Day 2: 10 Miles, 7 portages (477 rods), 3 Lakes, 1 River, 11 hours. Yes, 11 hours.

~Beartrap Lake, Beartrap River, Sunday Lake, Beartrap River, Iron Lake.

This will be my most detailed page, since there is still a demand for more information on the Sundial PMA. For those of you who feel you would like to leave some mystery to your Beartrap River trip, do not read on. All else, this is for you. The Beartrap River is a small river that cuts through the midsection of the Sundial Primitive Management Area. It is accessible from the south at the farthest west end of Beartrap Lake, or from the north by way of the southern tip of Peterson Bay on Iron Lake. We paddled south to north, but I am trying to include relevant information for both directions. Water levels were up according to the rangers we saw on the Home/Gull portage. Due to this, I can say we had absolutely no beaver influence aside from some partial dams in the oxbows, and a bit of a wet area on the southernmost portage (40 rods from the east landing). This may or may not have been dry in mid summer. Current on the river was a non-issue aside from some slightly elevated currents near rapids. A recommendation for any who travel this river is to use a wet foot loading/unloading method. I hate the wet foot style, so I suffered some at landings with heavy boulders or landings near the top of rapids. Especially with our 20' MN3 canoe!

For those of you, like myself, without access to antique maps of this area... I will try to keep things simple. We had a Fisher map, AND a McKenzie on this trip. Every place you see an R on the river, expect a portage. The maps we have list some portage locations on the northern end of the river, and these appear to be in the correct locations, except for the portage to Parlay Lake. Never found that one. I will list length and condition individually throughout the trip report. These portages can be said to be in rough and tough shape, but what I found is a bunch of muddy spots due to recent rains, and a whole lot of down trees on the ground, some down trees that were slightly elevated - only on the first and last portages. The portages in the middle were all of normal quality with a bit of extra mud due to rains. Maybe a few down trees here and there. Some trails had Hazelnut brush encroaching over the trail in places to make for poor visibility. Some trails had low branches. Aside from that, the trails are in good shape for being in disrepair for ??? decades ???

Anyone who wants to be rough and tough, as these portages are.. Do it! I challenge you. I double portaged the whole thing in a day with a 55 lb, 20' long canoe and a 55 lb pack.

We got up early, ate our oatmeal and hit the lake. We had a bit of trouble finding the 200 rod portage, because a downed spruce tree was 5 feet off the ground right at the entrance. I cut it out of the way so I didn't have to army crawl a canoe underneath it. After that, it was easy to see this trail, even though the bulk of it was heavily littered with downed trees that span the years. About 40 rods in, regular beaver activity slightly seeps into the trail, but I feel a rocky bottom to all the mud holes. At the west of this wetness, there is a small jump-over creek and a very old section of boardwalk. Some areas of Hazelnut and Alder brush creep across the trail to make it temporarily invisible. Low branches are the biggest issue on this portage trail. At around 140 rods, there is a small path around a fallen spruce. At around 170 rods, there is a large spruce, 4' off the ground with no real path around. I climbed over and regret not cutting it out of the trail for the rest of you. Sorry. This portage is on the North side of the river with good landings on either ends. It's not on either Fisher or McKenzie maps, but if you want a location on this portage, get your map, and find the spot that is furthest west on Beartrap Lake (very narrow, small bay). Draw a line straight west to the river, and that's pretty accurate. The trail goes East-West with very little deviation.

The river from here is quite small, shallow, and shows little if any current. A few oxbows later, Spring Creek joins in the fun and the river doubles in size. This is about the point where the river bends north toward Sunday Lake. It isn't far till you see the current start to ripple ahead. Watch the west shore for a good landing close to the rapids. My info tells me 60 rods, but I'm feeling 75 rods strong on this one. The portage hugs close to the river through light woods. It's in good shape aside from some seasonal mud. Some down trees. North landing is good as well. Both Fisher and McKenzie list an R for rapids in the correct location for this portage.

The next portage, if you can call it that, needs an ambitious bushwhacker with a machete! This portage trail is the only one that sort of bothered me on my trip. It's really more of a bail-trail than a portage. We saw the R on both Fisher and McKenzie maps, and were ready for the rapids. There was no portage landing in site, and only a very small rapids ahead, so we shot it. Turn the corner and BAM! More rapids 3 canoe lengths ahead. We caught the West shore just in time, and from what I could tell, that was the regular landing. A poor one too. The landing on the North was good, and easy to spot. You may be able to line your boat if you don't mind wet feet. This one was 20 rods, and needs a more adequate south landing. Maybe I missed it though. Looks easy to bushwhack through. A good portage to start from the north side.

After the 2 R's on the maps, the river takes a turn. And another turn. And about 20 more turns. This oxbow area south of Sunday Lake was a blast. We were finally challenged with some partial beaver dams in the oxbows. That reminded me a lot of Larch Creek and Hog Creek.

A warning for those coming from the North: The reeds at the south end of Sunday Lake are majorly choking the river entrance. There is traffic through these parts, but it's pretty light, so watch closely for a path through the reeds. It's only as wide as a canoe. The campsite on Sunday... Well, it's there, it looks cool, but it's lacking tent pads, big time. Bring a hammock and you'll do fine. I didn't check it with a compass, but I felt like the distances from river (south) to camp, and camp to river (west) didn't add up. To me, it feels like that site is on the east shore. I may be wrong.

The 17 rod portage to get from Sunday to Beartrap River is not on either Fisher or McKenzie maps, but is quite easy to find. Located on the North side of the river. The west landing is real nice, and the east landing blows, unless you're into the wet foot load/unload. Lots of slick underwater boulders along the shore here. The trail itself was a real pleasure to follow, with no obstacles worth mentioning. We saw a deer fawn swim across the lake very close to the river outlet. We also saw 2 wolves chasing it down 5 minutes later. Our presence deterred the wolves from pursuing the deer any further. For now.

The River is double in size by this point and has very little attraction anymore. We never spotted Sterling Creek, but definitely saw the valley it runs through. Same goes for Parlay Lake. Saw the opening, but no sign of a portage.

Location of the next portage is listed on both Fisher and McKenzie maps. I saw 10 rods on the west shore documented somewhere, and that seems accurate. This dandy set of rapids is bordering the waterfalls category with a swift current at the top. The south landing is dangerously close to the top of the rapids, and quite poor, unless you are okay with the wet foot approach, and your canoe being on the brink of being carried away to kevlar heaven. The portage trail is in real good shape. The north landing is a large slope of granite with a fair/good loading area. May be slippery when wet.

A short way ahead is another portage. Its location is marked and accurate on both Fisher and McKenzie maps. Even though I read 35 rods on our maps, it feels closer to 40 or 45 rods. It is very out in the open grass. A good trail, except for the very slanty granite landing on the north side. It was feeling slick when bone dry, so I'd hate to portage this one when wet. The south landing is real good with good visibility from a distance.

The final portage on this journey is marked on both Fisher and McKenzie maps, and 110-120 rods feels accurate. The south landing was real good, and easy to see from a distance. Now, if you've read anything about this portage before, you will have read that the north landing is "technical." That's accurate, because there is only 2 very small loading areas and they could get quite slick when wet. I would call the one closest to the river outlet the main landing. They are hard to see from the water. The climb is possibly steep for some... Personally, I loved this portage. It is one of the best, and one of the worst I've seen. I bet this portage used to be amazing before all the disrepair and the fallen trees. The landscape here is unbelievable, as is the terrain this path covers. When I walk it, I see the best portage trail I've ever been on, in the worst condition it has seen since its development. It broke my heart. So many trees downed. So much mud. So much brush. If it wasn't illegal for an average Joe like me to tidy it up a bit, I would make this trail right again. People would flock to see it. Rangers would be turning in their badges to be with me. Women would... Oh my! This day has caught up with me. I am turning silly.

We paddled through Peterson Bay of Iron Lake, which is stunning, and over to Three Island. I was hoping for the west site for its central location, and found it to be open, and the best site I have ever stayed at. That site had it all.