BWCA Moose Lake EP Route Advice (Early August) Boundary Waters Trip Planning Forum
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TravieKlaus11
Guest Paddler
  
05/08/2018 01:33PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Greetings from Minneapolis MN,

My 5 friends and I will be making a 4 day 3 night trip out to the bwca in early august and would love some advice from anyone who has entered on Moose lake or the surrounding area before. We are renting two 3 person canoes and will be doing mainly adventuring and sightseeing. We will probably bring one set of fishing supplies but fishing is not a super high priority (more of a throw a line out once we set up camp sort of thing and hope for the best).

We thought about going up to Basswood falls and camping in that area but that might be too long of a trek for our 4 day 3 night trip.

PS I am leading this expedition and have only been to the bwca once before (last year) so any other advice for leading a bunch of first timers would be great.

Thanks,
TravieKlaus
 
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05/08/2018 08:19PM  
Welcome to the forum! I can't say I have much in the way of advice at this time, but I'm putting in on Moose in a little over a week so I'll have some suggestions at that time I'm sure. Basswood falls is one heck of a cool spot. I wonder if you'd considered entering at Mudro Lake (EP 23) and camping on Fourtown or Horse. Lots of really cool things to do and decent fishing, plus Basswood falls is a good day trip up the Horse River.

For planning a good "first timers" trip, there's an abundance of suggestions and info if you search "first time" on the messageboard. My biggest mistake, when first planning trips was trying for too much distance the first day. Burned some people out. Try for 8-10 miles, see how people feel the next day.

Provide people with a clear and short list for what to pack. Set limits like "everything in 1 pack" "no loose items" and "keep it under ___ lbs". Make people really think about what they bring. I've had aquaintences bring hockey bags full of fish finders, tackleboxes like a tool chest, and gravity chairs (I didn't plan those trips).

Lastly, plan for emergencies. A group of guys having a good ol' time can quickly turn into a bad situation. You can still have one hell of a good time while making smart and safe moves.

Have fun planning!
icefishbaby
member (24)member
  
05/09/2018 08:11AM  
I would suggest taking a tow so that way you can cover more distance day one. Vera is a good lake that you can take a few day trips, but portages are long. Loop to Knife and back through Carp is an option.
billconner
distinguished member(8608)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
05/09/2018 06:18PM  
Its a long paddle but my son and I have made it to upper Basswood Falls in one day from Moose ep. Bad weather could force a change of plans is the risk.

I think going up to boarder and heading east to Knife and then back towards ep would be a better option. Several great routes back. If you ended up on Snowbank there is a portage back to Moose. (Or leave a car there and shuttle yourself if you have two vehicles)
 
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