BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
January 05 2025
Entry Point 30 - Lake One
Number of Permits per Day: 13
Elevation: 1230 feet
Latitude: 47.9391
Longitude: -91.4792
My son Remy and I, and my friend Keith and his son Charlie put our canoes into Lake one at 9:30 Monday morning after dropping off a car at the Snowbank Lake landing. Lake One can be tricky to navigate. On our way to Lake Two we turned East too early and ended up paddling about a mile out of our way into a dead-end bay before we realized our mistake. We blamed the fact that Lake One was split between Fisher Maps #10 and #4 for our error. If the entire lake had been visible at once on a single map, we would not have made the wrong turn. Once we got back on course we portaged the 30 rods into a pond and then portaged the 40 rods into Lake Two. The weather was nice, and there was a bit of a tail wind out of the West. We stopped for lunch on the shore of Lake Two. After lunch we canoed through the North end of Lake Three and into Lake Four. We stopped for the night at a campsite on the West shore of Lake Four, just North of the channel heading toward Hudson Lake. We had to battle swarms of mosquitoes as we set up the tents. We then had a nice refreshing swim. Because we had brought steaks along for the first night, we didn't go fishing.
On Tuesday morning we had a bacon and eggs breakfast then packed up camp and headed out in our canoes. As we canoed past our campsite, we realized that Remy & I had left our hammocks pitched between trees. We landed again and quickly packed them up. Once again we had beautiful weather. We paddled East and completed 3 short portages before entering Hudson Lake. The 105 rod portage into Lake Insula was exhausting! Lake Insula is a large gorgeous lake broken up by multiple islands and penninsulas. We had lunch at a campsite on a large island just East of Hudson Lake. It felt like we had a tail wind as we were heading East, and then as we turned North it seemed like the wind shifted and was at our backs once again. We navigated Lake Insula flawlessly and camped for the night on the island just West of Williamson Island. After setting up the tents and a refreshing swim, Remy & I got back into the canoe and tried to catch some fish. We had no luck! At 9PM that night, just as we were going to bed, a thunderstorm rolled through. That night I was awakened several times by the loud croaking of bullfrogs from the shallows around our island. What noisy neighbors!
By Wednesday morning the weather had cleared, but the wind was now coming from the Northwest, pretty much in our faces. We paddled to the North end of Lake Insula and tackled the largest portage of our trip. The 180 rod walk to Kiana Lake actually seemed easier than the 105 rod carry into Lake Insula. We headed onward into Thomas Lake where we really started feeling the headwind. We finally made it to the campsite just Northeast of the portage into Thomas Pond in time for lunch. After lunch we proceeded across Thomas Pond and into Thomas Creek after hiking across the famous Kekekabic Trail. We managed to easily run the rapids in Thomas Creek and avoid the 2 short portages. We camped for the night on Hatchet Lake at the northern campsite. It was cool and windy, so we didn't swim. There was lots of threatening weather going by to the North of us, but we stayed dry. After supper we canoed back to Thomas Creek to fish and look for moose. No luck on either count, but we did see a beaver swimmming.
The weather was nice again Thursday morning, but the wind was out of the West which was the direction we were heading. We portaged into Ima Lake and canoed across it. Before portaging into Jordan Lake, we watched a bald eagle sitting in a tree get harrassed repeatedly by a seagull. The narrow channel leading into Jordan Lake is quite beautiful. It is narrow like a river with big rock outcroppings. We paddled across Jordan, Cattyman, Adventure, and Jitterbug Lakes. We found the Eastern campsite on Ahsub Lake taken, so we camped at the Western campsite which had a great place for swimming in front of it. There was a very brave loon in front of the campsite who didn't seem to mind if we got close to it. We tried our luck at fishing, but only caught 1 smallmouth which was too small to eat. Between 5:00 and 7:30 that evening we saw a number of canoes heading across Ahsub Lake from Disappointment Lake to Jitterbug Lake. We weren't sure where they were planning to camp, but it was getting late.
On Friday we awoke again to good weather. We paddled the length of Disappointment Lake and portaged into to Parent Lake and then on to Snowbank Lake. It was July 4th, and as we entered Snowbank Lake the sounfd of firecrackers reminded us we weren't in the wilderness anaymore. After a brief splash war on our way across Snowbank, we made it to the landing and our car was still there. What a great trip!
New EP for 23rd
Entry Date:
June 06, 2022
Entry Point:
Cross Bay Lake
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
3
After a burger at the Poplar Haus and comfortable stay at Rockwood's bunkhouse, we awoke early for our journey to Tuscarora Lodge for breakfast. French toast, sausage, coffee, and juice prepared us for what lay ahead. After carefully monitoring the late ice out coupled with very high water, we really weren't sure what to expect. Andy at Tuscarora provided us the 3 person kevlar as well as up to date info regarding portages, water levels, and bugs.
Packed our canoe and headed out toward Ham Lake. Over the years, we decided comfort, relaxation, and fishing are our priorities. Simply put, our packing is much different now then back in 1999....
Water was certainly high, but down substantially from highest water. Floated over rocks that normally require careful navigation. We've always packed head nets, but rarely used them. This trip, the nets were a necessity.
Made it into Cross Bay Lake and decided to shoot for the 2nd campsite close to Rib Lake portage. Gorgeous campsite awaited as we made it our basecamp for a week. The first few years of tripping meant sitting on logs and waiting out rain with rain gear. Not anymore. We use a 12x16 tarp for rain, and bring plenty of creature comforts for relaxing. Of course, 23 years later, simple pleasures like an air mattress.....camp chair....gravity water bag.....are requirements!
After coffee and breakfast burritos, we day tripped to Snipe Lake. We fished and paddled to 3rd campsite - which took us a few hours. Found an island rock for lunch snacks.
Saw a gorgeous loon...which barely noticed our intrusion. Snipe is a beautiful lake with a little bit of everything from high cliffs to inlet creek waterfalls. It was an easy and relaxing paddle.
Cross Bay Lake fishing day. We all 3 fished in the morning. In the afternoon and evening, Ellie and James fished in a hole next to the stream coming from Rib. We noticed a solo paddler hit this hole 3 days in a row at the same time every morning.
Certainly were walleye there.
Rib Lake fishing day. Wind started picking up, so we didn't venture too far from the portage.
Caught a nice bass.
Planned a day trip via this route to Long Island Lake for tomorrow.
Long Island day trip. Hit Rib, Lower George, Karl, and checked out Long Island two different places. Did the portage from Karl to Long Island just to get a look see....Paddled thru Karl and found a lunch spot on the north end of Long Island Lake. Such a beautiful lake, but a strong west wind would make for quite the challenge if you were heading West. Found a fishing hot spot along the way. Caught 5 big northerns in 5 minutes. Saw the Trumpeter swan pairs again....
After lunch snack, started our journey back to camp.
Lazy Day on Cross Bay. James and Ellie did a few hours of exploring our base camp lake. Fished, relaxed, and took some pics of inlet stream waterfalls. The lakes throughout this EP are all tied together by streams. By this time, the water levels had dropped another 2 feet from when we entered. Ellie tried her hand at filleting.....
Campfire Pizzas for dinner!
Packed up and headed out. Back the way we came. Lower water levels exposed rocks we previously paddled over, so we zig zagged our way toward Ham Lake. The only rain we received was a brief shower on day 1. Portages were pretty dry and mud was rare.
Made it through another year!
