BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 26 2024
Entry Point 39 - Baker Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1497 feet
Latitude: 47.8452
Longitude: -90.8169
Summary: A 5-day loop from Baker up the Temperance lakes to Cherokee, and back through Sawbill and Smoke lakes back to Baker. A fairly difficult trip.
Day 0: We drove up from Stillwater in the morning and camped at one of the 5 walk-in campsites at Baker Lake, and it was nice.
Day 1 (Baker to S. Temperance) - A beautiful day, we decided to paddle all the way to South Temperance the first day which was a great paddle with easy portages except for the last one. We picked the campsite on top of a huge rock that was close to the middle of the lake. Tried fishing some but no luck
Day 2 (Rest) - In the night, we encountered the worst storm of the entire season. While we were there 19 people had to be rescued from the BWCA. We had about 50mph straightline winds, and I'm still surprised that the huge tent we had stood up to it. We slept in and took a rest day because of the intense winds. Amazingly beautiful sunset.
Day 3 (S. Temperance to Cherokee) - We left as early as we could to beat the heat, but it was no good. The lengthy, hilly portages were challenging and by the last portage we were pretty beat. We overpacked and single portaged which led us to speedier exhaustion. Still amazing weather. North Temperance was a beaut- I wish we had stayed there instead of South. We took the southeasterly facing campsite on Cherokee on the southeastern skinny island. Neat little site.
Day 4 (Cherokee to Sawbill) - Left a little later in the day but it was ok. We took our time going down the river letting out of the southwest part of Cherokee and it was a great area. BEWARE: The area between Ada and Skoop Lakes appears to be floatable, but a dam built recently has made the portion impossible to float. Be prepared for a long portage through muck and water. A guy that we saw there said he had been going to the BWCA for 40 years at least once per year and it was the worst portage he had ever seen. By the time we got to Sawbill it was pretty hot. We paddled all the way down to the site next to the portage onto Smoke.
Day 5 (Sawbill to Baker) - Cooler, cloudier weather for the first time on the trip. We were pretty hungry (I underpacked food a little and I felt really bad) and we were taunting each other with vivid descriptions of the burgers we were going to eat ASAP after getting out. We paddled back to Baker and returned our gear to Sawtooth outfitters.
Overall great route.
Smoke Lake - July 2009
Entry Date:
July 28, 2009
Entry Point:
Sawbill Lake
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
7
The old timers woke up around 5:30. Got rest of kids up by seven to go watch the "Leave No Trace" video and got our permits. Started paddling at 9:00. Moved our way up Sawbill lake. CJ, Austie, and Jaron were lighter, so they were always the lead. They came across a cow moose along the west shoreline. As we made our way up the lake the first campsite was full. Then the second and third spots were full. 4,5,6, and 7 were full also. All spots filled and one ended up getting filled by a group that passed us. [paragraph break]Decided to take the bog/river down to Smoke Lake. Started our journey at noon we didn't make it to Smoke Lake until 3:30. I would never suggest this route to anyone unless looking for an adventure. An 18 1/2 foot canoe fully loaded with twists and turns, beaver dams, downed trees, and three feet of mud. Got to one point we had to portage around a bend due to down trees. Broke out the head nets and Chuck decided to walk the bank as best he could. But like they say what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. By the time we got out, CJ had caught the first smallie of the trip and picked up his dad (who made it out on foot faster than we could with the canoe).[paragraph break] All sites were full on Smoke, but we were lucky enough that someone was just leaving. Finally set up camp and made steak and baked potatoes for supper. Needless to say we crashed early this night without fishing. 
CJ woke up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break, when he heard a slow thumping noise and he could see a bull moose in a clearing roughly 30 yards from our site. We woke up and had bacon and eggs for breakfast. Afterwards we started to explore and fish the lake. Got out just a little bit and decided to split up around the island. When we came around the corner of the island we could see a storm heading directly at us. There was no time to tell CJ and Jaron of the storm, so Jake and myself headed back to camp as fast as we could and made it just as the storm unloaded. CJ and Jaron found shelter on the island. Had ramen noodles for lunch, warmed everybody up from the cold rain. [paragraph break]Decided to try fishing in the afternoon, split up again meeting on the opposite side of the island. Jake caught a smallie and I caught a walleye and lost a northern and smallie at the canoe. CJ caught a smallie. We had chicken, corn, and Scalloped Potatoes for supper. Fire was hard to maintain due to the dampness of the wood. 
Got up around 6, CJ and myself headed out across the foggy lake. Sun looked mysterious as we headed across the lake trolling. CJ caught a small walleye before we even got to the island. Made our way back to the inlet and changed our tactics. CJ caught a smallie and I caught one seconds later. Then came CJ's biggest smallie of the trip and at the time he was fulfilled. Could see the kids were up, so made our way back to camp and made breakfast burritos. Decided we kinda had an idea what we were doing, so we took all the kids and Chuck out fishing after breakfast. [paragraph break]Could start to see that Joe was getting home sick, and I thought I had better get him on some fish and quick. We changed his rig up and I guided the canoe to set him up on some rocks. Wasn't a couple of minutes and he had a nice smallie on his line, until the line snapped because the drag was set too tight. Fixed the drag and rigged him back up. Within a small window of time Joe had caught a walleye and his first northern. Joe was on cloud nine, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Chuck simultaneously had a smallie on his line, which was lost at the boat (another drag issue). Austie had is pole bent over and then line snap (another drag issue). Came back to camp for hot dogs, brats, and Mac an Cheese. My buddy Joe did the dishes for me.[paragraph break]After lunch CJ, Jaron, Jake, and myself took the canoes over to Burnt Lake. CJ/Jaron made it into the bay before Jake and me, but by the time we were there, they were both reeling in northerns. CJ's was a little over 24 inches, but Jaron's was huge. He got it up to the boat and yes the drag was set too tight. The northern rolled and snapped the line, he was gone. Estimate the northern was close to 40 inches with about a 10 inch diameter head. Too bad no picture to go with it. Trolled al little more with no luck and then a storm rolled in. Headed back ot camp.[paragraph break] Note on the portage (90 rods) between Smoke and Burnt, this was the first time Jake has helped carrying the canoe. It was tough on him but he made it both times. Came back to camp, cleaned the northern and had a fish fry, with hamburgers, green beerns, and mashed taters. Did happen to go to fish remains and catch a huge crow and turkey vulture munching on the carcasses. Tried fire again but had to use stove to finish dinner. 
Rained all night long and woke up to the howling wind. Ran down to check on the canoes, and everything was OK. Went up to make Chuck and myself a cup of coffee and ran out of gas. Started checking the forecast for the next 24 hours and found that it was not going to get much better. Started discussing the different options, when CJ woke up and stated he had two wet sleeping bags. The decision was made to pack up and head out today. The wind wasn't going to die down, firewood was wet, and wet sleeping bags, sounded like a recipe for disaster if we stayed. Made our way across the lake with the waves just under the gunwales of the canoe. My butt was puckering. Got through the portage and made the same trip down Sawbill. Took 3 hours from once we left the campsite to get everything in the truck and be on the road. Made it back to Illinois by 10 pm.
Things to note on this trip. Keep firewood dry 