We set out on our second day in Lac La Croix with the goal of visiting Curtain Falls. We had heard how beautiful it was and were really excited to check it out. We had a few portages and a little paddling to get there from boulder bay so we set off early in the morning.
We paddled across calm waters and basked in the warm sun. When we finally made it to Curtain Falls it was amazing. The water was raging out of Crooked lake over the top of the falls pounding its way down into Iron Lake. Mat and Jim did a little fishing in the fast water below the falls while Erin and I did a little swimming at the top of the falls. It felt so nice to cool off on such a hot day. We found a nice little pool on the edge of the falls that had water boiling into it without the danger of being swept over. If you sit in one side it feels like you are sitting in a jacuzzi tub. If you ever get the chance to stop by Curtain Falls you won’t be disappointed.
Curtain Falls from Bill Bryson III on Vimeo.
Music:
from: http://music.podshow.com
Artist: Dan Tharp
Website: http://www.dantharpmusic.com
Artist: AngelWhite
Website: http://tinyurl.com/angelwhite
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Loved the intro! That’s an impressive volume of water going through that chute! Once again, I love the selection of music you pick for your clips.
Suggestion: It might have been nice to have had a map incorporated into this clip showing the places you were talking about. Just a thought.
Looking forward to next week’s episode.
Thanks!
Missing you guys. Just love seeing you getting out into the wild. Hope all is well with the new jobs.
Cheers,
Rick
Can’t say enough about how much I appreciate you using my music!
Personally, I think it fits in beautifully with the imagery you’ve created.
Again, great video!
Take care,
Dan Tharp
http://dantharpmusic.com
when I was 16 i paddled what is called the hunter island route in quitico park, in 2007 i now 53, talked my wife into going back to curtain falls, with me, at that time in 1971 you could camp right at the top of the falls, not now, we spent about an hour enjoying the falls and spending time with new friends from the denver area. the falls and the trip in through nina moose was a lot of work but just as much fun as i had dreamed.if you are in the area of curtain falls please take the time to see rebecca falls just 20 minutes away.
We just discovered your site this morning by accident. Wow! Its one thing to read about people canoeing the BWCAW, its entirely another to actually be able to see it on video. I had to cancell my trip to Ely Minnesota in 2008 due to gas prices. This is really nice to be able to actually see what we been missing. Someday we hope to be able to move up to Minnesota to enjoy the BWCAW ourselves firsthand; We just dont have anything like it down here in Georgia or the southeast for that matter. You can bet we will be watching every show you put out. Thankyou for sharing your time on the water with those of us who cant be. Sencerely, Tony & Kat
Hi Tony and Kat,
Great to hear from you. This is exactly why we do the show. Thanks for taking the time to comment. We are still producing winter content at the moment, but as soon as the lakes thaw out we’ll be back out in a canoe. If you’d like to see anything on the show please let us know. Have a nice week.
Bill
Bill,
We recently stumbled upon your site and absolutely love it. We installed your widget on our Dashboard.
We have taken several of the trips you have featured and really enjoy reliving the experiences.
We were at Curtain Falls last September, 2008. The flow over the falls was about half of what is on your podcast. We walked out to the big table-like rock that is pictured in the midst of the cascade. What an increase in water volume!
I don’t mean to be picky , BUT, (there it is!) Curtain Falls does not flow into Lac La Croix, it debouches into Iron Lake. Iron flows out through the Bottle River back into La Croix.
We absolutely find your podcast to be delightful and really appreciate the effort that you expend in putting them together. We have paddled the BWCA for the last 16 Septembers this year.
We are 59, from DesMoines, Ia., and are, of course, curious if your dad is OUR Bill Bryson?
Keep it up and again, thank you,
Tom and Susan
@Tom & Susan Thomas:
Hi Tom and Susan,
Great to hear from you. Thank you so much for taking the time to post a comment. Its always so nice to hear from people who watch our shows. 🙂
Thank you for correcting me on the Iron Lake debacle. At the time I was shooting from the hip when recording that segment. I didn’t notice my error until I had already published the video. Thanks for letting me know, I don’t catch all my mistakes, so if you see any others please speak up. I’d hate to keep making the same ones over and over again on the shows. 🙂
We just had a very similar experience on our most recent trip. We paddled in Mudro up through 4-Town, Boot, Fairy, Gun…. Up into Friday Bay. We were hoping to head west from there to Curtain falls, but after fighting a crazy head wind we camped about 2 miles shy of the falls. The next day with the wind still very prevalent we headed all the way back down Crooked to Lower Basswood Falls, and boy was it low. We had been there just a month prior on a different trip and the water level difference was AMAZING. We actually swam in the middle falls which would have been insane just a few weeks before. I wonder how vastly different Curtain would have been had we made it over there. We are heading out in that same area in a couple of weeks, I don’t know if we will get to Curtain or not, but if we do you’ll sure see some video of it.
I am not related to the author Bill Bryson as far as I know. If I was, then I think this BWCACAST deal would be my full time job instead of just a hobby. 🙂
Anyway… Nice to hear from you. Please let me know if you’d like to see anything special on an upcoming episode.
Have a nice evening.
Bill
What a beautiful place, my Dad’s ashes were taken to Curtain Falls in June 2009 and he went on the ride of his life down the Falls. I want to go down the Falls also. Thank You so much for the neat video and wonderful guitar music. If you have any tips on the Portage to get to Curtain Falls I would appreciate it. Thanks again for the Video kim clift kim.cliftrn@gmail.com
@kimcliftRN: Hi Kim, Curtain Falls really is an amazing place. We just sat and watched the falls for quite some time while we were there. It was a nice hot day so we were able to sit in a section of the falls that resembled a jacuzzi tub with the water bubbling all around us. A perfect way to spend the day.
As for the portage to Curtain Falls. It follows the river between Crooked Lake and the falls down to Iron lake. It is very pretty with many opportunities to stop and look over the river. The trail itself is a bit of an incline up to the falls. Nothing terrible, but its not level. We didn’t portage our canoes or packs since we were just day tripping there from Boulder Bay. We left our canoes on the Iron lake side of the portage. Paddling from the Crooked lake side allows you to paddle right up to the falls. I hope you get a chance to head out there some time soon.
Thanks for commenting,
Bill
Why are you promoting wilderness? What happened to the “self discovery” part of wilderness? No surprises here after I’ve seen the entire thing on video. No challenge with navigating since you’ll add maps I’m sure. What are you trying to sell? Why can’t you just quietly celebrate solitude without advertising it all over the place. As if the BWCAW doesn’t get enough use as it is for crying out loud. Where is your respect for the place you say you love so much? Where?
@Janice: Hi Janice,
Our goal with BWCACAST is to help show off the beauty of the area to those who are not able to visit themselves. We have received numerous emails from viewers who are unable to paddle in the boundary waters, thanking us for giving them an outlet to experience the wilderness from their far away locations and from people who are disabled and are unable to make these trips themselves. We also hear from people who do take trips into the Boundary Waters saying that by watching our videos they are adding different places to there “to do” list for future trips. Viewing a trip in video format doesn’t even come close to experiencing it in person. You can’t feel the sun on your face or the smell of the woods. We hope our videos inspire people to take trips of their own. The BWCAW does get a lot of use, and we think that is GREAT. Isn’t that the purpose of National Parks? Giving those an opportunity to get out in the wilderness away from the hustle and bustle of our modern lives? The US Forest service sets quotas to ensure the park isn’t over used and moves campsites as needed to prevent excessive wear. We apply for permits just like every other group. As you can see in our site we don’t have any advertising tied to our videos – we make no money from this venture. The two support images on the side of our site are simply resources we find useful and don’t provide us any sort of income at all. Please understand that our filming process doesn’t have any more of an impact on the area than any other group of campers. We certainly respect your opinion in this matter and thank you for respecting our right to share our experiences with others.
Thank you for your work. Those wishing to be totally surprised can make sure to not watch your videos…Janice…don’t click on what you don’t want to see. I had a group of newbies the bryson tip about bump at the bottom was very helpful and we did have to paddle our own canoes and make our own judgments anyway. I find your clips helpful in letting people know what they are in for prior to making the commitment to go our annual school outing to BWCAW.
@Jodi: Hi Jodi, Thanks for commenting. Nice to hear you enjoy the videos. We enjoy making them. 🙂 What school are you associated with? I bet its a lot of fun to have a group like that in the BWCAW. We hope to hear from you here at BWCACAST again. Enjoy the fall.
Bill