Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Solo Trip: Stuart River to Moose River September 2019
by jwenck

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe

Entry Date: 09/11/2019

Entry Point: Stuart River (EP 19)

Exit Point: Moose/Portage River (north) (EP 16)

Number of Days: 4

Group Size: 1

Trip Introduction:

My wife and I have completed 8 trips in the BWCA beginning about 7 or 8 years ago. Five years ago, I bought a used Bell Magic because I wanted to do a solo trip. I finally made it up this year, but I've got some learning to do.

Discuss Trip: View Discussion Thread (14 messages)

Part 1 of 4

My planned Itinerary:

Day 1: Enter at Stuart River EP 19, paddle to Stuart Lake, camp.

Day 2: Paddle to east end of Iron Lake, check out Curtain Falls, camp.

Day 3: Paddle to Rebecca Falls, then through Bottle Lake Portage, camp.

Day 4: Paddle north to Warrior Hill, check out pictographs north of there, paddle back south to Boulder Bay, camp.

Day 5: Paddle to Moose River EP 16 via Agnes and Nina Moose, exit BWCA.

Day 6: An extra day in case I have to lay over due to wind/weather.

I knew this itinerary was ambitious. If this weren’t achievable, my 2nd option was to skip Warrior Hill and the pictographs on Lac La Croix--just visit Curtain Falls. My 3rd option, and least desired, was to take Dahlgren River from Stuart Lake to Agnes, find camp, then paddle out through Moose River EP16 (shortest route). I arranged to have my car moved from Stuart to Moose prior to entering.