Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: Where to find route advice?
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fsupp |
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boonie |
You want some solitude and you should get some on these trips. A couple of these trips will be more "adventurous". Two of the entries are on the west side out of Ely, MN, and the others are off the Sawbill Trail out of Tofte, MN, or the Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais. On the west out of Ely, you can enter at EP #14, Little Indian Sioux North (LISN), and loop through Loon Lake, North Lake, Finger Lake, Pocket Lake, Gebeonequet Lake, Oyster, Hustler, and back out LISN. This is about 40-45 miles, 20 hours of travel. You have the option of a layover day and a trip to the pictographs on Lac la Croix (LLC). Also out of Ely is another classic route - EP #16, Moose River North (MRN) to Agnes, Lac la Croix (LLC), Pocket, Gebe, Oyster, Agnes, out EP #16, MRN. This route is about the same miles and time, but probably a little busier. It also allows the trip to see the pictos on LLC. Note that you can do these loops in the reverse direction also. On the east central side, the Sawbill Trail out of Tofte, MN, has several options for you. EP #37, Kawishiwi Lake takes you up to Polly Lake. At Polly Lake, a short easy trip would take you east across the Lady Lakes Chain - Hazel, Phoebe, Grace, Beth - to exit at Sawbill Lake. This is not a loop and would require a short shuttle between Sawbill and Kawishiwi, which you can do yourself or Sawbill Outfitters can provide you. This is a short trip - 25 -30 miles or so. You can do a longer route from Kawishiwi to Sawbill by going northeast from Polly to Little Saganaga and then down through Mesaba to Zenith, Kelso, and Sawbill. This requires the same shuttle as the previous route and is about 40 miles. You could turn this route into a slightly longer, more adventurous loop by heading west from Mesaba across the Louse River to Malberg Lake and exiting at #37. You could also go straight through Polly and northwest out of Malberg Lake to Adams, Ledge, Makwa, Pan, back to Malberg and out, which would be 40 miles or so and more adventurous with good solitude. For another shorter trip, but without as much solitude, there is availability for EP #47, Lizz Lake, off the Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais. You could go to Horseshoe, Gaskin, Winchell, Omega, Henson, and back to Caribou and out Lizz to Poplar. This is another one of those 25-30 mile trips. A shorter, easier trip and consequently busier. Some of these I have done in whole or part and you may find some info in my trip reports. I have done the first two trips out of Ely, but they were a long time ago - my first and second trips - and there are no trip reports. The LISN trip (2006) was one of my favorites. The MRN trip was my first and the one that hooked me on BW trips. Most of the rest you'll find in my trip reports from the last 5 years. If you're interested in any of these, but you have any questions, just ask. |
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overland |
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Grandma L |
You might practice a portage at home to get the feel for it as a group. Kids don't instinctively seem to be organized. You might talk to them about unloading at a portage and putting all their things-packs in one spot - out ot the way, moving canoes and be careful to make room of others. |
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overland |
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Bannock |
Are you using an outfitter? If so give them a call and they will help you plan according to your needs and permit availability. |
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Grandma L |
Out of Ely - look at a simple, "well traveled route" in Snowbank to Dissapointment,east to Jordan, Ima, - south east to Thomas, Kiana, Insula, Hudson, Lake 4, 3, 2, 1. Echo trail - Little Indian Sioux North loop around to exit Moose River North. Start at Little Indian Sioux, north to East Loon Bay, Little Loon, Slim, Section 3, South, Eugene, Beartracks - Thumb, Finger, Pocket out to LLC, Fish Steak Narrows - check out the pictographs on the wall of Irving Island, South thru Bolder Bay, Agnes, Nina Moose and out Moose River North. |
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soundguy0918 |
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overland |
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schweady |
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overland |
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overland |
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Jiimaan |
A quick note though, if you haven't secured a permit yet, be aware that some entry points might be unavailable so you might want to start here: . Permit availability search Do a search for what permit availability is for the time you're looking at and go from there |
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Bumstead |
Welcome to the board, and enjoy the wealth of information on this site. The site, and the helpful people made planning my first trip a lot easier! |
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soundguy0918 |
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schweady |
My thoughts: * first, look over maps, either here or on the reservation site that Jiimaan linked or google other online sites, and familiarize yourself with the entry point locations and the names of some of the first lakes in those areas * check the permit opportunities still available on that reservations site, following those easy instructions listed above, to narrow your list of entries and dates * since I am most familiar with the western side, I will suggest that you call Voyageur North Outfitters in Ely (or, take your pick of other outfitters), talk to Lynn (or any of the nice folks that answer) about your dates and desires, and I guarantee that you'll get some top-notch suggestions |
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Jiimaan |
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Jiimaan |
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overland |
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boonie |
I agree there's not much difference for you travel wise from Duluth between the east and west. Nice trips can be had in all areas. Going northeast along the North Shore is a nice drive. You can go to Ely via Rt. 2 north out of Two Harbors in about the same time as going north from Duluth I think entering mid-week before Labor Day and exiting after would be good timing. If seeing pictographs would be a big draw, the best ones are on the Ely side on LLC and there are also some on Crooked Lake/Basswood River. I'd check permit availability for whatever dates are possible for you and not spend time researching any that do not have an available permit that fits your time. How long of a loop would be reasonable for your group? |
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cowdoc |
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maxxbhp |
quote boonie: "Daniel Pauly's book "Exploring the Boundary Waters is also a nice guidebook, which covers all areas in one volume. I like that book, also |
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maxxbhp |
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shuz |
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s500yards |
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boonie |
quote overland: "Here are two very basic questions: 1. Is it possible at this late date to get a permit for a weekday entry near the Labor Day weekend, which I understand is one of the busiest times of the year? 2. West or east? How do I choose? I'm coming from Chicago." There is still availability for most entries on T/W/Th before Labor Day, although some of that availability is limited and may go fast. A little less availability on F with the same caveat. There is generally greater availability on the east - Sawbill Trail out of Tofte, Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais, although I was surprised to find that's not so true of the Arrowhead Trail entries. If fishing is not the main reason you are there (I don't know anything useful about that) and I knew how many miles you would travel - and whether you plan to single or double portage - I could make some suggestions. |