Paddling Pageant and the Sioux Hustler portage
by Benutzer
Trip Type:
Paddling Kayak
Entry Date:
08/22/2006
Entry Point:
Moose/Portage River (north) (EP 16)
Exit Point:
Little Indian Sioux River (north) (EP 14)
Number of Days:
10
Group Size:
2
Part 4 of 14
Day 1 Tuesday August 22, 2006 73 high/46 low
Moose River, Nina Moose Lake, Lake Agnes, Boulder River, Boulder Bay, Tiger Bay, Lac La Croix
Finally! The alarm went off at 4:30 and we packed the treated clothes up and headed off. The drive down the Echo Trail was beautiful, with the lakes covered in mist as the sun just started to come up. It was getting light just as we hit the Entry Point and unloaded the kayaks, and we noticed a couple of guys there who'd evidently spent the night in their car. Not a bad idea of a way to get an early start.
We single portaged the 160-176 rods into the Moose River. The water level looked to me to be about 2 feet below the normal waterline, which is about what I expected for a seasonable level. As we headed off, we noticed an incredible variety of vegetation, and I remarked to Jeremy that it was almost like paddling through an "aquatic decor" shop. It was absolutely gorgeous with the mists swirling around us, and then we turned a corner and the mists were gone, just like that. We were totally unprepared with the cameras as a mink swam past us around that time. I guess we were just too busy looking around at everything to think of taking a picture of it. It didn't seem to pay us any attention, just passed by heading in the opposite direction and then dove underwater as he came alongside.
We carried the kayaks over the first 2 short 20-25 rod portages, one of us carrying the front and one of us carrying the back of both kayaks, which seemed to work pretty well and saved us from unloading/loading them. Wouldn't want to do it on a longer one because it hurt the hands though.
Not long afterwards, we were looking at a large rock hill rising up to our right, and it took me a little bit to realize with a a bit of a shock that it was Top of the World, and that we wanted to stop and climb it to get a great scenic overview.
It was that moment that I realized we were actually HERE and that I was finally in the places that for the months we'd been planning, we'd only known as names on a map. Kind like that moment when the coffee finally kicks in and you realize you got dressed, shaved and halfway to work while just about sleepwalking.
We pulled the kayaks over to the side leaving room for the guys behind us, and climbed up to look around from the top. Very cool, and even cooler to see way out on the horizon and realize that we'd be past that in a few days. We watched the guys behind us pass by, and head up towards Nina Moose. We took a few pictures and then headed back down to go that way ourselves. Just before we reached Nina Moose though, we were passed by the guys we'd seen at the Entry Point, so there must have been at least one other group put in right behind us. Busy place at 6-7am!
Some of you are thinking "in a kayak and got passed?" but I should mention that the kayaks we had were very short slow ones (9.5'). We brought them specifically to bushwhack with, rather than to cruise with. We actually took a fair time to consider whether to bring the canoe or the kayaks up to MN, and the kayaks won due to the size and weight. It turned out to be a good choice considering the bushwhacking we did, and the wind we faced.
We single portaged the 70 and 96 rod portages and headed through Agnes, then carried the kayaks again over the 24 rod into Boulder River. We took the river all the way into the Boulder Bay, although time wise, it might have been quicker to take the 65 rod portage. But I enjoy the paddling, and it was a beautiful area. Lynn at VNO said it was good for Walleye fishing, but it was starting to get later in the day than we'd wanted, so we just stopped for a quick lunch (jerky & gorp), and headed on into Tiger Bay. We'd hoped to grab one of the campsites in Tiger Bay, but they were all taken by this time (3:30pm), so we continued on east to the next island on the way to Bottle Portage, and camped at the southeast site which was pretty nice.
The site was on a point and the wind was pretty strong, so there were no bugs, which was a really good thing since we realized upon setting up camp that we'd left the DEET in the car with the take-out bags. We set up the tent, but since there weren't any bugs, we elected to sleep in the hammocks. After a delightful dinner of Beef Stroganoff and gorp, we hung the food from the mini-bears and hit the sack.
Moose River, Nina Moose Lake, Lake Agnes, Boulder River, Boulder Bay, Tiger Bay, Lac La Croix
Finally! The alarm went off at 4:30 and we packed the treated clothes up and headed off. The drive down the Echo Trail was beautiful, with the lakes covered in mist as the sun just started to come up. It was getting light just as we hit the Entry Point and unloaded the kayaks, and we noticed a couple of guys there who'd evidently spent the night in their car. Not a bad idea of a way to get an early start.
We single portaged the 160-176 rods into the Moose River. The water level looked to me to be about 2 feet below the normal waterline, which is about what I expected for a seasonable level. As we headed off, we noticed an incredible variety of vegetation, and I remarked to Jeremy that it was almost like paddling through an "aquatic decor" shop. It was absolutely gorgeous with the mists swirling around us, and then we turned a corner and the mists were gone, just like that. We were totally unprepared with the cameras as a mink swam past us around that time. I guess we were just too busy looking around at everything to think of taking a picture of it. It didn't seem to pay us any attention, just passed by heading in the opposite direction and then dove underwater as he came alongside.
We carried the kayaks over the first 2 short 20-25 rod portages, one of us carrying the front and one of us carrying the back of both kayaks, which seemed to work pretty well and saved us from unloading/loading them. Wouldn't want to do it on a longer one because it hurt the hands though.
Not long afterwards, we were looking at a large rock hill rising up to our right, and it took me a little bit to realize with a a bit of a shock that it was Top of the World, and that we wanted to stop and climb it to get a great scenic overview.
It was that moment that I realized we were actually HERE and that I was finally in the places that for the months we'd been planning, we'd only known as names on a map. Kind like that moment when the coffee finally kicks in and you realize you got dressed, shaved and halfway to work while just about sleepwalking.
We pulled the kayaks over to the side leaving room for the guys behind us, and climbed up to look around from the top. Very cool, and even cooler to see way out on the horizon and realize that we'd be past that in a few days. We watched the guys behind us pass by, and head up towards Nina Moose. We took a few pictures and then headed back down to go that way ourselves. Just before we reached Nina Moose though, we were passed by the guys we'd seen at the Entry Point, so there must have been at least one other group put in right behind us. Busy place at 6-7am!
Some of you are thinking "in a kayak and got passed?" but I should mention that the kayaks we had were very short slow ones (9.5'). We brought them specifically to bushwhack with, rather than to cruise with. We actually took a fair time to consider whether to bring the canoe or the kayaks up to MN, and the kayaks won due to the size and weight. It turned out to be a good choice considering the bushwhacking we did, and the wind we faced.
We single portaged the 70 and 96 rod portages and headed through Agnes, then carried the kayaks again over the 24 rod into Boulder River. We took the river all the way into the Boulder Bay, although time wise, it might have been quicker to take the 65 rod portage. But I enjoy the paddling, and it was a beautiful area. Lynn at VNO said it was good for Walleye fishing, but it was starting to get later in the day than we'd wanted, so we just stopped for a quick lunch (jerky & gorp), and headed on into Tiger Bay. We'd hoped to grab one of the campsites in Tiger Bay, but they were all taken by this time (3:30pm), so we continued on east to the next island on the way to Bottle Portage, and camped at the southeast site which was pretty nice.
The site was on a point and the wind was pretty strong, so there were no bugs, which was a really good thing since we realized upon setting up camp that we'd left the DEET in the car with the take-out bags. We set up the tent, but since there weren't any bugs, we elected to sleep in the hammocks. After a delightful dinner of Beef Stroganoff and gorp, we hung the food from the mini-bears and hit the sack.
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