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BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog

March 19 2024

Entry Point 27 - Snowbank Lake

Snowbank Lake entry point allows overnight paddle or motor (25 HP max). This entry point is supported by Kawishiwi Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 24 miles. Access is a boat landing or canoe launch at Snowbank Lake. Many trip options for paddlers. This area was affected by blowdown in 1999.

Number of Permits per Day: 8
Elevation: 1191 feet
Latitude: 47.9716
Longitude: -91.4326
Snowbank Lake - 27

Expedition 2007--Snowbank to Ima and back

by woodpecker
Trip Report

Entry Date: July 22, 2007
Entry Point: Snowbank Lake
Number of Days: 6
Group Size: 3

Trip Introduction:
This expedition would be a different entry than most of our other trips....new experiences and new lakes....Snowbank was a popular entry but we thought it would be good to hit new and uncharted territory for our bi-annual BWCA Expedition.......

Day 1 of 6


Sunday, July 22, 2007
After a restfull night before at the VNO bunhouse........
Our 2007 trip started out with the tradition of breakfast at Vertin's and then stopping back at VNO to pick up the leeches and recheck the canoe, making sure it was secure.... 18 miles later we pushed off from #27 into the cool waters and sunny skies of Snowbank Lake heading towards the first of 2 portages to Disappointment Lake via Parent.

We opted for the 2nd site marked on our map mainly because of the shade it provided....set up camp and I relaxed at camp taking a well deserved nap on the canoe while the sons tried their luck at shore- fishing the rocks in either direction from camp.....

Later we cooked the traditional 1st meal of rib-eyes, mashed potatoes, and vegetables and then launched the MN III for an evening of fishing.... Nick caught the 1st fish
BUT Disappointment was a disspointment as far as big fish---many, many SMALL mouth.

 



Day 2 of 6


Monday, July 23, 2007

Monday started off great with our homemade bisquits and gravy and we packed the gear into the canoe for day 2 into Ima....BUT....a dreaded BWCA mistake was about to overtake the expedition....reading the map incorrectly.... After portaging back into Parent we realized the error of our map reader,that being me....
So, with much disgust, we paddled back across the entire length of Disappointment...and into Ashub, Jitterbug, Adventure, Cattymann and its waterfall, and finally Jordan.......deciding that the 90+ degree temps had taken a toll on all of us.....

We searched out the 1st available campsite on Jordan and would you believe.....it had a beautiful sand beach just waiting for us.....we all shucked our shorts and swam in our boxers, relaxing and cooling off in the aptly named "sky blue waters".

After swimming, we set up camp, and had something to eat and drank our fill of electrolyte propel/ filtered water...
Jordan was also a disappointment for fish ( one hammer-handle northern) but the campsite outweighed the no fish and we stayed two nights..

 



Day 3 of 6


Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Explored Jordan cliffs for the pictos, swam, relaxed, and after a meal of tacos and blueberry cheesecake we ventured into Ima Lake to try fishing there.
Several nice smallmouth , a nice walleye and a nice northern rewarded our patience and paddling into another lake just to fish...

That evening the loons of Jordan serenaded us with much calling.... We got great pictures of them and were within 8 ft of them all across the lake back to camp...

 



Day 4 of 6


Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Oatmeal and coffee gave us the energy to make our way back to Disappointment to find a "good" site to spend our last two night .....we were packed and paddling by 8:30 am.. Back through Cattyman, Adventure, Jitterbug, and Ashub.......we pushed for the island site on the southern end of Disappointment...

It was open, so at about 10:00 am we set up our final camp on a really nice island site and relaxed and swam and fished from the shore this afternoon....
Adam, the oldest son, fished leeches on a slip bobber setup, hooking and landing many SMALL mouths again....his presistance paid off when he hooked into something of some weight....A nice 30" pike.....supper was procurred......

and cleaned on the canoe bottom....

The pike, with mashed potatoes,and peas and carrots and banana cream pie was a great meal and we were all satisfied...

A campfire and good talk around it set the way for a good night's rest....

 



Day 5 of 6


Thursday, July 26, 2007

Thursday started with a really neat sunrise.......
we fished early and caught fish including a nice walleye 20"+

....then the storm clouds moved in and midday-early afternoon the skies turned from sunny to rather threatening... Later, that afternoon we fished some island shorelines and a couple and nice lillypad bays and channels picking up a number of fish which we again released... We took some group pics and that evening some sunset shots....

 



Day 6 of 6


Friday, July 27, 2007

Friday morning, we awoke early, both anticipating the trip home and regretting that the expedition 2007 would soon be over..... We packed and pushed off towards our Snowbank exit .... We had another great and memorable trip to our beloved BWCA and I sure we are all anticipating the next one

Once again after the return of the rental canoe to VNO, the NEEDED-REFRESHING shower, the BEER, and of course another great Bucky burger meal at The Ely Steakhouse ......Nick and I said farewell to Adam and the BWCA until next we are on Expedition!!!


Woodpecker 8/03/07

 


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