BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
May 24 2024
Entry Point 30 - Lake One
Lake One entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Kawishiwi Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 21 miles. Access is a canoe landing at 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!
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!
Memorial Day '04
by katcircle
Trip Report
Entry Date:
May 29, 2004
Entry Point:
Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Days:
2
Group Size:
9
Trip Introduction:
My third
Report
Kawishiwi Lake, Square Lake, Kawasachong Lake
We left the Twin Cities w/ a group of 9 at 4am. A steady rain tempered our enthusiasm this year. We drove into Duluth, though, & saw clearing skies up 61. Full spring sunshine greeted us at the Tofte Ranger station. We drove up the Sawbill Trail sharing made-up "dumbest questions asked of the Ranger station staff" ("Are there sharks in the Boundary Waters?", "You said I can't have more than 9 people, but I have a dog-farm; can I bring my 15 dogs?" ...I guess you had to be there [and I guess you had to have 4 nephews along that needed entertainment]). Our 3 canoes were very fully loaded & were low in the waves of Kawishiwi Lake. We made it over the Kawishiwi beaver dam into Square Lake. We had thought that we could make the 2 short portages into Kawasachong Lake. Even though we had camp chairs, too much clothing, and two of most every supply, we were confident. Until we saw the 2nd campsite on Square, that is. A beautifully secluded site which made us feel as if we were scores of miles into the Wilderness. Setting up camp occupied most of our Saturday. The fish weren't biting off the point so we swam instead. WHEW! May waters chill to the bone! Steaks over the fire made it easy to forget a cold swim. Sunday gave us a windy morning as we sat around the fire & shared "church" together. The wind gave me an idea of God's presence. Many people are absent-minded about the wind. They don't care about it; they don't think about it; they don't even know it's really there. Others are annoyed with the wind. They complain that it's too windy; they are irritated when it blows campfire smoke in their eyes; they are upset when it ruins their plans. Still others accept the wind. They acknowledge that they cannot do anything to start or stop the wind; they tap into the wind to fulfill a need in their life; they enjoy it by sailing or flying a kite! I found a parallel in that to God's presence. Later that day, we planned a 2-canoe day-trip to Malberg. Our 2 small portages brought us into a steady rain, though, & the smallest day-trippers gave up ("Daddy, I wanna go home!"). Thus, a return to camp for the rest of the day included staring at the ceiling of our tent, resting, eating, resting, eating some more, & resting some more. Sunday night, the fish started biting off the point. We enjoyed a late night snack of pike & popcorn. Interesting combo, but very tasty nonetheless! Monday was Memorial Day. We recalled the heroes of generations past that served in the military. From a twenty-something in the south Pacific to a young Vietnam Chaplain, several of our family made it possible for us to enjoy such a weekend. We sang several patriotic songs & prayed for our leaders. For such a small group of 9 in such a secluded place, it did, however, feel as it we were gathered en masse by a nation of believers. Our trip home saw several of us enduring the rain yet again & pining for dry clothes (wool clothes rule, by the way! Never leave home w/o them!).
We left the Twin Cities w/ a group of 9 at 4am. A steady rain tempered our enthusiasm this year. We drove into Duluth, though, & saw clearing skies up 61. Full spring sunshine greeted us at the Tofte Ranger station. We drove up the Sawbill Trail sharing made-up "dumbest questions asked of the Ranger station staff" ("Are there sharks in the Boundary Waters?", "You said I can't have more than 9 people, but I have a dog-farm; can I bring my 15 dogs?" ...I guess you had to be there [and I guess you had to have 4 nephews along that needed entertainment]). Our 3 canoes were very fully loaded & were low in the waves of Kawishiwi Lake. We made it over the Kawishiwi beaver dam into Square Lake. We had thought that we could make the 2 short portages into Kawasachong Lake. Even though we had camp chairs, too much clothing, and two of most every supply, we were confident. Until we saw the 2nd campsite on Square, that is. A beautifully secluded site which made us feel as if we were scores of miles into the Wilderness. Setting up camp occupied most of our Saturday. The fish weren't biting off the point so we swam instead. WHEW! May waters chill to the bone! Steaks over the fire made it easy to forget a cold swim. Sunday gave us a windy morning as we sat around the fire & shared "church" together. The wind gave me an idea of God's presence. Many people are absent-minded about the wind. They don't care about it; they don't think about it; they don't even know it's really there. Others are annoyed with the wind. They complain that it's too windy; they are irritated when it blows campfire smoke in their eyes; they are upset when it ruins their plans. Still others accept the wind. They acknowledge that they cannot do anything to start or stop the wind; they tap into the wind to fulfill a need in their life; they enjoy it by sailing or flying a kite! I found a parallel in that to God's presence. Later that day, we planned a 2-canoe day-trip to Malberg. Our 2 small portages brought us into a steady rain, though, & the smallest day-trippers gave up ("Daddy, I wanna go home!"). Thus, a return to camp for the rest of the day included staring at the ceiling of our tent, resting, eating, resting, eating some more, & resting some more. Sunday night, the fish started biting off the point. We enjoyed a late night snack of pike & popcorn. Interesting combo, but very tasty nonetheless! Monday was Memorial Day. We recalled the heroes of generations past that served in the military. From a twenty-something in the south Pacific to a young Vietnam Chaplain, several of our family made it possible for us to enjoy such a weekend. We sang several patriotic songs & prayed for our leaders. For such a small group of 9 in such a secluded place, it did, however, feel as it we were gathered en masse by a nation of believers. Our trip home saw several of us enduring the rain yet again & pining for dry clothes (wool clothes rule, by the way! Never leave home w/o them!).
Lakes Traveled:
Kawishiwi Lake,
Square Lake,
Kawasachong Lake,