the wife thinks we are crazy so she photographs from shore. It really is refreshing to get cleaned up from the day before. After you are in for a while you get used to the water temp. It was great.

We discover the squirrels love to pick pine cones and drop them onto our tarp and our canoes which we pulled up onto the campsite. There's at least two here if not more chattering.

Time to take a trip to the pictographs. I'm excited to canoe in nice weather and for my wife to see the pictographs. The wind is a bit strong still coming in from the other area of the lake.

Today I decide to see if having my wife sit in the back of the canoe will be a better way to travel, mistake. Try as we might I can't turn the canoe into the wind. We land on the small island off our campsite. The wife gets in front of me and there she will stay the entire time we are paddling. It's just the best way to go.

Our paddle over brings us to the short portage into N. Hegman. Most people put in at the shallow channel rather than walk the 30 feet to the official put in. It's just easier and shorter!

There's a family with mother, father, two kids and a dog. Surprisingly the wife takes the stern position. I even checked to see if that was really what they were doing. I guess it works because off they go.

We are next and no big deal here getting in. Just a little hassle and we are off. Easy portages are my kind of thing. There's a bit of a wind coming into the channel so I paddle hard to avoid hitting a rock at the narrows to the lake.

I think I am more tired than I realized but once I relax paddling gets easier. The wife said to relax but I was fighting a head wind that kept wanting to turn us so it wasn't a fun paddle.

Finally we get to the pictographs. The rock face they are on is impressive from the water. There's not a lot to see of the pictographs . But I'm glad we made the trip. I just wonder how they did it? Was the water that high at one time that they simply could draw the characters. Or did they lower themselves from the cliffs. Still that they lasted this long over weather and time is awesome.

We paddle to the Angleworm portage at the end of Trease Lake. We get out and stretch our legs. My buddy scouts the portage while my wife and I hang around at the point. I find a downed tree limb from the huge pine at the portage point. I cut it up and put into the canoe for use later tonight.

It seems this trip, getting good firewood is a breeze over previous trips.

Eventually my buddy comes back and asks where we were? I guess he thought we wanted to hike the trail. We didn't think he would hike that far and so miss-communication reigns that day.

We head out after I told a couple of guys coming in where the actual portage is located. We got out where everyone else stops to the west of the actual landing.

We get back to the campsite and cook up some food. It's a great night that night with some star viewing, meter watches and satellite spotting. What a difference a day makes. Everyone passes some booze around for a swig. We just sit and watch the stars from our chairs, awesome.