BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 25 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!
Solo from snowbank
Entry Date:
August 25, 2010
Entry Point:
Snowbank Lake
Number of Days:
3
Group Size:
1
I have to admit; this was a shock to my system! I was thinking that people would be all over me while in the woods and water.[paragraph break] The wind was blowing and I had to decide to leave now or wait until early morning. I opted to get going! I got the canoe down and loaded and headed North from the dock. I felt very quickly that a solo canoe is not a tandem canoe! I got a late start and was looking for the first empty campsite. I passed a boat of fishermen who said the fishing was slow and that I was lucky to be going now, the wind had laid down a bit. As I paddled past the shelter of the land I was hit with a left to right cross wind. I was glad I had the kayak paddle because I was able to keep a paddle in the water and stay on track...mostly! [paragraph break]
I got up to the island just north from the entry point and was happy to be out of the wind. The first campsite was occupied. I was hoping the next was available otherwise I would have some open water to cover with a fairly decent wind blowing. The next site was open and I pulled in. Open site with lots of space. I picked an area for the tent and got camp set up. Heard some deer snorting and moving through the woods. Started a small fire and broke out the flask just as the moon was rising. 
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Woke up early, like 0430, but decided it was too early to get out of the bag. It was a chilly night and I was glad I had my poncho liner with me. Loons called all night, I don't recall experiencing that before. I was sooo happy I purchased one of those new fangled Exped sleeping pads!! I eventually got up, got the coffee water boiling and had my coffee and some poptarts. Packed up and was on the water by 0700, excited to see some new sights! 
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I really didn't have a plan but decided to go North towards Boot lake with Ensign being my destination. Got to the first portage and decided I would be doing double portages. No issues till I was pushing off into the little, no name lake between Snowbank and Boot. I was trying so hard to drain my feet before getting back into the canoe that I somehow tipped over!! How embarrassing! I quickly looked for witnesses and after seeing none, emptied my canoe. What a dumb mistake! I didn't concern myself with keeping water out of the canoe from then on! (I hope you all appreciate me including this in my report! I could have easily left it out and preserved my sense pride! But, perhaps, someone will benefit!) Lesson learned: don't worry about keeping water from your feet out of the canoe and always have everything lashed![paragraph break]
Got into Boot lake. Seemed like a nice little lake. Arrived on the South side of the Boot Lake to Ensign Lake portage. 220 rods...straight up!!! Actually it seemed like there were 3 walks up and 3 walks down with a tree lying across the path about 4 off the ground. 20 minutes to the end, dumped my pack and headed back. I was wearing my brand new Keen water shoes which very promptly gave me blisters on the back of my feet. On the second trip the blisters turned into open sores! Oh, what fun! Another dumb mistake; always break in new footwear before serious use! 
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Arrived into Ensign Lake. My feet hurt, my back hurt, much of my gear was wet and I knew I wasn't drinking enough water. I wonder where that lean, mean, fighting machine went to??? Got the canoe loaded and started looking for a campsite. Headed N/E and grabbed the peninsula campsite on the North shore. Wonderful site with a bunch of wood already stacked (thank you). Set up the tent, layed out all of my equipment and headed out to get water. Layed around the site and drank water. Ate some food and started exploring. Lots of trails behind camp. Someone marked the trail to the latrine, which was nice.(see photo) Fished, smoked a cigar, relaxed. 
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Slept in until about 0600. Layed in my bag looking out over the water. Got up and started boiling water for coffee (liked the starbucks instant coffee). Thought I would try some dehydrated eggs, this was my first trip where I tried store bought dehydrated food. The eggs were a disaster! Inedible! Yuck! Where did I put those poptarts? Lesson learned: don't bring any food along that you haven't tried at home first. Slowly did chores and cleaned myself up a bit trying to figure out what to do. Should I stay at this lovely site again or should I move?? I ended up packing up and heading towards Ashigan Lake. I thought I could find a site there or maybe spend a few nights on Disappointment.[paragraph break]
Arrived at the Ashigan portage and this one was all uphill from Ensign! I decided to wear socks with my Keens today to help protect my feet. I didn't think the mole skin in my kit would stay put. No issues at all besides the sun shining bright and the wind blowing strong from the South (headwind!). Saw the falls at Cattyman. Got muddy in Jitterbug and had a hard time finding the exit portage (not my favorite lake). Arrived at the North side of Disappointment around 1pm. 
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Paddling South in Disappointment with a fairly strong wind from the South. I hug the shoreline and use the islands for wind breaks. Get to the first campsite and see a group leaving. I'm not sure if they spent the night or just stopped for lunch. Doesn't matter because I wasn't staying there knowing of all the bear issues it has had. Next island site was occupied. I crossed over to the other side of the lake after a hard paddle. I start rounding the large peninsula to the west and come to a empty campsite, #3. I pull in, unload the canoe, ground the canoe and head for the shade with water in hand. It is HOT! I drink my water, get more water and drink that. After a bit I take my camera and scout the site. I find the latrine and walk the other trails looking for a food bag tree. During this look around I find 3 separate piles of bear scat. I know I am on a bear route. I go back to the shade, grab my journal and start writing. No food is out. About 20 minutes later I look over to my left (north) and see a bear cub walk by within 15 feet of me! (circled in yellow, trust me). I grab the camera and pursue! Eventually the bear cub climbs on top of a rock and looks back trying to find me. I start to whistle and finally the cub looks at me...of course I miss the photo! But I get a great one of the cubs butt! The bear cub walks towards the latrine trial and joins another cub. Shortly the sow bear appears, walking straight down the latrine trail towards me, sniffing and shifting around. She stops but continues to try to assess me and I try to assess the situation myself! After thinking I have enough photos I start yelling and the bear family goes off towards the latrine. I return to my journal. Within 20 minutes the sow is back!! I confront the bear, take a couple of pictures but quickly put the camera away once I figure out that the bear isn't scared of me! I start yelling and making a fuss and she lumbers off but I know she will be back. She knows she will be back! 
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Decision time. It is 3:30pm, I am on Disappointment and I am sure all of the campsites are full by now. There is a strong wind from the South. I am 1 or 2 portages from my truck. I know there will be bear issues the entire time I am at this site. I am fairly sure that if I do stay I won't get much sleep! I had some difficulty making this decision but I opted for leaving the site to the bears. I suspect that in my younger and dumber years of life I would have stayed and there would have been a confrontation. I loaded the canoe and headed out in what I would guess was 20-30 mph wind. It was an adventurous paddle; putting it mildly!![paragraph break]
I got to the canoe dock, loaded up the truck and was off to Ely; a room, a shower and shave and then off to the Steakhouse for steak and beer and water. It was a shorter trip than planned but I saw much and learned much. [paragraph break]