Entry Point: Fall Lake #24
Type: Day trip to Newton Lake Portage from Fall Lake Federal Campground
Equipment: Rental canoe from Spirt of the Wilderness outfitter, bent shaft paddles, camera, day packs, lunch, first aid kits and rain gear.
We started from the Fall Lake entry point at about 10 am and experienced the first of several people entering the BWCA.
The paddle was our first experience into the BWCA and we decided to go the east side of the island and lunch at campsite 1761.Wethen would paddle to the portage and hike the portage to get an idea what we would experience.
The winds and warmth made this an easy paddle and the equipment was much different from our cedar strip canoe so this was a great practice run.
We stopped at the campsite for lunch and found immediately that if we went into the shade or woods the bugs wanted to carry us away. We stayed on the beach with the light wind and ate our lunch. I checked out the latrine which was located a short walk uphill through the swarms of bugs.
After lunch, we paddled around the point and started to head towards Newton Lake portage. We were signaled by another paddler to approach. Thinking he was in trouble we proceeded towards him and started to hear and eagle squawking. We thought maybe the animal was caught in fishing line. As we approached the paddler just wanted to share with us that the noise was coming from an immature eagle learning to fly with the adult sitting close by listening and watching the whole thing. Pretty cool, and we were glad neither the paddler or the eagle were in real danger or trouble.
As we started again towards Newton portage we saw that all the campsites located on this part of the lake were occupied. It was only 1 pm (1300)!
The Newton Lake portage was an easy landing and was wide enough for several canoes and equipment to off load. We had two other canoes pass us on the portage going up the portage to Newton Lakeincluding a motorized large boat on a wheeled carrier. Two heading towards Newton on our return to Fall Lake.This is a busy location.
We decided to hike the portage and enjoy the side trips to see the Newton Falls. This gave us a good idea what the portage was like. We returned to the start point and paddled the direct route back to the campsite.
Lots of traffic on the lake from paddlers and fishing boats.
Perfect first taste of what to expect for our future trip.
