July 2019 Trip - 5 days
by jcschultz
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
07/22/2019
Entry & Exit Point:
Little Indian Sioux River (north) (EP 14)
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
4
Trip Introduction:
The trip participants varied from 1 year experience to 10's of years. We decided to try #14 this year since Ely is an easier drive than the Gunflint and I had really like this entry point in 2006 and 2013.
Trip prep is pretty standard though this year we had steak and green beans the first night out. Freezing the steak worked well - it was still frozen when we reached camp. Also this is the first time I have done Wenonah canoes. They are WONDERFUL! Last year I portaged 70-80lb Alumacraft and Grumman canoes which was painful.
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Day 1 of 5
Monday, July 22, 2019 Two people stayed in Ely Sunday night. Two of us drove up Monday morning with the canoes. Leave the Cities about 3:30AM. In Ely about 7:30AM for breakfast. Breakfast place was busy!! Get our permit at the Kawishiwi ranger station and drove up to #14 Little Indian Sioux River N. About 60+ minutes. The road is very twisty the first 15 miles or so then straightens out. #14 used to be lightly used. Not so anymore. A lot of cars in the parking lot. Not a problem parking but a lot more cars than I expected. 
On the water about 10 AM paddling into a stiff north breeze. We were going to try to make it to Lac La Croix and Sandbar Island but didn't feel like paddling into the whitecaps on Loon.
We made it to Upper Pauness and found all the campsites full - a bit of a surprise. Easy portage to Lower Pauness and found an open campsite in the narrow area between the two bays of Lower Pauness. Kind of buggy but OK campsite - 5 out of 10.
We had steak and green beans that night which were great. See the pic. The steak was still frozen when we reached camp.
Weather was not so great. The forecast before we left was for nice weather but there were two rounds of thunderstorms AND our tent leaked. Things were damp Tue morning.
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