Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: First Timer Suggestions
|
Author | Message Text | ||
fotonomadic |
Planning a trip around May 10th to BWCA for the first time. I'm 40, my lady's 30 and neither of us have ever visited the area or been canoeing (we live out west and have kayaked, though). Hoping to do a few days in an affordable cabin or lodge and get adjusted and return next year for a longer camping trip. I get the sense that this forum is more seasoned paddlers looking to get a bit further out than we probably will our first time (she's from MN but a little less excited about camping than I am, don't want to burn her out her first trip with a bunch of portage and slogging gear) but I was hoping for some suggestions on larger lakes with lots to explore that aren't overcrowded (don't even know if that's a real issue at BWCA). Open to either east or west. I see lots of more expensive lodges (like Gunflint) and even cheaper options on Poplar Lake offer a room or cabin and free usage of a canoe for guests but wanted to ask you more experienced folks if that still gives the opportunity to explore and get a good ways out from other people or if you're always within site of the lodge and surrounded by other paddlers. Gunflint Lake looks like it's connected to a few others, some wider and some more narrow, that might allow for some exploring and wandering for the better part of a day, but it's hard to be sure from the computer. Any thoughts/advice/suggestions? Thanks! These message boards are such a great resource! |
||
Thanks so much for all this helpful info, it's really appreciated. I've just started my research, so all of your suggestions are going to come in handy. I hadn't even considered the danger of hypothermia, not realizing the water would still be that cold. I just started reading a guide book about the area today so between this forum and the books I've ordered I hope to be informed enough to stay safe and have a good time and not get dumped by my girlfriend for capsizing her in freezing water :) I've kind of settled on driving in from Grand Marais because we'd love to see Lake Superior on the way up and I've heard it's a beautiful drive. I think, considering the still relatively colder water that week (May 12th), and our lack of experience I'm going to stay in a lakeside cabin and start canoeing on whatever lake we end up at the first day and maybe get a feel for it and then hopefully rent from an outfitter and do some portage (portaging?) and try and get a bit further in on the next day or day after. If we do end up portaging, I'm assuming it will include some jumping into the water to get up and away from shore, right? Does that mean waders are a part of everybody's kit when the water's colder to jump in and out? I've kayaked, including in the choppy ocean (not fun getting out past the breakers your first few times), in the Pacific in CA and in the ice fields in Alaska, and I assume a canoe would be much more stable, right? Is capsizing common or is that something that really only happens to rank amateurs (provided the water is calmer)? Thanks again for all the help, really really appreciate it! |
|||
Snosaj |
|
||
bwcadan |
|
||
hexnymph |
Welcome to the site. The drive to Grand Marais is a joy in itself. You can spend days just exploring the waterfalls along the way. Once you clear Two Harbors tune in to 90.7FM WTIP from Grand Marais, a local station with a wide variety of "shows". I've dealt with the folks at Hungry Jack Outfitters and found them to be pretty cool. They have cabins, bunk houses, and all the outfitting gear if needed. I'm not sure how early in the season they open. Hex |
||
BigCurrent |
On the Ely side you could look into Fenske Lake Cabins, Lodge of Whispering Pines, and Big Lake Wilderness Lodge. There are many other resorts in the area but these will offer you more solitude than others in the area. |
||
boonie |
Chik Wauk museum on the Gunflint Trail will be a nice couple of hours if it's open. You should be fine with knee high boots. Capsizing is not common, but is possible for just about anyone and the consequences are chilling that time of year. Type this phrase - cold water immersion - in your search bar and be aware of the consequences so you are prepared and have a plan. I don't know if canoes are more or less stable than kayaks, but most will have a higher profile in the wind, so you'll probably want to avoid being out there when it is very windy. Watch the weather. It is usually more windy in the afternoon, so an early start and finish is a good idea. Avoid large windy lakes and stay close to shore whenever possible. You should have a change of clothes and other contingency gear with you even on day trips. Be prepared, make smart decisions, and you'll be safe and have fun. |
||
bhouse46 |
Smaller lakes are often better to avoid wind and wave concerns. Water acts like water everywhere and your experience with it is very helpful. Typically a canoe has higher initial stability but lower final stability and the kayak the opposite. The boats provided by the lodges are pretty stable canoes and it is okay to bump them up against the rocks so you can exit in shallow or no water. Most portages off the entry lakes are very heavily used and pretty user friendly. Some outfitters offer kayaks. A single blade paddle is different from a double and can take a little getting used to. Some of us use a double blade paddle in our canoes, get a long one if you go that route. Day permits are easy to complete, your host can help with that. They allow day access, but no overnight camping to the BWCA and are free. That will allow you to go in a little deeper and perhaps have lunch at one of the campsites. And think the Minnesota state bird...mosquitoes. The search feature can provide some great discussions on bug dope and a product called permethrin. |
||
Spartan2 |
On the Gunflint side, Rockwood Lodge, Clearwater Lodge, Bearskin, Hungry Jack, Trail Center, and many others have cabins available (our family will be renting a cabin at Rockwood in August--we love it there), as well as Gunflint Lodge (which it seems you have already investigated), but what your definition of "affordable" is might be different from mine, and also many of the lodges only take reservations for a week at a time during the summer season, so that is a factor to consider. To me, the real BWCA experience is camping. You can rent a canoe and the proper gear from an outfitter, even food if you prefer, and go out for five or six days, and make it as challenging as you like. Go in for a short distance and base camp, or move every day. Or go in a ways, take a layover day, and move again. But if that isn't what you want for the first experience, then I would highly recommend Rockwood Lodge. They do furnish an aluminum canoe with each cabin, and I would imagine you could upgrade to a lightweight canoe for an additional fee. (If you are going to portage, you would want to do that.) The people there are great to work with, and the cabins are comfortable. Poplar Lake is beautiful, and there are other beautiful lakes close by that are also entry points to the BWCA. It is close to a wonderful restaurant (Trail Center) and don't forget to go to the historic lodge at Clearwater and enjoy a piece of homemade pie! Good luck in finding just the place to begin your BWCA adventures! |
||
Northwoodsman |
|
||
BasecampMom |
Depending on your budget there are a lot of options right on the edge of the BWCA that I think you guys would really enjoy. Golden eagle Bearskin Lodge or - take a peek at Recreation.gov for a nearby camper cabin. So for example... if you did Bearskin Lodge, its up the Gunflint Trail, so up the north shore, swing west once you get up to Grand Marais... its right on the shores of East Bearskin Lake. They even have an outfitter right there, and you guys could canoe in and see Johnson Falls and back in a day especially if you didn't have a ton of gear to haul in. East Bearskin > Alder > Canoe > Pine and back - or myriad trips from there. |
||
A1t2o |
Portaging is really how you enter the BWCA. If you don't portage in at all, exception being rivers and large lakes that take you a good distance from the entry point, then you are barely scratching the surface. I highly recommend camping out with an overnight pass. That is how you really experience it. One word of caution is to prep for cold weather. If camping, use a insulated sleeping pad to keep from losing all your heat to the ground. Also bring rain gear and spare clothes in case you do get wet. Capsizing isn't the only way to get soaked. No matter where you go, bring a map and memorize as much as you can too. These lakes can start to look the same if you aren't used to it so bring a compass and a map to keep from being turned around. That is very possible to do if you were to stop paddling in any wind, like if you caught a fish. So bring a map, and consult it often to always know where you are. |
||
murphylakejim |
|
||
QueticoMike |
Williamsandhall.com |
||
Spartan2 |
Also, the water in the lakes will be very cold. Plan for very safe canoeing practices. Going that early makes a cabin or lodge sound a lot more pleasant to me. :-) |
||
boonie |
Going to the Gunflint area would give you the North Shore Drive experience. Both Ely and Grand Marais/Gunflint Trail have lots of things to see and do even if canoeing is not feasible. In Ely the Hegman Lake pictographs would be an easy day trip, if seeing pictographs would be of interest. |
||
inspector13 |
Since you are coming from out of state I would certainly suggest trying the Gunflint Trail side since you would have to travel up the North Shore of Lake Superior. The North Shore in itself is a beautiful tourist destination with all of its water falls and craggy (for the Midwest) topography. |
||
QueticoMike |
|