BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
May 06 2024
Entry Point 30 - Lake One
Lake One entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Kawishiwi Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 21 miles. Access is a canoe landing at 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!
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!
First Fall Trip
by wrestlencanoe
Trip Report
Entry Date:
October 09, 2015
Entry Point:
North Kawishiwi River
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
2
Trip Introduction:
My first Fall trip to the BWCA, how did it begin? Well, last
spring I made the commitment to get a used outfitter canoe
which gave me a perfect reason to make it up to Ely in
October. Buying a Kevlar canoe wasn’t an easy decision. Sure
I would love to have one but would I get my moneys worth out
it. I have been tripping for the last 4 years with my 2
sons, the oldest now at 20 and attending Iowa State and the
youngest 15 and a freshman in high school. We have been
renting an SR Q18.5 and really liked them but should I buy
one? How much longer will the boys be able to trip with me?
With school, activities, new careers, boys just growing up,
would they become too busy? Should I just wait and get a
tandem? Well last summer Mcsweem (friend that I haven’t
tripped with forever) offered to let me use his canoe
instead of renting and so rationalizing in my mind that now
was the time to pull the trigger and use the money that I
saved from renting for buying.
Report
Thursday, October 8. Vehicle all packed up and ready me and my youngest son Ryan pull out of our driveway at 3:45. For the record my oldest son wanted to go but I didn’t invite him because I didn’t want him to miss classes at ISU. The plan was to make it to at least Cloquet and sleep in the back of the Traverse at the campground. The drive went smooth through the cities and made it to Cloquet by 10:15. We both weren’t tired yet so I decided to keep going on stop at our alternate place which would be the Park and Ride on 169 just north of Virginia. It was probably around 11:30 when we made it there, put all the packs in the front seats and laid out our pads and bags in the back, again trying to save a little money for the new to me canoe. We slept until 7 the next morning. Friday, October 9. Before arriving in Ely we had to make a stop at Tim Horton’s outside of Tower. For many people Tim Horton’s is just another coffee and donut shop but for a family who are fans of the show How I Met Your Mother it represents all that is Canada. Coffee, chocolate milk and a 40 pack of Timbits and we were back on the road. We arrived in Ely at 8:15 and wouldn’t you know it Piragis didn’t open until 9. We thought we would get bait first so stopped at TGO’s and he wasn’t open. Voyageur North was out of minnows so we finally picked some up at Babe’s. Back to Piragis and picked up our canoe and down the Fernberg Road to Ojibway/Triangle. [paragraph break] It was great to finally be paddling again on a northern Minnesota lake. It was a quick paddle across Ojibway to the roller portage to Triangle. Triangle Lake is outside the BWCA but does have 2 island campsites maintained by the forest service, a handful of private cabins, and a few undesignated campsites. Both of the forest service sites are nice and we opted to take the one on the bigger island. http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5364833.pdf We spent the day setting up camp, getting wood, and exploring the lake. That night we spent some time around the fire, made smores, played cribbage and went to sleep early which is easy to do when it gets dark by 7pm. 
Saturday, October 10. Another beautiful day! Slept in until around 8:30 and decided today we would go explore the North Kawishiwi River. We found the portage to be well maintained and not difficult. It took us 17 minutes to travel the 190 rod portage. The wind was blowing more on the Kawish than Triangle as we attempted to fish and travel upstream to a small set of falls. I did manage to catch a decent pike and having lunch by the small falls was very relaxing. Ryan managed to catch a respectable walleye once we got back on Triangle. These would be the only 2 fish we caught on the trip and the walleye was delicious. Saturday night was a repeat of Friday night except we listened to the UMD/Bemidji State hockey game 
Sunday, October 11. It was very warm for October, felt like it could have been in the 80’s. It was a relaxing day paddling around trying to catch fish. We did encounter the first and only 2 canoes we would see on the trip. The first was a man in a solo going to fish the Kawish. The 2nd was a group of three going to their cabin back in a bay. We met this canoe when we were taking a break and having a snack. The gentleman pointed out that we were on private property. I had no idea and apologized. He seemed to understand and I thank him for that. He said something about firing up his sauna and left. We went back to camp since fishing was slow and listened to the packers and played some more cribbage. 
[paragraph break]Monday, October 12. We got up early, packed up and were on the water at 7:15. We had a long drive back home and Ryan was to begin Drivers Ed. that night. I’m glad we got going early because the winds really picked up during the day. Overall I would say we had an excellent trip. I personally would not choose a trip like this in the summer but in the off season it was great. Triangle lake is beautiful and we saw nobody Friday and Saturday and only 2 boats on Sunday. 
a slide show can be found here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPgqs6m5P-1wBAx5iHiBeuw
Saturday, October 10. Another beautiful day! Slept in until around 8:30 and decided today we would go explore the North Kawishiwi River. We found the portage to be well maintained and not difficult. It took us 17 minutes to travel the 190 rod portage. The wind was blowing more on the Kawish than Triangle as we attempted to fish and travel upstream to a small set of falls. I did manage to catch a decent pike and having lunch by the small falls was very relaxing. Ryan managed to catch a respectable walleye once we got back on Triangle. These would be the only 2 fish we caught on the trip and the walleye was delicious. Saturday night was a repeat of Friday night except we listened to the UMD/Bemidji State hockey game Sunday, October 11. It was very warm for October, felt like it could have been in the 80’s. It was a relaxing day paddling around trying to catch fish. We did encounter the first and only 2 canoes we would see on the trip. The first was a man in a solo going to fish the Kawish. The 2nd was a group of three going to their cabin back in a bay. We met this canoe when we were taking a break and having a snack. The gentleman pointed out that we were on private property. I had no idea and apologized. He seemed to understand and I thank him for that. He said something about firing up his sauna and left. We went back to camp since fishing was slow and listened to the packers and played some more cribbage. [paragraph break]Monday, October 12. We got up early, packed up and were on the water at 7:15. We had a long drive back home and Ryan was to begin Drivers Ed. that night. I’m glad we got going early because the winds really picked up during the day. Overall I would say we had an excellent trip. I personally would not choose a trip like this in the summer but in the off season it was great. Triangle lake is beautiful and we saw nobody Friday and Saturday and only 2 boats on Sunday. a slide show can be found here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPgqs6m5P-1wBAx5iHiBeuw
discuss this trip report (2 comments) - last post on October 17, 2015