Moose River - LLC - Oyster - September 2025
by Pete2Paddle
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
09/14/2025
Entry & Exit Point:
Moose/Portage River (north) (EP 16)
Number of Days:
8
Group Size:
2
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (1 messages)
Day 2 of 8
Sunday - Enter at Moose River North - Travel to Tiger Bay Area of LLC
We were up by 6:30 and walking down the first portage by 8:00. The first portage is listed at 160 rods but feels much shorter. It's an easy garden path that gradually slopes downhill to the first put-in. Once you put-in, don't bother getting comfortable because you're going to be in and out of the canoe about every 10 minutes between the first two portages and a series of beaver dams within the first mile. After two short portages, the beaver dams are small enough to glide over with a full head of steam and a current that will help you along.
I believe an advantage of entering on a Sunday is that many people leave that day, and you have a better chance of finding your desired site unoccupied. On the other hand, the downside of a Sunday entry is the number of people you will see along the rivers and portages who are making their way out so they can get back to work on Monday. We passed 12 different groups of varying sizes along the way to LLC. I let myself get slightly annoyed when at one portage, we found 3 canoes clogging the put-in with only 2 people standing there. The rest of the party was walking back to get the rest of their packs. Thankfully, one of the two people standing was a solo and was out of the way quickly so we could land and begin our portage.
** Pause for short rant **
The way my Dad taught me, and what I believe is the proper etiquette, is if you're not single portaging, you don't put your canoe in the water unless ALL of your bags, people and paddles are across the portage. If you bring the canoe across and you or any of your party need to go back for more bags, put the canoe off to the side (not in the water) so that groups that are single portaging can pass you or groups going in the other direction can land, unload, and begin their portage. The same is true when you begin a portage. If you are not single portaging, make sure you leave your canoe out of the water and off to the side.
*sigh* *deep breath* -- It's beautiful out here and I'm not truly bothered, but the people committing this faux pas had as much grey in their beards as I do and should know better.
** Rant over **
We took a 15 min snack break on an island on Lake Agnes and made it to the tiger bay area by about 2:00. We found a fantastic site on the south side of the island just south of Warrior Hill (#175). This site is like a palace! The kitchen is perched on a cliff about 20 feet off the water with fantastic views for a western sunset. There's a huge swimming beach to the north and a smaller landing beach to the south. Plenty of tent and hammock options. One neat feature was a 'front porch' for fishing! An easy rock scramble around the rock face on the water puts you on a 4' x 10' ledge. We set up chairs, poured a whiskey and caught a few smallmouth while the sun started to set.
That night after supper, we turned on Sunday night football on the radio. One minute, PA's voice is loud and clear with the play-by-play and the next minute, static. We couldn't figure out why the signal was in and out so much... Until we looked up and saw an incredible display of Northern Lights! I've been in the BWCA coming up on 20 times and while I can say I've 'seen' them in the past... I had no idea they could be this crazy. They were all around us! North, West, and even above our heads. The light wispy white 'cloud-like' lights would dance from one shape to another every few seconds. The camera shots picked up the greens and purples, but to the naked eye, they were pretty much white. This was one of the highlights of the trip.
We were up by 6:30 and walking down the first portage by 8:00. The first portage is listed at 160 rods but feels much shorter. It's an easy garden path that gradually slopes downhill to the first put-in. Once you put-in, don't bother getting comfortable because you're going to be in and out of the canoe about every 10 minutes between the first two portages and a series of beaver dams within the first mile. After two short portages, the beaver dams are small enough to glide over with a full head of steam and a current that will help you along.
I believe an advantage of entering on a Sunday is that many people leave that day, and you have a better chance of finding your desired site unoccupied. On the other hand, the downside of a Sunday entry is the number of people you will see along the rivers and portages who are making their way out so they can get back to work on Monday. We passed 12 different groups of varying sizes along the way to LLC. I let myself get slightly annoyed when at one portage, we found 3 canoes clogging the put-in with only 2 people standing there. The rest of the party was walking back to get the rest of their packs. Thankfully, one of the two people standing was a solo and was out of the way quickly so we could land and begin our portage.
** Pause for short rant **
The way my Dad taught me, and what I believe is the proper etiquette, is if you're not single portaging, you don't put your canoe in the water unless ALL of your bags, people and paddles are across the portage. If you bring the canoe across and you or any of your party need to go back for more bags, put the canoe off to the side (not in the water) so that groups that are single portaging can pass you or groups going in the other direction can land, unload, and begin their portage. The same is true when you begin a portage. If you are not single portaging, make sure you leave your canoe out of the water and off to the side.
*sigh* *deep breath* -- It's beautiful out here and I'm not truly bothered, but the people committing this faux pas had as much grey in their beards as I do and should know better.
** Rant over **
We took a 15 min snack break on an island on Lake Agnes and made it to the tiger bay area by about 2:00. We found a fantastic site on the south side of the island just south of Warrior Hill (#175). This site is like a palace! The kitchen is perched on a cliff about 20 feet off the water with fantastic views for a western sunset. There's a huge swimming beach to the north and a smaller landing beach to the south. Plenty of tent and hammock options. One neat feature was a 'front porch' for fishing! An easy rock scramble around the rock face on the water puts you on a 4' x 10' ledge. We set up chairs, poured a whiskey and caught a few smallmouth while the sun started to set.
That night after supper, we turned on Sunday night football on the radio. One minute, PA's voice is loud and clear with the play-by-play and the next minute, static. We couldn't figure out why the signal was in and out so much... Until we looked up and saw an incredible display of Northern Lights! I've been in the BWCA coming up on 20 times and while I can say I've 'seen' them in the past... I had no idea they could be this crazy. They were all around us! North, West, and even above our heads. The light wispy white 'cloud-like' lights would dance from one shape to another every few seconds. The camera shots picked up the greens and purples, but to the naked eye, they were pretty much white. This was one of the highlights of the trip.
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