Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Angelworm Lake HIKING WHOLE LOOP
by birchwalker

Trip Type: Hiking
Entry Date: 07/06/2015
Entry & Exit Point: Angleworm Lake (EP 20)
Number of Days: 3
Group Size: 3
Trip Introduction:
We spent three days completing the Angleworm Lake Trail, which is roughly 14 miles. The trail is certainly hard to find in places, but we were rewarded with rich views, smells, and sounds. We traveled the loop clockwise, which was necessary for the logistics of our trip, but I would definitely plan 4 days/3 nights and do it counterclockwise like Shug did (his video was what got us all excited to hike there). The elevation changes were a swift kick in the behind at times, but we had a fantastic trip nonetheless.
Day 1 of 3
Monday, July 06, 2015

Three of us went up for an impromptu trip into the Boundary Waters to hike Angleworm Lake. Lets call them Troll and Brown Bear.

Troll and I picked up our permit at the Kawishiwi Ranger station in Ely around 3:30 and drove up to the entry point. The parking lot is 3.1 miles past where Echo Trail (116) becomes a dirt road, and clearly marked with a Forest Service sign that says Angleworm Lake. We drove back to cell signal to send this info to our third member of the group, Brown Bear, since he would be hiking in late and we didn't want him to get lost. Troll and I hiked in at a leisurely pace for the roughly 2 mile hike, deciding on the third and northernmost of the 3 campsites. The first two were low ground by the water with tons of mosquitoes and poor tree selection to fit 3 hammocks. The third site was on high ground with a great view. We took a nap after we poked at our salmon burger dinner. We hiked in fresh meat but it just did not appeal to us, puppy dog feasted that night. Troll set an alarm to when he approximated Brown Bear to come in and went to meet him at the portage crossing and guide him to the site. Brown Bear left the lot at around 9 PM and made it to the site just over an hour later. Brown Bear only had one incident where the trail splits. The left side was blocked with sticks and there was an arrow pointing down the right side, all of which was clearly visible in the daylight but harder to see at night. He figured it out pretty quick though when he saw the other trail dead ended into water. We got in a good night's sleep in our hammocks, falling asleep to the bright moon and loon calls.

Angleworm Lake