BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
March 10 2026
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!
Adams Lake
Entry Date:
June 12, 2011
Entry Point:
Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
4
We loaded the canoes and set off into a light foggy morning. I always enjoy these mornings as it seems to add to the excitement and allure of starting the trip. We made good time through Kawishiwi and Square lakes. The two short portages into Kawasachong were uneventful, although a growing beaver dam presented a minor stumbling block, but was easily enough lifted over. 
As we came to the portage going into Malberg from Koma we saw a moose with its calf for a minute before it noticed us and darted off into the woods. 
We made short work of the Malberg portage and setup camp on the 2nd site on the east shore. This was a very nice site just south of the Eastern narrows portion. It had 3 good tent pads, a nice fire grate, and decent food pack hanging trees. We enjoyed steaks and mashed potatoes for dinner.
I started the day early heading out to fish while the others slept in a bit. I had never been out on the water by myself but greatly enjoyed serenity. We did fish the base of the rapids and managed a few smallies, one of which we decided to keep to supplement breakfast. Mitch and Eric paddled across the lake to filet the bass, while Alex and I got started making breakfast (biscuits/gravy/sausage links). Mitch and never fileted a fish, so I gave some quick verbal instructions. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have the fire started, breakfast cooked AND eaten before they got back with the single fish.
We decided to break camp and head further North. This decision was reinforced as two paddlers stopped by camp to tell us they camped at this site a few nights earlier and had their camp raided by a bear(tent destroyed but fixed well enough to continue). A second group coming by a few minutes later told us they saw a bear swimming South towards our site at Eastern Narrows.
We set out a few minutes later looking to setup camp in the Kawishiwi River area or perhaps the point site on Beaver. Paddling through the Western half of Malberg another gentleman told us the far West site had been raided the night before, and that only a few sites on the Kawishiwi were open.
With that information in hand we paddled on towards Beaver only to find a husband/wife tandem had arrived at the point site 10 minutes before us. Sitting a little depressed, we made the decision to head on into Adams. I had always wanted to stay on Adams since my first trip to the BWCA and this would be the chance. The guys enjoyed the beautiful "stairway to heaven" portage, and that's exactly where we ended up. After paddling across the lake we made it to the island campsite to find it unoccupied...but not for long! This would be our home for the next two nights. We setup camp and cooked brats over the fire.
We fished early in the morning hitting smallies on top water lures. Bass isn't our favorite, but since we had planned for a fish dinner these would do nicely. I accidentally sent my lure through a tree branch and as we paddled to retrieve it a smallie hit the lure. The fish threw the hook before we could get to it. A few minutes later I caught a good size smallie only to have it throw the hook a few feet before we could land it. The fish just stayed a few feet below the surface so I chunked my lure a few feet from it. A few seconds later the fish was on a stringer.
Adams lake is definitely the most scenic lake I've had the pleasure to stay on. The central part of the lake isn't particularly special, but the Northwest arm was very pretty. Definitely worth the wait to get there, can't wait to come back.
Wednesday marked our return southward as we retraced out route from Monday. We hit the "stairway from heaven" portage and quickly made our way to Koma. Much of the traffic on the Kawishiwi had cleared out and we only saw a couple groups on Malberg.
After finishing the portage into Koma, the wind picked up from the South. Our intention was to try for the campsite on the peninsula but found it occupied. We made our way to the South campsite and found it adequate for the night. There is a single good tent pad, with two additional smaller pads with a decent slope. The fire area was well stocked with wood. Camp was setup and guys guys headed out to fish a little. Dinner was foil pack chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, with blueberry muffin mix as a dessert fry bread. 
We set out for some early morning fishing knowing this would be a short travel day. Not much action other than smallies and small pike, but fun enough. We headed back to camp for bacon and pancakes which was quickly devoured.
A light mist started on Polly (several sites taken) and ended just after we got to the Southeastern site on Kawasachong. Our plan was to camp on Kawasachong so we could make an early exit on Friday morning. The plan was starting to look doubtful based on the number of groups we saw on the Polly to Kawasachong portage. Thankfully the Southeastern site was open.
The site is fairly open and would accommodate a large group. This site would definitely work especially compared to the site on Koma. We quickly setup camp and...napped. Later Alex and I headed out to fish (smallies again) while Eric and Mitch cooked up Jambalaya with foil pack chicken and summer sausage. Another berry fry bread was used for dessert. Another evening fishing session yielded a few good size smallies and our one and only walleye. Lucky for them it was late and we needed to get an early start the next morning. 
We got up around 5:15AM and broke camp. We had a quick breakfast and arrived at the Kawishiwi lake landing around 8AM. We loaded the van and made our way to Sawbill for a shower (was a wolf along the road), Tofte to unload the canoes, and Betty's Pies...well for some pies.
The trip itself was pretty much perfect, with excellent weather, good temps, and great friendship. The guys were flexible and never complained which makes things easy for me. The only downside was a four car pileup South of MSP (we were rear ended on I-35). The State Patrol was there quickly and a plain clothed officer witnessed the incident. Thankfully all involved suffered no obvious injuries, and the van only had a crunched in bumper/liftgate so we were able to continue on home. 
Notes: I have a couple CCS hybrid packs that I greatly enjoy. I picked up a few Granite Gear Solo packs to round out the group packs. These were great for holding a couple sleeping bags and clothes/personal items for 2. I have no doubt I could fit everything inside for a solo trip. These packs could alternatively hold two BearVault 700s side by side. Speaking of BearVaults, I really like not having to worry about my food. Last new bit of new gear was an MSR Autoflow gravity filter. We really enjoyed not having to pump, but the flow was noticeably reduced during the trip. Probably should have backflushed the filter more often with more water.
We rented 2 Souris River Q17s. These felt very stable and were pretty easy for Eric/Alex to paddle.