BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
September 19 2025
Entry Point 1 - Trout Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 12
Elevation: 1381 feet
Latitude: 47.9144
Longitude: -92.3220
Trout Lake - 1
Solo trip from Lake One through Snowbank
Entry Date:
September 17, 2008
Entry Point:
Lake One
Exit Point:
Snowbank Lake (H)
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
1
8-29-09 The sky was cloudy at 6 AM with occasional patches of blue and some wind. It was cooler, probably 45 or 50-degrees. We had a wonderful breakfast of Peasant Omelets and cranberry scones, and were on the water by 8:50. We put on our rain gear again, and I added my vest under my rain jacket. We had only a short paddle over to Lower Basswood Falls for an equally short portage. Then we paddled across an arm of Crooked Lake and into the Horse River. Our second portage on the Horse River was 73 rods, and a third of 48 rods followed. We enjoyed Horse River very much. It wound between banks with water lilies and wild grasses and many different types of water flowers. Occasionally, we passed a beaver house. After the 3rd portage, we came to a small rapid which Andy directed us to paddle up and through. Even though it was very small, Judy and I could not get our double canoe up it. Andy got the triple canoe up the rapid, then jumped onto the rocks and helped us get the double canoe up it. It is hard work paddling against the current of even small rapids while trying to dodge rocks! Our 4th (and last of the day) portage was 58 rods, but fairly easy. We were beginning to think we were "home free" when Andy told us that we would have to paddle up four more "little" rapids. I think I'd rather portage these "little" rapids, but there were no portage trails available. It was very hard paddling and by the 4th rapid (which was bigger than the others), Judy and I just piled out of the canoe and pushed it through the rapid. This wasn't much easier than paddling, but at least we didn't have to dodge rocks. The water was a bit deep and the rocks slippery though. As my Grandmother would have said, we got wet clear to "possible". It was with great relief that we finally got the canoes into Horse Lake. The campsite Andy had hoped to get had just been taken as we paddled past, but the next one was lovely with nicely placed trees and tent sites. Andy got the camp stove fired up and we had cream of wild rice soup and cheese quesadias for lunch. While Andy put the tarp up, we got our tents up and changed into dry shoes and socks. Our pants had already dried (thank you Supplex!) and we spent the afternoon puttering around camp and fishing from shore. Andy caught a nice Northern. He explained that most people didn't eat them because they are so bony, but he would show us how to fix them, if we wanted him to. Of course we did! Around 3:30 PM Judy, Andy and I went out fishing in the triple canoe. We paddled down the shore a bit and around some small islands. Andy and I both caught a nice bass. At one point, we looked up into a tree on one of the islands and saw a large eagle watching us. What a beautiful bird it was! Judy had her line snapped twice by Northerns and I had mine snapped once. The wind was coming up again, so we paddled back to camp around 6:15.
Since this was our last night in the BWCA, I tried the sat phone. I not only got a signal and talked to my husband, but it didn't cut me off before I could say "good-bye", as it had the previous 2 times. I read a lot of "spy novels" (Clancy, Baldacci, Brown, Rosenberg, etc.) and if our real life covert operators depend on sat phones like the one we had, their lives truly hang by threads. The sat phone only worked with absolutely clear skies, worked best at the beginning and end of our trip (e.g. nearest civilization), and was likely to cut you off in mid-sentence and refuse to reconnect or find a signal. The opening message when the sat phone was powered up is "Safety, your most important call". We got a big laugh out of that because it was impossible to make any call 90% of the time. The "Spot", which was added on a whim, proved considerably more useful. It sent our signals out in cloudy or clear weather and, had we needed it to, I'm sure it would have sent an emergency 911 signal. I would certainly trust it over the sat phone in an emergency situation. Plus, even though our husbands couldn't talk to us, they could follow our trail and have some assurance that we were OK. Next time, we'll take the "Spot" and leave the sat phone.
Dinner was mashed potatoes with beef stroganoff and pan-fried bass and Northern. We were surprised at how good the Northern was, but my personal favorite is still the walleye. Desert was Tripleberry Cobbler. It was a lovely evening and we just sat around the camp fire and watched the stars. The wind went down and the sky was very clear. Andy's weather radio forecast lows in the low 40's or high 30's--our coldest night yet--but the bags VNO included in our outfit were very warm and cozy. We slept like happy little caterpillars in warm cocoons. 14205%2EJPG&name=TripReport">
