BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
September 07 2024
Entry Point 39 - Baker Lake
Baker Lake entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Tofte Ranger Station near the city of Tofte, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 26 miles. Access is a boat landing at Baker Lake with a 10-rod portage into Peterson Lake to reach first campsite. This area was affected by blowdown in 1999.
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.
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.
EP 37 Solo Canoe Trip, pictographs and swimming moose.
by Ajoutdoors
Trip Report
Entry Date:
September 08, 2018
Entry Point:
Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
1
Trip Introduction:
I had just recently purchased my own canoe, a Sawyer Autumn Mist. My schedule worked out where I had a stretch of days off so I decided to take a quick trip to the see the pictographs. I also decided to leave the tent behind and go hammock style. It turned out to be an excellent trip.
Day 1 of 4
Saturday, September 08, 2018 I started out at Sawbill to pick up my permit and a new map. After the drive over to Kawishiwi, I was on the water by 930. I had a nice southerly wind pushing me all the way to my goal of Malberg. Paddling through the river and the burn area was a neat paddle. The portage’s were all dry so that made them really easy. Almost all of these portage’s were nice and flat. I made it Malberg in about 6.5 hours double portaging. I really wish I had a lighter canoe. It weighs close to 50 lbs so single portaging wasn’t happening. I checked out a couple campsites and made the second one from the south my home for the next two nights. 
Day 2 of 4
Sunday, September 09, 2018 I was on the water by 10 with the goal of getting to the Fishdance pictographs. I reached the portage on the northwest end of Malberg and finally had my first challenging portage. There was water in the middle of the portage that I had to walk through. Then, at the end the landing was a muddy swamp. Luckily, someone had a made a path farther up the river and I was able to put in without slogging through the mud. Once I turned south, I knew I was in trouble. The wind was whipping from the south. It was a very difficult paddle. I made it to the Fishdance portage and tried my luck fishing the rapids. Right away I caught a small northern. I pressed on a made it to the pictographs after about 3.5 hours. I had estimated a two hour paddle. The pictographs were cool to see and I’m glad I got to see them. On the way back, I stopped to fish at the rapids and caught a small walleye. I took it to a nearby campsite and cooked it up. I pressed on and made it back to camp after a long 8 hour day. While sitting at camp I saw something swimming across the water. It turned out to be a bull moose! He even shook off like a dog when he exited the water. I had a small fire and off to bed I went. 
Day 3 of 4
Monday, September 10, 2018 I awoke this morning to rain and more rain. I hung out in my hammock drinking two pots of coffee till around 11am. Having a hammock turned out to be a great advantage. Otherwise I would of been huddled in my tent for hours. With the hammock I could just relax and look out at the rain. Very relaxing. I was finally on the water around noon and made my way down to Polly. I ended up taking the camp site closest to the portage. It was a great campsite. The only downsides were the landings. They were very slippery. Later on at night it got very calm so I went out to fish. I heard some noise and saw a canoe coming down the portage trail. I went around the bend to fish some more. When I came back to the other side I couldn’t see their canoe. Then I saw it. A huge bull moose. I wasn’t looking at a canoe, I was seeing his antlers. I think he was even grunting. It sounded like a loud bull frog. I had a nice fire and retired to bed. 
Day 4 of 4
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 I awoke around 6am to fog on the lake. I watched a beautiful sunrise from my hammock. Again, another huge advantage for the hammock. I packed up, fought a south wind again and made it back to civilization. [paragraph break] A couple thoughts on the trip. I absolutely loved the canoe. I paddled with a 280cm kayak paddle and it handled great. I only wish I had a lighter version. Hammock camping is the way to go. My tent will be gathering dust. Doing an out and back was originally a disappointment but it turned out to be great. Everything looks different coming the opposite direction. Lol. I also posted some videos https://youtu.be/lLD2Db2dFuI 
discuss this trip report (11 comments) - last post on November 19, 2018