The plan today was to camp somewhere on Moose, Newfound, or Sucker close to the put-out at LaTourells. Breakfast this morning was pancakes, a personal favorite of mine in the BWCA. Rick had brought a griddle pan along, which made making pancakes much more enjoyable.

I will have to bring a griddle plan with me on future trips. After breakfast it was on the water again.

The portages to Frog and Birch were fairly unnoteworthy, especially given that we had legs that were fresh from a night of sleep.

The bay by the portage in Birch is very interesting as it is filled with tree trunks and logs. You definitely have to be careful not to float the canoe over these underwater hazards.

We had considered trying to stay on Birch the night before. As we paddled by, all the campsites were taken. This validated our decision to stay on Trident. Besides, it was much more private there.

We turned the corner to start heading southwest on Birch and BOOM! There was the wind! Probably the stiffest wind I’ve paddled in. It was the kind where you paddle with all your might for 20 minutes, angling for the cover of the shore or an island, then take a few minute break. At least it was a headwind and not a crosswind—there were some pretty large rollers we were canoeing over. Everywhere we looked campsites were full—this seems to be quite the popular area.

Finally we started canoeing into the protection of the bay leading to Indian Portage. A nice short portage here into Sucker would be our last of the trip. Rick even portaged the canoe for the first time.

After he did, he said it was much easier than he thought and wish he had done it on more portages throughout the trip. Lots of groups were hanging out here, waiting for a tow back to Moose. I’m yet to do a tow, but can definitely see the appeal of it, especially after battling against the wind on Sucker!

We slowly made our way down Sucker and into Newfound. We were hoping for a campsite on Horseshoe Island, but they were all taken. So we settled on a site on a nearby small island. At first I did not like the site, thinking it ‘disjointed’, but it really grew on me. The fire grate and tent pads are on a very narrow peninsula, making for good views but no good place for more than a couple people to sit together. It ended up being a good site. We also found that right next to the fire grate is a perfect place to jump into the lake for a swim.

The one downside here (which might go without saying) is that tow boats are buzzing by every few minutes during the daylight hours. Not a huge deal, but it just destroys that wilderness vibe. It made me long for our site on Trident the previous night.

The latrine trail is really long at this campsite. Probably the farthest walk to the latrine I’ve encountered, which is crazy for such a small island. This particular island also had another campsite. I didn’t find a trail that connected the two, but I blazed my own trail, eventually making my way to the campsite on the east side. The site looked rarely used, and didn’t have much in the way of tent pads. However, there was a nice rock face that would be perfect for lying on and stargazing. After soaking in the last night of wilderness, we called it a night.

Saturday's Route:

~Trident Lake, Frog Lake, Birch Lake, Sucker Lake, Newfound Lake