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!
Snowbank to Ima and back - EP # 27
Entry Date:
August 26, 2012
Entry Point:
Snowbank Lake
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
6
Back to the cabin to grill steaks and potatoes, fire up the sauna and have a beer. Final gear and clothes check and final food prep. Everything labeled, frozen food in the freezer, canoes on the vehicles and get to bed about 10.
Sunday morning, we are up at 5 for a quick scrambled sausage and egg breakfast with coffee and toast. Frozen food in the middle bin of the food pack, toothbrushes and any last items in the packs. We make the first portage - about three rods uphill to the vehicles.
Six miles into town, pull over at Lucky Seven to check the canoe tie-downs and get some sunflower seeds and sunblock. Back in the vehicles and east out of town past Winton on the Fernberg, to Snowbank Lake Road and to the landing. Packs and canoes to the water, take a few group photos, load and go at 7.15. A good start on a clear and sunny morning with temps in the 60s.
We planned to take the 140 rd portage into Disappointment, but I made a command decision to go through Parent for two shorter portages to start with. South-west breeze following us all the way through Parent, Disappointment, Ashub, Jitterbug, Adventure, Cattyman, Jordan and into Ima. Stopped for trail lunch on a nice little spot on Adventure. A light breeze and no bugs. Pitas with Zup's deli turkey and ham, lettuce, cheddar, mustard and mayo (from packets for stomach-safety). Into the Jordan channel by 1.30 and on the portage to Ima by 2.00. This mixed group travels quite well at a nice pace. We aren't light enough to single portage, but only three need to go back for packs on each portage, so we rotate that without any problem.
We break around the islands protecting entrance to Ima and through the binocs, it looks like the north campsite on the south island is open! The wind has come up fairly well from the W-S-W and is a strong quartering wind as we cross Ima. The whitecaps want to push us sideways, but we are able to maintain our heading and roll up and down with the waves. Surfing the waves and troughs, the crossing is quick and we duck into the lee on the east side to the shallow granite ledge of the island. Easing the canoes to shore, we land and unload. I've camped here before and know there will be good tent sites, so we skip the pre-unload inspection. All gear is carried up to the "kitchen", and we select the three best sites for our tents. After the tents are up, we find the gin and crystal lite for a celebratory drink. We don our PFDs, and after checking the diving area for safety, there's an hour of jumping/diving, swimming, bobbing in the whitecaps, and climbing out onto the sunny Canadian Shield ledge. Two canoes with two young guys in each, sit and rest in the lee while for a while before tackling the cross-wind run to the Jordan entrance. They paddle furiously into the wind towards the west shore, before turning north in calmer waters towards the entrance.
Supper is pasta and home-made meatballs, garlic toast and tiramisu. Four of our group head to mainland on a firewood run while two of us stay and do dishes, clean up the kitchen, and other camp chores. After supper, we all relax on the ledge, leaning on a log and watch the waves with the nearly full moon rising behind us through the trees. No other sites on the lake seem to be in use, we might have Ima all to ourselves. Even with no plans for tomorrow, we are to bed early, tired from the day's labor.
Monday breakfast is coffee, scrambled eggs, sausage, salsa, cheese, and peppers in tortillas with more coffee. My acquisition of a $2 yard-sale coffee pot is paying off - three pots are barely enough for this group. The wind is still up, and didn't drop much last night, so we build a wind-break downwind from the kitchen with a tarp, two dead-wood poles and some guy-lines. Makes cooking much easier, but definitely cuts into the view of the lake. After breakfast, one couple canoes off to try for bass or northerns in a little bay, the other couple goes for a walk around the island, we stay in camp and relax a bit. There is a big split boulder next to the fire grate, but not much of anything is flat. Someone has lashed together a small "table" of dead balsams - thank you for that! The day is spent napping in the hammock, swimming, sunning, wetting a line off the ledge, sandwiches for lunch, basically relaxing around camp. Dinner of salmon and veggies in puff pastry done in the reflector oven (it worked fairly well), fruit cobbler and tea. Another beautiful evening, the wind dying down some and a wonderful sunset. No northern lights to see, just loons calling across the lake and a big moon rising behind us.
Tuesday breakfast is biscuits and gravy, sausage and lots of coffee. We pack up a trail lunch for a day-trip through Hatchet, Thomas and into Fraser to fish and explore a bit. In the 1930s, my dad had hired on to help build a family place on the big island on Fraser. No sign of anything left to see now, but good to walk some of the old ground where he spent many summer (and winter) days. Another beautiful day - must be mid-80s and sunny. Awesome for late August, but not so good for mid-day fishing. Lunch on a rocky point on Thomas, one couple stays behind to swim and nap while two other couples head to Fraser. Paddle a light headwind back through Thomas, down Hatchet and the short paddle to the island camp on Ima. Gorgeous sunset as we make dinner, then sit down with some Jim Beam and good conversation. The moon is nearly full, and up earlier than before, so it is practically daylight when we head for the tents and a good sleep.
Wednesday is a travel day; breakfast is quick oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar, walnuts, a few M&Ms and cups of coffee. Everything is dry, even the tent's ground cloth, and so packing up is easy and fast. We match fingers to see who gets the food pack; it's so light everyone wants it! We hit the water leaving camp about 9.30 in a light westerly breeze. We'll decide on the route as the day progresses, depending on wind and our energy levels. No real hurry to get home, so we stop at Cattyman falls, climb into the pool and get a free neck and shoulder massage provided by the thundering water.
We decide to take the 140 rod portage from Disappointment into Snowbank instead of the Parent Lake route. Once we hit Snowbank, we are paddling into a fairly stiff headwind, so we duck behind islands when possible to save our old shoulders. The paddle takes about an hour with a rest stop or two. Coming to the landing dock, we unload the packs and gear from the canoes. The vehicles are loaded and we take one last group photo with Snowbank Lake behind us at about 5.00 in the evening. 45 minute drive from the landing to the cabin, we make the last portage of the trip, carrying the few steps to the cabin.
Like the entire trip, we still have awesome weather, dry and sunny with a breeze to air things out while we go into town for a burger and a few cold beers at Stony Ridge Resort on Shagawa Lake. A great way to end a trip, sitting on the deck eating and talking, and planning for the next trip.
btw - if anyone on the board finds the bear-ropes and pulleys we left behind hanging in the woods in back of the campsite - let me know!