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ddccaarr
member (13)member
  
05/29/2017 07:35PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Hello everyone! We are planning a trip starting at Sawbill for the last week of August. It will be my wife, two kids (10 and 12 years old), a lab puppy and myself. The trip would be 5 nights total and we were thinking of one those nights as a lay-over night. I would like to fish a bit but realize that it might me minimal with the family.

I have done a number of BWCA trips but it has been about 15 years. My wife and I have a good deal of wilderness backcountry experience (Alaska, western US, Amazon, etc) - including some of it with the kids. This will be our first family BWCA trip.

We are canoeing most weekends and getting excited to get out! Any thoughts on routes would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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05/29/2017 08:12PM  
Maybe go west to Beth and then to Phoebe and then back. The 276 rod portage from Beth to Grace is long, but not that bad. Good fishing in the Phoebe/Knight Lake area, and canoe traffic is fairly low. Beth is a good lake with good smallie action, but it can be crowded.

Never been through the flame lakes. Could be decent. Cherokee would be good, but it would be kind of a trek with small kids unless they are real troopers, especially if the water is low on the creeks. A beaver dam blew out on one of the former paddle-across lakes a few years ago, and there is a portage, but it is a real rock garden now.

Tomster
Michwall2
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05/30/2017 12:48PM  
The Cherokee Lake loop is made for your time frame. Head east out of Sawbill to Burnt or Kelly for your first night. Then head north along the Temperance River basin to South or North Temperance Lake. (Kelly, Jack, Weird, Pond, South Temperance, North Temperance.). Stay on South Temperance if there is a site open. (Don't forget to find the abandoned gold mine just to the west of the north end of the Kelly to Jack portage.). Head west out of north Temperance to Sitka and Cherokee Lake. Cherokee is a destination lake and is often quite busy. Find a campsite early. The next day take a daytrip to Frost Lake for the golden sand beaches and the chance to see moose. The last day start early to head south to Sawbill Lake and the showers at Sawbill Outfitters.

This is a lovely route with good wildlife viewing chances. With one or two notable exceptions the portages are relatively flat and well maintained.

Have a great trip!
ddccaarr
member (13)member
  
05/30/2017 02:58PM  
Thanks to both of you!

I think we will try the Cherokee/Temperance loop.

Quick question for Michwall2 -- You recommend starting by heading east to Burnt/Kelly for the first night. Is there an advantage to going that direction vs. going north to straight to Cherokee? I am guessing that it is due to the difficulty of finding a campsite late in the day at Cherokee. Just thought I would ask....super helpful thanks!
05/30/2017 03:33PM  
Fish South Temperance. Cherokee has northern pike. Good swimming on Cherokee. Good sites on both South T and Cherokee.
You are right going east first rather than north. Once you leave Sawbill the next campsite is Cherokee and that is your longest stretch.
Decent fishing on all the Fire lakes and the Temperance River system.
mjmkjun
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05/31/2017 09:36AM  
Amazon? That's impressive. Would love to read a trip report of that adventure.
mjmkjun
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05/31/2017 09:36AM  
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05/31/2017 11:51AM  
quote Bannock: "...Once you leave Sawbill the next campsite is Cherokee and that is your longest stretch...."
Just to clarify Bannock's point a tad - once you leave Sawbill LAKE (not landing or outfitter) there are no campsites until you get to Cherokee. I have a couple times when getting a late start just paddled up Sawbill Lake and camped somewhere on the north end before going to Cherokee the next day. That said though, I still think Michwall2's advice to head east first is a good idea. More flexibility to stop where you want, and easier to pick up information along the way.

Oh, and welcome to the the forum!
Michwall2
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05/31/2017 03:42PM  
quote Jaywalker: "
quote Bannock: "...Once you leave Sawbill the next campsite is Cherokee and that is your longest stretch...."
Just to clarify Bannock's point a tad - once you leave Sawbill LAKE (not landing or outfitter) there are no campsites until you get to Cherokee. I have a couple times when getting a late start just paddled up Sawbill Lake and camped somewhere on the north end before going to Cherokee the next day. That said though, I still think Michwall2's advice to head east first is a good idea. More flexibility to stop where you want, and easier to pick up information along the way.


Oh, and welcome to the the forum!"


Yes. That is my reasoning. Couple of relatively easy flat portages brings you to a nice part of the BW with good fishing and nice scenery. Second day will feature a couple of longer portages. The first (Burnt to Kelly) is the toughest with some ups and downs. The last into South Temperance is more flat and follows the river. I love the view of ST from the end of the portage. Just a cool picture of a lake.

You can go the other way if you want. Start early to get to Cherokee in time to get a campsite. I would still take my layover here and visit Frost Lake.

Hope you have a great trip! It's one of my favorite routes.
ddccaarr
member (13)member
  
05/31/2017 09:32PM  
quote mjmkjun: "Amazon? That's impressive. Would love to read a trip report of that adventure."


The Amazon was amazing...well technically it wasn't the Amazon but the Madre de Dios (a major tributary) in Manu National Park Peru. We were lucky enough to see the giant river otters among other things. One of the highlights of my life. I also worked for 6 months in French Guiana looking for bird nests - totally virgin, never cut rainforest - just north of Brazil. Technically not the Amazon again but totally amazing. We are ecologists and have had some great wilderness experiences - for career and vacation. Kids and jobs becoming more desk oriented has slowed us down a bit. Great to be here on this forum - a lot of experience wilderness folks!
ddccaarr
member (13)member
  
05/31/2017 09:33PM  
Thanks everyone, we will be taking the route starting at Sawbill and heading east. We are excited to check out Frost Lake, the Temperance Lakes and stay at Cherokee. We moved back to the area after being away from about 15 years. It is so great to be back in Minnesota and canoe country.
jfinn
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06/01/2017 08:52AM  
Making Cherokee shouldn't be a problem with an early-ish start. I did this last year with 3 kids (10, 10 and 8). We pulled into Sawbill Campground at 8PM and were out headed north by 7 AM. Likely some traffic as this is a popular route out of a popular EP. Cherokee has some pressure on sites, so an early start again gives you better options. The only challenge to this route (we went south through the fire lakes on the way out) was the portage off the north end of Skoop was a muck fest. Not the worst, but something not everyone will enjoy. Kids tend to like these better than adults.

Frost has some beaches. Research and trip there.

We based for a few days on Cherokee and went East and south through the fire lakes heading out with a night on Burnt. DON'T stay on the island site on Burnt. While good tent pads and space where there, the trees were cut to hell, the water was very silty around the shallow landing area and tough to find a tree for the food pack. After a great site on Cherokee, it was a big bummer.

Let me know if you need anything else. Tripping with kids is great, but like with adults, keeping everything in packs makes loading/unloading and portaging easier, faster and much more enjoyable.

Enjoy,
John
fishinfool71
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06/01/2017 12:36PM  
A bit of advice on the route since you will be in the area on the last week of August. (Just before Labor Day weekend) The Fire chain of lakes and Kelly get really busy this week and weekend, which is why I agree heading east is best on this occasion. Having done the route both ways a few times, I think heading North to Cherokee first is best, but not this time of year. Get to Burnt or Kelly early in the week to secure a spot for the first night. Once you pass north of Kelly you are far enough in that there should be openings on one of the Temperance Lakes or Cherokee. The south site on S. Temperance just after the portage from Weird lake is one of my favorite in the area. It sits up on a rock cliff with the rock going all the way to the water. Beautiful sunset views, but may need a tarp for cover if it is sunny. There are enough spots on Cherokee you should find one open, it may not be one of the best ones, but there will be one open. I would also suggest staying on Frost a night if you could. The second site after the portage on the NE side of the lake is right next to the first of 2 nice sandy beaches. The beach is accessible from the site. Good fishing by the rock near the point. Jig ciscos or use a three way rig to get deep and catch some nice Lake Trout.
Depending on your crews stamina on day 1 I would suggest getting to Kelly. The 230 from Burnt to Kelly is a difficult one. If you stay on Burnt, and then try to get to S Temperance you will have 2 long portages on day 2. Staying on Kelly breaks up the portages to one each day. There are 3 nice sites of the 4 on the bay around Kelly.
Definitely check out the gold mine between Kelly and Jack lakes. When you set your canoe down on the Jack side of the portage walk back to the tree and you will see a path back to it. It is only 50 yards into the woods or maybe slightly longer.
The portage from Sitka into Cherokee beware. It is only 165 but it is extremely difficult for one that size. One of the guys I took that way claimed he earned his Mountain Goat badge. Just when you think you can't climb another hill....well.....
Cherokee back to Sawbill is pretty decent, good luck fishing. Hope this info is helpful.
 
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