BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 26 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!
BWCA Man Trip Extravaganza
by JulianPhan
Trip Report
Entry Date:
July 29, 2014
Entry Point:
Snowbank Lake
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
4
Trip Introduction:
Just got back from Snowbank last Sunday.
Day 1 of 6
Tuesday, July 29, 2014 We set out for the Bwca around 9ish. We live in Rochester, MN so the drive to Ely is about 5 hours. We had 3 duluth packs, 1 hiking pack, and 1 Alumacraft.
We stopped in duluth to check out the sites and I also picked up a map from the Duluth Pack store. From Duluth we headed to Ely and it showered a little bit on the way there. From there we headed to Smitty's and arrived around 8. The Smitty's were very friendly and then headed to the bunkhouse to plan and rest for the long day ahead of us. 
Day 2 of 6
Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Woke up at 6am and started getting everything ready. Ate bacon and eggs and drove to Kawishiwi to pick up the permit. Our plan was to depart from Snowbank from Smitty's and try to make it to Thomas lake through disappointment . I had read that it takes 6 hours to make it there but didn't factor in that we had 2 aluminum canoes and left relatively late (9 a.m). 
After the very long 10 hour canoe/portage we made camp on Ima. We were exhausted and got pretty frustrated because almost all the campsites were booked but we managed to find one near the portage to Hatchet. We got settled in, ate steaks then went to bed.
After the very long 10 hour canoe/portage we made camp on Ima. We were exhausted and got pretty frustrated because almost all the campsites were booked but we managed to find one near the portage to Hatchet. We got settled in, ate steaks then went to bed.
Day 3 of 6
Thursday, July 31, 2014 I woke up first right when the sun came out and decided to go fishing by myself. I creeped into this bay I saw what I assumed was a pretty decent pike splash the top of the water. I casts over there but with no luck. I continued to fish and right before I headed back to camp I managed to catch one eater size pike in between a saddle. I was pretty stoked since it was my first catch of the trip and of the bwca. Put in on a stringer and headed back to camp to start the day.[paragraph break] 
Left the campsite to a bigger bay tucked in the back to go swimming and hang until prime time fishing in the evening. 
That night we ate spaghetti and pike.
Left the campsite to a bigger bay tucked in the back to go swimming and hang until prime time fishing in the evening. That night we ate spaghetti and pike.
Day 4 of 6
Friday, August 01, 2014 Woke up and ate breakfast and then went to Thomas for a day trip. Fished and swam pretty much all day then headed to Hatchet to try to catch some walleyes. We got to hatchet and stayed there all evening until it was pitch black. Luke had 3 pike on with his white curly tail but lost them all. Zach and I managed to catch 2 walleyes each with neon green raps. We only got 2 eater size. After being destroyed by the mosquitos we headed back to camp.
Day 5 of 6
Saturday, August 02, 2014 Luke, Zach, and I stayed up all night and headed out to do some early morning fishing. Luke redeemed himself by catching a eater size walleye. 
I strung up the walleye and we all just crashed in our sleeping bags. We woke up at 10 a.m and packed everything up. After consulting we did not wanna go the same route we did getting to Ima so instead of going back towards disappointment we went west towards abinodji and boot. We left camp at 3p.m and got to boot at around 8. 
I strung up the walleye and we all just crashed in our sleeping bags. We woke up at 10 a.m and packed everything up. After consulting we did not wanna go the same route we did getting to Ima so instead of going back towards disappointment we went west towards abinodji and boot. We left camp at 3p.m and got to boot at around 8.
Day 6 of 6
Sunday, August 03, 2014 Everything was packed and ready to go so we set out for Smitty's at 11 and got there at 2:30. Some clouds but mostly sunny. We packed everything up and headed home.[paragraph break] All and all we loved this trip. It was a good way to enjoy our last summer together before we have to part ways. The BWCAW is an amazing place and we all feel so fortunate to have some so awesome be so close to us. I would like to thank everyone on this site. Everyone here is super chill and for the most part bad a**. Thanks for helping me gather the info to plan this trip and future ones!!!
discuss this trip report (1 comments) - last post on August 10, 2014