BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
May 08 2024
Entry Point 30 - Lake One
Number of Permits per Day: 13
Elevation: 1230 feet
Latitude: 47.9391
Longitude: -91.4792
My son Remy and I, and my friend Keith and his son Charlie put our canoes into Lake one at 9:30 Monday morning after dropping off a car at the Snowbank Lake landing. Lake One can be tricky to navigate. On our way to Lake Two we turned East too early and ended up paddling about a mile out of our way into a dead-end bay before we realized our mistake. We blamed the fact that Lake One was split between Fisher Maps #10 and #4 for our error. If the entire lake had been visible at once on a single map, we would not have made the wrong turn. Once we got back on course we portaged the 30 rods into a pond and then portaged the 40 rods into Lake Two. The weather was nice, and there was a bit of a tail wind out of the West. We stopped for lunch on the shore of Lake Two. After lunch we canoed through the North end of Lake Three and into Lake Four. We stopped for the night at a campsite on the West shore of Lake Four, just North of the channel heading toward Hudson Lake. We had to battle swarms of mosquitoes as we set up the tents. We then had a nice refreshing swim. Because we had brought steaks along for the first night, we didn't go fishing.
On Tuesday morning we had a bacon and eggs breakfast then packed up camp and headed out in our canoes. As we canoed past our campsite, we realized that Remy & I had left our hammocks pitched between trees. We landed again and quickly packed them up. Once again we had beautiful weather. We paddled East and completed 3 short portages before entering Hudson Lake. The 105 rod portage into Lake Insula was exhausting! Lake Insula is a large gorgeous lake broken up by multiple islands and penninsulas. We had lunch at a campsite on a large island just East of Hudson Lake. It felt like we had a tail wind as we were heading East, and then as we turned North it seemed like the wind shifted and was at our backs once again. We navigated Lake Insula flawlessly and camped for the night on the island just West of Williamson Island. After setting up the tents and a refreshing swim, Remy & I got back into the canoe and tried to catch some fish. We had no luck! At 9PM that night, just as we were going to bed, a thunderstorm rolled through. That night I was awakened several times by the loud croaking of bullfrogs from the shallows around our island. What noisy neighbors!
By Wednesday morning the weather had cleared, but the wind was now coming from the Northwest, pretty much in our faces. We paddled to the North end of Lake Insula and tackled the largest portage of our trip. The 180 rod walk to Kiana Lake actually seemed easier than the 105 rod carry into Lake Insula. We headed onward into Thomas Lake where we really started feeling the headwind. We finally made it to the campsite just Northeast of the portage into Thomas Pond in time for lunch. After lunch we proceeded across Thomas Pond and into Thomas Creek after hiking across the famous Kekekabic Trail. We managed to easily run the rapids in Thomas Creek and avoid the 2 short portages. We camped for the night on Hatchet Lake at the northern campsite. It was cool and windy, so we didn't swim. There was lots of threatening weather going by to the North of us, but we stayed dry. After supper we canoed back to Thomas Creek to fish and look for moose. No luck on either count, but we did see a beaver swimmming.
The weather was nice again Thursday morning, but the wind was out of the West which was the direction we were heading. We portaged into Ima Lake and canoed across it. Before portaging into Jordan Lake, we watched a bald eagle sitting in a tree get harrassed repeatedly by a seagull. The narrow channel leading into Jordan Lake is quite beautiful. It is narrow like a river with big rock outcroppings. We paddled across Jordan, Cattyman, Adventure, and Jitterbug Lakes. We found the Eastern campsite on Ahsub Lake taken, so we camped at the Western campsite which had a great place for swimming in front of it. There was a very brave loon in front of the campsite who didn't seem to mind if we got close to it. We tried our luck at fishing, but only caught 1 smallmouth which was too small to eat. Between 5:00 and 7:30 that evening we saw a number of canoes heading across Ahsub Lake from Disappointment Lake to Jitterbug Lake. We weren't sure where they were planning to camp, but it was getting late.
On Friday we awoke again to good weather. We paddled the length of Disappointment Lake and portaged into to Parent Lake and then on to Snowbank Lake. It was July 4th, and as we entered Snowbank Lake the sounfd of firecrackers reminded us we weren't in the wilderness anaymore. After a brief splash war on our way across Snowbank, we made it to the landing and our car was still there. What a great trip!
BWCA 2012 Trip
Entry Date:
May 29, 2012
Entry Point:
Little Gabbro Lake
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
2
Day one starts at 1 am as we make the drive from Eau Claire, Wisconsin to Ely, Minnesota. The drive was relatively uneventful and we arrived at Jordan's Outfitters at about 7 am. With the paperwork done and the gear loaded we are on our way to the entry point. (We have had great experiences with Jordan's and will continue to use them for our future trips.) We get dropped off and decide that a single portage is the way to go for us. We make it to water by about 8 am and that's when the rain starts. We both get wet pretty quick so we decide to make the paddle without donning our rain gear. The rain is intermittent and isn't all that bad at all. We make it through the rapids going into Gabbro Lake with relative ease and start making our way across the lake. We meet a couple on their way out and they offer us leeched and some great advice about what sites are open on the lake. Turns out they are just leaving one of the sites we had our eyes on so we beat feet for that site. (Camp 1715.) One other bonus was that they told us the left plenty of firewood. (To the couple that we got everything from "Thank You!" it was all greatly appreciated.) We arrived at camp between 9 and 9:30 am and start setting up camp. With the tent up, the fire started, and the water pumped it was time to get dry and try our hand at some fishing. We were able to land a couple small northern, 14"-16" range and have a small snack. The clouds continued to roll in and it started raining again. We made our steaks over the fire between the rain spells and decided to retire to the tent about 5 pm. A couple of games of cards later and we were ready to call it a night. 
Day two started off a little chilly and with some cloud cover. Breakfast consisted of instant oatmeal and fresh coffee. After breakfast we hung out at camp and tried to get things dried out from the rain. We were able to spot a rainbow over the lake and snap a couple pictures. As the day progressed the weather got warmer and the cloud cover lifted turned out be a nice afternoon. We were able to get one eater walleye from shore at camp and decided to make our way out in the canoe and try some fishing. Well we didn't have much luck. We were both able to get a couple of fish on but could not land them. So goes it you win some you lose some. Dinner was another round of steaks, it would have been nice to have some walleye with them too. 
Man what a beautiful day Thursday turned out to be. Not a cloud in the sky, sunny, and warm. After breakfast we decided to lay out our gear and get it dried out from the rain on Tuesday. I also set up my solar shower with the hopes of getting in a nice hot shower that day. ( I was not disappointed.) After we got out gear re-situated it was time to go fishing. We headed to the rapids between Little Gabbro and Gabbro. We fished for a couple hours and had no luck at all. By this time I am starting to question my abilities as a fisherman. With no luck at the rapids we head back to camp and stop to fish at a couple other spots marked on the map. Still no luck. We get back to camp and have lunch. After that I retire to my hammock for a siesta and Matt took the canoe out for a little solo voyage. After I wake we decide its time to clean up. I take to my solar shower and Matt jumps in the lake. I'm pretty sure by the length of his jaunt into the lake the water was still pretty cool. I don't care what anyone says a nice hot shower in the BWCA feels great! We spend the rest of the afternoon around camp and wait for the sun to start to set. About 7 pm we head out for one last fishing trip and this time we are reward with 3 walleye. Not much but with the one on the stringer that's four fish and is plenty for two guys. Time to head back to camp and have a shore lunch. After dishes are done we spend some time packing up what we won't need and get ready for the paddle out the next day. 
Day four.....Today we paddle out. The trip was very short and in my opinion too short. After breakfast we start breaking down camp and packing the canoe. We decide to head out about 10:00 am and make the paddle back to our entry point. We arrive and see a couple big groups at the end of the portage. We decide to paddle around a little bit and take our time as we have plenty of it. Once we decided to land we make a double portage since we have the time. Back to Jordan's for a shower and into Ely for a meal before we hit the road and start the drive back home.