BWCA Lake One-Four In Late June? Boundary Waters Trip Planning Forum
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Rosconabich
  
07/08/2017 01:50PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Im planning a trip for late June/early July of next year 2018. Right now I am tentatively looking at starting at EP30 on Lake One. Looking at the high amount of permits Im guessing this is a busy spot. I know it varies year to year, and week to week throughout the year, but does anyone know on average how busy these lakes are in late June/early July?

There will be 8 of us on the trip...4 couples (early 30s). Us 4 guys all went on a BWCA trip about 12 years ago. We were on Bearskin up past Grand Marais, and that was in late May/early June. I think we saw one other group the whole time, which was nice. And it was extremely cold which kinda sucked. But no bugs at all at least. All 4 of the ladies have never been to the BWCA.

I want to plan a moderately easy trip that has a little bit of everything. So Id like to drop in on Lake One and get down to Horshoe by mid day. I've read there is some good swimming there. From there I'd like to get to Insula as Ive read there are a lot of good campsites, great views, and some good fishing. From there Id like to portage up to Thomas Lake as I've heard there is some good hiking up there. What is the difficulty lever for this route?

The other item I am unsure of is the time to do all this. It looks like we would have to get all the way back to EP30 on Lake One to end our trip, or EP27 on Snowbank Lake. Right now we are planning on either 4 days/5 nights, or 5/days/6 nights. Is this too much ground/water to cover in that amount of time for people that might want to take it easy and relax a bit?

Any info/opinions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
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Grandma L
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07/08/2017 09:14PM  
Welcome to the Board!

June and July are extremely busy on the Number Lakes and that entire area. Get going very early and plan to stop early. It is a fairly easy route from lake One through Insula up to Thomas and west back to Snowbank - a casual 5 days. About 38-40 miles. Remember the south half of the number lakes and Insula had the Pagami Fire - you might want to check the fire area so you decide where to aim.plan camp site spots.

You could look at in Lake One with a loop east and then north to Knife thru Thomas, fraser and Kek - and come out Moose.
Whatsit
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07/08/2017 11:01PM  
When I was there the middle of May I was saddened by all the "partiers" that were on the number lakes. All night long you could hear screaming and shouting from across the lake. And one night some nut was letting off a blow horn. I was utterly disgusted. I don't think I'll ever go back to the number lakes. The Wednesday before Memorial Day there was a loon right next to my campsite calling away and all of a sudden these nuts came paddling screaming at the loon and trying to chase it down. I never would of believed the bwca would of ended up like this. Just very sad. I'd suggest to go elsewhere. This of course is my own opinion based on my experience. But others may say otherwise
Mike
bpneiman
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07/09/2017 09:09AM  
Son and I went in EP 30 on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Started early and saw very few people the first couple of days. Was very busy by the weekend though. Saw a few big coolers getting portaged in.

We had no problem getting to the last campsite on Hudson the first day. You shouldn't have a problem getting to Horseshoe early. Getting to Insula and beyond should help thin the crowd out. I don't think the partiers like that portage, and Insula is an awesome lake.
Grandma L
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07/09/2017 11:01AM  
Whatsit - sorry you had a bad experience - by my experience, that is not the norm. busy - yes! parties - never had the kind you mentioned.
Rosconabich
  
07/09/2017 11:32AM  
Thanks for all the input. We will most likely start on a Wednesday or Thursday so this might help beat the rush. We would be off to Insula by Thurs/Fri so it sounds like we would miss most of the craziness. And Im guessing north of Insula by Thomas lake, the visitor population gets even thinner.

I will also weigh the proposed alternate route with the group.

Thank you,
Whatsit
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07/09/2017 11:55AM  
quote Grandma L: "Whatsit - sorry you had a bad experience - by my experience, that is not the norm. busy - yes! parties - never had the kind you mentioned. "

Last year it wasn't like that either. As I was leaving I talked to an older couple leaving and they felt equally saddened by their experience on the number lakes. The difference is I never camped past the number lakes this time. Last year we camped in Insula.
Grandma L
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07/09/2017 05:10PM  
When the permit quota is full - it gets busy everyday.
 
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