BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
May 03 2024
Entry Point 30 - Lake One
Number of Permits per Day: 13
Elevation: 1230 feet
Latitude: 47.9391
Longitude: -91.4792
My son Remy and I, and my friend Keith and his son Charlie put our canoes into Lake one at 9:30 Monday morning after dropping off a car at the Snowbank Lake landing. Lake One can be tricky to navigate. On our way to Lake Two we turned East too early and ended up paddling about a mile out of our way into a dead-end bay before we realized our mistake. We blamed the fact that Lake One was split between Fisher Maps #10 and #4 for our error. If the entire lake had been visible at once on a single map, we would not have made the wrong turn. Once we got back on course we portaged the 30 rods into a pond and then portaged the 40 rods into Lake Two. The weather was nice, and there was a bit of a tail wind out of the West. We stopped for lunch on the shore of Lake Two. After lunch we canoed through the North end of Lake Three and into Lake Four. We stopped for the night at a campsite on the West shore of Lake Four, just North of the channel heading toward Hudson Lake. We had to battle swarms of mosquitoes as we set up the tents. We then had a nice refreshing swim. Because we had brought steaks along for the first night, we didn't go fishing.
On Tuesday morning we had a bacon and eggs breakfast then packed up camp and headed out in our canoes. As we canoed past our campsite, we realized that Remy & I had left our hammocks pitched between trees. We landed again and quickly packed them up. Once again we had beautiful weather. We paddled East and completed 3 short portages before entering Hudson Lake. The 105 rod portage into Lake Insula was exhausting! Lake Insula is a large gorgeous lake broken up by multiple islands and penninsulas. We had lunch at a campsite on a large island just East of Hudson Lake. It felt like we had a tail wind as we were heading East, and then as we turned North it seemed like the wind shifted and was at our backs once again. We navigated Lake Insula flawlessly and camped for the night on the island just West of Williamson Island. After setting up the tents and a refreshing swim, Remy & I got back into the canoe and tried to catch some fish. We had no luck! At 9PM that night, just as we were going to bed, a thunderstorm rolled through. That night I was awakened several times by the loud croaking of bullfrogs from the shallows around our island. What noisy neighbors!
By Wednesday morning the weather had cleared, but the wind was now coming from the Northwest, pretty much in our faces. We paddled to the North end of Lake Insula and tackled the largest portage of our trip. The 180 rod walk to Kiana Lake actually seemed easier than the 105 rod carry into Lake Insula. We headed onward into Thomas Lake where we really started feeling the headwind. We finally made it to the campsite just Northeast of the portage into Thomas Pond in time for lunch. After lunch we proceeded across Thomas Pond and into Thomas Creek after hiking across the famous Kekekabic Trail. We managed to easily run the rapids in Thomas Creek and avoid the 2 short portages. We camped for the night on Hatchet Lake at the northern campsite. It was cool and windy, so we didn't swim. There was lots of threatening weather going by to the North of us, but we stayed dry. After supper we canoed back to Thomas Creek to fish and look for moose. No luck on either count, but we did see a beaver swimmming.
The weather was nice again Thursday morning, but the wind was out of the West which was the direction we were heading. We portaged into Ima Lake and canoed across it. Before portaging into Jordan Lake, we watched a bald eagle sitting in a tree get harrassed repeatedly by a seagull. The narrow channel leading into Jordan Lake is quite beautiful. It is narrow like a river with big rock outcroppings. We paddled across Jordan, Cattyman, Adventure, and Jitterbug Lakes. We found the Eastern campsite on Ahsub Lake taken, so we camped at the Western campsite which had a great place for swimming in front of it. There was a very brave loon in front of the campsite who didn't seem to mind if we got close to it. We tried our luck at fishing, but only caught 1 smallmouth which was too small to eat. Between 5:00 and 7:30 that evening we saw a number of canoes heading across Ahsub Lake from Disappointment Lake to Jitterbug Lake. We weren't sure where they were planning to camp, but it was getting late.
On Friday we awoke again to good weather. We paddled the length of Disappointment Lake and portaged into to Parent Lake and then on to Snowbank Lake. It was July 4th, and as we entered Snowbank Lake the sounfd of firecrackers reminded us we weren't in the wilderness anaymore. After a brief splash war on our way across Snowbank, we made it to the landing and our car was still there. What a great trip!
Perent Lake
Entry Date:
August 01, 2008
Entry Point:
Hog Creek
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
6
When we planned this trip we decided to go to a lake that was easy to get to, so that if we had any problems with our daughter we wouldn't be to far in.
We left home at midnight Thursday night. We wanted to get up to Tofte pretty early with a stop in Duluth for breakfast. Our daughter did great on the trip up, she slept most of the way. Made it to Hog Creek mid-morning after stops for bait and pop. Our group was made up of my husband, my father, my daughter, myself, and two friends of ours that had never been to the BWCA before. Everyone was excited when we started to unload the van. It took a little organizing to get everything together, and while we were doing that my daughter fell on the gravel portage and split her lip and scrapped her chin. What a way to start our trip. A little water and hugs and we were ready to go. We just get our paddles wet and we are at our first and only portage. We got past that just fine as well as the many beaver dams on the river. Everyone was having a good time. I held my daughter as she took her morning nap, good thing she is little. We had lunch at the first campsite on Perent Lake, but decided we wanted a different site to stay. There was a strong west wind so it was a little tricky getting around on the lake, and there were many sites already taken, but we wanted to check out the camp on the north shore on the east side. Got there and it was open. Perfect site. We set up camp had supper and hit the sleeping bags. Its great to be back in the BWCA. 
We slept in a little since we hadn't gotten much sleep on the trip up and had a big breakfast. Then we decided to go fishing. This was also the first time we had taken my daughter fishing, so we didn't know what to expect. We just went out right from the camp. Not to long later my dad caught a walleye. My daughter just about fell out of the canoe trying to see the "fishy". Next thing we know he got another and she's trying to see that one too. She loved it! Lunch time came and we went back to camp and my husband and daughter stayed to nap, while the rest of us went back to get the rest of our supper. The fishing was okay. We didn't catch anything large but plenty to eat.
Nothing better then fresh fish, a fire, and the BWCA. 
Another day spent in the canoe fishing and exploring. This time though we didn't go back to camp for nap time. When my daughter got tired I put her on the floor of the canoe, gave her a sippy cup and she fell asleep. She slept for two hours while we fished. At meal times someone who wasn't cooking would take her down to the water and let her play. Not many fish biting today. And we end the day with some cribbage. 
We woke up early to pack up and get going so we can make it home by evening. Made it back to the car a lot faster then coming in. I think it was because everyone wanted a shower. We made it back in one piece and every one had a blast.
We had so many different reactions from people when they found out we were going to take our daughter at such a young age. But she had so much fun that I know we did the right thing. We were always careful, other then the fall, and now she likes to tell everyone about the water, Bampa (Grandpa), and the "fishy". We can't wait till next year. 
