Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

2012 LIS North (14) loop to Moose River (16)
by starz1994

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 06/24/2012
Entry Point: Little Indian Sioux River (north) (EP 14)
Exit Point: Moose/Portage River (north) (EP 16)  
Number of Days: 7
Group Size: 5
Day 2 of 7
Monday, June 25, 2012

East Loon to Eugene. Approximately 6 miles.

We wake up to a beautiful view of fog raising off the water, have breakfast, break camp and load gear to move on to a new campsite. Our goal is to make Eugene, the weather is still perfect.

The portage Eugene to Slim was muddy. I guess this wasn't the best start to the day because the boys will argue most of the rest of the day. Maybe they are tired from yesterday. The Slim end of this portage was very buggy, and Chris and I put Noah and Joel in the canoe and paddle out a short way to get away from the bugs while Dad went back to get the last pack.

Chris caught a very aggressive little fish while waiting for Dad... ------>

As we paddle through Slim, we see a white tail deer on the western bank. We were able to float the 52 rod portage Slim to Sect. 3 pond because the water levels were high. Chris found a baby snapping turtle on the portage into South Lake. Noah and Joel really enjoyed checking out the baby turtle.

The first real test of our trip is the portage into Steep Lake. Yes Steep lake is named correctly! Noah did great on this portage, Joel did not. Joel did not want to walk up this steep trail, but he did. I am proud of both boys for completing this portage. I admire them for not giving up. Here they are at the end of the portage with Paw Paw.

We arrive at Eugene and the campsite near the narrows is open. We check it out and decide to stay for the night. I would rate this site as a 4 star, two nice tent sites, nice views, and a nice cross wind that keeps bugs away. As we unpack our gear to make camp, I realize I have lost one of my fishing poles. I hope if someone finds it, that it serves them well. The boys continue to bicker back and forth in camp. I hope they learn to work together soon, or this could be a long trip. Joel wants to take a picture of the group. Pretty good shot for a 3 year old... ------------------------------->

We spend time preparing dinner, fishing, exploring, and retire for the night listening to the birds sing. We only saw two other groups today, this is Great!!