BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
September 28 2024
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!
Snowbank Entry June 13 - June 18
Entry Date:
June 13, 2024
Entry Point:
Snowbank Lake
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
6
We arrived at North Country Outfitters on 6/12/24. Soon after arriving, there was a tornado warning issued for the area. About 15 minutes later, we received about 10 minutes of ping pong ball-sized hail. No damage to our vehicles or canoe, so off we went to Ely for bait and for supper. We returned to NCO and got a good night's rest in the bunk houses before heading out the next morning.
After putting in at Snowbank about 8:00AM on 6/13/24, we took the single portage to Disappointment Lake with a plan to basecamp on Disappointment Lake and spend our week targeting walleyes. The wind was more than a breeze and was out of the southwest, so it blew us across Disappointment. We passed every campsite and found them all full, so on to Ahsub Lake we went.
On Ahsub, the campsite immediately around the corner to the west of the portage was taken, but we were relieved to find the site to the northeast of the portage behind the island was available. The site was very open without really any trees, but it beat going onward to Jordan Lake. The 23 rod portage back to Disappointment was relatively easy, so we would have been content to basecamp at this site all week.
After setting up camp and cooking steaks for supper, we fished Ahsub for a few hours in the evening. We caught a bunch of smallies on topwater baits, Senkos, and slip bobbers. Nothing of remarkable size, but was fun to do some catching.
On Day 2, we slept in a bit and after breakfast, we prepared to head to Disappointment for a day of fishing. After leaving camp and rounding the island, we immediately noticed the other site on Ahsub was vacant. We paddled over to check it out and found it to be an awesome site, much better than the one we were in. We delayed our fishing plans and quickly tore down our camp and moved to the other site and set everything back up. This was a great move. Other than having an uphill climb to camp, this site was awesome. We were elevate and could overlook the entire lake, giving us a great place to view all the activity on the lake.
We made our way to Disappointment a few hours later than expected and began looking for fish. It was windy, which made boat control a challenge. We found our way in the west bay of the lake on the north shoreline. I was able to connect with a 24" walleye on a slip bobber. The restof our crew set up around me and we landed 5 more walleyes for supper. After returning to camp, we made foil fish over the fire and settled in for the evening.
On Day 3, we headed back to Disappointment. We went back to the spot we were in the previous day and landed 4 walleyes in the first 20 minutes. Then things went cold. We moved around a bit looking for active fish, but couldn't find any. Unfortunately, the guy keeping the stringer didn't secure it well and when he was pulling up his anchor realized the fish had escaped. This was disheartening, so we returned to camp fishless. We settled for Macaroni and Cheese with pulled pork for supper that night.
On Day 4, we made the treck up to Jordan Lake to check things out. It was a rainy morning. We fished the narrows on Jordan and managed one 18" walleye. Tried for some pike around the weeds before the narrows but couldn't connect. We paddled and portaged back to Ahsub and made cheesy walleye soup for supper.
On Day 5, my daughter and I stayed back and camp and hung out, napped, and organized our gear. The rest of the group went to Disappointment. They fished for several hours and managed a 23" walleye, 3 other walleyes, a 31" northern, and a decent smallie. Finally, we were able to have a fish fry.
We enjoyed a fire and some great conversation, reflecting on an enjoyable week. We went to bed with a plan for the morning to pack up and head out.
Day 6 started early. The wind was blowing at 2:30AM. At 4:15AM, it started to sprinkle, then it rained. We packed up in the rain and set out for our return trip to Snowback at 6:45AM. When we got on to Disappointment, we found the wind to be out of the South and blowing pretty good. We had to work hard to get from one end of Disappointment to the other. Some parts of the paddle were a bit treacherous. We hugged the east and then south shoreline and made it to the portage to Snowbank around 9:15AM. The portage was wet and the mosquitos were thick. Once we got on Snowbank, the wind died down and the lake was completely calm. It was a smooth paddle back to the entry point and we arrived abut 10:45AM. Upon arriving, the sky opened up and it poured. Loading my truck and strapping the canoe on left us saturated. We stripped down, put the heat on in the truck, and got warmed up as we left the lake.
We had a great group. Everyone chipped in and did their part. Lots of laughs and stories. The fishing wasn't great, but enough for some fish at most meals. The bugs were tolerable. It rained some. We had a giant snapping turtle in camp trying to lay some eggs. We enjoyed the serenades of the loons. This was my first experience of sleeping in a hammock. My daughter and I each had a Warbonnet Ridgerunner and they worked awesome. Definitely more comfortable than sleeping in a tent. The hammock is a gamechanger! We did some swimming on two days. The water was a bit cold, but it sure was refreshing.
The trip was not an easy one. Seemed like we were paddling into the wind almost every time we set out, except of the trip in. Everyone came home safe. Only broke a few pieces of gear, nothing major. Got out and headed home just in time. Heard the tornado warnings on our way home and prayed everyone would be OK. Read all the reports today of the trees down, roads closed and some washed out, and the flooding all over the region. We were thankful we got out just ahead of that major weather. 
~Snowbank Lake, Disappointment Lake, Ahsub Lake, Jitterbug Lake, Cattyman Lake, Adventure Lake, Jordan Lake