Bwca 2018

[Mama]

Kicking off our 2018 trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), our family entered the BWCA at Entry Point #16, Moose/Portage River. We spent 9 nights camped on Nina Moose, Lac La Croix, Iron and Oyster Lakes before exiting on day 10. We got rained on, paddled against gusty winds, sunned on slabs of rock and swam. We started awkwardly, careful with each move, then fell into a rhythm with our packing, portaging, paddling and camp-setting that made us feel like part of this place. Just as we began to feel like we truly belonged, our time in this quiet wilderness, like the summer of 2018, began to draw to a close.


Curtain Falls



Oyster Lake



Lac La Croix



Oyster Lake



Iron Lake

A link to one of our trip videos is attached.

You are welcome to check out our blog for details if you want to know about campsite numbers, portages and such.

https://mamasbasecamp.blogspot.com/2018/09/boundary-waters-2018-moose-river-entry.html

 

[Jim Dodd]

Cool trip.
When did you go up ?

Jim

 

[Robin]

Great pics, I'll head over to your blog real soon, Thanks.

 

[dougd]

I always enjoy your trip reports! I'll check out your blog and thanks for posting!

 

[pataneap]

Enjoyed your photographs and video. In a few years, your daughter will remember what great fun that trip really was! Merry Christmas..................Tony

 

[Iskweo]

This was a nice little surprise this morning. Thank you.

 

[Mnoutdoorfunguy]

Wonderful trip and report.
Your family is truly blessed to be able to do a trip like this as a family.

 

[Waterdog]

Great trip report and blog Mama! EP 16 is my most often used entry to BWCA and I think I stayed on some of those sites myself. EP14 LIS North is a good one too.

Barry

 

[Erica]

Great trip. Lucky daughter!

 

[Mama]

Cool trip.
When did you go up ?

Jim

Hi Jim Dodd, We went in at the Moose River entry point 16 and camped on Nina Moose, went over to Lac La Croix and camped in Boulder Bay, went over the Bottle Portage to camp on Iron Lake, came back over to Lac La Croix to camp in Tiger Bay (well, close to Tiger Bay), and then went over and camped on Oyster Lake (my favorite lake of the trip!).

Sorry Jim Dodd, I forgot to mention we went in August.

 

[Mama]

Great trip report and blog Mama! EP 16 is my most often used entry to BWCA and I think I stayed on some of those sites myself. EP14 LIS North is a good one too.

Barry

Hi Barry, Thanks for your comment, I agree with you 100%! Little Indian Sioux is my favorite all time BWCA trip route that our family has taken so far. You can make some nice loops and see a lot of really pretty lakes, also once you get beyond one day's paddle it's nice and quiet.

 

[Zac]

Cool trip.
When did you go up ?

Jim

I can't find a month anywhere either, Jim. My guess is early July.
Looks like a great family trip Mama! Thank you for sharing here.

 

[Bob B.]

Mama,

What an awesome report ... and on a day that once again started below zero - even more awesome!! Your pictures are wonderful. I recognized your location on one of the pics of Oyster. My very first trip began at Lil Indian Sioux and ended on the Nina Moose river. Ruby, Hustler and Oyster were part of my trip. Your trip was not just fun to read, but brought back some very fond memories. My first 42 inch Northern was caught on Hustler. I caught a pile of walleyes on Agnes and in between had some terrific small mouth action on Oyster. Moving water, High rock faces, thick timber with monster white pines ... I had forgotten how beautiful that part of the BWCA is.

Thanks for posting this.

Bob.

 

[Boreal Birch]

Back when I lived in Minnesota, we used to go to Oyster Lake within a few days of ice out to fish for Lake trout. In those days the Lake trout season was open long before the general fishing season started. If you knew where the reefs and rocky ledges were that the Lakers spawned in the fall you could catch then with light lures on top, not dredging for them like you need to do once the water warms a little latter in the year. Nothing better than fresh Lake trout taken from icy cold clear water lakes, in the spring, when mother nature is waking up after a long winter.
I think Sigurd F. Olson wrote about going into Oyster, to catch Lake trout, with his boys, while on a early spring trip into Lac La Croix, in his book THE SINGING WILDERNESS. There maybe prettier lakes in Minnesota than Oyster but, I can't remember them.

 

[Mama]

There maybe prettier lakes in Minnesota than Oyster but, I can't remember them.

Boreal Birch, To me Oyster was very beautiful, the most beautiful lake of this trip, and many were very beautiful, but Omega stands out as extremely pretty if you are into pretty lakes. We didn't fish Omega so I can't say about the fishing. Mama

 

[Mama]

Mama,

What an awesome report ... and on a day that once again started below zero - even more awesome!! Your pictures are wonderful. I recognized your location on one of the pics of Oyster. My very first trip began at Lil Indian Sioux and ended on the Nina Moose river. Ruby, Hustler and Oyster were part of my trip. Your trip was not just fun to read, but brought back some very fond memories. My first 42 inch Northern was caught on Hustler. I caught a pile of walleyes on Agnes and in between had some terrific small mouth action on Oyster. Moving water, High rock faces, thick timber with monster white pines ... I had forgotten how beautiful that part of the BWCA is.

Thanks for posting this.

Bob.

Bob B,

If your very first trip started on Little Indian Sioux and ended on the Moose River you must have immediately gotten hooked on canoe tripping. Some wonderful paddling in those areas! Our favorite trip so far has been a lollipop loop out of Little Indian Sioux where we started out like you did on through Hustler/Ruby/Oyster but then went up around Finger Like, Little Beartrap, Eugene, and so on before looping back towards Little Indian Sioux through Loon. We saw many beautiful lakes on that trip.

Very nice to meet you and Jake at Canoecopia,

Mama

 

[Mama]

I can't find a month anywhere either, Jim. My guess is early July.
Looks like a great family trip Mama! Thank you for sharing here.

Zac, I forgot to mention that was August, thanks for checking out the trip! Mama

 

[Zac]

Thanks Mama! Darn, I had to look it up and to my disappointment, Canoecopia was this last weekend and I totally missed it hope everyone that went had a good time. There's always next year.