Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Mudro to Friday Bay and Back Again
by GutRooster

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 06/04/2014
Entry & Exit Point: Mudro Lake (restricted--no camping on Horse Lake) (EP 22)
Number of Days: 5
Group Size: 9
Day 2 of 5
Thursday, June 05, 2014 Our group slept in a bit, not leaving camp until 9am. Today’s goal seemed very achievable; make our way up to Friday Bay, no portages. Viewing the Pictographs up close was great. Once around the corner, a few former Eagle Scouts in our group thought it would be a good idea to attempt to erect a sail between our three canoes. At best our results were mixed, but the process was fun. We saw next to no one all the way into Thursday Bay. I’m not sure if it was the impending weather, or just the feel of the place, but this leg of the trip seemed odd. It could only be described as a feeling of desolation, verging on creepy. Who know’s, maybe it was just me. I would be interested in visiting this area of the BWCA another time to see if the same feeling returns. Unbeknownst to us, a fairly strong south wind had developed during the day. Thursday Bay was rolling with white-caps and we had plans of crossing. The first two canoes crossed fine, the boat I was in was loaded too heavy in front. We struggled in the waves and took some water over the bow and side. After a hair-raising 15 minutes, we met up with the group again. Our boat members were exhausted, frustrated, and high on adrenaline but happy to be mostly dry and moving on. Fearing large waves on Friday Bay, we found a soggy campsite on an island just East. We had camp set up just in time before a 6 hour soaker came through. Another night of a few small walleyes and wet clothes.