BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
July 15 2025
Entry Point 1 - Trout Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 12
Elevation: 1381 feet
Latitude: 47.9144
Longitude: -92.3220
Trout Lake - 1
back in the saddle
Entry Date:
October 22, 2008
Entry Point:
Baker Lake
Number of Days:
3
Group Size:
1
left the house at 5 am.
nice drive, no traffic...but alot of deer both dead and alive. three were grazing in the 61 expressway median.
on the water at about 10:45. one other car parked at the access.
immediately see an otter on baker.
cow moose seen on kelly. eastern shore was hit hard by the blowdown. first time ive seen remnants of it.[paragraph break] 
jack lake...i think mckenzie needs to update. i couldnt locate the northern most campsite.
weird lake. walked the short portage to see if i can eyeball the one campsite. i can, but i see something odd. binocs reveal a green campchair...damnit! i was planning on camping there. decide to carry the canoe and a paddle over to check it out anyway. it just ends up being someones forgotten gear, tied to a tree, the site is open. nice campsite. 2-3 pad areas. some dead trees around though.[paragraph break] 
not sure what time it is (forgot my watch) but its chilly! east winds blows. just put on stocking cap and hooded sweatshirt.
all the leaves are gone...reminds my of my may trip.
saw a pine martin on the kelly to jack portage.
its a south facing campsite. thats a good thing this time of year.
someone left a decent pile of wood for me, no need to search today.
pulled out the little thermometer. no wonder im cold, its 42.
talked to a tandem paddling by. they told me i was the first person they had seen in 3 days. i apologized to them for ruining their wilderness experience. we all chuckled. they were on their way out, via sawbill tomorrow.
i feel back to normal so far.
5 moose jawbones laying around this site.
dont feel like cooking. cheese/sausage/crackers it is.
a new use for BDB's?[paragraph break] 
having a nice fire but still breezy. early rack tonight.
After scouring the streets of Ely for a cafe that failed to mention they weren’t really open at 5 AM after all, and loading up on Deli Express goods at a local convenience store, we headed Northeast for Moose Landing. Having the sleds packed the night before, loaded and ready to go meant we were able to unload quickly, strap on the backcountry skis and pulks and hit the lake by 8:30. Lighter pulks and the great ice we had been hearing about helped us cover the length of our 2020 base camp trip to the crossover to Newfound in just over an hour. As in 2020, we saw open water where Moose meets Newfound but were able to ski over the land crossing and avoid the soft water. Continuing to follow the sled dog trails through Newfound, over the winter use trail into Splash Lake went well and our hopes were high to at least get to the end of Ensign. Several sandwiches, energy bars and a few water breaks later, let’s just say Ensign is another big lake and we were seeing some light snow as we reached the end and hit the winter use trail through the swamp to Vera. The snow continued to fall so we pushed on through Portage Lake as the hotspots started on the heels signaling the blister making. Although we were starting to feel like the 50 year olds we are, we thought it would be best if we could reach Knife, where we expected the dog sled tracks to end, before the snow covered them overnight anyway. Vera was a tough go and we were really pushing by the time we saw the bay back to the winter crossing to Portage Lake. Since we had set a goal of 3 PM layup regardless, we decided to push on, needing to be able to say we made Knife in a day and after a short crossing, slid down the portage wiped out, but proud to set up camp on Knife. ~Moose Lake, Newfound Lake, Splash Lake, Ensign Lake, Vera Lake, Portage Lake, Knife Lake
wake up to a very cold rain. totally calm winds though.
decide to paddle out today.
just start paddling on jack and look to my left. finally! a bull moose! hes just staring at me. i think of paddling closer but then realize its very shallow and if i happen to breach his personal space he could just walk out to kick my ass. i paddle on and he just stares, motionless...kinda eerie!
flock of bills takes off about 300 yards infront of me. ducks are jumpy up here.
nice paddling...calm lakes.
car loaded and hit the road at noon.
nice trip. im glad i did it.