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 62 and Johnson Falls
Entry Date:
June 07, 2016
Entry Point:
Clearwater Lake
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
2
Cold northern winds and intermittent sprinkles. My wife and I made the turn from Clearwater Lodge toward the portage to Caribou. We were greeted by mud - as the first 3rd of the 220 rod portage was underwater. Rather than try and negotiate the edges, we decided to walk our way through the middle. Only hit a couple of deeper muddy spots. My wife carried the lighter duluth pack (around 60 pounds) while I delivered the aluminum canoe to Caribrou. We doubled back to get the heavy duluth pack (almost 100 pounds), paddles, and fishing rods. Pretty chilly conditions helped keep the bugs away and reduced the need to hydrate. Took us around 3 hours to get to campsite #4 - the last one available on Caribou. Nice site - as it was wide open and allowed plenty of sun from the north shore - which also gave some protection from the chilly north winds. Set up camp and headed out to find those walleyes. The wind caused us to give up fishing after around an hour - and the cold front shut down the fish. We gathered wood and discussed our next fishing attempt for early evening. We grabbed two northerns - but Leslie thought they were too gross to eat. Tossed 'em back. No walleyes, but fun fishing. Prepared to hunker down for a cold night sleep as rain shortened our fire. 
Awoke to full fog as we speculated how cold it was. Hot coffee was awesome on such a morning. Sunlight broke the fog early as we needed every degree to help warm up our hands and feet. Planned our day trip to Johnson Falls. The falls were flowing strongly - so no swimming. However, the portages were much better than our first one. We spent a couple of hours taking photos and exploring. Johnson Falls is definitely worth the trip. Afterward, we tried a couple of more fishing expeditions for those elusive walleyes. Still shocked from the rainy and cold weather - but Leslie caught another northern. After looking at those teeth - back in the water it went. We had a nice fire and watched the sun set. Prepared ourselves for another cold night - as we layered most of our clothes and hit our sleeping bags. We could tell tomorrow was going to be much warmer and hoped those walleyes would be more active. For some strange reason, we saw a few people bivouac on various portages and shorelines. EP 62's quota is 3 daily - so we speculated more people came from the east to add the camping pressure. We were happy to have our campsite as turtles, red squirrels, loons, and eagles provided plenty of entertainment. 
Spent the day gathering wood and fishing. We wanted a nice fire - so we headed along the shorelines via canoe with saw in hand. Cut some downed cedar trees that looked very dry and seasoned. No walleyes still, however Leslie picked up a bass and agreed to eat it. She had angler's remorse upon watching me fillet - so she only wanted a small piece for dinner. The evening fire was awesome! We left a stash of dry wood for the next campers. Last night - and much warmer conditions prevailed. Slept like a rock. Planned our exit strategy for the morning hoping the portage was drier. 
Awoke at 6 - hoping rain would hold off as clouds were on the horizon. Packed up camp - tent was dry! Paddled west - with the wind at our backs. Portage was a bit drier - but still pretty muddy. Plodded through as the thunder began to set off in the distance. Once on Clearwater, we still had the wind at our back. Arrived at 10:30 - and not a minute too soon. Thunderstorms began - but we were already in the shower. Made it back safely and DRY! If you've never rented a canoe from Clearwater Lodge, I highly recommend them. Nice people and a first class outfitter. Lovely trip and awesome falls. Wished we'd caught some walleyes, but we'll get them next time. 