Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

ReWormed
by sns

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 09/02/2020
Entry & Exit Point: Angleworm Lake (EP 20)
Number of Days: 5
Group Size: 1
Trip Introduction:
This is the account of my less dramatic but more complete solo – less dramatic than the previous week’s short attempt: DeWormed. My spouse had returned from the East coast with our eldest son after his campus was closed due to huge numbers of covid cases – the greeks threw a lot of parties. The previous week’s bid was only 47 hours as a result. I was granted a reprieve and headed right back to Angleworm. The plan was to single-portage and get into the interior, and I had a PMA permit for Sundial Zone 5.
Day 1 of 5
Wednesday, September 02, 2020

Following a similar protocol, the dog (as before we’ll refer to her by her pseudonym Cerberus; the last thing she needs is yet another social media stalker) and I got out of the twin cities at oh-dark-thirty and were on the trail by 10am.

Single portaging into Angleworm is an hour, maybe an hour-and-fifteen’s worth of work. We paddle up this scenic lake, stopping at the eastern campsite deep in a bay. This allowed us to climb a hill and briefly connect with civilization, and to check out some of the artifacts from the old logging camp there. We continued north through Home Lake at a leisurely pace and are on Gull by 2pm – notably with zero Charlie sightings! (DeWormed reference).

On Gull I am pleased to find a number of Lobster mushrooms – an enjoyable edible, and a fascinating fungus. The wind laid down and the lake was glass for the last hour of light – pleasant to be paddling, but the fish do not cooperate. Cerberus lays siege on the local Red Squirrel population. While she is both patient and fast, they are more patienter and more fasterer.

It’s a nice campsite - the Eastern one – but I am not totally thrilled with the amount of garbage in and around the fire area. My pack just got heavier.

Weather is brewing and I know the next day is going to be blustery – I had set up camp deep in the woods, and am glad I did. It started raining just after dark, and it blew 20-30, probably gusting up towards 40 mph through the night.