Angleworm to Stuart River 7/17-7/25
by Eglath
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
07/16/2004
Entry Point:
Angleworm Lake (EP 20)
Exit Point:
Stuart River (EP 19)
Number of Days:
9
Group Size:
2
Day 4 of 9
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Beartrap Lake, Beartrap River, Sunday Lake, Sterling Creek, Sterling Lake
Ah, our second travel day. We decided to toss a line off shore as we made pancakes for breakfast, and after a bit of playing around, I managed to bring in a 17" 1 lb. walleye (second fish from left in montage below). We breaded it with some garlic powder and pancake batter and fried it up. After that, we broke camp and headed out to the 200 rod portage to the Beartrap River. Just over halfway through the portage, my camping partner felt a bit of a twinge in his back. He tried stretching it out, but that didn't help, so I finished the portage, then came back and carried the canoe while he finished with just his pack (today would be the first day in five trips that we've double portaged).
For anyone who is wondering, the Beartrap River (the southeastern entrance into the Sundial Lake PMA) is gorgeous. It's about as wide as a normal river in that area (Moose River, Stuart River, etc.) but the land rises sharply on both sides and was burned by the White Feather Fire in '97, so the slopes are covered with fresh, abundant underbrush dotted with standing charcoaled trunks. As we paddled up toward Sunday Lake, we pulled over six or seven beaver dams not including the huge one that has a 60 rod portage around it and the ensuing rapids (see picture below).
On Sunday Lake, we saw a large group (four canoes, nine people and a dog) camped on the western shore, though we did not talk to them as we did not pass close enough. These would be the last people we would see until Friday evening. We then portaged 17 rods to continue down the Beartrap River. At this point, the river widened out considerably, at least quadruple the size it had been before Sunday Lake. About short paddle later, we started looking for the inflow from Sterling Creek. Eventually, we found a very small channel (about two to three feet wide and two feet deep) back in the weeds. For a half-mile or so, we would stand up in the canoe, located open water ahead, and push the canoe that way. We finally came to a more open portion of the creek (eight to ten feet wide) and stopped to take a picture of the view back towards the Beartrap River (see picture below). We pulled over six or so beaver dams (one so large we had to go around through the weeds) before we came to where the creek ended at some emergent rocks. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the portage.
First, we walked the packs up the center of the creek, jumping from rock to rock until we again reached open water about 100 yards upstream. But when we went back for the canoe, we realized that it would be impossible to do the same while carrying the canoe. So we went back up to where the packs were, and bushwacked directly inland from the creek. After ten minutes of pushing through the woods, we came upon what appeared to be the portage (or used to be--now it's more of a moose path), so we followed it back to where it found the creek (portage access from the creek is down a 40 ft. beaver run), went back, bushwacked the packs up to the moose path, went back to the canoe, paddled it back down to the beaver run and portaged it up to the packs. Then we took just the packs and decided to walk the rest of the path to make sure it led where we wanted to go--Sterling Lake. The old portage is listed at 160 rods, but this moose path measures out to a bit longer than that--it follows the creek, then crosses a bog, then climps up and over a hill, then through some deadfall then puts in at Sterling Creek again. So we dropped the packs at the landing and went back to get the canoe. At this point, it's getting late, we estimated that we had another hour or less before dusk and we had been traveling (through swamps and bogs and bushwacking) for nearly eight hours. So we went as fast as we were safely able to go, back to the landing. We put in, paddled for a few minutes, then just carried the canoe over the 8 rod portage into Sterling Lake.
What a treat. Sterling Lake is a beautiful little lake that, as far as we could tell, gets little or no usage. We paddled hard down the main body of the lake and up into the north bay and made camp on the island there. We landed, unloaded, set up camp and got a fire going just as the sun sank behind the trees. We had made it just in time. We ate some beans and rice and went to bed, but not before removing 10 or so ticks each. Gotta love bushwacking!
Beartrap Lake, Beartrap River, Sunday Lake, Sterling Creek, Sterling Lake
Ah, our second travel day. We decided to toss a line off shore as we made pancakes for breakfast, and after a bit of playing around, I managed to bring in a 17" 1 lb. walleye (second fish from left in montage below). We breaded it with some garlic powder and pancake batter and fried it up. After that, we broke camp and headed out to the 200 rod portage to the Beartrap River. Just over halfway through the portage, my camping partner felt a bit of a twinge in his back. He tried stretching it out, but that didn't help, so I finished the portage, then came back and carried the canoe while he finished with just his pack (today would be the first day in five trips that we've double portaged).
For anyone who is wondering, the Beartrap River (the southeastern entrance into the Sundial Lake PMA) is gorgeous. It's about as wide as a normal river in that area (Moose River, Stuart River, etc.) but the land rises sharply on both sides and was burned by the White Feather Fire in '97, so the slopes are covered with fresh, abundant underbrush dotted with standing charcoaled trunks. As we paddled up toward Sunday Lake, we pulled over six or seven beaver dams not including the huge one that has a 60 rod portage around it and the ensuing rapids (see picture below).
On Sunday Lake, we saw a large group (four canoes, nine people and a dog) camped on the western shore, though we did not talk to them as we did not pass close enough. These would be the last people we would see until Friday evening. We then portaged 17 rods to continue down the Beartrap River. At this point, the river widened out considerably, at least quadruple the size it had been before Sunday Lake. About short paddle later, we started looking for the inflow from Sterling Creek. Eventually, we found a very small channel (about two to three feet wide and two feet deep) back in the weeds. For a half-mile or so, we would stand up in the canoe, located open water ahead, and push the canoe that way. We finally came to a more open portion of the creek (eight to ten feet wide) and stopped to take a picture of the view back towards the Beartrap River (see picture below). We pulled over six or so beaver dams (one so large we had to go around through the weeds) before we came to where the creek ended at some emergent rocks. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the portage.
First, we walked the packs up the center of the creek, jumping from rock to rock until we again reached open water about 100 yards upstream. But when we went back for the canoe, we realized that it would be impossible to do the same while carrying the canoe. So we went back up to where the packs were, and bushwacked directly inland from the creek. After ten minutes of pushing through the woods, we came upon what appeared to be the portage (or used to be--now it's more of a moose path), so we followed it back to where it found the creek (portage access from the creek is down a 40 ft. beaver run), went back, bushwacked the packs up to the moose path, went back to the canoe, paddled it back down to the beaver run and portaged it up to the packs. Then we took just the packs and decided to walk the rest of the path to make sure it led where we wanted to go--Sterling Lake. The old portage is listed at 160 rods, but this moose path measures out to a bit longer than that--it follows the creek, then crosses a bog, then climps up and over a hill, then through some deadfall then puts in at Sterling Creek again. So we dropped the packs at the landing and went back to get the canoe. At this point, it's getting late, we estimated that we had another hour or less before dusk and we had been traveling (through swamps and bogs and bushwacking) for nearly eight hours. So we went as fast as we were safely able to go, back to the landing. We put in, paddled for a few minutes, then just carried the canoe over the 8 rod portage into Sterling Lake.
What a treat. Sterling Lake is a beautiful little lake that, as far as we could tell, gets little or no usage. We paddled hard down the main body of the lake and up into the north bay and made camp on the island there. We landed, unloaded, set up camp and got a fire going just as the sun sank behind the trees. We had made it just in time. We ate some beans and rice and went to bed, but not before removing 10 or so ticks each. Gotta love bushwacking!
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