BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 29 2024
Entry Point 39 - Baker Lake
Baker Lake entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Tofte Ranger Station near the city of Tofte, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 26 miles. Access is a boat landing at Baker Lake with a 10-rod portage into Peterson Lake to reach first campsite. This area was affected by blowdown in 1999.
Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1497 feet
Latitude: 47.8452
Longitude: -90.8169
Summary: A 5-day loop from Baker up the Temperance lakes to Cherokee, and back through Sawbill and Smoke lakes back to Baker. A fairly difficult trip.
Day 0: We drove up from Stillwater in the morning and camped at one of the 5 walk-in campsites at Baker Lake, and it was nice.
Day 1 (Baker to S. Temperance) - A beautiful day, we decided to paddle all the way to South Temperance the first day which was a great paddle with easy portages except for the last one. We picked the campsite on top of a huge rock that was close to the middle of the lake. Tried fishing some but no luck
Day 2 (Rest) - In the night, we encountered the worst storm of the entire season. While we were there 19 people had to be rescued from the BWCA. We had about 50mph straightline winds, and I'm still surprised that the huge tent we had stood up to it. We slept in and took a rest day because of the intense winds. Amazingly beautiful sunset.
Day 3 (S. Temperance to Cherokee) - We left as early as we could to beat the heat, but it was no good. The lengthy, hilly portages were challenging and by the last portage we were pretty beat. We overpacked and single portaged which led us to speedier exhaustion. Still amazing weather. North Temperance was a beaut- I wish we had stayed there instead of South. We took the southeasterly facing campsite on Cherokee on the southeastern skinny island. Neat little site.
Day 4 (Cherokee to Sawbill) - Left a little later in the day but it was ok. We took our time going down the river letting out of the southwest part of Cherokee and it was a great area. BEWARE: The area between Ada and Skoop Lakes appears to be floatable, but a dam built recently has made the portion impossible to float. Be prepared for a long portage through muck and water. A guy that we saw there said he had been going to the BWCA for 40 years at least once per year and it was the worst portage he had ever seen. By the time we got to Sawbill it was pretty hot. We paddled all the way down to the site next to the portage onto Smoke.
Day 5 (Sawbill to Baker) - Cooler, cloudier weather for the first time on the trip. We were pretty hungry (I underpacked food a little and I felt really bad) and we were taunting each other with vivid descriptions of the burgers we were going to eat ASAP after getting out. We paddled back to Baker and returned our gear to Sawtooth outfitters.
Overall great route.
Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1497 feet
Latitude: 47.8452
Longitude: -90.8169
Summary: A 5-day loop from Baker up the Temperance lakes to Cherokee, and back through Sawbill and Smoke lakes back to Baker. A fairly difficult trip.
Day 0: We drove up from Stillwater in the morning and camped at one of the 5 walk-in campsites at Baker Lake, and it was nice.
Day 1 (Baker to S. Temperance) - A beautiful day, we decided to paddle all the way to South Temperance the first day which was a great paddle with easy portages except for the last one. We picked the campsite on top of a huge rock that was close to the middle of the lake. Tried fishing some but no luck
Day 2 (Rest) - In the night, we encountered the worst storm of the entire season. While we were there 19 people had to be rescued from the BWCA. We had about 50mph straightline winds, and I'm still surprised that the huge tent we had stood up to it. We slept in and took a rest day because of the intense winds. Amazingly beautiful sunset.
Day 3 (S. Temperance to Cherokee) - We left as early as we could to beat the heat, but it was no good. The lengthy, hilly portages were challenging and by the last portage we were pretty beat. We overpacked and single portaged which led us to speedier exhaustion. Still amazing weather. North Temperance was a beaut- I wish we had stayed there instead of South. We took the southeasterly facing campsite on Cherokee on the southeastern skinny island. Neat little site.
Day 4 (Cherokee to Sawbill) - Left a little later in the day but it was ok. We took our time going down the river letting out of the southwest part of Cherokee and it was a great area. BEWARE: The area between Ada and Skoop Lakes appears to be floatable, but a dam built recently has made the portion impossible to float. Be prepared for a long portage through muck and water. A guy that we saw there said he had been going to the BWCA for 40 years at least once per year and it was the worst portage he had ever seen. By the time we got to Sawbill it was pretty hot. We paddled all the way down to the site next to the portage onto Smoke.
Day 5 (Sawbill to Baker) - Cooler, cloudier weather for the first time on the trip. We were pretty hungry (I underpacked food a little and I felt really bad) and we were taunting each other with vivid descriptions of the burgers we were going to eat ASAP after getting out. We paddled back to Baker and returned our gear to Sawtooth outfitters.
Overall great route.
Homer Lake '07
by Airrick13
Trip Report
Entry Date:
July 21, 2007
Entry Point:
Homer Lake
Number of Days:
3
Group Size:
3
Trip Introduction:
Myself, My wife, and my little sister wanted to give the boundary Waters a try, and after this experience we are all hooked.
Day 1 of 3
Saturday, July 21, 2007 We stayed Thursday night in Superior, WI., so we only had about a two hour drive to our entry point. The advantage of Entry point 40 is that you don't have to start with a portage. Unload your truck, load you canoe and you are off. The paddle across large Homer Lake was by far the most dull part of the trip. about half way across the lake there are slightly submerged boulders that you need to watch out for. The wind and fire damage around this part of the BWCAW is substantial, so much of the lake edge seams very barin. We had our first portage experience from Homer Lake into Whack Lake. The trail was moderately well maintained. From Whack Lake after a detour and backtrack do to miss reading the shoreline and map we portaged to Vern Lake. Vern Lake was by far the most scenic location. The long narrow lake seemed to have been missed by much of the blowdown of '99. Our first night's camp site was on the west shore on Vern Lake. The sloped rock beach made it easy to park and unload our canoe. The campsite was very clean, and the fire pit was bordered by log benches that over look the lake. We had one large tent, and that was all that would fit at this campsite. One could put two very small tents if necessary. After a little fishing and giving the thick mosquitoes and dinner snack we called it a night.
Day 2 of 3
Sunday, July 22, 2007 We elected to not break camp and to spend the day exploring Vern Lake. Our adventure lead us down the vern river towards the Pipe Lakes until we hit the first rapids. Under the rapids my little sister hooked a nice walleye. I could imagine this is a very common walleye hole. If you are in the area be sure to drop a line here. After our catch we made our way back to camp and prepared for diner, trying to get our meal in before dusk so that we wouldn't be the main course for all the mosquitoes again. After a relaxing day, we slept well dreaming of what next years trip will bring.
Day 3 of 3
Monday, July 23, 2007 We awoke with an ambitious travel schedule ahead of us. We broke camp late, but enjoyed our breakfast and company. For the return route we decided to follow the Vern River back and take the southern loop back to Homer Lake. All the portages were well maintained and were rather short. The paddle across Homer Lake was a struggle, but the end was always in site. We arrived back at our vehicle and got ready to make our way back to civilization.