BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
May 06 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!
Solo Disappointment
Entry Date:
September 06, 2022
Entry Point:
Snowbank Lake
Number of Days:
3
Group Size:
1
Light dinner in camp. Went down to the lake to watch the sunset and smoke a cigar. Also enjoyed a Guinness in a bottle. Cigar was Connecticut NUB. Flavor came out at the end, which is different. Or it could be that I started eating peanut butter M&Ms with the cigar. Good combo.
Day One Woke at 6 am. Cleared camp by 7:10. Met the outfitter, ride to entry point at 8 am. Shoved off at 8:15. Felt hurried by the guy giving me a ride, even though he was nice as can be. Seems like he wanted to wait until I shoved off. I should have let him go and regrouped. Once I left the dock, I realized my cell phone was in my pocket and nothing was tied down. Even my wallet was still in my pocket. Paddling on the biggest lake, worried I would tip and the whole trip would end right there.
Paddled across Snowbank. Got lost a couple times but hugged the shore and found the portage to Disappointment. Was able to rework the equipment on dry land. I had a large Granite Gear Pack and a small bear barrel from Voyagers North for my food. First run hard on my neck. It was shorter than expected (good). I carried both packs together with the barrel on my front and the pack on my back. Next time I’ll just make three trips.
Pushed off into Disappointment at 10:30.
One hour paddle, got lost twice. Found a great campsite. Think I’ll stay here for two days. They even left wood for me. Great fireplace sheltered from the wind off the lake.
Good thing I took that site as three more groups came behind me eyeballing the site. Very busy up here.
Started a fire at 4 pm to get some hot coals for cooking my steak. The wood left from the last group was too green and did not burn very well. I found enough small stuff to keep the fire going for a couple hours. Steak and mashed potatoes pretty good meal for the BWCA.
I would not have an outfitter do my meals again. They gave me way too much food and too much cooking equipment. I could have easily packed some light dry food like beef jerky, cheese and crackers and been just as happy. And way less to carry.
One of my lunches was supposed to be peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They packed a whole loaf of bread, a small jar of peanut butter and a full plastic bottle of jelly. Each lunch had a full tube of Pringles potato chips. For one guy!
Hit the sack early. The night started hot but got cold eventually. Woke up at midnight and put the hoodie back on. Woke up at 3 am and out pants on. This is the last time I’m using a sleeping “bag.” They are really hard to sleep in. Can’t move around, spread your legs. Have to research other solutions. My friend Mike has something he sewed together. Might be heavier but worth it.
Fog on the water at 7:30 am. Made myself hot chocolate and ate peanut butter M&Ms for breakfast. The outfitter packed me a bagel with cream cheese and an apple. I ate the apple for lunch. Next time I bring my own food.
Went for a paddle Wed morning around 9 am to look for the hiking trail. Got lost again (the map does not show every inlet and bay so I keep going down dead ends).
Went to the portage into Ashub looking for the hiking trail and couldn’t find it. Everything is overgrown.
When I came back there were people in my camp. I could hear hammering and as I got closer realized it was two women from the Forest Service replacing my fire grate. We had a nice visit and I got some intel on where I can access the hiking trail tomorrow on my way out from Parent Lake.
Went for a swim around 3:30. Water was surprisingly warm. Wednesday afternoon was absolutely gorgeous on the lake. No wind, sunny, warm. Only issue is there is a camp site right around the corner and I can hear talking. So much for being alone.
Speaking of being alone, there is a chipmunk in this camp who obviously has been fed by other campers. He is not afraid of me and keeps coming right into my area looking for food. Some will say “cute!” I say leave me alone. Wish I had a BB gun.
As far away as the BWCA is from civilization, the one noise you still hear is airplanes overhead. Really high altitude but you can still hear them and sometimes see them.
It always takes me until the second day away to get peace. This trip it happened at 4 pm on Wed after my swim. Everything calmed down and became very peaceful. Until then, I was going through the motions, still a little anxious. Enjoyed a really good cigar after dinner waiting for it to get dark so I could see the famous BWCA stars. Turns out the moon was so bright it drowned out the stars.
Tomorrow I begin the long journey home from this remote campsite. Paddle across Disappointment Lake, find the portage to Parent. Plan to find the hiking trail and do a hike. The nice thing is you can leave all your gear on shore. No one is going to steal anything up here. Then portage into Snowbank and paddle back to Entry Point 27 for my 4 pm pick up. Then a half hour ride back to my car. Then the 4 hour drive home from Ely. Looking forward to my own bed (and bathroom!).
Wind did not die down and clouds formed overhead so I decided to hit the lake at 11:30. Wind picked up and it was hard to keep the bow headed into the waves. Got some relief from an island but it was hard paddling all the way across Disappointment north to south.
The Wenonah solo canoe was awesome. Really light for portaging and easy to paddle with the kayak paddle I brought. A little tippy when there was no gear in it. More like a kayak.
It was calm in the south side of Disappointment. I checked out the campsite near the portage - very nice but you’d have traffic going by all day to and from the portage.
Took the 85 rod portage into Parent thinking it would easier paddling in the smaller lake and worth the extra portage. Was I wrong! Parent was bigger than I remembered and there was a huge wind right in my face. I waited 30 minutes to see if it would calm down and then set out. Toughest paddling yet. Two-foot waves. Paddled hard to move and harder to keep the bow into the waves. If I got sideways, I would have capsized for sure. Had to paddle straight into the waves across the lake and then tack back to the portage entrance. Half hour of hard paddling.
Took the portage into Snowbank and it was calm! Outfitter told me Snowbank has more hills surrounding it to break up the wind than Parent. Relatively easy paddle across Snowbank to the landing. Arrived at 3:25 for my 4:00 pickup.
It was a great solo trip and I’m glad I checked this off my list, but next time I will invite friends.