BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
January 08 2025
Entry Point 40 - Homer Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1825 feet
Latitude: 47.9043
Longitude: -90.6605
Homer Lake - 40
brule and the art of compromise
Entry Date:
August 12, 2008
Entry Point:
Brule Lake
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
3
Everything is packed, the rack is set up, but how to get this beastly canoe up there? I used to be able to muscle it up there alone, but creeping up on 50 has me not quite as sure of my abilities. Finally I say Screw it! , and turn her sideways on the rack out in the yard, grab her by the gunnels, and power- lift that sucker onto my shoulders. YES!!! In no time, the canoe is secured to the car, and my ego is stoked to the max!
We all crawl into bed by midnight, set the alarm for some ungodly hour, and try to fall asleep.
Day 3: Breakfast is dehydrated hashbrowns, bacon, and eggs, and a couple mugs of strong coffee from my trusty lexan french press. We discuss pressing on to Winchell, and Jesse flat out refuses to haul any gear one step further, opting to lounge around the island while his dad and I day trip into Winchell. Well, we can do that I guess. We pack up the camera and some lunch and our rain gear, and head for parts unknown. The portages through the Cones are short and easy, and we’re soon on the 147 rod into Cliff. It’s fairly level, a little brushy, but not too brutal. We begin to pass other groups, one of a mom with 2 daughters, the younger of whom is finding all the portaging pretty rough. Cliff is gorgeous! It lives up to it’s name, with several nice cliffs tucked into the hillside, and one big cliff that a bunch of teens are climbing as we paddle by.
2 more short portages and we’re on Winchell- what a nice lake. We paddle across to the campsite directly across from the portage, which is one of the nicest sites I’ve seen. Big granite along the shore for lounging after swimming, very shady and level tent pads, nice kitchen area- this is a site that a large group could use easily. We eat our lunch of triscuits, jerky, chocolate and trail mix up on the rocks, and watch the other canoeists fanning out across the lake, looking for campsites. The first group to get near us is the previously mentioned mom, and we wave her over. We’re just having lunch, and I have a soft spot for parents and young kids. We tell them we’ll be leaving after lunch, and the site is theirs if they want it, which they do.
It’s getting on, and we’ve got a long paddle back to camp, so we get going and arrive back on S Cone with enough time to make dinner. Jesse has been busy gathering wood, a good day has been had by all. Dinner is Alessi chicken soup and brownies, and more coffee, always more coffee.
Day 4: This morning we compare our sunburns around the fire while we eat a yummy breakfast of potato pancakes with sausage gravy. Hubby’s sunburn isn’t too bad, but somehow I neglected to put sunscreen on my wrist where my watch usually is, and I have a lovely pink puffy wrist. Jesse’s legs and neck are pretty crispy, too. We slather on the sunscreen and look over the map. We decide to head out onto Brule, and paddle into the wind towards South Temperance Lake. Jesse decides to come with us, so at least he’s going to see a little more territory. The wind is light and pleasant, and we make good time up the lake. The cliff up by the NW corner of Brule is impressive! There are some really nice pitcher plants in the boggy area leading into S Temperance Lake. S Temperance has been hit pretty hard by the blowdown, and it looks like the southern shore of the lake burned at some point. A very different landscape than the area where we are camped. All the campsites are taken, so we eat some lunch on a small island, swim a little, and paddle back. Hubby and son are getting on each others nerves by the time we hit the portage back into the Cones, and the bickering is irritating the living cr*p out of me. I make a solemn vow to NOT have them go on the same trip next year- that just means I’ll have to make more trips...darn!
Once hubby does some swimming and Jesse wanders off to sit on a rock, tempers are back to normal. We have some dinner of chicken alfredo tortellini and garlic cheese biscuits, and down a couple pots of coffee….and then the bugs come out. It’s warmer than the past few nights, and we eventually give up and put out the fire...time for bed.
Day 4: This morning we compare our sunburns around the fire while we eat a yummy breakfast of potato pancakes with sausage gravy. Hubby’s sunburn isn’t too bad, but somehow I neglected to put sunscreen on my wrist where my watch usually is, and I have a lovely pink puffy wrist. Jesse’s legs and neck are pretty crispy, too. We slather on the sunscreen and look over the map. We decide to head out onto Brule, and paddle into the wind towards South Temperance Lake. Jesse decides to come with us, so at least he’s going to see a little more territory. The wind is light and pleasant, and we make good time up the lake. The cliff up by the NW corner of Brule is impressive! There are some really nice pitcher plants in the boggy area leading into S Temperance Lake. S Temperance has been hit pretty hard by the blowdown, and it looks like the southern shore of the lake burned at some point. A very different landscape than the area where we are camped. All the campsites are taken, so we eat some lunch on a small island, swim a little, and paddle back. Hubby and son are getting on each others nerves by the time we hit the portage back into the Cones, and the bickering is irritating the living cr*p out of me. I make a solemn vow to NOT have them go on the same trip next year- that just means I’ll have to make more trips...darn!
Once hubby does some swimming and Jesse wanders off to sit on a rock, tempers are back to normal. We have some dinner of chicken alfredo tortellini and garlic cheese biscuits, and down a couple pots of coffee….and then the bugs come out. It’s warmer than the past few nights, and we eventually give up and put out the fire...time for bed.
Day 6: We have vowed to get a very early start to avoid the worst of the wind on Brule, so at first light I’m up making coffee and the blueberry coffeecake I’ve been dreaming of. We pack up our gear and say goodbye to our campsite, and paddle away. Brule is windy but not dangerous looking, at least not from Cone Bay. We start trying to tack across the wind to the island, and then head downwind towards the entrance point...BAD IDEA! The following wind is sloshing into our canoe, and the rollers are pretty scary. We head for a small island and regroup. We head upwind again at a slight angle, towards the south shore by Jock Mock Point. It’s much less scary heading into the wind, just hard work. We get to the far shore and head back towards our take out, feeling pretty light hearted now that the shore is shielding us from the worst of the wind. Finally we’re there...bittersweet. It’s good to be off Brule, but sad to be leaving the BWCA. We pack up the car and drive over to Sawbill Outfitters to shower- man, does that feel good! The Sawbill Trail is in really bad shape, with some of the worst washboarding I’ve seen. Driving is really slow until we hit Hwy 61, then we speed back up again to the pace of modern life. We have a good lunch at the Rustic Inn, and head back to Duluth for another year.