BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
September 16 2024
Entry Point 45 - Morgan Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 1
Elevation: 1845 feet
Latitude: 48.0008
Longitude: -90.4098
Morgan Lake - 45
Work Harder, Not Smarter
Entry Date:
August 12, 2024
Entry Point:
Lizz and Swamp Lakes
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
2
Work harder, not smarter. Had another wonderful stay in Rockwood's bunkhouse. Rented the Champlain Wenonah canoe for two large men and heavy packs. That canoe is a beast. Could have easily held another person and another 100# of gear. The staff at Rockwood is 2nd to none. Upon arrival, we felt at home. Got up at dawn, filled the canoe with our gear, and headed off to the Lizz Lake portage. We knew from experience that high season would be upon us, so we worked harder, not smarter, with the portages leading to Horseshoe. James carried the heavy pack and canoe on each portage, while I took the lighter pack and food bag. Double portaging was the rule, but our 2nd portage was quite easy. Once on Horseshoe, we were hoping to grab the Mondale site in Gaskin. Gaskin was just as busy as Caribou and Horseshoe. We took the site east of the Winchell portage and set up our basecamp. James rigged up a new water system, and we we eager to try it out since we did not pack water for our entry. Downed 3 quarts each. System was awesome - a water bag hung about 8 feet high flowing thru two filters with the last being a charcoal filter. The difference with this set up was we could back flush filters when the flow slowed. Rain tarp, tent, sleeping bags, and kitchen were next. Finally, we found a decent branch about 12 feet high to rig up the bear hanging system. 12 feet high and 6 feet away from the trunk and we are good. Our 25th anniversary trip was underway. Throughout the years, food improvement has been a constant. This year, we dehydrated 5 evening meals. Breakfast consists of powdered eggs, rehydrated hash browns, and pre-cooked bacon. Lunch is always a snack consisting of a nut mix and beef sticks - so we can stop and snack while out fishing. Gaskin Lake is a gem. Has it all - good fishing, easy day trip access to other points, and scenic views all day.~Poplar Lake, Lizz Lake, Caribou Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Gaskin Lake
Awoke to coffee and breakfast. Decided to grab the Mondale site if it became vacant. For our week, that site was occupied for all but 1 hour - as someone grabbed it almost immediately after a group left. It is one of the 5 star campsites we found throughout our time. No luck for us - so remained at our site for the week. Fished bays throughout Gaskin - caught plenty of small bass. James was determined to catch walleye, so we found deeper holes and casted accordingly. With our delicious food pack full, catching fish was without pressure, as we caught and released most fish for the week. Some brief thunderstorms were forming west, so we headed back to camp for cover. Lots of thunder and some lightening, but no deluge of rain. With so many dinner choices, we decided to eat Ellie's special sauce Asian beef with noodles entre. Such a far cry from the general mountain house meals. Some special sunset pictures appeared for our evening.~Gaskin Lake
Working harder but not smarter continued. Day trip thru Henson to Omega for fishing. On Omega, we decided to head to Winchell and paddle the length back to Gaskin. Winchell has always been intimidating due to westerly prevailing winds, but today, the winds were mostly from the NE. After 4 portages and 11 miles of paddling, we were ready to hit camp and relax. Having never seen the western part of Winchell, we were rewarded with the palisades and open blue water. We continue to admire our food pack - and were amply rewarded.~Gaskin Lake, Henson Lake, Omega Lake, Winchell Lake
Awoke to sun and heat - but the forecast told us a steady rain was slated for the afternoon into the evening. Forecast was correct - and after fishing Gaskin some more, we hunkered down under the rainfly and played cribbage. In the early days, we would have donned our rain gear and stood under trees or ditched into the tent. Nowadays, we have quarter ton camp chairs, an aluminum foldable table, and a 10x14 rain fly. Never even put our rain gear on. As the rain subsided a bit, the clouds would not allow a sunset. Hit the tent early for early fishing in the am.~Gaskin Lake
Continuing our theme of working harder, not smarter, we headed out early to fish. Caught a keeper bass in our bay and decided Friday Fish fry was the meal of the day. While out a distance, it started to rain, so we headed back to camp to wait it out. Only rained a couple hours, and we headed back out to increase our fish supply. Caught a 2nd bass - and that was enough. Cleaned, fried, and added a couple of noodle side dishes. Perfect meal. Throughout the week, we ate 2 burrito meals, 2 Asian noodle meals, 1 chicken stew, and fresh fish. We brought the ingredients for campfire pizzas - a favorite from years past - but never used them. Another round of cribbage, and bedtime!~Gaskin Lake
Looking at the map, James was determined to catch walleye. We plotted a day trip thru Jump Lake and into Allen. The two portages to get into Allen were short, but steep. Thankfully, we only single portaged the canoe and fishing gear. Caught some bass and northern in Jump. Arrived in Allen and headed for what we believed was the only hole in a long and narrow lake with a river on both ends. James' diligence proved wise - and he caught some walleye exactly where he predicted. Can't remember a time we caught and released eater size walleye - but that is what we did. Knowing our last burrito meal was hanging in the tree, we didn't want to mess with keeping fish alive on our return portages. Stopped and ate lunch at the only site on Allen. We could tell this is a rarely used site - but would be perfect on a return trip for us someday. Never saw another canoe on Jump or Allen. Enjoyed our last evening discussing future trip plans and our return trip to Rockwood.~Gaskin Lake, Jump Lake, Allen Lake
Working harder and not smarter, took our time breaking camp. Throughout the week, we found less garbage than the past couple of years. A nice trend. After all packs were ready, we did the ceremonial twice over to make sure LNT principals are sound. Did not have a fire all week - as bugs were never an issue. We are thrilled with the new water system - a far cry from the days of pumping full each water container one at a time. We'll never go back to our old system of food planning - as home made dehydrated meals are for us. Fishing was good. Wind was not an issue. The Wenonah Champlain is a beast - perfect for us and gear.
Showered at Rockwood and said goodbye until next year. 25 years in a row. 1999 seems like a lifetime ago. James and Ellie's son Spencer arrived in late June - so my future goal/hope is a 3 generation trip. ~Gaskin Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Caribou Lake, Lizz Lake, Poplar Lake
