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Trip Planning Forum

My first trip to the BWCA

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Date/Time: 10/31/2024 06:00PM

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My first trip to the BWCA

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Previous Messages:
Author	Message Text
QueticoMike	03/02/2017 09:13AM quote ducks: "quote DontPanic: "what do you mean...+1 ??" +1 means he agrees with capt tony" +1 :-)
HighnDry	02/28/2017 03:24PM quote DontPanic: "quote Wables: "If you are willing to put some hard work into your first day, EP 16 to Tiger/Boulder Bays or Fishstake Narrows. Lots of day trip options, good fishing, plenty of space. I did very well on Eyes a couple of septembers ago. Lots of small waterfalls on the route and with day trips, pictographs, warrior hill, etc. " How likely do you think it is that we make it to tiger bay in one day? My friend and I can go about 4 - 4.5 miles an hour Maybe faster but we haven't tried. " I read a trip report from this site where a crew of 4 made it to Tiger Bay on the afternoon of the first day. It's certainly do-able however some of the 4 or 5 star campsites may be occupied. An early start from the parking lot will help move you along too.
Wables	02/28/2017 11:19AM quote DontPanic: "quote Wables: "If you are willing to put some hard work into your first day, EP 16 to Tiger/Boulder Bays or Fishstake Narrows. Lots of day trip options, good fishing, plenty of space. I did very well on Eyes a couple of septembers ago. Lots of small waterfalls on the route and with day trips, pictographs, warrior hill, etc. " How likely do you think it is that we make it to tiger bay in one day? My friend and I can go about 4 - 4.5 miles an hour Maybe faster but we haven't tried. " If you get an early start you should be there by 2:00 or so. Last time I was up there it took me about 8 hours to get to fishstake narrows double portaging and paddling solo.
Grandma L	02/28/2017 09:51AM Good advice here - Bannock is right on with his mileage prediction! or even a little optimistic for unseasoned paddlers who are not used to paddling or even paddling together. My college age, highly athletic, grandsons usually have an overall day's average more like 2.5 miles per hour when you consider stops for lunch, water etc. Their actual paddle time is 3+ mph but then they take a break to regroup, put on another layer of sunscreen or bug junk, read the map, eat or drink and the mph drops. Then there are the mucky and difficult portages, troublesome landings, wind and weather that can all work against your mph.
nakor	02/28/2017 06:42AM Welcome to the board! All the suggestions above are good ones. You mentioned Snake River as an option. You could basecamp on Bald Eagle. It's not too far from the entry. All river (Snake, Isabella) to Bald Eagle. There is good fishing there and good day trip options for more fishing. The Kawishiwi River is another good day trip for scenery and good fishing. You will be in some burn area in the lakes north of Bald Eagle. We are going in #84 on Aug 4. First time using this entry, not the first time being in the area. If you would like more info send me an email address and I will get with you.
Bannock	02/28/2017 12:38AM quote DontPanic: "quote Wables: "If you are willing to put some hard work into your first day, EP 16 to Tiger/Boulder Bays or Fishstake Narrows. Lots of day trip options, good fishing, plenty of space. I did very well on Eyes a couple of septembers ago. Lots of small waterfalls on the route and with day trips, pictographs, warrior hill, etc. " How likely do you think it is that we make it to tiger bay in one day? My friend and I can go about 4 - 4.5 miles an hour Maybe faster but we haven't tried. " For planning purposes, assume 3 mph or less. Many factors will slow you down - wind, weather, not traveling a straight line, confusion, fatuige, a 100 other things.
DontPanic	02/27/2017 09:24PM quote Wables: "If you are willing to put some hard work into your first day, EP 16 to Tiger/Boulder Bays or Fishstake Narrows. Lots of day trip options, good fishing, plenty of space. I did very well on Eyes a couple of septembers ago. Lots of small waterfalls on the route and with day trips, pictographs, warrior hill, etc. " How likely do you think it is that we make it to tiger bay in one day? My friend and I can go about 4 - 4.5 miles an hour Maybe faster but we haven't tried.
Wables	02/26/2017 10:33PM If you are willing to put some hard work into your first day, EP 16 to Tiger/Boulder Bays or Fishstake Narrows. Lots of day trip options, good fishing, plenty of space. I did very well on Eyes a couple of septembers ago. Lots of small waterfalls on the route and with day trips, pictographs, warrior hill, etc.
fishonfishoff	02/26/2017 06:10PM quote lindylair: "Consider the Mudro entry but instead of Horse go west from Fourtown to Boot Lake and north to Fairy or beyond. Fairy itself is a really cool little lake with good fishing and likely solitude, most people pass through. There are two very nice campsites there. If you are really motivated continue on to Gun of Gull or even Thunder where the census numbers for walleye are off the charts. Not a lot of people go up that far. You can't go wrong anywhere between Fairy and Thunder, or the 5 star site on Beartrap a short portage away, and be the only folks on the lake. Generally less busy than Horse or Fourtown, lots of nice campsites and good fishing. " +1 Plenty of options doing this.
HighnDry	02/26/2017 04:45PM We need to build that list of abbreviations, acronyms and "texting" letter-combinations for all newcomers to the site! It took me 6 months to decipher just what that "+1" meant. Might just be me though :) Welcome to the board DontPanic.
ducks	02/26/2017 07:06AM quote DontPanic: "what do you mean...+1 ??" +1 means he agrees with capt tony
DontPanic	02/26/2017 03:48AM what do you mean...+1 ??
Bannock	02/25/2017 10:01PM quote Captn Tony: "The Horse Lake destination is easily done in less then a day and is an easy trip. The fishing on Fourtown and Horse is good. A day trip up the Horse River to Basswood Falls would get you a waterfall. The only problem I see is you might not get a campsite at either Fourtown or Horse. They are very popular lakes and if you want seclusion you probably won't get that either. But crowded in the bdub means you might have 4 groups canoe by you during the day which I personally don't mind. I Don't know anything about the other suggested route." +1
lindylair	02/25/2017 08:55PM Consider the Mudro entry but instead of Horse go west from Fourtown to Boot Lake and north to Fairy or beyond. Fairy itself is a really cool little lake with good fishing and likely solitude, most people pass through. There are two very nice campsites there. If you are really motivated continue on to Gun of Gull or even Thunder where the census numbers for walleye are off the charts. Not a lot of people go up that far. You can't go wrong anywhere between Fairy and Thunder, or the 5 star site on Beartrap a short portage away, and be the only folks on the lake. Generally less busy than Horse or Fourtown, lots of nice campsites and good fishing.
DontPanic	02/25/2017 08:47PM quote maxxbhp: "Going in September is gonna help a lot with the "crowds", just stay away from the bigger lakes on Labor Day weekend, actually, avoid Labor Day completely if you can. " Sadly the plan is Labor Day week. I wanted the first week of august but it's looking like it'll have to be Labor Day.
DontPanic	02/25/2017 08:44PM I've read that loon lake is nice but there's no horsepower limit and some people have had bad experiences because of this. Is that true.
bassnet	02/25/2017 08:30PM Yea...I booted that. Ep#14!
BasecampMom	02/25/2017 07:27PM quote bassnet: "Go in at #16, end up at Shell lake. Small lake forays abound, and Devil's Cascade nearby. Good fishing all around." +1 - or go in at #14 and do the same. There is a good set of smaller lakes to the north of devil's Cascade and Loon Lake. You should find your solitude there and good fishing.
bassnet	02/25/2017 03:42PM Go in at #16, end up at Shell lake. Small lake forays abound, and Devil's Cascade nearby. Good fishing all around.
maxxbhp	02/25/2017 03:42PM Going in September is gonna help a lot with the "crowds", just stay away from the bigger lakes on Labor Day weekend, actually, avoid Labor Day completely if you can.
QueticoMike	02/25/2017 01:12PM Welcome to the message board!
Captn Tony	02/25/2017 07:19AM The Horse Lake destination is easily done in less then a day and is an easy trip. The fishing on Fourtown and Horse is good. A day trip up the Horse River to Basswood Falls would get you a waterfall. The only problem I see is you might not get a campsite at either Fourtown or Horse. They are very popular lakes and if you want seclusion you probably won't get that either. But crowded in the bdub means you might have 4 groups canoe by you during the day which I personally don't mind. I Don't know anything about the other suggested route.
DeanL	02/25/2017 07:07AM First off, welcome to BWCA.com. Good fishing and solitude are not the 2 easiest things to put together. I don't think I'd be going out on a limb to say you won't find much solitude going in Mudro and up to Horse. I guess it all depends on your definition of solitude. The fishing in that area can be good. You could try pushing on farther from Mudro up to Crooked. Crooked is a huge lake but it would give you plenty of options to fish and explore. Another option would be taking a tow up Moose and paddling along the border to Knife. It's another large body of water but it's a multi species fish factory. There are also a pile of options for day trips in this area. One last thing to consider when outfitting through an outfitter is the amount of gear. Before we accumulated our own gear we rented gear from an outfitter, and found out we had enough food for 2 trips and way too much gear. Have a great trip!
DontPanic	02/25/2017 04:56AM I am planning a trip in early sept. with 3 other guys. We are using an outfitter to make sure our first trip to the boundary waters goes as smoothly as possible. They have suggested a few routes and I'm looking for some opinions. We are going for 4-5 days, probably 5. We would like to have a base camp. Our main focus is a base camp that is somewhat secluded with good fishing (walleye, pike, bass). We plan on a trip each day to see waterfalls, rapids, and more fishing of course. We are also not very concerned about difficult portages if the route is worth the work and are willing to paddle hard to reach our base camp on the first day. Out of the options the outfitter has suggested I've narrowed it down to 2. Entry point #23 Murdo Lake to Horse lake as a possible base camp and back to #23 Entry point # 84 (Snake River) to #30 (Lake One) this trip looks like it would be good, however I do not know if a base camp is an option with this trip. If you think there is a better route than either of these I am all ears. I would imagine the outfitter will let us pick any route. These were simply suggestions. *** The outfitter I have been talking to is Ely Outfitters. If you have any recommendations for this that would also be appreciated. Thank you