BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
September 16 2026
Entry Point 37 - Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 7
Elevation: 1653 feet
Latitude: 47.8390
Longitude: -91.1036
Kawishiwi Lake - 37
The trip not taken
Entry Date:
September 14, 2026
Entry Point:
Sawbill Lake
Number of Days:
0
Group Size:
1
A permit for Monday, September 14 opened up, so I took it. Sunday night found me at the Sawbill Campground, among some RVs and standup tents, but the neighbors were quiet and friendly, unlike an experience there about 20 years ago when a noisy group with chainsaws built a 12 foot high bonfire while their kids roared around on unmufflered ATVs. The next day made up for it, though, when my group of eight did some day paddling. One young couple opted to do some fishing while the rest of us portaged into Kelso for a lunch stop. When Drew and Janie caught up to us, I asked "Did you catch anything?" Drew said "I caught a beauty" and Janie held up a big engagement ring on her left hand. They got engaged on the portage! We were all delighted.
Back to the present, I checked out the canoe landing. It had been "improved" by the Forest Service with a seawall of 12 by 12 timbers and a floating dock. There was no shallow water around. How do you load and launch a solo canoe in the wind, especially how do you enter a boat floating a foot below the dock? I found a tiny gravel beach up the shore at a canoe storage area accessed by a steep timber stairway from the road, but the prospect of carrying the canoe and gear down there was daunting. Back at the tent site, my 83 year old muscles started objecting as I knelt down to clean out the fire pit, and during other mundane tasks requiring bending down and standing up. At home I use one of those green kneelers to help me get down and get back up. Fortunately there was a picnic table to help in inflating the sleeping pad and sorting out the frou frou like tent lights and reading.
I built a small fire on top of the grill instead of down in the fire pit. The warm flames and coals inspired me to reconsider my decision to launch next morning. Was the near certainty of muscle pain going to ruin the pleasure of being alone out in the wilderness? The angel on my left should said "be smart", while the devil on my right shoulder said "What are you, some kind of wimp?" It wasn't easy, but I decided to cancel.
The next trip will need to be with a partner who can help with the up and down stuff. No more overnight solo trips, sadly, but I had a good share of those and I treasure the memories.