Hey all,

I'll try to keep this fairly short because it won't be, so I need to try. I was a Boy Scout back in the day, did plenty of camping, only made it up to the BWCA once, about 13 years ago. I was never a huge outdoorsy guy because bugs love me. But, the nature bug bit, and now all of a sudden all I want to do is get out and enjoy the fresh air and open space and serenity. Plus I finally bought into visual astronomy and want to take a small scope up there (keeping weight to a minimum). So, I decided to plan at least 1 trip for the 2018 season.

With different groups of friends come different personalities and requirements. I decided it made more sense to do 2 trips, plus it means more time in the BWCA! My first trip through Moose (through Williams and Hall) will be 9 days from June 1st thru June 9th, a loop from Birch to Kek and likely down through Thomas/Fraser and back through Ensign. This was going to be a 2-person trip, but a third friend was a little miffed that we didn't invite him along when I mentioned the trip to him, so out of guilt I added him to the trip, at great cost of complexity. The reason we didn't ask him is partially because 2 is easier, and because we couldn't think of a 4th that we'd all agree on coming with us. 3 is not a good group number... trust me when I say I know this. But it's looking like that's the only option if we don't want to compromise on the type of friend that we bring with us (in terms of how close we all are or what we have in common). On this trip what I think we're gonna do is hoof it to Kek on the first day (getting a tow to Splash, still a long first day for relative newbies/casuals like us), then spend the first 4 nights on Kek and do a day trip to Eddy Falls and the South Arm of Knife somewhere in there. We're looking to catch our first lake trout so have high hopes for Kek. After that, will likely head south down to Thomas and camp there or Ima for a night, then Ima or Jordan for the next few nights, and possibly finish on Ensign for the last night for a total of 8 nights and 9 days. Mostly we'll be fishing, not wanting too much of a challenge on travel days but wanting to get away from people right away and push ourselves a little bit at least. I'm looking forward to roughin' it a bit on this trip, irritability and all.

My second trip will also likely be through Moose but we haven't gotten the permit yet, so we don't have dates. It will definitely just be me and 1 friend. We are going to take a more relaxed route, double or triple carrying everything, and spend time fishing and relaxing and gettin' bushcrafty. I want to bring a telescope with me for this trip later in the summer once the days aren't so long and late Sept seems the best bet. We were thinking mid August but I saw a video of someone's trip from Snowbank in October 2017 and it looked so beautiful, I think I have to see it myself. So now I'm thinking my friend and I might go from Sept 29 to Oct 7. I would like to catch a new moon phase but it might be a bit cold that far into October. That's my primary concern, not volume of people (still something to be aware of), but the weather. In 2017 it was quite warm in late Sept early Oct, but I remember 10 years ago one winter that came quite early, with 20F temps during the day in mid October. It was quite cold. I would very much like not to have to reschedule the trip if it looks to be too cold. That said, the colder temps mean less bugs and I am usually a mosquito magnet so I would prefer to buy a new warmer sleeping bag and go later in the year if it means no bugs. The June trip will likely be quite buggy I think, so ideally this one won't be.

Since I haven't gotten the permit for the second late summer trip yet, what should I do? My friend and I want to get away from people and hang around Jordan/Ima/Thomas/Fraser and visit the little lakes on day trips around there most of the time. We want good fishing and clear dark skies for stargazing. Should we put in on a different lake that has more accessible day trip lakes? Is there a better lake to chill on for 4-5 nights that won't be busy? Is the timing of late September going to work for these rough requirements or should we stick to mid August? Is there something obvious I am missing or haven't mentioned and should clarify?

I'm really looking forward to these trips and have been acquiring gear and doing all the reading I can. I would love to just go right now as I think most of us would after this winter... any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!!

EOL

Hey Flynn,

Late September the whole place will be pretty empty so once you get a couple lakes in you'll be mostly by yourself. My first trip was a double that turned into a triple when I extended an invitation to a friend that I didn't expect to take me up on the offer. We made do but the dynamics of the trip were a little off. Finally got back a couple years after with just me and the first friend from the inaugural trip and we had a stellar time.

You'll get dark skies pretty much anywhere you go, especially if you time the moon phases. Although, I was looking at a moon calendar for September recently as I'm hoping to take a trip in the 2nd half of the month & while the moon will be waning it's also almost rising & setting with the sun so not as much impact there.

Since you're getting nerdy about astronomy, you could still consider mid August for the Perseids. Bonus would be the potential for blueberries & raspberries. The moon is also new the night of the peak of the meteor shower.

ENCOM hasn't been the same since you left. ;-)

Thanks Mirth. Any tips for the group of 3? I have expressed my concerns with both friends and we all agree we will just need to be patient with each other. With a 3-person canoe (Wenonah Minnesota III, 20ft long) some portages will be demanding and stressful.

The August timeframe would be Aug 11 thru Aug 18 or 19, aligned with a new moon. This is also a time when both my friend and I currently have no planned obligations, so it is convenient. September gets tricky but I think it would be better due to lack of bugs, beautiful colors, and earlier nightfall for epic stargazing. The weather just needs to cooperate!

Here is a photo of my current portable scope setup. Not pictured is the carbon fiber tripod and an alt-az mount, both of which will ride inside/outside a pack. Total weight is around 25lbs... but with fewer travel days and less distance to travel overall, I'm willing to make the sacrifice. It should be amazing. The padding is a bit thin in areas so I may use a different case setup but we'll see.

P.S.
Binoculars work fantastically for stargazing, especially on a small tripod/monopod with an L bracket.

P.P.S.
It was time I moved on. ;)

Flynn,
What struck me as I read your post is, with limited BWCA experience and two trips planned this year, why would you want to do the exact same trip twice? Wouldn't you rather see a different area on the second trip, or at least part of the time? Apparently you like the Thomas area, with good reason. My thought was possibly entering at Kawishiwi lake and making your way up to Malberg Lake the first day. From there Thomas is easily reached on day two if you still have the urge. But you just might like the Malberg area enough to forego it. Lots of daytrip possibilities or other lakes to move to, in several directions. it is a somewhat less busy area than your proposed route and that seems to matter to you as well, especially if you get past Malberg. There are also pictographs in the area, on Fishdance Lake if that is of interest.

You would see some burn area between Kawishiwi and Polly, but it is kind of interesting to see. Polly is a beautiful lake but normally very busy. If you go late you might get to enjoy it with few others. There is good fishing to be had along the way as well. Malberg has some great campsites and moving one lake further on to River lake offers even more possibilities(awesome campsite on the southern side of the island, and good fishing nearby).

As far as timing, I am partial to mid-late August. I love the fall, when it is cooperative weather wise and it could be astounding up there if your timing is good. But for all around enjoyment of a trip including comfort, possible berries, swimming potential, longer daylight hours and needing less clothing it offers a lot. Going late September to early October could be awesome but...could also be very cold, windy, rainy or even snowy with short daylight hours and long cold nights. Certainly doable with the right equipment and knowledge of what you could be facing.

There are obviously many entries and routes you could take if you choose to do something different, I suggest this one because it is a great area but also offers the ability to get to Thomas and surrounding lakes if it is important to you.

Here is a trip report of the area if you have any interest:

Malberg area

Good luck in whatever decision you make, pretty sure it will be dark up there most anywhere for your astronomical pursuits:)

Lindy, great trip report! Loved the photos.

I definitely don't want to do the same trip twice. I didn't plan on it being exactly the same, but now I am working on making them even more distinctly different so as to provide a different experience both times, with maybe a little overlap. I think the late summer/fall trip will either hang around Jordan/Ima/Thomas, exploring all the small lakes around there. That or we will spend the entire time in the South Arm without going too far because it would cost us a lot of travel time to get back. I would love to see Cherry Lake and Lake of the Clouds but I'd also like to do a bunch of fishing on Knife. I know my friend would like to as well. But because the colors should be nice that time of the year, I'm going to make sure we do plenty of exploring/sightseeing and take lots of photos. This leaves Kek as the main focus of the first trip, spending 4 or 5 nights there.

The Malberg area seems nice enough, but kinda closed off from the stuff to the west without a lot of paddling or portaging. I could see us making our way up to Adams for a few days to explore all the lakes around that area. Problem is I don't know of an outfitter that transport us to the Kawishiwi Lake entrance, so any suggestions there are appreciated. Would need a Kevlar tandem canoe and canoe stuff but that's it.

I do share your apprehension due to potential cold. We would have to watch the weather and if it was looking like it was gonna get cold earlier than usual, we'd get warmer gear and tough up. Easier than moving it or cancelling it entirely - screw cancelling! Just gotta be prepared.

-f

Your August dates should align perfectly with the Perseids then. I had been hoping to be in at the same time but family activities prevent that from happening this year, at least in time for the peak of the shower... maybe a couple days later.

As far as your threesome goes, it's hard sometimes to deal with interpersonal issues. I know on my trip we had some harder stretches to paddle & the guy in the middle didn't seem to be contributing as much. Or was he in the bow? Hard to remember, it was 10 years ago. Anyhow, the adversity helped to strengthen my bond with one friend and contributed to the weakening of my bond with the other. The first guy is still my go-to trip partner.
I don't know if the portages will be your stressful time, you might run into the same issues we did on the water & back in camp.

Nice 'scope, btw. Hope you get clear skies & a crew that meshes well.