BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
February 19 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!
Short trip to Perent
Entry Date:
July 15, 2021
Entry Point:
Hog Creek
Number of Days:
3
Group Size:
2
We got a late start due to a late notice appointment, but we drove up the shore and arrived at the landing around 2pm. We were surprised by how far we had to travel on a dirt road, but I guess that's most of the BWCA. As we got closer, we saw Hog creek a couple times winding back and forth on the road. It was so dried up, it looked like nothing but a super small creek. We knew this could be an issue, but were hopeful we could still make it in. Once we made it to the entry point, we decided the trip was at least worth a shot. We made it only a few hundred feet before we needed to get out and push the canoe over some mud. Then we did that again, and again, and again. Hog creek at this time was SUPER DRY and made it pretty frustrating to make it down. Luckily the bugs weren't bad, because we had to get out of our canoe quite a few times! It took us about 2 hours to reach Perent Lake.
As we paddled across Perent, we saw the first 6 or 7 sites were full. We made it almost to the northeast end before we found a site on the east shore line free. We snagged it without questioning if it was a good spot. Turns out it was just fine for us. Very few bugs, little breeze, great view, and some privacy. Exactly what we look for in the BWCA!
We set up camp, fished a little (caught one small northern and one small rock bass), and had brats for dinner. We went to bed early as we couldn't have a campfire due to the dry season. First time in the BWCA without a campfire, but going to bed early was just fine by us tired parents. 
I woke up early, and went out fishing while my wife slept in a little. I caught one small (13inch) walleye and another small northern, but nothing exciting. Came back for a little breakfast and the a nap. Turns out when the kids aren't around, my wife and I LOVE to nap. We took a snooze in our hammocks, which was wonderful. Afterwards, we just relaxed the day away. We fished a little more, swam, had lunch, fished some more, and then enjoyed a cocktail while having good conversation in the middle of the woods. Nothing more we could ask for! 
We slept in a little, but then starting packing up when we woke up. We wanted to get the hog creek journey over with and enjoy a lunch somewhere before we got back home. As we ventured through the creek, we counted 226 frogs, 11 turtles, 19 times getting out of the canoe to push/drag the canoe, and we think 4-5 beaver dams (forgot to count them). Again, it was about a 2 hour travel time through the creek. I would assume it would be a little less if you didn't have to get out so much, but it's such a windy creek you can't paddle very fast. We made it out without any major issues, and were able to have a wonderful lunch on the way home at Grand Superior Lodge on the north shore. I beautiful view on their patio. 
Another successful, although short, BWCA trip under our belt. I would recommend a different route if the water is real low. If it was any lower, it would have been pretty rough. Especially if the bugs are bad.