BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 26 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!
Isabella to Little Gabbro 2021
Entry Date:
July 25, 2021
Entry Point:
Isabella Lake
Exit Point:
Little Gabbro Lake (33)
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
7
We had planned to go in at Isabella have a nice easy paddle down stream to Bald Eagle lake on day 1. (normally we do 15 or so miles first day so this was going to be easy). We planned to take out at the outfitters in Farm Lake bypassing our scheduled take out point of Little Gabbro, however BWCA had other plans for us.
Day 1 (campsite #1940)
We set out heading west across Isabella lake with a pretty strong head wind in our faces that persisted for the next 3 days. Every single portage was more difficult to land at as the water level was so low many rocks were out of the water that normally would have been well below us. Not the end of the world. As we completed the first portage again into the strong head wind of the river rendering the slow moving downstream current useless. If we stopped paddling we were easily blown back up stream, again such is life when canoeing. As we approached Rice Lake we started having some more issues with the water levels. Well before the lake we started bottoming out in the middle of the river with spots of 3-6" of water. (all reports I have read about Rice Lake say its pretty much pointless to go under normal conditions, I would be willing to say it was impossible to get there under current conditions). From this point on for another mile and a half or so was slow going between pushing the canoe like a Gondola and getting out to push/pull it through the water and mud. 
We did however see a family of River Otters playing in the water up ahead of us about 20 yards, as well as plenty of beavers and eagles so that was great for the kids. Once our impromptu portages were completed we were back on the water so to speak. After about 4 hours on the water we had made little progress to where we had planned to be. Finally we decided to grab a camp that was available just below the last 30 rd portage before Quadga Lake. Reading the campsite reviews prior to the trip I had low expectations as most sites were rated 1-3 stars. The site we grabbed however was actually pretty nice sitting on the corner of a bend in the river. Under ideal conditions this looked like it would be a great fishing spot up and down from the site and we did have a little luck with a couple very small northerns. The site was big enough for 3 three man tents since we were not having a fire and could be close to the grate. Under normal conditions though I would say this was a 2 tent site to be comfortable. Bugs were not bad as we had a nice cross breeze and this is in the burn area from about 10 years ago so not many bigger trees around to shelter from wind. Also made it difficult to find a suitable bear bag tree. Great open sky for star viewing though. 
Day 2 (campsite #1721)
We decided to get an early start before the wind picked up and it worked out great. Hit the water at 0630, perfectly smooth and actually felt a slight bit of the current pulling us along every once in awhile. Our lead boat came around the corner and saw a bobcat in the river, but that was pretty much it for wildlife this morning. We pushed up to Bald Eagle lake and covered both sides of it looking for a suitable base camp. 2 of the sites we looked for were not even able to be found, and yes we were using updated current maps showing them as open. Quite a few other parties on this lake as we arrived about 9 so most were not breaking camp for the day yet. We wanted a site up around the corner leading to Gabbro lake but it was occupied for the 2 nights we stayed on this lake. Fishing was horrible, tried everything in our kit around the entire lake, weed beds (very shallow), deep water and everything in-between. Ironically the best fish caught on this lake was in front of our campsite 18" northern which is still nothing to brag about. Site was sheltered from the westerly wind which was not great for the bugs at night between sunset and cold time but it was survivable. The landing was actually nice with water levels so low it was a semi sandy/rocky beach. Again a suitable bear tree was difficult to find and the latrine was missing a lid so the west wind blew a pleasant smell through the campsite, personally would not recommend this site. 
Day 3
We decided to portage up in to Turtle Lake for a day trip as it was supposedly good for catching some decent northerns. This was not the case. First of all the portage is not great (not the worst by any means) but not great. The landing on the Turtle side was horrible full of mud and rocks. There were some really nice campsites and maybe if the lake had been at full depth would have some great fish but after 5 hours we caught a small perch and a very small bass both of which went back. Needless to say it was not worth the portage.
Day 4-7 (campsite #1707)
We made the decision to abandon Bald Eagle lake and head on up to Little Gabbro and check out fishing in the river on the other end of the portage #665 in to South Kawishiwi River. We again left early to beat the wind but unfortunately the wind picked up early this day so it was yet another day heading into a decently strong head wind while crossing Gabbro. Also worth noting with the low water levels in the middle of the lake while clipping along we suddenly bottomed out on a giant boulder just below the surface. After scouting some campsites we settled on one that was actually very nice. Plenty of room for 3 tents, a nice area we set up with a tarp for shade and rain shelter that had a great view out over the lake and the fire grate would be perfect if able to be used. Worth noting though if you dont want a climb then pass this one yup as its a good 25' up on a rock. Breeze was great and kept bugs very low. Latrine was a hike back into the bush with a slightly sketchy rock that could be slippery but was nicely situated in a clearing which kept bugs at a minimum. Fishing continued to be a problem, not a lack of fish just a lack of sizable fish worth keeping. We did land 4 nice size walleyes, a perch and a decent smally but all the northerns were still very small. Great star gazing from the campsite wide open views of the Milky Way reflecting off the water. 
Ultimately we made the decision that based on the low water conditions, poor fishing and strong head winds to just ride out the remainder of our trip at this site and take out at EP #33. Didnt want to totally crush the kids moral with another day of paddling and trudging through low water, instead we had a nice leisurely paddle 1/2 mile across the lake to the EP portage on Little Gabbro. Despite not one thing going as planned on this trip it was still a week in the BWCA and to me its one of the most amazing magical places around. Granted we would have preferred to keep our planned route, less other parties to encounter, better fishing, quite honestly better views also but such is life. I can say we would not recommend this route to anyone, but in a pinch it worked. Again this is based off of a crazy year so perhaps normal conditions it would be a great route as well.