BWCA Sawbill this September Boundary Waters Trip Planning Forum
Chat Rooms (0 Chatting)  |  Search  |   Login/Join
* For the benefit of the community, commercial posting is not allowed.
Boundary Waters Quetico Forum
   Trip Planning Forum
      Sawbill this September     
 Forum Sponsor

Author

Text

MikeFF
member (24)member
  
06/25/2017 07:47PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I'm actually starting to think about a trip for next summer. My son is five now, will be six and I would like to take him for the first time. I am planning to take him to Sawbill, EP 38. I've heard this will be a busier area which I am okay with for his first trip. I will want to do some portages, but not terribly long. My wife would prefer we don't go in too far away from the crowds so that if something were to happen to me he could hopefully get help.

Now, I'm planning to do this sometime next summer, and since my wife seemed concerned about the whole trip, I jokingly suggested that I better go there this year so I'm more familiar with the area. Turns out she was up for doing a trip just us without the kids. I'm still making plans with my parents to watch the kids, but we will be going some time middle to end of September.

My main question then is about the route. I see Sawbill to Alton should be very easy. Any other lakes in the area we should try for? Any suggestions for fishing in the area.

I've been to the Boundary Waters twice before, both EP 16 up to Lac La Croix. This will be the first trip for my wife.
 
Reply    Reply with Quote    Print Top Bottom Previous Next
Northwoodsman
distinguished member(2059)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
06/26/2017 09:33AM  
Mike,

Welcome to BWCA.com. I grew up in the city you live in. I still get back there once a year or so. Most of my family is still in the area.

EP#38 to Alton is a 20 - 25 minute easy paddle. The portage is super easy, flat, short and wide. Alton is a dangerous lake however. Because of the way that it is oriented, it can be a wind tunnel. Unless you have a very strong bow paddler, I would hit it while it is calm, early in the morning. Alton has a nice spot on the far north end of the lake that is elevated up on a hill with a nice little beach and a beautiful view. The sites directly across from the portage are nice also. If you portage into Beth (moderately long but easy portage) that is a nice lake also.

Sawbill has an outfitter at the EP and a very nice USFS campground. It has a couple of nice areas on the water for your son to play. Your wife may enjoy having a store right there and vault toilets (privacy). The campground is rustic; it has water spigots and toilets within 100 yards of most campsites. The sites also have picnic tables. The sites on the lake are really nice. Not much of a lake view but you can hike down to the water. Sawbill Outfitters are as good as you can find anywhere. You can issue yourself a daily permit at the dock. You could do the Sawbill to Kelso to Alton back to Sawbill Loop easily in a few hours. That would give you 3 lakes and a river to paddle. You could also head over to Burnt or Smoke from Sawbill and camp or make a day trip out of it.

Another good option would be EP#37 Kawishiwi Lake. You could paddle the lake and the river. Going past Kawishiwi would be 4 long but relatively easy portages to Polly. Between Kawishiwi and Polly is a burned area, I don't think that you would want to camp in that section. You can camp right at the EP if you are lucky enough to get one of those spots, or their are a few more around the lake.

#39 Baker Lake is also nearby. That would give you some nice small lake and river paddling without any major portages. At the end of one of the portages is an old mine that you son may find cool.

EP38 is my favorite EP.
06/26/2017 10:42AM  
My first thought was for you to paddle past Alton one or two portages to Beth or even Ella. I like both those lakes. They are smaller so there is less of a crowd feel than Alton or Sawbill, yet you are still only about 3-4 hours or so from the entry point. Alternately as Northwoodsman points out, the Fire lakes - Flame, Smoke, Burndt - are also have fairly short easy portages, and are a matter of hours away from the entry point. I could not say how fishing is on either group, but anywhere there are northerns will keep your son busy.

When you go in September, there's no reason you and your wife could not scout out both the Lady and Fire lakes to see which you like best. Spend a day or two on one, then head to the other. In September there will be fewer people so getting a site you like will be a bit easier, but remember when you come back in the summer it will be busier and you may not get to the site you hope for. Summer competition for sites 3-5 hours from an entry point can be a bit tough, so start and end your paddling days early and be flexible.

Good luck, and welcome to the forum. And if you go to the main forum page at the bottom, you'll find a special interest group with lots of info about paddling with kids.
MikeFF
member (24)member
  
06/28/2017 08:50PM  
double post
MikeFF
member (24)member
  
06/28/2017 08:50PM  
Thanks for the info. I just got my permit reserved for EP 38. It will be a short trip due to my parents schedule. We will go in on a Friday morning and come out Sunday. I'm leaning towards heading over to Smoke or Burnt. Though we could camp one night there and spend the other at Alton.

How often is the wind bad on Alton? Is it worst with a north wind? I will definitely not have a strong bow paddler when I go next year with a 6 year old, and my wife has some canoeing experience, but not a lot.
06/29/2017 07:30AM  
2 years ago I did a daddy/daughter trip to Smoke with my younger daughter at age 7. It was a great trip! I was not going to go to Alton w/ a little one in the bow. Have fun. I started doing daddy/daughter trips with each of my girls when they turned 5. One on one time w/ your kid in the bwca is priceless.
06/29/2017 09:14AM  
quote MikeFF: "
How often is the wind bad on Alton? Is it worst with a north wind?"


Any of the medium to larger sized lakes can be problematic when the winds get strong, like sustained 15-20 mph or more. And so yes, a north wind (or south wind) on Alton would be potentially more trouble than from the E or W. Of course, it depends too which way you are trying to go! Most of the time winds will calm down significantly at night, making early morning a great time to travel. If a high or low pressure system brings sustained (overnight) winds it will be more of a problem, but the forecasts for these are usually pretty good.

I use this wind prediction website for a lot of activities. You can check in the days before your trip and always make changes as needed.
jhb8426
distinguished member(1440)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
07/04/2017 11:16PM  
If you have little to no experience, I would suggest you stay on Sawbill. There are a lot of nice sites on the lake. Also as noted the Forest Service campground with day trips is a good option. The area will not be busy after Labor Day. I've gone there at that time for the last 5 years or so. And Alton can be nasty as noted. Seems the wind is always either north or south there. rarely east/west. If Sawbill is windy it is usually only slightly rough. On such days Alton will be really tough. The portage from Sawbill to Alton is a walk in the park. If the wind is strong out of the north launching into Alton can be a problem. The wind blows right into the launch which is a short narrow, rocky channel.
07/05/2017 07:22AM  
Wouldn't just staying on Sawbill negate the whole scoping out experience? I think you should at least travel to Alton on that easy portage and simply turn around if it is too windy. Why not at least check it out while you are there? Maybe then go the other direction and put in one longer portage to the burn lakes to see if it something you can do/want to do? If you are going to do the scoping out trip, might as well do some 5 star scoping.
I am also a fairly newbie going in Sawbill with kids. If I am going to take the time to plan and go to the BWCA, I am going all in. We will just prep properly by taking a few canoe/portage trips prior and pack light, very light. We are taking the portages north to Cherokee. Our motto is to go slow and steady and constantly encourage each other with the reward of seeing a beautiful lake with lots of islands to explore. I am planning a 3 day route and giving us 7 days. Lots of room for rest, error, bad weather and a campsite we just don't want to leave.
MikeFF
member (24)member
  
07/05/2017 06:53PM  
I did get my permit reserved and we are going in on 9/15. It will be a quick trip though. My parents are watching the two kids and we will need to come out 9/17 to get back home that night. I think we will go in early Friday morning and head towards Burnt. Then Saturday we will have to head out to check out other lakes and fish all day. I will probably only go to Alton if the weather cooperates on Saturday. At this time I think I'm more interested in the Smoke and Burnt area. Is one of those lakes better for fishing?

I'm definitely don't want to just camp on Sawbill. I have plenty of canoe experience, but my wife has less and I really want her to get a real boundary waters experience with at least a few portages.

I'm also taking my son to Glendalough state park this summer to their canoe in sites and he's been canoing with me at our lake cabin since he was a todler so I'm expecting him to do well.
mjmkjun
distinguished member(2885)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
07/09/2017 04:17PM  
Sawbill is a wonderful campground. Sawbill Lake is fun to explore. Hot showers for $6.00 at Sawbill Outfitters.
Route: Sawbill->Smoke->Flame->Burnt. Get the feel of BWCA but never far from Entry point #38/Sawbill Lake.
07/09/2017 11:22PM  
Sawbill - Smoke - Flame - Burnt would be a great trip for you. You've also got the option of taking a day trip into Kelly - the portage is long, but flat. My husband and I made this trip with a couple of our friends in 2000.
Northwoodsman
distinguished member(2059)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
07/10/2017 09:29AM  
MikeFF, you will enjoy that area. Not difficult, but a good taste of paddling medium and small lakes, and 2 - 3 average portages. Don't forget to pick up some trinkets/tshirts for the kids at the Sawbill Outfitters store. You can pick up last minute items at the store also. If you didn't arrange to pick up your permit there, you may want to switch it so you can, their hours are more flexible. You will also be able to access cell service there so you can check in with the kids right before you enter and as you exit.
 
Reply    Reply with Quote    Print Top Bottom Previous Next