BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
September 07 2024
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.
EP 37 to Malberg
Entry Date:
June 27, 2024
Entry Point:
Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
2
We drove up from the Twin Cities Thursday morning. Picked up our permit and watched the video, and we confirmed that the roads were intact to get to EP 37 as there had been many washouts with the flooding. Roads were fine, and we made it down the windy Sawbill trail and to the Kawishiwi Lake. We ate an apple, some granola, and put the boat in the water around 11. We made quick work of getting to Kawaschong- no portages were needed other than one jump around an impressive beaver dam that was about a 3 foot drop.
The longer of the portages to Polly was quite wet with the rock walk being underwater- slightly more than ankle deep, but nothing that really slowed us down. Polly had a few open sites as we were passing through, but the majority we could see were taken. We got to Malberg and the rapids running around the rock on Malberg was really flowing. I had seen pictures of people sitting on the big rock, but there was no way I was going out there. The current was strong and I was wary with all of the capsizing I had heard about, but this was manageable. We did see a plane that looked like a rescue plane fly over pretty low, and we hoped whoever had called for it was okay!!
We paddled through Malberg, knowing that just about any site will do with just two of us and one tent. We ended up at the far North Western site (1042) by about 3 o'clock. We set up camp, and went off to fish! We had good luck through the various narrows trolling natural colored shallow and deep diving Rapalas as well as jigging where the water is coming into Malberg from Koma. An eagle was perched up on the rock in the rapids- hoping to catch his own dinner!
Bedtime was a mad dash into the tent as the mosquitos were plentiful and HUNGRY! ~Kawishiwi Lake, Square Lake, Kawasachong Lake, Koma Lake, Malberg Lake
It had rained overnight, and the bugs were so bad, so we were slow to leave the tent this morning. We got up and brought down the food pack from it's hang to make coffee, bacon and pancakes! Yum! Even the mosquitos can't put a damper on a good camp breakfast. Due to the rain, we decided to stick near camp and fish more vs. going to check out the Fishdance Pictos. It was a good call, and we caught just about all the fish species Malberg has to offer. Saw and chatted with a few groups at other sites, and, as usual, everyone was so kind!!
We were lucky enough to spot some big ears swimming down a channel- it was a cow moose and her calf! We kept a good distance, so our pictures aren't great, but we could see she was still shedding some of the colder weather coat! We felt so lucky to see a healthy moose and her calf. We had heard a moose while fishing the day before, and we wondered if it was her. 
We continued fishing and exploring the different arms of Malberg. Happily catching fish, but also enjoying the new area for both of us! We talked about the different rock formations- what is that crumbly rock on Malberg??? We would love to know if a geologist is around :)
The rain continued to sprinkle on and off, but not enough to send us into the tent. Plenty good to fish and explore! Again though, the mosquitos were mean, and we were so grateful for our tent to sleep in! ~Malberg Lake
Today is the day we thought we would go to the pictographs!! However, the wind was gusting, our estimates were about 20 mph, and it was cold and rainy. Paddling the few miles back into the headwind did not sound fun, so we decided to stay put and explore a bit more and fish. By then end of Saturday, we had trolled along most of the shoreline of Malberg! We enjoyed seeing how high the water is, and also that there were in fact high water marks a foot or so higher from even what we were seeing.
Lots of beavers! Lots and lots of beavers and evidence of beaver activity. They are such funny little critters to watch, so we spent a fair amount of time watching them haul sticks and swim. A few quirky sites were seen- like this L shaped chew on this cedar tree! 
We ate dinner, and decided to go out fishing one last time. The lake was so much calmer- we had definitely made the right decision to stay put on Malberg that day. The glass like dusk water made for some fun pictures! 
~Malberg Lake
Crawling out of the tent around 5:30 we both gasped- you couldn't see the lake for the fog! My little thermometer on the back of my whistle/compass combo (so you KNOW it is fully accurate haha!) said it was 42 degrees! The coffee tasted extra good that morning! We cooked up the rest of the eggs and bacon and used some homemade granola to make granola pancakes! YUM! Definitely good fuel for the paddle out. We broke down camp and waited for the fog to lift, while taking pictures and just chatting- in no rush! We left camp by about 8 when the fog had lifted enough to safely navigate and when the mosquitos were again getting unbearable! Paddling in the morning sun felt glorious! 
We got through to Polly before starting to really see the crowds- and man there were people! I think we counted at least 11 groups on our way out! A lot of families with kids coming in. The portage leaving Polly- we were the only ones on the Polly side when we started and coming South, and met 3-4 different groups heading North along the trail. We couldn't get our boat in the water fast enough. We again just pulled over the beaver dams, and we were back at the landing before we knew it around 11:30 am. Got everything loaded up, changed into some nice clean dry clothes and started the trek home!
A great trip with lots of wildlife despite the bugs, cold and rain! I really love this time with my dad! ~Malberg Lake, Koma Lake, Polly, Lake, Kawasachong Lake, Square Lake, Kawishiwi Lake