BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 20 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!
(No) Disappointment in August
Entry Date:
August 25, 2006
Entry Point:
Snowbank Lake
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
2
We hit the road early Friday about 1am and headed for Ely. I wanted to get to Ely by 6am when the permit station opened. There had been several posts on BWCA.com regarding the critical shortage of open campsites on Disappoint due to overcrowding. Hopefully our early start would be rewarded.
Arriving in Ely at 5:30am, we stopped at the Holiday station and picked up a couple of sausage and egg muffins. Driving up to the permit station turnoff, we discovered another car already waiting at the gate. Was this a sign of things to come? After a short wait and THE MOVIE, we were issued our permit. A quick stop for leeches at Skubes, and we were off to the Snowbank EP.
After unloading our gear at the canoe landing, we saw another vehicle pull up. It was a group of six, three adult men and three older teenage boys. This was exactly what I didn’t want – a campsite race. But the race was on! We had about a fifteen minute head start on the other group, but being that they had more muscle, I knew it would be close at the portage. We crossed Snowbank Lake under overcast skies with a pretty stiff wind in our faces. The waves at times broke over the sides of the canoe and sprayed us. It looked and felt like it could rain at any time. We made it to the 140 rod portage five minutes ahead of the other group. We double portaged without incident. As we were pushing off from shore on the Disappointment side, a man and woman were coming off in a canoe. We spoke briefly and they kindly gave us the location of a campsite on the north end of the lake that they had just vacated. We wished them well and continued on our way. We soon came across another group of three canoes headed towards the Snowbank portage. They too shared the location of the site they had just left. Two open campsites, vacated in the last hour…things were looking pretty good.
The closest open site, just vacated by the group of three canoes, had already been claimed. It was the south island campsite. A group was unloading as we paddled by. It now started to rain. The raingear came out and we pushed on. There was an open site on a peninsula on the east shore, but we opted to pass on it. We headed west to the site the couple had recommended and found it available. And it was a gem! The rain had all but stopped by this time. The canoe was unloaded and we setup camp. After a quick lunch of venison sausage on dinner buns, the food pack was hung. Then we both lay down in the tent and took a much needed nap.
When we woke up, we took some time to explore the area around our campsite (find the latrine). Then we struck out onto the misty lake to find some active fish. We put our leeches to work at the end of some home-made spinner rigs. I picked up a 28 inch pike. Ben landed a decent largemouth bass. We fished the shorelines close to camp until we got hungry, then headed in for a dinner of macaroni and cheese. That evening we stayed out fishing until almost dark, catching a releasing numerous fish. There would be no campfire tonight. We were both pretty beat when we got back to camp and went right to bed.
We woke up the next morning to a foggy Disappointment Lake. Got lots of great computer wallpaper shots with the digital camera. After a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee/hot chocolate, we headed out onto the lake. With the overcast skies, the smallmouth action was hot. We kept a few for the stringer. Later we went in for some smallie shore lunch with fried potatoes and onion. After cleaning up, we just relaxed around camp. Ben whittled some spears from long branches he’d picked up on a wood run. Later he took out the canoe solo and just paddled around the shallows. I was entertained by the pine squirrels cutting down and gathering pinecones and stashing them in the trees behind our tent. They were not the least concerned about the new neighbors and just went on about their business as if we weren’t even there. We also had a snapping turtle pop up several times to check things out.
For dinner we had B-Dub pizza – a recipe I’d seen on BWCA.com. It was a big hit! Later, as we headed back out for some more fishing, a couple of gentlemen with thick southern accents paddled up in a loaded canoe. They were dragging tail and looking for a place to setup camp. I steered them over to the site we had passed on a day earlier. I wished them luck. I knew their chances weren’t good. We had seen some canoe traffic earlier in the day on that side of the lake.
That evening, the still conditions were perfect for fishing top water baits. I had purchased a couple of new poppers just for this occasion. The bass could not resist. Ben landed a nice 16.5 incher off a rock pile near the island closet to our campsite - his largest smallmouth ever. I had a huge smallmouth spit the hook after going airborne. My son and I both became big top water fans after this trip. We fished until dark and then headed into camp. We enjoyed some nice conversation around the campfire. We talked about school and girls and baseball and bats! The bats were very active during this trip, zigzagging between trees and branches, sometimes passing within inches of us. We listened in silence at times to the sounds of the night. The loons were especially vocal this evening. Later I doused the coals and we retired to the tent for the night.
After breakfast the next morning, we headed back out onto the water. The weather had changed – the sun was shining. This forced us to fish the shade along the eastern shoreline. The fishing was noticeably slower. We decided to do some exploring instead. We found a marker someone had erected in a north east bay. It was a long pole anchored in a rock base. Paddling up to it, we got out and stretched our legs. This bay was chock full of lily pads and minnows. Every so often, hundreds of minnows would suddenly break the surface of the water, probably trying to escape a predator. The sky was almost completely clear now. We made our way back to camp for lunch.
After lunch we decided to take a little afternoon trip. We portaged into Ahsub Lake, paddled through Jitterbug and then walked the portage to Adventure. I snapped a couple of pictures of Ben goofing around on a rock and we decided at that point to head back. Ben wanted to do some late afternoon fishing. It sounded good to me. We both wanted another chance at a big smallmouth. I took a quick swim when we got back. The campsite had a nice gravel bottom wading area that dropped off quickly to deep water. Ben rinsed off with a sunshower.
After a spaghetti dinner, we headed back out to the island and rock pile where Ben had caught his all-time best smallmouth. As the sun got lower in the sky, the fishing heated up. We had swirls or strikes on nearly every cast. As we came around the north side of the island, Ben cast his popper next to a large rock. There was a large boil in the water and the popper disappeared. Ben set the hook and after a seesaw battle royale, landed an 18 inch smallmouth - a new all-time best. After a quick picture the fish was released. Ben was pumped! Soon the sun began to set and we headed back into camp. That night, our last night, we sat by a crackling campfire under a starry sky reliving the events of the previous days. Later, as the fire burned down, the northern lights danced faintly across the sky…a memorable BWCA night. Eventually we crawled into the tent and fell asleep.
The next morning we slept in. It was another still and sunshiny morning. After breakfast we tore down camp and packed up. I setup the timer on the camera and took a group photo, then with the canoe loaded we shoved off. Looking back at our campsite, I had that sinking feeling that I always get when a BWCA trip is winding down - sorry to leave but thankful for the experience. As we paddled across a glassy Disappointment Lake, two loons did a belly slide landing nearby, joining four others already on the water. They all began fishing together. We portaged into Snowbank Lake and found our way back to the entry point canoe landing. Once all the gear was loaded up on the vehicle, we drove towards Ely. After stopping for lunch at the Ely Steak House, we headed for home. As the Ely water tower disappeared behind us, I reached over and shook my son’s hand, congratulating him on completing his first BWCA trip. I told him maybe we could do it again some time. “Dad, we ARE coming back next year, right?” he said.
The planning has already begun.
- Snakecharmer
