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 8 of 9
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Stuart Lake, Stuart River, Whitefeather Lake
We got up, had a Clif Bar and trail mix for breakfast, broke camp and hit the water. We paddled south across Stuart, stopped to see the "Falls" (not much water going through, but some cool rock erosions). We then set off down our first maintained portage in six days--what a difference that makes! The water was low on the Stuart River between Stuart Lake and the big beaver dam south of the 14 rod (closer to 30 rod) portage. After that, we cruised down the river and detoured into White Feather Lake--a pretty little lake with one campsite, would make a nice, easy solo trip (but we didn't survey the site, as there were people there). The last two portages were difficult to find, even though two groups had gone through the other way that morning (one Outward Bound crew in four Aluminum tanks swerving all over the river--one sideways at one point as they passed us--and one two canoe party that had just finished a meal at the north end of the 85 rod portage and took about 10-15 minutes to pack up and clear out while we waited in clear view...grrr...). I think both portages would have been easy to find had we entered through Stuart River and passed through them going the other way, but we didn't, so we had to search the weedy shoreline a bit.
The final portage was a 460 rod to the Echo Trail. Very easy portage, only made slightly more difficult by the length--we single tripped it with one break after 2000 steps (about 300 rods) then it was just 900 more steps to the end. It was also quite the scenic portage, as it had a floating bridge (at least it was floating when we crossed it) across Swamp Creek and one of the largest Red Pines I've seen up there (except for the ones on the Sioux-Hustler Trail north of the portage between Hustler and Oyster), I could barely get my arms halfway around the trunk. The tree was actually outside the BWCA, about 950 steps from the Echo Trail--definitely worth hiking in to see if you're passing by the Stuart River EP.
Then we stashed the gear and the canoe and walked back to our entry point at Angleworm (about a four mile jaunt), drove the car back to the gear, loaded everything in and headed back towards Ely. We stopped at Cranberry's for a beer and a "Baron" burger, then drove to Duluth, arriving around 1 a.m. at the Runway Bar in Hermantown, where we had the honor of witnessing an interesting spectacle--a cover band playing everything from Bon Jovi to "Mustang Sally", complete with lead singer in matching leather bandana and pants. Let me tell you, going from the BW to a crowded Hermantown bar is quite the culture shock...but the beer was cold. :o) After that, we headed off to bed at Nanna's.
Here's a montage of our best fish from the trip...
Stuart Lake, Stuart River, Whitefeather Lake
We got up, had a Clif Bar and trail mix for breakfast, broke camp and hit the water. We paddled south across Stuart, stopped to see the "Falls" (not much water going through, but some cool rock erosions). We then set off down our first maintained portage in six days--what a difference that makes! The water was low on the Stuart River between Stuart Lake and the big beaver dam south of the 14 rod (closer to 30 rod) portage. After that, we cruised down the river and detoured into White Feather Lake--a pretty little lake with one campsite, would make a nice, easy solo trip (but we didn't survey the site, as there were people there). The last two portages were difficult to find, even though two groups had gone through the other way that morning (one Outward Bound crew in four Aluminum tanks swerving all over the river--one sideways at one point as they passed us--and one two canoe party that had just finished a meal at the north end of the 85 rod portage and took about 10-15 minutes to pack up and clear out while we waited in clear view...grrr...). I think both portages would have been easy to find had we entered through Stuart River and passed through them going the other way, but we didn't, so we had to search the weedy shoreline a bit.
The final portage was a 460 rod to the Echo Trail. Very easy portage, only made slightly more difficult by the length--we single tripped it with one break after 2000 steps (about 300 rods) then it was just 900 more steps to the end. It was also quite the scenic portage, as it had a floating bridge (at least it was floating when we crossed it) across Swamp Creek and one of the largest Red Pines I've seen up there (except for the ones on the Sioux-Hustler Trail north of the portage between Hustler and Oyster), I could barely get my arms halfway around the trunk. The tree was actually outside the BWCA, about 950 steps from the Echo Trail--definitely worth hiking in to see if you're passing by the Stuart River EP.
Then we stashed the gear and the canoe and walked back to our entry point at Angleworm (about a four mile jaunt), drove the car back to the gear, loaded everything in and headed back towards Ely. We stopped at Cranberry's for a beer and a "Baron" burger, then drove to Duluth, arriving around 1 a.m. at the Runway Bar in Hermantown, where we had the honor of witnessing an interesting spectacle--a cover band playing everything from Bon Jovi to "Mustang Sally", complete with lead singer in matching leather bandana and pants. Let me tell you, going from the BW to a crowded Hermantown bar is quite the culture shock...but the beer was cold. :o) After that, we headed off to bed at Nanna's.
Here's a montage of our best fish from the trip...
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