Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

6 day solo Frost River Loop
by Ajoutdoors

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 05/21/2018
Entry & Exit Point: Sawbill Lake (EP 38)
Number of Days: 6
Group Size: 1
Day 2 of 6
Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Frost river to Afton Lake

So here it is. The big day. The mighty Frost River. I got started around 9 am or so and double portaged the longest portage of the day. As I paddled the Frost, I was watching the map and I breezed right past the first 10 rod of the day. I looked as though the water would of needed to be about 2 feet lower to actually need that portage. So far so good. I passed through several more beaver dams and was able to see bottom of the river all the way until Chase Lake. I honestly don't remember what portages I did or how many beaver dams I passed but it was a nice paddle with a wide river.

Upon reaching the western end of Pencil Lake I could not find the portage. It turns out the portage is on the south side of the river and not the north side like my map showed. Apparently I wasn't the only who had this problem. Either way, the rapids were a really nice place to lunch at.

Once I got done with the Pencil Lake portage the river really narrowed. On this last section, my map was essentially worthless. I'm sure this section changes every year with beaver dams. It became frustrating at times because of the constant unloading and loading of the canoe. Rarely did I paddle for more than 5 minutes.

Eventually I reached the Afton Lake after about 7 hours of travel. It was a challenging but rewarding day. Sometimes frustrating, but overall, take your time and just enjoy the journey. Its not a day to try and speed thru and rush yourself.

A group came by at 8 pm. I heard the "Oh no" as they reached the lake. I asked if they wanted to stay with me but I turns out they were a group of 8 with 4 canoes. They paddled on and I hope they made it to a sight before dark.

9.5 miles 290 rods