BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
September 24 2026
Entry Point 30 - Lake One
Lake One entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Kawishiwi Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 21 miles. Access is a canoe landing at 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!
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!
Ma and Pa make it to Insula
by lundojam
Trip Report
Entry Date:
September 17, 2026
Entry Point:
Lake One
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
2
Trip Introduction:
When I was a boy, I had a friend whose dad would go to Insula and catch walleyes. I didn't know what "Insula" was back then, but I knew I wanted to catch walleyes there. A long time (55 years?) and 50ish trips to the BWCA and several cancelled Lake One to Insula trips later, my better half and I made it happen.
Day 1 of 6
Thursday, September 17, 2026 We got up early at Lake One Outfitters bunkhouse, ate a huge breakfast, loaded the boat and started out. It was the stunningly beautiful morning. Our plan was to take it real easy. We didn't want to over-do it. We (I) had concerns about our (my) fitness level. After a bit, we picked up a breeze on our tails. Very nice, it was. It was the exact temperature of a cranked up air conditioner; perfect for paddling. When we got to Hudson Lake, where we had planned to head north out of the burn to make our first camp, it was like eleven o'clock. Not even lunch. Although I had meticulously planned breaks and and an old-guy-friendly travel schedule, we decided to go for Insula. Why not? What's the use of a plan if you can't scrap it? We hammered a peanut butter sandwich and some mixed nuts and kept on going. My tiredness/dehydration/low blood sugar began to rear its ugly head just about the time we made it to Insula. I had to relinquish (happily) navigating since none of it made sense to me anymore, and we found a nice site right on the edge of the burn that didn't have much curb appeal, but turned out to be roomy and have a wonderful view of the non-burned shore across the way. We set up shop in a hurry, filtered water, hung the tarp, pitched the tent, got out a box of wine, ate supper and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Nine hours, 6 portages doubled, 63 years old, not in shape, big grin and a fist pump. We enjoyed PERFECT conditions. Breeze on our backs, mid 60's temps, smart and strong wife. Great day.
Day 2 of 6
Friday, September 18, 2026 Slept for like a million hours. Woke up sore and took thrice the recommended dose of a dozen different OTC painkillers and drank a gallon of instant Folgers. Then I got a stomach ache. On this day we did groaning and also took a nap. Fortunately for us, it was cold and windy. My lovely partner built a fire and we took it easy like we were going to yesterday. Caught a couple walleyes, bass, and a northern on slip bobbers from the site. Another perfect day.
Day 3 of 6
Saturday, September 19, 2026 Only the best day ever. Calm, sunny, an autumnal nip in the morning which gave way to calm, sunny, and about 68 degrees. STUNNING. We got fishing gear and shore lunch necessities together and paddled north. We headed up to the northeast part of the lake and were able to put three beautiful walleyes on the stringer right off the bat. We spent the rest of the morning slip bobber fishing from shore in the same area (to keep stretched out and non-cramped) and caught a released maybe a dozen more walleyes and a few bass. Had a killer shore lunch at an empty campsite, took a five minute nap in the afterglow, and fished our way back to camp. Conditions remained perfect. Small supper, glass of wine, and sleepy time. 
Day 4 of 6
Sunday, September 20, 2026 Today was a bass fishing day. Neg rigs and wacky worms accounted for many, many very nice smallmouth. Big shouldered fish with tons of fight. A couple even made their way into the Wesson oil. Delicious. Windier today, and so boat control was more of a challenge, but we had a great day. Steph also jigged up a 19" walleye at "The Rock." Lots of reading, snoozing, snacking the rest of the day. Great day.
Day 5 of 6
Monday, September 21, 2026 Woke up pretty sore in the shoulders, hips, fingers, brains, and ass today. Did the "dozen and a gallon" protocol, and began to loosen up. We got everything packed up this morning for the return to Lake One and civilization (insert joke here). We considered making a break for the entry point, but we didn't have the "day one" energy that got us all the way in. On the way back we headed straight north out of Hudson, into Fire Lake, and down into the part of Lake Three that runs East/West. At least I think it's Lake Three. At any rate, this is a very beautiful and interesting route. Truly, in a trip full of highlights, this was a true highlight. The campsite we had our eye on was open, so we snapped it up. We spent the rest of afternoon jigging up eater-size walleyes and loving our last night in. 
Day 6 of 6
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 Got up, groaned, made a fire, drank coffee, and delayed our departure by lolly-gagging. It was very cold; maybe 40? I loved it. Then, we paddled the 3-ish hours back, loaded the trusty '97 4Runner, went to Ely and had DQ, came home to Duluth and had a Moscow Mule in the hot tub. Pretty damn good. BEST TRIP EVER.
discuss this trip report (2 comments) - last post on September 24, 2026