Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Ep 14-14 loop with Weeny PMA exploration
by Deeznuts

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 08/11/2023
Entry & Exit Point: Little Indian Sioux River (north) (EP 14)
Number of Days: 7
Group Size: 3
Day 2 of 7
Saturday, August 12, 2023

Our second day they woke up around 730 to overcast skies and a light drizzle, while I was up as soon as day was breaking and attempting to catch a few early morning fish. We immediately started formulating a plan for the day. The consensus was to wait it out till 10am to see if the occupants of the site on Fat Lake would come through Eugene. We decided around 930 to head over to Fat and check the site, thinking maybe they were taking the unmarked portage as well. We sprinted the portage to put Donnie's single in so he could check the status of the site. Drew and I followed quickly behind, noticing that there was a group standing at the unmarked portage. By the way Donnie was hooting and hollering we could tell that he had successfully located the site and found it to be empty. Drew and I quickly joined him. By lunchtime we had camp completely set up and decided to go fishing. After paddling around for a little over an hour, I managed to snag a barely legal lake trout. It was my first and I was so excited! The reading I did before the trip stated it wasn’t good for them to be released back into the water this time of year and I decided to keep it. Up until this point din the trip it had been constantly raining or extremely overcast, so we were all happy to notice the sun peeking out as we paddled the lake. We even pulled over to explore the shoreline around the area the fish was caught and soak up some rays. I had to use the bathroom though, so we made our way back to camp to prepare for dinner.   Upon returning to shore, it was decided by the group that the area around camp was safe enough for us to try a different kind of trip. By late evening the effects of our "pizza toppings" were starting to wear off and we were all hungry. We quietly ate dinner and enjoyed some drinks under the bug net. Before we could tuck in for the night we noticed a light flashing by the unmarked portage. Someone was coming through at 9PM! We couldn’t believe anyone would be that brave to traverse the unmarked portage in the dark. I flashed my headlamp back signaling that we occupied the site, but told the boys that if it came to it we would be sharing a site. I would never think of leaving another group stranded on a dead end lake with no fire grate or latrine that time of night. The other group never did show up, and after waiting until almost 10PM we decided to retire for the night.