Lunetta Lake

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Dates:May 24-27, 2013
Entry Point:4 - Crab Lake & Cummings Lake (BWCA)
Type:Canoeing
Lakes:Burntside, Crab, Cummings, Hassel, Korb, Little Crab, Lunetta

Day 1

Ben and I left the house at 3:35 AM to drive an hour and a half into Ely to pick up the permit at Voyager North Outfitters at 5:00 AM. After picking up the permit, Ben drove to the boat landing on Burntside Lake not far from Ely. We unloaded the gear and started for Entry Point #4 on a calm, sunny, and cool morning.



Lucky for me, Ben knows how to read a map and take compass readings to help find the way to the portage on Burntside Lake. There are many islands on Burntside, and it would be easy to get lost. The water was calm and made for an enjoyable paddle. We didn’t see anyone on the lake, the cabins dotting the shorelines were all quiet, and no one was out boating. Ben navigated well, and we arrived at the portage marked with a sign in about 45 minutes.



The plan was to do one-and-a-half portages – Ben would carry the canoe and a light pack all the way to the end, I would drop a pack off halfway, Ben would come back and pick up that pack, and I would go back to the beginning and get the last pack and carry it across. The temperature was cool (our hands were cold), no bugs were out to bother us, and the sun was shining through the trees – not bad conditions for the long hike ahead. The portage started off with a wide opening in the woods, fairly level for a few rods, and then it led into a few climbs up and down rocky terrain. A small stream crossed the portage about a quarter of the way in. I dropped my pack off just before a larger stream that had flooded the portage and walked back to get the other pack at the beginning. The second half of the portage started off through a shallow stream flooding the path; not enough to get my socks wet with one trip across. The next section had a long gradual climb for several rods before leveling off on the homestretch. The landing leading into Crab Lake was open and on a sandy beach.



Ben was eager to explore the campsites on Crab to take pictures and rate the sites. I wasn’t as excited about making the trip longer with the extra stops, but I knew it was important to Ben, so I wasn’t going to keep this from happening. We stopped at three campsites on Crab Lake before finding the portage to Little Crab Lake. The portage to Little Crab was a breeze; it was short (20 rods), flat, and open.



We decided to pass on visiting the campsite on Little Crab that morning and instead headed towards our final destination on Lunetta Lake. The campsite wasn’t taken!



We scouted out the campsite; it had two level tent pads and an open kitchen with a view of the lake all next to a small bay. We ate lunch consisting of wheat French bread, cheese, summer sausage, pepperoni (this was a great addition to our “normal” lunches), gorp, banana chips, craisins, and crackers.



After lunch, we set up our tent together, and then I finished blowing up the sleeping pads and putting them in the sleeping bags while Ben set up the tarp. After I set up the sleeping things, I decided to take a nap. Ben spent the entire time I was sleeping rigging up an incredible food pack pulley hanging system.





After my nap, we decided to do some fishing and exploring around Lunetta Lake. We explored the rapids near the Hassel portage. Ben walked up to the top and found the start of the rapids; it was created by a huge beaver dam.



After exploring the rapids, we kept fishing. I had a few bites on my line, but I wasn’t able to set the hook. Ben was almost able to reel in a largemouth bass (his first one ever) before it spit the hook. He caught another largemouth bass shortly afterwards and was able to bring it into the canoe.

After paddling around the entire shoreline of Lunetta Lake (it only took an hour), we stopped back at our campsite. Ben cooked up some steaks, creamed corn, and peaches for dinner. We headed for bed shortly before the sun went down.

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