Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Fourtown Weekend Trip
by Dogpaddler

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 07/21/2023
Entry & Exit Point: Mudro Lake (restricted--no camping on Horse Lake) (EP 22)
Number of Days: 3
Group Size: 2
Trip Introduction:
Last minute long weekend trip. Happened on a permit mid week, surprised with such a busy entry point. Caught some fish, saw some wildlife, sat out some storms.
Day 1 of 3
Friday, July 21, 2023

Nice trail down to the river which seemed low. We walked the canoe the first 200 yards before we were able to get in and start to paddle the deeper channel. A few tight spots and shallow spots made us get out of the canoe for a few steps until we got to Mudro. Once we go to the portage on the N side of Mudro we could hear far off thunder. At the first portage we got our gear out and I was able to float the canoe another 50 yards. We double portaged this short .1 miles. The path is obvious but trechorus with wobbly rocks. Then paddled the short distance to the larger .3 mile portage. We double portages this as well. Although longer and steeper than the previous walk it was less trechorus due to the flat rocks. With a tiny paddle we were happy to see the last portage was just as short as the map said. By the time we got onto Fourtown we could feel the weather get cooler and the thunder louder. With the impending storm we pulled over to the first site which to our surprised was spacious and full of berries! As I get our gear under a tarp my other half picked berries for the next mornings pancakes. Before we knew it the storm rolled on in on us. The thunder and lighting was on us, a little too close for comfort. We rode it out for 30-60 minutes until the sky’s opened up and we could watch the storm in the distance. At this time we headed north with the goal to get one of the campsites near the 2021 burn area. On the troll over I picked up a nice northern and lost what felt like a big one. Even better my wife reeled in a bigger northern and a nice eater walleye. It looked like all the sites on the way to the burn area were taken so it was to our surprise to find the two on the south side open! We took the one farther from boot lake. It’s a spacious site with plenty of shoreline to walk and fish. By the time we got set it up was past dinner time so we cooked and did some shore fishing while watching the sunset. No bites.