BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
October 31 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.
BWCA Sawbill to alton
Entry Date:
July 10, 2024
Entry Point:
Sawbill Lake
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
3
At the start, we got up from our beds in Omaha, NE, around 5 a.m. to pack, etc., and to get a move on with our trip. We had an 11-hour drive, including stops, including the stop at Cabelas. As we arrived in Tofte, we grabbed some gas and food, then departed to Sawbill Outfitters for our first night in the BWCA but still in society. Once we got there we paid for our campsite and set up camp. Once camp was set up, we took a walk to let our legs free up from the drive. As we were on our walk we heard some commotion and it turned out to be a black bear, when we arrived, the trash bin was tipped over, and those things were very rigged so the bear couldn't get into them.
For dinner that night we had some chips and crackers with poptarts. After dinner, we explored the Sawbill Lake to take some beautiful sunset pictures. After we took some photos of the sunset, we went to the outfiters to gaze at the items that I didn't have money for. There was also free wifi there which was nice so we could say our final goodbyes to society.
Miles driven: 634.1 Hours: 10.05 Major cities: Des Moines, Albert Lea, Minneapolis, Duluth, Two Harbors, Tofte
Today we woke up to the loons calling to their fellow mates. After we listened to the loons, we packed up our tent, had a quick breakfast, and got the stuff we needed for quick access on the canoe. And finally, today we depart to the wilderness for 5 days. 
All 3 of us went and got our 3 person canoe and put it in the storage area while we got all of our gear ready. As we got all of our gear, I grabbed the canoe and started to load it. Today was a busy morning while we were getting ready to depart into the wilderness. Finally, we departed off the shore for our journey to Alton LK where we found a cozy campsite(camp #846) that we decided to stay here for all 5 days.
After we got all of our stuff set up we had to have something to eat. We all decided to have some tuna and crackers in a bag. This is one of the most easier meals to prep but you need to keep it cold. 
This was a big and open campsite with lots of room and can not forget, the latrine has a lid with no bugs(most of the time). I had set up a hammock and this was the first time sleeping in a hammock in the without a backup except for a sleeping mat. It was a bit nerve-wracking cause I didn't know if I would enjoy it, but happily, I did, I slept well except for one thing at 3 am. So FYI, I am a light sleeper and around 3 am I wake up to our dishes getting rusled through. So I got out of my bed and chased the critter off, not knowing what it was.
Miles Paddled: 1.73 Hours: 1.20 Lakes: Sawbill, Alton
Today for breakfast we had bagels with eggs on top with a side of bacon. This is one of the better or more tasty meals of the trip. After that, Levi(my brother) wanted to do something so we explored for wood and found lots of it, especially birch bark that we used for a fire starter. 
Later that day when Levi and I were exploring the wilderness not knowing where we were going, hoping that we would reach our destination, a pocket of water on the map, basically bushwhacking the whole way but soon gave up. As we got back to the campsite, my uncle showed up a visitor who decided to show up out of nowhere. This critter was called a "pine martin", similar to a ferret or a weasel, just showed up walking across our camp, climbing on our dishes, and was soon on his way, never even noticing my uncle. This was a really cool experience because you never see pine martins according to the sawbill outfiters personnel. 
After that crazy experience, we decided to go fishing to attempt to catch some pike or walleye, we were unsuccessful, so we headed back to camp to start a fire and to play some Five Crown, a good card game to take on a BWCA trip to pass some time or to have fun. After we finished a round of five crowns we needed a nice refreshment so we took a dip, the water was cold but it was worth it in the July weather. 
As our second day comes to a close we have some mountain house meals by the fire while playing a game of five crowns to finish the night. The bugs were alright but at night they were terrible, lots and lots in my hammock net but it was peaceful when comfortable
Miles paddled: .53 Hours: 2.34 Portage rods: 32 Lakes: Alton
This morning to start the day I decided to have a cup of coffee. This was a good boost for the start of the day. I started the fire to cook some hash browns, and eggs to put on a tortilla for a breakfast taco. It tasted really good, anything in the wilderness will taste good.
Today we wanted to go on a little trip to Beth Lake. This was a lake with lots of trout and pike we saw from the bank. This was a 140-rod portage and I was glad we only walked it. We didn't take the canoe because we didn't know what the portage was going to be like and by golly I am glad we walked it considering it was very muddy and steep with lots of rocks. After we got back to the canoe we casted a few rods in the water to see what there was for fish and sadly again, no fish... As we started to paddle back the wind picked up so we decided to drift with the wind and through a few casts into the water, and again no fish.
When we got back we thought about what we wanted for dinner tonight and chose goulash, a very tasty meal in the BWCA. I cooked the noodles and Uncle Todd cooked the meat with sauce, and then combined them together. For dessert tonight we had a peach pie. After our meal, we played a game of Five Crown and took another dip in the water to cleanse ourselves after a day's sweat from paddling.
Miles paddled: 3.46 Hours: 5 Portage Rods: 280 Lakes: Alton, Beth
This morning we woke around 6 am, fished for a little bit, and took some pictures. Around 7:30 we made a big blueberry muffin, LITTERY. As we devoured the big muffin, we saw some fish jumping out of the water. 
Today we explored the wilderness with lots of moss and water. We captured some very nice pictures. Today was a very relaxing day considering we are leaving the BWCA tomorrow. We fished most of the day with little to no luck, a few bites and that's it. Besides that, we played a few games of Five Crown and attempted to get the highest score in Five Crown history, and I think I did it. haha. 
After we we got bored of fishing, we had a paddle charcuterie board, and boy was it good. With another game of five crown, I cut down a dead tree with a small hatch and managed to get it down. We had a nice fire and cut some more wood for the oncoming visitors to our campsite.
Lakes: Alton
Today is the day we pack up. It is a nice and peaceful day with a little bit of drizzles in the forecast. When I get up I make myself a cup of oatmeal and start to tear down camp. I pack up my blanket and tarp, then I put my hammock in its bag with its straps. When we were tearing down camp it started to drizzle a little and the wind came up also.
When we left our camp the wind was about 7-10mph with some sprinkles on the way back. When we got to the portage we doubled back so we didn't have to carry a lot of weight. When we were done we started the paddle again back to the dock to Sawbill Outfitters to finish our BWCA experience for 2024 and my second trip with many more to come.