7/5/05 – News flash for those planning routes for later this summer: the river east of Bug Lake on the Louse River route is no longer passable. Two beaver dams blew out and what was a river is now a long, winding muck hole.
The Forest Service has no plans to lengthen the Louse Lake to Bug Lake portage, so this section of the Louse River is essentially closed to all but the most adventurous campers until the beavers rebuild the dams. The Louse River is still passable via the northern lakes of Mesaba and Dent.