Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Angleworm to Gull
by spg5757

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 08/01/2024
Entry & Exit Point: Angleworm Lake (EP 20)
Number of Days: 5
Group Size: 6
Trip Introduction:
Entry Point 20 Angleworm to Hom, Hom to Gull. 3 Portages. Start time 8:02am reached campsite 1889 at 12:17pm. Great trip. Difficult portages.
Report
First time dropping into Entry Point 20. It did not disappoint. Angleworm 2 mile portage is hard. The trail by itself, is easy. The trail with a 40lb pack, is medium. The trail with a 40lb pack and a canoe overhead is hard. We expected to see some swampy and muddy areas with all the rain the BWCA has gotten this season, but no swamp, very few muddy spots. We expected bugs, and we got bugs. This was anticipated and walking through the forest, they are relentless. Your Therma cell will not stop the onslaught. However, at camp, they worked great. Out on the shoreline... very few bugs, especially with a good breeze. Our destination was Gull so in total we had 3 portages: Entry Point 20 to Angleworm, just over 2 miles, Angleworm to Hom about 1/4 of a mile, and then Hom to Gull is just over 3/4 miles. We've done trips will a dozen portages and 3 wiped me on this one. My advice would be to pack light if you can, and do a buddy system switching off and on with the canoes. We made all the portages in a single trip. My pack was heavy, 47lbs. With a canoe, my shoulders were burning by the end of it. But I love the adventure and the difficulty. Coming back seemed so much easier without the bugs, even the 2 mile portage. Would do again for sure, campsite 1889 on Gull Lake was 11 of out 10. Great site. Great fishing. Got out to Beartrap and Thunder one day... Thunder would be my next choice... great fishing. We were out there for 5 days and didn't see a soul until the last day. Perfect!