BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
January 08 2025
Entry Point 40 - Homer Lake
Homer Lake entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Tofte Ranger Station near the city of Tofte, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 33 miles. Access is a boat landing at Homer Lake. This area was affected by blowdown in 1999.
Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1825 feet
Latitude: 47.9043
Longitude: -90.6605
Homer Lake - 40
Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1825 feet
Latitude: 47.9043
Longitude: -90.6605
Homer Lake - 40
There and Back Again
by mhclon
Trip Report
Entry Date:
June 24, 2007
Entry Point:
Crab Lake and Cummings from Burntside Lake
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
6
Trip Introduction:
We were planning on going to Pine from Crab and back to Cummings but...
Day 1 of 7
Sunday, June 24, 2007 A pretty easy day overall. We waited around for the last person of our group to show up Sunday morning until 11:00. Our ire was up, little did we know how valuable he would prove... Got on Burntside finally at about 1:00. Got to the portage after an hour(we were confused about where the public access was on the map). For the second year in a row I have not done the food shopping, so unlike the year before where we didn't have enough, this year we had way too much. On the mile and a quarter entry, I carried the food pack, which weighed at least 100 lbs., I made it 3/4 of the way and had to put it down. Had I known that I was almost at the top of the hill... It took our group almost 3 hours to do the portage to Crab. Needless to say, we were ready for camp. My wife and I checked out the first campsite south of the entry, thought that it was nice but was only big enough for 2 tents. The first site to the north is a beautiful site with enough room for 4 tents, which we had with 2 singles. We enjoyed steaks the first night and discovered a new treat. Take a pita and coat it with olive oil and garlic and grill it on the fire grate. 
Day 6 of 7
Sunday, May 16, 2021 
The next morning, we awoke to a nice sunrise lighting up Missionary Lake. We had breakfast and were on the water soon enough. We paddled Missionary, made the hop through Skoota and Dix before hitting our longer paddle on Spoon. More memories of trips past came spilling out here. We made decent time down Spoon before slowing for the beaver ponds to Sema. This stretch of lakes feels so unique and different. There are some similar attributes to the Kek Ponds just the south with high topography and shallow water. 
We made our way east to a mandatory stop at Eddy Falls. Despite how overwhelmingly busy this spot can be later in the season, we had things pretty quiet today. It was fun to enjoy the falls in somewhat high water and enjoy them in our own ways without keeping tabs on a group. After a good stop there, we talked routes. Our initial plan was to head through the Gijikiki area to see the high cliffs on Lake of the Clouds and Cherry. I knew this route would be rough and, if T was already struggling with mileage, maybe upping portage difficult wouldn’t be a good idea. However, the scenery won us over and we headed for the Hanson portage. That portage is one of my all time favorites and I stopped at the big cedars and the falls for a few minutes. The group was rushing a bit through here as it began to become clear that T’s idea for a trip may not gel up with three former guides’. The portage to Cherry is always bad. It’s steep, the landings are tough, and the there’s lots of bad footing, but that was only the beginning. The portage out of Cherry I knew to be flooded. This day, it was all sorts of flooded and the great fields of poison ivy I associate with that portage had begun to grow for the season. After losing the trail after the beaver pond and bouncing around on the steep boulder pile for awhile, we finally found our way out. I love that chain of lakes for its challenge and its scenery, but the combination of topography, boulder fields, mud pits, and unpredictability was taking its toll. By the time we reached Gijikiki, it seemed the group needed a compromise. I, of course, wanted to keep heading on to Ottertrack, but the consensus was that, for kindness sake, we should stay on Gijikiki. Thankfully, the island site is beautiful with its high overlook and I wasn’t too upset to be off the main thoroughfare. ~Missionary Lake, Skoota Lake, Dix Lake, Spoon Lake, Sema Lake, Knife Lake, Hanson Lake, Cherry Lake, Lunar Lake, Lake of the Clouds, Rivalry Lake, Gijikiki Lake
The next morning, we awoke to a nice sunrise lighting up Missionary Lake. We had breakfast and were on the water soon enough. We paddled Missionary, made the hop through Skoota and Dix before hitting our longer paddle on Spoon. More memories of trips past came spilling out here. We made decent time down Spoon before slowing for the beaver ponds to Sema. This stretch of lakes feels so unique and different. There are some similar attributes to the Kek Ponds just the south with high topography and shallow water. We made our way east to a mandatory stop at Eddy Falls. Despite how overwhelmingly busy this spot can be later in the season, we had things pretty quiet today. It was fun to enjoy the falls in somewhat high water and enjoy them in our own ways without keeping tabs on a group. After a good stop there, we talked routes. Our initial plan was to head through the Gijikiki area to see the high cliffs on Lake of the Clouds and Cherry. I knew this route would be rough and, if T was already struggling with mileage, maybe upping portage difficult wouldn’t be a good idea. However, the scenery won us over and we headed for the Hanson portage. That portage is one of my all time favorites and I stopped at the big cedars and the falls for a few minutes. The group was rushing a bit through here as it began to become clear that T’s idea for a trip may not gel up with three former guides’. The portage to Cherry is always bad. It’s steep, the landings are tough, and the there’s lots of bad footing, but that was only the beginning. The portage out of Cherry I knew to be flooded. This day, it was all sorts of flooded and the great fields of poison ivy I associate with that portage had begun to grow for the season. After losing the trail after the beaver pond and bouncing around on the steep boulder pile for awhile, we finally found our way out. I love that chain of lakes for its challenge and its scenery, but the combination of topography, boulder fields, mud pits, and unpredictability was taking its toll. By the time we reached Gijikiki, it seemed the group needed a compromise. I, of course, wanted to keep heading on to Ottertrack, but the consensus was that, for kindness sake, we should stay on Gijikiki. Thankfully, the island site is beautiful with its high overlook and I wasn’t too upset to be off the main thoroughfare. ~Missionary Lake, Skoota Lake, Dix Lake, Spoon Lake, Sema Lake, Knife Lake, Hanson Lake, Cherry Lake, Lunar Lake, Lake of the Clouds, Rivalry Lake, Gijikiki Lake
Day 12 of 7
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 Decided to go to Cummings. Went to Little Crab to the Korb river, through Korb Lake to the first island site on Cummings. One of the most beautiful campsites in the BWCA. On the way we had to sit through a two hour downpour on the Korb river, but after that the night was great. We planned on going as far as we could towards Pine Lake the next day, but it doesn't always work out that way. I think that this is a good time to praise the virtues of having a bartender with you. Although he got up late every day, he was always gungho to stoke the fire and make the tasiest cocktails every night. 
Day 18 of 7
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 The wind had really picked up during the night. It was coming staight from the west and that didn't bode well for us. We decided to change our plans and head back to Little Crab and go as far as we could west. When we got to Little Crab and took the unnamed creek to Lunetta, we were hoping the campsite was nice... Not the case. Nobody has been to the compsite on Lunetta in years, (at least tried to clean it up.) We went back to Little Crab at stayed at a very nice site.h 
Day 2 of 7
Thursday, June 28, 2007 We got up late as usual (#%!@ bartender). Our first task was to head back to Lunetta on the creek we had done the day before. It is a lovely creek with many lillies and lotuses, the best kind of river paddling. From Lunetta we went south to Hassel on the 280 rd. I have never been on such an unkept portage. There were three places where I had to set the canoe down and drag it underneath a downed tree, (not to mention the ten step overs). This was actually great forshadowing for the rest of our trip. We saw two groups while we were camped on Crab and saw some people having lunch at the site that we stayed on Little Crab. These were to be the only people we saw during our trip. From Hassel we went to Battle and then to Phantom and on to Boulder. While the site on Boulder looked as thoug it hadn't been occupied in years, we made it home. It was very hard to fit our four tents at the Boulder site, but we did it. There is really only room for two tents. I like nothing better than getting to design the seating around the fire grate. 
Day 7 of 7
Sunday, May 16, 2021 
The next morning, we awoke to a nice sunrise lighting up Missionary Lake. We had breakfast and were on the water soon enough. We paddled Missionary, made the hop through Skoota and Dix before hitting our longer paddle on Spoon. More memories of trips past came spilling out here. We made decent time down Spoon before slowing for the beaver ponds to Sema. This stretch of lakes feels so unique and different. There are some similar attributes to the Kek Ponds just the south with high topography and shallow water. 
We made our way east to a mandatory stop at Eddy Falls. Despite how overwhelmingly busy this spot can be later in the season, we had things pretty quiet today. It was fun to enjoy the falls in somewhat high water and enjoy them in our own ways without keeping tabs on a group. After a good stop there, we talked routes. Our initial plan was to head through the Gijikiki area to see the high cliffs on Lake of the Clouds and Cherry. I knew this route would be rough and, if T was already struggling with mileage, maybe upping portage difficult wouldn’t be a good idea. However, the scenery won us over and we headed for the Hanson portage. That portage is one of my all time favorites and I stopped at the big cedars and the falls for a few minutes. The group was rushing a bit through here as it began to become clear that T’s idea for a trip may not gel up with three former guides’. The portage to Cherry is always bad. It’s steep, the landings are tough, and the there’s lots of bad footing, but that was only the beginning. The portage out of Cherry I knew to be flooded. This day, it was all sorts of flooded and the great fields of poison ivy I associate with that portage had begun to grow for the season. After losing the trail after the beaver pond and bouncing around on the steep boulder pile for awhile, we finally found our way out. I love that chain of lakes for its challenge and its scenery, but the combination of topography, boulder fields, mud pits, and unpredictability was taking its toll. By the time we reached Gijikiki, it seemed the group needed a compromise. I, of course, wanted to keep heading on to Ottertrack, but the consensus was that, for kindness sake, we should stay on Gijikiki. Thankfully, the island site is beautiful with its high overlook and I wasn’t too upset to be off the main thoroughfare. ~Missionary Lake, Skoota Lake, Dix Lake, Spoon Lake, Sema Lake, Knife Lake, Hanson Lake, Cherry Lake, Lunar Lake, Lake of the Clouds, Rivalry Lake, Gijikiki Lake
The next morning, we awoke to a nice sunrise lighting up Missionary Lake. We had breakfast and were on the water soon enough. We paddled Missionary, made the hop through Skoota and Dix before hitting our longer paddle on Spoon. More memories of trips past came spilling out here. We made decent time down Spoon before slowing for the beaver ponds to Sema. This stretch of lakes feels so unique and different. There are some similar attributes to the Kek Ponds just the south with high topography and shallow water. We made our way east to a mandatory stop at Eddy Falls. Despite how overwhelmingly busy this spot can be later in the season, we had things pretty quiet today. It was fun to enjoy the falls in somewhat high water and enjoy them in our own ways without keeping tabs on a group. After a good stop there, we talked routes. Our initial plan was to head through the Gijikiki area to see the high cliffs on Lake of the Clouds and Cherry. I knew this route would be rough and, if T was already struggling with mileage, maybe upping portage difficult wouldn’t be a good idea. However, the scenery won us over and we headed for the Hanson portage. That portage is one of my all time favorites and I stopped at the big cedars and the falls for a few minutes. The group was rushing a bit through here as it began to become clear that T’s idea for a trip may not gel up with three former guides’. The portage to Cherry is always bad. It’s steep, the landings are tough, and the there’s lots of bad footing, but that was only the beginning. The portage out of Cherry I knew to be flooded. This day, it was all sorts of flooded and the great fields of poison ivy I associate with that portage had begun to grow for the season. After losing the trail after the beaver pond and bouncing around on the steep boulder pile for awhile, we finally found our way out. I love that chain of lakes for its challenge and its scenery, but the combination of topography, boulder fields, mud pits, and unpredictability was taking its toll. By the time we reached Gijikiki, it seemed the group needed a compromise. I, of course, wanted to keep heading on to Ottertrack, but the consensus was that, for kindness sake, we should stay on Gijikiki. Thankfully, the island site is beautiful with its high overlook and I wasn’t too upset to be off the main thoroughfare. ~Missionary Lake, Skoota Lake, Dix Lake, Spoon Lake, Sema Lake, Knife Lake, Hanson Lake, Cherry Lake, Lunar Lake, Lake of the Clouds, Rivalry Lake, Gijikiki Lake
Day 13 of 7
Saturday, June 30, 2007 From our site on Crab it seemed like an easy out. It was for the most part. The paddle across Crab was easy, the portage to Burntside only took an hour versus almost thrre on the way in. The paddle across Burntside was the hardest part of the day, only because of the boaters, (those $@&$*!!*@(*). We had to paddle into their wakes at least ten times. 
When we got back to the landing, we talked to the first people we had talked to in week. The route we ended up taking was the most isolated I have ever felt in the BWCA. We were apprehensive gonig in, but ended up having one of the best trips ever. 
When we got back to the landing, we talked to the first people we had talked to in week. The route we ended up taking was the most isolated I have ever felt in the BWCA. We were apprehensive gonig in, but ended up having one of the best trips ever.
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