Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Mudro to Gun
by brynfrd

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 08/16/2011
Entry & Exit Point: Mudro Lake (restricted--no camping on Horse Lake) (EP 22)
Number of Days: 4
Group Size: 6
Trip Introduction:
Broke in 4 Newbies to their first BWCA trip Mudro to Gun
Report
Started in entry point 22 into Mudro We ran into mutable groups coming and out. We ran into a group that was going to walk back to there car 8 miles a way. So we delayed our departure to give the driver a ride back to his car. " hoping for some good Karma". 9 am Portage around the 1st beaver dam and walked the canoe for 200 yards down the creek. Creek is low and narrow another dam to lift the canoes over and a small wet walk into Mudro good tail wind means bad weather coming. From Mudro into Fourtown the portages were full of people coming in and out. Plan to wait for opening to enter portages some are narrow. Still had a great tail wind across Fourtown many camp site used. Portaged into Boot lake wind was wicked changing from South to East never a good sign. We need to make camp soon judging from watching the clouds and wind movement. east wind with clouds going west is bad signs. Found a very nice camp spot on Gun on a point with Islands to the south. We got the camp set up and 2 hours later the rain hit. It rained hard for 1 1/2 hours weather then kind of rained on and off all evening. We did a little fishing caught some pan fish, sat by the fire and enjoyed the evening. Next day we canoed to Gun lake and stayed at the camp site just across the lake from the portage. The wind was pretty stiff that day just up to 30 - 40 mile per hour one of the canoe blew from where it was set in the camp into a rock, No damage to it. But a good reminder to tie down the canoes in stormy weather. We fished some that evening when the wind slowed down. Gun is very clear water compared to Boot which is dark water. Fishing was slow a couple of small bass and a pike. I am sure weather patterns had something to do with it. Next day weather was nice fished the morning one 9 pound pike and a couple of small bass seen a couple of nice bass but they had no interest in being caught. Black flies were bad in Gun. Packed up camp headed back to Boot wanted to try fishing in darker water. Every camp site was full except our original camp site so we decided to stay there again. Fished Boot caught a few small mouths bass. Still pretty slow fishing. Enjoyed the Sun set at on the west side of the camp site nice vantage point there with good swimming also. Next morning another storm was coming in again 4 in the morning tied down the canoes to a tree and waited out the weather. By 8 am the big storm moved on allot of rain not much wind. The weather was ify not sure if more bad was coming so we decided to play it safe and head back to Mudro. On the portage between Boot and Fourtown one the teenagers was carring a 74 pound canoe and slipped on by the water looked bad at first. His mom was in a panic, I looked at him. He had a good bruise on the leg did not hit his head. He was lucky he had the spring creek the third sit/portage yoke. His head never hit the ground and never hit the canoe. Looked like a bruised leg, and back. Little shaken but by the end of the trip he was moving well again Yea. The weather rained across Fourtown into a 15 mph wind saw other campers breaking camp on Fourtown many of the sites were occupied. At the first portage out of Fourtown we met 2 groups coming in and many groups going out little craze on the portages. Some are narrow and limited parking. All in All good trip to break newbies in on.