Thinking of starting at ep37 Kawishiwi and heading up into Malberg for a few days. We've done the Lady Chain loop a few times, but never ventured farther north. We would be doing this in September, would love any thoughts or ideas, thanks

I did this last June with my cousin, it was a blast - you can look at my trip report "Malberg Basecamp".
We went to Bose one day, Adams another, and did a look around Malberg and the Kawishiwi. and also spent a day on the Kawishiwi. Wonderful place to base from, lots of options!
Let me know if you have any specific questions.

From Malberg, you have lots of options to head in different directions - SW towards Fishdance, Amber, Bow, Fisher, Beaver Adams, NE towards Pan, the Louse River, and Malberg itself has a lot of shoreline to paddle with all the arms, and bays. You can do a short loop from NW end of Malberg NE on the river to NE end of Malberg, or vice versa.

We're looking into this area for this June. I sent an email.

Great spot to basecamp, as there are lots of great (fishing) lakes nearby. Plenty of variety, too, if you just want to do daytrips in different directions. Just watch out for the bears. :)

Besides being a destination lake for fishing walleye, Malberg creates a crossroads for several routes through the BWCA.

Going northeast out of Malberg there is a beautiful canyon into the Kawishiwi river. Continue northeast to Makwa Lake for one of the most imposing cliff faces in the BW. (If you tire of camping at Malberg, a trip for a couple of days to Little Saganaga is well worth the work.)

Go southwest down the Kawishiwi River to Fishdance for the pictographs. Park your canoe at the east end of the portage to Alice Lake and walk the picturesque portage along the Kawishiwi River to Alice Lake.

Northwest leads to the Adams/Boulder loop. Still on my bucket list.

Traveling east along the Louse River to Bose or Frond Lake will take you into solitude. Be prepared to pull over many beaver dams and enjoy the feeling of being enclosed in a wild and ancient landscape.

This is one of my favorite areas of the BW. Hope you have a great trip.

One nice thing about this entry is that there always seems to be permits available.

We base camped on Poly last year and day tripped up to Malberg. It a nice area with many options as others have said.

carmike: "Great spot to basecamp, as there are lots of great (fishing) lakes nearby. Plenty of variety, too, if you just want to do daytrips in different directions. Just watch out for the bears. :)


"

Recent bear issues?

cyclones30: "

carmike: "Great spot to basecamp, as there are lots of great (fishing) lakes nearby. Plenty of variety, too, if you just want to do daytrips in different directions. Just watch out for the bears. :)

"

Recent bear issues? "

Lake Polly has a reputation for bears, but not as much in more recent years as about 10-12 years ago. There was a persistent problem bear then. There are reports of bears making appearances now and then but not nearly at the same frequency.

One should always ask their outfitter or FS about bear reports along your intended route when picking up your permit. A clean camp and well hung or stashed food supply usually prevents unwanted bear visits.

Michwall2: "Besides being a destination lake for fishing walleye, Malberg creates a crossroads for several routes through the BWCA.


Going northeast out of Malberg there is a beautiful canyon into the Kawishiwi river. Continue northeast to Makwa Lake for one of the most imposing cliff faces in the BW. (If you tire of camping at Malberg, a trip for a couple of days to Little Saganaga is well worth the work.)


Go southwest down the Kawishiwi River to Fishdance for the pictographs. Park your canoe at the east end of the portage to Alice Lake and walk the picturesque portage along the Kawishiwi River to Alice Lake.


Northwest leads to the Adams/Boulder loop. Still on my bucket list.


Traveling east along the Louse River to Bose or Frond Lake will take you into solitude. Be prepared to pull over many beaver dams and enjoy the feeling of being enclosed in a wild and ancient landscape.


This is one of my favorite areas of the BW. Hope you have a great trip.


"

We did this, and it's been my favorite BWCA trip so far. It's a long day of paddling to get to Malberg in time to find a campsite if you're going during a busy time - or on a weekend in September... but it can be done. That's how we did it. Conversely, you can camp on Poly and get to Malberg early on day 2, and set up camp again. It'll be almost like you got there on the first night. Fishdance and back is still an easy day trip you can do after setting up camp.

We did all the options that Michwall2 listed except the Louse River. Loved the pictographs on fishdance, and going up to Boulder/Adams gets you up to some of the most remote areas you can get to in the BWCA. Some excellent campsites in Malberg, too.