BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
October 10 2025
Entry Point 38 - Sawbill Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 11
Elevation: 1802 feet
Latitude: 47.8699
Longitude: -90.8858
Sawbill Lake - 38
Disaster at site 917
Entry Date:
October 02, 2025
Entry Point:
Sawbill Lake
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
1
However that site (and almost all others) was occupied by 2 tents and 2 canoes, so I ended up elsewhere.
Sunday, the wind picked up drastically, the announced cold front moving in, and the occupant of that site (like almost all others) had decided to leave, most likely on Saturday when the lake was still possible. Did almost everybody leave because of incoming strong wind or incoming cold?
On Sunday night, my tent was intensely shaken by the wind like I never experienced before, despite its somewhat protected location off the shoreline into the woods, at first from a south wind and then later by a north wind.
Little did I know what was happening on that other site 917, at that time. There, a seemingly healthy pine tree at the edge of the lake, leaning south toward the lake, broke in half, fell northward, took 2 other trees with it, and covered most of the site. See pictures. Also a fourth tree broke also in half and is now blocking the path to the latrine.
Should anybody have been there that night, at best one would have had the biggest scare of one's life...
I am still pondering "what if" I, or my son and I, or the previous occupants had been there that night...
On Monday, calm was restored and I toured the lake while fishing. Site 917 was the only place I saw where trees went down...
So thank you Covid, thank you previous occupants for being there when I arrived and leaving afterward.
Be careful out there, and mindful of the trees around you.
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