BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
May 18 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!
6 Days Solo out of Kawishiwi Lake - EP37
Entry Date:
September 06, 2020
Entry Point:
Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
1
Youtube video https://youtu.be/xkaRpCkP0y4
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All my gear 
D-Day -1 was a long one. I had decided that if I wanted to get in the number of days planned that I'd have to drive nonstop from Pittsburgh to the BWCA. I left at 3:30 am and arrived at EP37 at 1030 pm. Slept in the truck, but was right at the put in. Was on the water at 6:30 am on Sunday. 
My route planned for the day was to get to Malberg as fast as I could. My destination was site 1051. From all the chatter the week prior about all the permits being taken and other horror stories I anticipated people all over the place. It was just the opposite. I played leapfrog with one other group who went in with me on Kawishiwi. Other than that I saw very few people all the way to Malberg.
I made it to Malberg around 1 pm. Setup the hammock and prepped camp. Unknowing to me that it was going to be a pretty stormy night.
Site 1051 is pretty interesting, it sits back in the cove and is off the main route so your chances of seeing anyone is rare unless they are looking for a site. Fortunately, I didn't see anyone for almost two days. Only when I was packing up to leave did I see another group on the way in.
Here was sunset on Malberg 
Shelter on Malberg 
Sunday night the storms rolled through and although I was warm and comfy in my hammock I thought for sure I'd see uprooted trees the next morning. Winds were fierce at times and I talked to Sawbill outfitters at the end of my trip. They told me winds were gusting up to 60mph and whitecaps all over Sawbill Lake on Sunday night.
My food for the week consisted of Packit Gourmet and some homemade dehydrated meals. You cannot go wrong with Packit Gourmet. Small batch and very tasty. I've been using them for a few years now on my backpacking trips.
Deli Smoked Roast Beef topped with Cheddar Cheese all wrapped in Tortilla 
Homemade Spaghetti - Dehydrated. Matthew Posa (youtube) got me started on this one. 
I spent the next two days lounging around Malberg collecting firewood, fishing, cleaning up the existing firepit, and just exploring the surroundings. 
Lunch spot 
Morning on Malberg 
Tuesday Morning was pack up and find a new site day. Fortunately, my next site was only about 2 hours away on the Kawishiwi River. The portage over was a pain in the arse. I'd rather have long portages than the multiple short ones.
My next site was on the island site on the Kawishiwi River. I went on the wrong side of the Island but was glad I did. There were a few eagles hanging out. This side of the island was very shallow.
I spend the next two days on the Kawishiwi River pretty much doing the same thing as before. I really enjoyed this site and again saw very few people. There were some kayakers on the river and I have no clue how they go that thing in but it looked hefty.
Looking north east on the Kawishiwi River 
Heading into Malberg site 
One of my main goals of this trip was to photograph the pictographs on Fishdance Lake
I did some fishing and hooked into a substantial sized pike that towed me around for 20 minutes. I was eventually able to get him to the boat but didn't bring a net and I was so excited I actually forgot to take a picture. I'd guess in the 30" range (my fish story and I'm sticking to it)
Camp site
Thursday was pack up again and start heading out. Polly was my destination and I had a my site set on camp 1078. Again, no problems getting a 4 star site.
Site 1078 is a gem with an outstanding sunset and lots of tent pads. There's one on the lake itself but I couldn't get the hammock in there.
Ursak for all my food. 
Friday I was out on the water early. I remember on the way in the winds were with me and i did not want to face headwinds. I got lucky and had calm water all the way back. 
Packed and ready to go. 
The end is in site. Kawishiwi landing area. Sad but will be back. 
Landing - What a trip and I actually don't smell that bad 
Met some awesome people especially the 70 year old grandmother who was doing a 14 day solo trip. Jeff and Deb - Great company on the way in and ran into them on the way out.
I'll be back again. You really need 10 days in the BWCA. I'm a fast ultralight backpacker and this was the first time I slowed down and enjoyed my surroundings and I'm glad I did.
Brought way to much fishing gear and could of shaved at least 8lbs if not more off my pack. My Swift Keewaydin was awesome for the trip and do not regret buying it. I wouldn't change my food either. It was perfect for the trip. My footwear worked like a champ - Keen Sandels and if i was worried about cold feet I used my rockey goretex booties. Don't know why people wear boots when they will stay wet all the time. Never once did I feel like the Keens were insufficient for portaging. camp shoes where my running shoes.
It did get cold at night and I used a 20degree bag from Zpacks. My underquilt was a 20 degree 3/4 length quilt.
Thanks to Dan Cooke from Cooke Custom Sewing. He made me some awesome bags that i was supposed to use in Wabakimi but they came in handy in the BWCA. Very durable!