Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Angleworm to Mudro with a newbie
by duckcall

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 06/03/2015
Entry Point: Angleworm Lake (EP 20)
Exit Point: Mudro Lake (EP 23)  
Number of Days: 5
Group Size: 4
Day 2 of 5
Thursday, June 04, 2015

The alarm went off and we could hear that it was still raining, so we took our time getting ready and had a hot, filling breakfast at Brittons Cafe. We picked up our fishing licenses and bait at TGO and we were finally on our way up the Echo Trail. While we were unloading gear and shuttling I was wondering what took me so long to get back to canoe country, it had been nearly six years. We had tried to pare our equipment down and reduce duplication, but we were still carrying way more than I wanted for our two mile plus starting portage. We got almost fifty yards down the portage trail and I tripped over a loose strap on a bag and went down to my knees on rocks, then I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. We met a nice couple from Spain on the trail that were out wildlife viewing and continued on past the halfway point. The trail was wet and slippery, so we gave up on the single portage and shuttled gear the rest of the way, and there was definitely a sense of accomplishment when we got to Angleworm Lake. We paddled up to the campsite we were going to stay at and found the fire grate removed and a ribbon tied to a tree stating the campsite was closed, so we paddled back to the campsite across from the put in spot and set up a comfortable camp. While splitting wood to get to some dry center wood our new hatchet broke and my spork broke in half during our supper, but it didn't matter, we were having steak and pork chops in the boundary waters. We were all pretty tired, so we went to sleep early to get ready for another big day.