We are seeking input and advice from this forum as we plan our 2008 BWCA trip. We have experienced two wonderful BWCA trips so far, one from Entry 31 and the other from Entry 4. We ended both trips with a few days in Ely, which we found to be a great town. We are looking to end this coming trip with a few days in Grand Marais which lends us to try the lakes off of the Gunflint trail. So our questions -

1st - What outfitters can you recommend? We require full outfitting.

2nd - Routes? We welcome your suggestions so a few things about what we hope from our trip: solitude (yes, we will portage to get this), great site (we tend to base camp and take day trips), time of trip (6-8 days in early Sept).

3rd - Fire & blow down damage? While we do not mind passing through these areas and seeing the regeneration, we prefer to not set camp in these areas.

Two entries that have caught our interest are Entry 45 as we hope the long portage would limit the number of visitors and 64 because of the scenary we have heard of.

Thanks to any input/advice you have to offer.
Boppa (Mr. & Mrs.)

Boppa - I can recommend Voyageaur Canoe. I have used them for partial outfitting, lodging and tow service. They do a really nice job and do complete outfitting as well. Good people. They are at the very end of the Gunflint. As far as your entry points go , I have not been thru them so I can't offer any advice there. I have been thru the blowdown and fire areas. Some are very bad and other areas on the same lakes are OK. The fishing doen't seem to have been affected by the fires , in my opinion. If you want to check out the outfitters website go to www.canoeit.com
Wherever you choose to go I hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip. Izzy

I haven't been to either entry you have listed but I have visited the Duncan and Rose Lake area last month. That part of the BWCA is really beautiful. Lots of cliffs, hills and more elevation that you will find in other parts of the BWCA. I think this area tends to be crowded, and you will probably see people, even in September. I used Clearwater Outfitters but just to rent a solo canoe. I was happy with it. Grand Marais is a great town. You'll love it.

Izzy and landoftheskytintedwater,
Thanks for your quick replies and your outfitter recommendation. I always feel better hearing others good experiences.
Boppa

East Bearskin Lake is a beautiful entry point. Johnson Falls would be a must-see. Hungry Jack Outfitters are great people with quality gear. Several nice tyrips in this area.

First you’ll have a great time. The Gunflint is a great area and Grand Marais an interesting town. While both the Ely and Grand Marais areas are great, you will notice some differences. This is a generalization, but in Ely the Outfitters tend to be in town and outfit all Ely entry points, while Gunflint Trail outfitters tend to be out of town on or close to an entry point and specialize in serving the closest ones.

Entry 45 is Morgan Lake. It is indeed a long, though not difficult, portage. While it is not a popular entry point, it does not mean it will take you to solitude. There are no campsites on Morgan. You could go to Carl or Lux Lakes a portage away and I think each have only one campsite. Other than that you get to Vista Lake, which is quite popular being accessed from the north and the Poplar Lake entry points.

The Poplar Lake area is one of my favorite areas. Good fishing. Good moose viewing. Beautiful lakes. Nice paddling. Lots of day trip options. However, you will see people. I like using Rockwood Outfitters when in this area.

Entry 64 is East Bearskin. Twenty years ago this was a favorite area for me. There is the Border Route Hiking Trail, Johnson Falls, scenic overlooks over Mountain Lake, Stairway Portage -- lots of attractions. However, this eastern section of the BWCA is separate from the rest of the BWCA. Every lake in this area is two portages or less from an entry point. The combination of easy access and lots of attractions makes this area very popular. It is tremendously beautiful, but you will see people. In fact, it can be difficult to find an open campsite.

In this area I have used Clearwater Outfitters, though it has changed hands since then. I hear great things about Hungry Jack Outfitter.

I don’t mean to discourage you; in fact, I think you should go on a Gunflint trip. I just don’t want you to be disappointed by having the expectation of solitude, even in early September.

If you don't mind tough portages, Skipper (48) is out of Poplar lake.

The Skipper/Rush/Banadad area is pretty nice, and it would be fairly quiet that time of year.

eagle93, Bannock, Trygve,
Thanks for feedback. You have given us more to research and consider. I am sure we will be back with further questions. Thanks again.
Boppa

I'll concur that Rose/Duncan is a great area. Some of the Rose camp sites are high off the water & give a spectacular view of the lake & the Canadian shoreline & as noted the elevation changes are great, the waterfall picturesque.

One note if you do go in early September is you're likely to have at least some solitude. We went over Labor Day & saw only a few canoes on Daniels & Rose over four days. But it's an entry point I'm glad I've been through & I'm sure the scenery will lure us back again at some point.

Paddleaway,
Thanks for sharing the details of your trip. It is certainly a route we are considering.
Boppa

Im much more familiar with the Ely area than the grand marais area. However my most recent trip was from grand marais. My party and I traveled up the gunflint trail to about halfway between grand marais and canada and put in on poplar lake. I dont know the entry point number off hand, but it was lizz and swamp lakes. We traveled south through caribou, gaskin, and winchell. These were somewhat crowded but offered many opportuntities for day trips, especially winchell with its steep cliffs on the southern side. Winchell runs east/west and is about 12 or so miles long but only 1/2 mile wide, and with the cliffs on the southern side the wind can cause you hell if you're traveling east to west. This trip offered seclusion and wildlife as well. After passing through the crowded lakes i mentioned above we went north through pilsbery, otto, henson, and meeds lakes. On these lakes we saw moose, bear, otter, and beaver. Perhaps i got lucky though. Otto lake(s) is an isolated lake south of henson or pilsbery, i cant remember which. As you can imagine, any lake where one has to portage just to camp, and the lake is a dead end and not part of a route, there is a good chance of it being uncrowded. Also, if you are thinking 6-8 days, this loop would be a great distance to allow time to take numerous day trips at different locations. I did the trip as one of four guys who were all 21 and we had all been coming to the bwcaw since we were about 4 years old so we did this 25 mile trip in three nights and still had some time for day trips. I dont have any outfitter advice though. Hope this helps good luck.

Millerb, wow - that was an ambitious trip for 3 nights! We really appreciate your sharing your recent trip experience. You mention areas that we definitely plan to explore. Thanks again for your input. Expect us to be back with questions as we make decisions.

Boppa

you bet