BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
July 05 2025
Entry Point 1 - Trout Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 12
Elevation: 1381 feet
Latitude: 47.9144
Longitude: -92.3220
Trout Lake - 1
2019 Troop 743 BWCA Trip
Entry Date:
July 21, 2019
Entry Point:
Lake One
Exit Point:
Farm Lake (31)
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
7
We started by missing the channel that takes you past Kawishiwi Lodge and into a bay. It wasn't much of a detour and we quickly got our bearings and made it through Lake one pretty easily. I was a bit turned off by the number of people. Every campsite we past had someone on it.
Going from Lake One to Lake Two required a short portage, an almost as short paddle, then another short portage. Having full gear and food for a week, the boys decided they were done portaging for the day. We settled on going into Lake Three and finding one of the campsites recommended by our outfitter. Unfortunately, Lake Two and Lake Three were no less crowded and all the sites were taken. We paddled to the south end of Lake Three, then back up between the east shore and a big island. We finally found camp at site 1493.
We were in the area of the the fire, and the other two adults weren't thrilled with it. Being a grouse hunter, and knowing how fire is a necessary evil didn't mind it at all. In fact that night we had a ruffed grouse drumming so close to our tent that I could hear his feathers rustle on the log he was using.
We had a quick lunch refilled water, and setup camp. The area looked promising for shore fishing, but that proved to not be the case. Of the 7 of us, only myself and my son had any fishing experience. Keeping the 3 boys set up and teaching them how to do things took up most of the afternoon.
This night we learned a few things, including have your bear tree setup and ready to go along with camp. We were in the process of setting it up as the sun went down and the mosquitoes descended. I've never seen mosquitoes like that. 
Again no fish caught from shore, so after lunch I took one of the boys out into the river and showed him how to vertical jig. The wind was strong enough that I had to paddle so I coached him and kept the canoe slowed. He hooked several fish, probably walleye, but wasn't setting the hook and lost them all after a short fight. As the wind picked up, I got tired and we decided to head back to camp and rest and hope the wind would die towards evening.
After dinner the wind died, and the boys tried fishing some more. All 4 were trying, but not much luck. I decided to go out and try and as I was launching the rain started and soon after the thunder so we called it a night. 
We woke and leisurely made some coffee on our stove and tried the breakfast pack that we brought. We each had one bite and decided that it was not for us. We both agreed that our displeasure had something to do with the “eggs.” And, just for the record, there are very few things in this world that I won’t eat, and my previous experience with pouch meals (dinners at least) was actually quite good. This was just plain bad. No worries as we had plenty of other items to make a simple breakfast, and the coffee in the percolator was an absolute treat.
We sat on a rock by the lake for an hour or so just soaking in the sun and enjoying the peace. It might not sound like much, but those moments were the highlight of what was already shaping up to be a great trip. We were happy not to be breaking down camp and looked forward to another lovely evening at the site.
By 10 AM or so, we decided to explore a little and thought a trip over to Loon Lake might be interesting. We headed north up Heritage Creek to the portage that crosses the Sioux-Hustler hiking trail and leads down to Loon. I had some of my camera gear, and Sarah had a pack with lunch, but we didn’t portage the canoe. The landings on both sides of the portage were in fantastic shape, and this had us thinking about heading out this direction when we left the next day. It would be a little more portaging and paddling than on our way in, but the conditions of the landings (compared to those at south Heritage and Shell/Lower Pauness) had us interested. We’d also get to see some new territory.
Loon lake was beautiful, and the beach was big and sandy. It was late enough in the season, that we didn’t see anyone on Loon. I didn’t feel like going back to get the canoe, but we had lunch and snapped a few photos before heading back to Heritage. We spent the afternoon at camp and went out for a water run in the afternoon before preparing dinner. Another couple came by our camp from the creek, but they were the only people that we saw that day (the last people we saw were on Shell the day before). I think we exchanged a few greetings, and they pressed on to the south.
Conditions weren’t great for any astrophotography that night, but I gave it a go before giving up. No dew on the lens this time of year, but there was just a little too much haziness to get anything good. We did hear wolves that night, and it was such a thrill!
This was a nice site and our best fishing spot. My son found a submerged tree that was full of large rock bass, and all the boys happily caught numerous fish. This made the trip a success because every boy caught fish. At dusk I casted a popper and had northerns flying out of the water. Lots of action, but only one hookup on a 22-24" northern. 
We had good hopes for the fishing, but the rain and lightening moved in early and we ended up calling it a day before getting out to find fish. What little casting we did from shore didn't produce. 
In all it was an experience of a lifetime. We had fun, but it was a lot more work than anticipated. I'm glad I had stepped up my hikes with the dogs with 50# weight. I wish I could have managed to bring my CPAP to get some sleep. In the future, I'm going to be more adamant our Scouts train more like they do for Philmont, some weren't ready for the physical exertion required. I'll, also, not want to use a route as long as the one we took to allow for days to rest/fish.