BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 27 2024
Entry Point 40 - Homer Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1825 feet
Latitude: 47.9043
Longitude: -90.6605
Homer Lake - 40
Did Juno, Aurora can carry a canoe now?
Entry Date:
May 27, 2023
Entry Point:
Homer Lake
Exit Point:
Brule Lake (41)
Number of Days:
3
Group Size:
2
Today is a travel day, we need to head back towards our entry point. By now we know that we travel fairly slowly, and that's ok. Breakfast is potato pancakes and apple sauce, not quite as good as homemade but still darn tasty. Alex does the dishes while the rest of us break camp.
We head back across Swan to the 1st portage- what a pretty little lake! it's a nice morning, sunny and not too windy.
The portages don't seem as tough as the first time through- we are getting stronger. Makes me wish this was a 2 week trip! Jesse twisted his ankle yesterday, so Alex and I are doing most of the canoe portaging.Met Jeff from the message boards here with his wife or GF...didn't ask, but they were headed for Swan. We head back out past the windstorm and burn damage on Skidway and Dugout, and find the site on Marshall open again. Tonight we have a camp "pet" -this pretty butterfly who finds my new lifevest very attractive.
Camp setup has become pretty routine, and before you know it we're sitting down to our "last supper" of chicken wild rice soup and cheddar garlic biscuits. I snap a few photos of our crew around camp, and also this very cool plant that I'm not familiar with yet. Once I get home to my plant books it will be id'ed as "rose twisted stalk".
We get to bed early, before dark. Tomorrow I have to be in Duluth before 4 PM to do a radio show on KUMD.
Our final morning is cloudy and cool. I'm up just past dawn, and the coffee is ready along with a quick breakfast of biscuits and gravy. We get everything packed up, and pose for a group shot before hitting the water. 
Off we go, through the 1st portage and on to Bower Trout. The guys are ahead of the girl's canoe, and we see them stop paddling and start to drift. We catch up and Jesse says "Listen!" It is dead silent, just the occasional birdcall. So peaceful. "This is why we come here, isn't it?" he says. Damn. I must have done something right with that boy, I think.
Alex carries the heavy canoe on the last portage- that girl is a rockstar!
Soon the cars are loaded, and we're making our way back to the outfitter. I put my watch back on, and discover that we have time to either eat at Sven and Ole's or shower.....food wins. We have a darn good lunch, and drive back down the shore to Duluth. Another wonderful 5 days of memories, and another newbie caught hook, line and sinker!
Juno Lake is a misty mirror this morning. With a plan to paddle Brule Lake today, I hope those calm conditions persist. Yet again I allow Aurora to sleep in as I begin tearing camp down. I’ve done pretty much all I can do outside of the tent and she is still slumbering. I holler at her to get up back this tactic has little to no effect so, I just open the tent and start rolling up my sleep system and packing various other things away – she sleeps right through it!
I let her alone and go back out and contemplate the peaceful serenity of Juno Lake this morning partaking in another cup of apple cider as I do. Sometime later a slight breeze starts kicking up which snaps me out of the tranquil state of mind. I don’t want to be paddling through big waves on Brule and the longer we linger here in camp the more our odds of doing so increase. Besides, I want to have time to not have to rush Aurora back to her mother so, I take a hard line and she finally crawls out.
The unseasonably warm temps continue today and the aforementioned breeze sure feels good as we paddle east for the portage into Brule. Aurora isn’t nearly as enthralled with this portage today as she runs across several snakes in bringing her first load across. I too count no less than 3 after coming across shortly after her. Yet, it appears she will win the turtle counting contest.
Brule Lakes' enormity is initially well concealed here in this quaint back bay. Soon the grandiose rolling horizons and vast waterway unfold in its full splendor. Since the winds are very manageable, this affords us the coveted opportunity to wholly immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of this immense wilderness wonder.
As fate would have it, we are briskly transported out of our dreamy state of mind as we pull in to the landing just behind a large group with another large group pulling in a couple minutes behind us. Couple that with at least 2 other groups just putting in and you get a real sense of the congestion. Still, we’re able to speedily drag our stuff off to one side without bumping elbows and then grab our water bottles to begin the long walk back to the Homer Lake parking lot.
Once again, it has become a very warm day and Aurora can continue to work on her suntan as we stroll down the gravel road, favoring the shaded sections when coming across them. There are a few vehicles parked in small turn offs that must be out hiking. Soon a large sign comes into view but it only has wording on the opposite side, I tell Aurora I hope it says Homer Lake this way. She sprints ahead and upon reading it dejectedly keeps walking down the road. Unfazed, I turn off without even reading the sign – You have to get up pretty early in the morning to fool this old dog. And, Aurora slept in today!!!
Aurora always likes poking around in Waters Edge Trading Company in Tofte so, we stop in there before grabbing a pizza & some ice cream at the Schroeder Baking Company. From there it's a long drive to Pine City for our parent time exchange. Apparently too long? As after I say goodbye to Aurora, I start walking towards the gas station and my legs completely cramp up. I'm sure I look like I'm having a heart attack! Thankfully, I'm able to work them out and make it home without further issue.
This was a fun trip. We got to do and see a bunch of neat things in a short amount of time without having to deal with inclement weather. One regret is I really wish we would've had time to head up the Vern River but, that gives us an excuse to come back one day. As the title suggests, this was another step in Aurora's evolution in wilderness paddling. I don't know if it will be something she will continue to enjoy throughout her life but, I'll forever treasure the memories we have made thus far. She had the opportunity to meet Jerry "One Match" at Canoecopia earlier this year & had him sign her T-shirt. I think his song "Canoeing with Daddy" is an appropriate climax to this trip report so I included it in the report. By the way, there are at least a couple old photos of Aurora in the video including the last one.
~Juno Lake, Brule Lake