68 mile trip with Mazzy - Loop out of Entry Point #14, Little Indian Sioux River
Up through Pauness to Little Loon and North Lake, across the interior to Pocket and the pictographs on LLC, then down to Agnes, Oyster, Hustler and back out through Shell, Pauness and the LIS. Good times!
Mazzy and Kevin have done a father/daughter trip every year save one since Mazzy was 8 years old. Always the adventurer, Mazzy loves being in the BWCA more than just about any place in the world.
Day 1: We left early dark early and made it to Ely for breakfast by 7 am, We picked up our permits at the ranger station and headed up the Echo Trail to Entry point 14 - Little Indian Sioux River. We were on the water before 10 am and made our way up the LIS, through Lower Pauness, Little Loon, Slim and camped on North Lake. 18.5 miles covered. The day started out fine but became gray and blustery by mid-afternoon, threatening to rain but never quite doing so until we had camp ready and dinner was done. We played a little cribbage in our tent and listened to the radio - FM and Weather Band - before turning in for the night.
Day 2: We waited until light, had a quick breakfast and broke camp. Things were a bit wet but we had lots of small lakes and portages to cover during the day and wanted to be on our way. We traveled the small lakes because even though Lac La Croix may have been faster, it's a big lake, with big water with a mess of islands to confound you and it can turn nasty with a bit of wind. We picked our way through South, Steep, Eugene, LittleBeartrack, Beartrack, Thumb, Finger, Pocket Creek, and Pocket Lake before following the creek out into Lac La Croix. All the campsites we passed were full - even in the early afternoon, though we saw no one on the water at all that day. We ended up at a very nice island site on LLC - just before taking the turn down into the Warrior Hill Bay. 16.8 miles done. The sun came out to stay as we set up camp and dried out our things in the strong breeze that had been following us and building all day. The water turned to white caps just as we finished and settled in for our 4:30 snack before dinner. Dinner came and went, and we had more cribbage, radio and book time before sleep.
Day 3: We awoke early as the sun rose. The wind had kept up all night and there was nary a drop of dew on our tent or gear. How nice to pack up dry! We had a light breakfast and broke camp to get on the water before it got choppy then headed over to see the pictographs and Warrior Hill. We then paddled down the rest of the bay, portaged to Agnes, then to Oyster, then to Hustler. 16.6 miles traveled. The day turned gray and chilly. We helped guide a father and son newbie combo from Chicago through the shallows and grassy creek between Agnes and Oyster, then helped them find a campsite on Oyster before we finished lunch and then made the mile-long portage to Hustler. Hustler was empty of people and canoes and we grabbed the 5 star campsite for the night. The site was fine, but overrated as there is only one decent tent pad.
Day 4: We took our time in the morning, sleeping in a bit longer than normal, finished as much of our food as we could - saving only a few things to snack and lunch on during the day. We made our way out of Hustler, through Ruby, Lynx, Little Shell, Shell and then Pauness to the Little Indian Sioux and finally back to the entry point. 14.5 miles banged away. We packed up, changed clothes and made our way home. Safe and Sound.
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