I have been lurking on the forum in prep for my first trip to the BWCA. We will be on the water 9/18 for eight days. The trip leader had planned the trip for over a year then had to cancel due to Hurricane Irma. He got a direct hit in South Florida and still without power and water. Two of us from the original four are leaving tomorrow and taking the slow route there. We will be putting in at EP14 and spending a relaxing 8 days taking it all in.

I shot some video today of my gear and plan on doing another when I get back to see what worked and what didn't. Most of my time on the water has been solo whitewater, sea kayaks, and river trips on SOT's and canoes. The portaging with a full load of camping gear and 8 days of food will be the new challenge.

Thanks to all the great posts from the members here that help us lurkers prepare for the adventure in BWCA.

Good luck! We did a trip to that EP last year. Where are you planning on going?

The original plan was to do a loop up through Loon and back around to Oyster, Shell etc. We are thinking now of shortening it up just going to the lakes accessible from Shell and spend a couple more days in camp, fishing, etc than the original plan.

Plan, do, check, adjust. The plan could change in 16 hours of driving!

Welcome to BWCA.com. If you've been checking out the board I'm sure you've got way more info than a lot of people that head in on their first trip. You've picked a great time of year and a really nice area as well. Have a great trip and let us know how it went when you get back.

Good luck with your first trip. Portaging isn't bad if you are organized. The easiest way to lose things or time is to have too many loose items and no system as to who is carrying what. Just communicate with each other and you won't leave anything behind. And after a few portages you will work out a system that works for you.

I was just there in August. It's beautiful! We based camped on Shell on the south campsite on Con Island. It's a great site and you shouldn't have a hard time getting it this time of the year. The last portage is a pain in the butt with the beaver pond about ¾ of the way through.

As far as fishing goes, if the lake you are on is "dead", day trip to a new one the next day. Don't waste time on a dead lake. Sometimes it is astonishing the difference between one and another.

quote andym: "Good luck with your first trip. Portaging isn't bad if you are organized. The easiest way to lose things or time is to have too many loose items and no system as to who is carrying what. Just communicate with each other and you won't leave anything behind. And after a few portages you will work out a system that works for you. "

Yeah, that is one of the things I picked up while checking out the trip reports and videos. I will adjust and hopefully figure it out after a couple portages

Thanks

quote Goldenbadger: "I was just there in August. It's beautiful! We based camped on Shell on the south campsite on Con Island. It's a great site and you shouldn't have a hard time getting it this time of the year. The last portage is a pain in the butt with the beaver pond about ¾ of the way through. "

Thanks for the tips on that area!

quote emptynest56: "As far as fishing goes, if the lake you are on is "dead", day trip to a new one the next day. Don't waste time on a dead lake. Sometimes it is astonishing the difference between one and another."

Thanks for the tips, my buddy is doing most of the fishing and we can adjust the plan until we find the fish!

Welcome to the site! Good luck on your trip!

I like your attitude about how "we can adjust the plan" as it goes. One of the best attitudes for a successful trip. Have a great time.

quote hangnout: "I have been lurking on the forum in prep for my first trip to the BWCA. We will be on the water 9/18 for eight days. The trip leader had planned the trip for over a year then had to cancel due to Hurricane Irma. He got a direct hit in South Florida and still without power and water. Two of us from the original four are leaving tomorrow and taking the slow route there. We will be putting in at EP14 and spending a relaxing 8 days taking it all in.

I shot some video today of my gear and plan on doing another when I get back to see what worked and what didn't. Most of my time on the water has been solo whitewater, sea kayaks, and river trips on SOT's and canoes. The portaging with a full load of camping gear and 8 days of food will be the new challenge.

Thanks to all the great posts from the members here that help us lurkers prepare for the adventure in BWCA. "

I hope you had a great stay.

Just got back to Tennessee last night. The trip was great and ready to go back next year. We did Upper Pauness, Shell x 2, Heritage, Lynx, and back to Upper Pauness for the last night.

I hope to get a trip report up in the next couple weeks once I get caught up around the house and work.

Thanks again for the great advice!

Finally got around to posting the trip report with video links.

Thanks again for the great advice from this forum. It helped make our first trip a success!

BWCA Sept 2017 EP14 Trip Report