BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
January 15 2025
Entry Point 39 - Baker Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1497 feet
Latitude: 47.8452
Longitude: -90.8169
Summary: A 5-day loop from Baker up the Temperance lakes to Cherokee, and back through Sawbill and Smoke lakes back to Baker. A fairly difficult trip.
Day 0: We drove up from Stillwater in the morning and camped at one of the 5 walk-in campsites at Baker Lake, and it was nice.
Day 1 (Baker to S. Temperance) - A beautiful day, we decided to paddle all the way to South Temperance the first day which was a great paddle with easy portages except for the last one. We picked the campsite on top of a huge rock that was close to the middle of the lake. Tried fishing some but no luck
Day 2 (Rest) - In the night, we encountered the worst storm of the entire season. While we were there 19 people had to be rescued from the BWCA. We had about 50mph straightline winds, and I'm still surprised that the huge tent we had stood up to it. We slept in and took a rest day because of the intense winds. Amazingly beautiful sunset.
Day 3 (S. Temperance to Cherokee) - We left as early as we could to beat the heat, but it was no good. The lengthy, hilly portages were challenging and by the last portage we were pretty beat. We overpacked and single portaged which led us to speedier exhaustion. Still amazing weather. North Temperance was a beaut- I wish we had stayed there instead of South. We took the southeasterly facing campsite on Cherokee on the southeastern skinny island. Neat little site.
Day 4 (Cherokee to Sawbill) - Left a little later in the day but it was ok. We took our time going down the river letting out of the southwest part of Cherokee and it was a great area. BEWARE: The area between Ada and Skoop Lakes appears to be floatable, but a dam built recently has made the portion impossible to float. Be prepared for a long portage through muck and water. A guy that we saw there said he had been going to the BWCA for 40 years at least once per year and it was the worst portage he had ever seen. By the time we got to Sawbill it was pretty hot. We paddled all the way down to the site next to the portage onto Smoke.
Day 5 (Sawbill to Baker) - Cooler, cloudier weather for the first time on the trip. We were pretty hungry (I underpacked food a little and I felt really bad) and we were taunting each other with vivid descriptions of the burgers we were going to eat ASAP after getting out. We paddled back to Baker and returned our gear to Sawtooth outfitters.
Overall great route.
BWCA 2012 Trip
Entry Date:
May 29, 2012
Entry Point:
Little Gabbro Lake
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
2
Day one starts at 1 am as we make the drive from Eau Claire, Wisconsin to Ely, Minnesota. The drive was relatively uneventful and we arrived at Jordan's Outfitters at about 7 am. With the paperwork done and the gear loaded we are on our way to the entry point. (We have had great experiences with Jordan's and will continue to use them for our future trips.) We get dropped off and decide that a single portage is the way to go for us. We make it to water by about 8 am and that's when the rain starts. We both get wet pretty quick so we decide to make the paddle without donning our rain gear. The rain is intermittent and isn't all that bad at all. We make it through the rapids going into Gabbro Lake with relative ease and start making our way across the lake. We meet a couple on their way out and they offer us leeched and some great advice about what sites are open on the lake. Turns out they are just leaving one of the sites we had our eyes on so we beat feet for that site. (Camp 1715.) One other bonus was that they told us the left plenty of firewood. (To the couple that we got everything from "Thank You!" it was all greatly appreciated.) We arrived at camp between 9 and 9:30 am and start setting up camp. With the tent up, the fire started, and the water pumped it was time to get dry and try our hand at some fishing. We were able to land a couple small northern, 14"-16" range and have a small snack. The clouds continued to roll in and it started raining again. We made our steaks over the fire between the rain spells and decided to retire to the tent about 5 pm. A couple of games of cards later and we were ready to call it a night. 
Day two started off a little chilly and with some cloud cover. Breakfast consisted of instant oatmeal and fresh coffee. After breakfast we hung out at camp and tried to get things dried out from the rain. We were able to spot a rainbow over the lake and snap a couple pictures. As the day progressed the weather got warmer and the cloud cover lifted turned out be a nice afternoon. We were able to get one eater walleye from shore at camp and decided to make our way out in the canoe and try some fishing. Well we didn't have much luck. We were both able to get a couple of fish on but could not land them. So goes it you win some you lose some. Dinner was another round of steaks, it would have been nice to have some walleye with them too. 
Man what a beautiful day Thursday turned out to be. Not a cloud in the sky, sunny, and warm. After breakfast we decided to lay out our gear and get it dried out from the rain on Tuesday. I also set up my solar shower with the hopes of getting in a nice hot shower that day. ( I was not disappointed.) After we got out gear re-situated it was time to go fishing. We headed to the rapids between Little Gabbro and Gabbro. We fished for a couple hours and had no luck at all. By this time I am starting to question my abilities as a fisherman. With no luck at the rapids we head back to camp and stop to fish at a couple other spots marked on the map. Still no luck. We get back to camp and have lunch. After that I retire to my hammock for a siesta and Matt took the canoe out for a little solo voyage. After I wake we decide its time to clean up. I take to my solar shower and Matt jumps in the lake. I'm pretty sure by the length of his jaunt into the lake the water was still pretty cool. I don't care what anyone says a nice hot shower in the BWCA feels great! We spend the rest of the afternoon around camp and wait for the sun to start to set. About 7 pm we head out for one last fishing trip and this time we are reward with 3 walleye. Not much but with the one on the stringer that's four fish and is plenty for two guys. Time to head back to camp and have a shore lunch. After dishes are done we spend some time packing up what we won't need and get ready for the paddle out the next day. 
Day four.....Today we paddle out. The trip was very short and in my opinion too short. After breakfast we start breaking down camp and packing the canoe. We decide to head out about 10:00 am and make the paddle back to our entry point. We arrive and see a couple big groups at the end of the portage. We decide to paddle around a little bit and take our time as we have plenty of it. Once we decided to land we make a double portage since we have the time. Back to Jordan's for a shower and into Ely for a meal before we hit the road and start the drive back home.