The Frost River
With two consecutive days off, I found myself with an opportunity to finally get into the Boundary Waters. After finishing work and packing a few final items, I was off to the Cross Bay Entry Point. The plan was to paddle the Frost River and then make my way north to Seagull Lake. But as many paddlers know, sometimes the plan doesn’t always happen. I made it to the Cross River at about 8:00PM and paddled south to Rib Lake. It was a fantastic night. I saw three moose in the Cross Bay Area and had a beautiful sunset as I paddled. I stayed the night at the Rib Lake Campsite in my hammock and fell asleep to the sound of wolves howling across the lake.
I woke up early the next day and started paddling around 4:00AM. As I paddled in the dark, I once again found myself paddling past a moose. When I reached the far end of the portage into Long Island Lake, I stopped on the sandy shore and ate my breakfast as the sun slowly climbed above the trees. It didn’t take long till I reached the Frost River and along the way I saw a bald eagle flying overhead. The Frost River was full of wildlife. As I turned a bend during one of the narrower parts of the river, there was a bull moose standing in my path. I decided to pull over for an early lunch and a quick nap on the rocky shore. By the time I awoke, the moose was gone and I continued on my way. I encountered three more moose as I started my journey north to Paulson Lake where I planned to stay the night.
By Flying Lake, things started to get more difficult. Being off the beaten path, the portages were harder to find and often involved getting out of the canoe and searching the shore line. My trip took a drastic change when I was unsuccessful in finding the portage from Glee Lake to Elusion Lake. I made the decision to travel back south and make my way to the Round Lake Public Access. In the morning, I hiked about eight miles of the Kekekabic Trail before I started my paddle out of the BWCA. I exited the water around 9:00PM that night. Over the entire trip, I only saw one other person and more moose than I had seen in my life. I look forward to taking more trips into the BWCA and Quetico as I continue to work here at Seagull Outfitters.
