BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 27 2024
Entry Point 45 - Morgan Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 1
Elevation: 1845 feet
Latitude: 48.0008
Longitude: -90.4098
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.
Kawishiwi Lake to Malberg Lake and Others
Entry Date:
June 22, 2020
Entry Point:
Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Days:
6
Group Size:
4
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We made it from Kawishiwi Lake to Lake Polly in about 2 1/2 hours, and another 2 1/2 hours from Polly to Malberg, single portaging. The 20 rod portage between Square Lake and Kawaschong Lake was not necessary and involved just a couple of small beaver dam pullovers. The 11 rod portage was more like a 2 rod mini portage over a massive beaver dam. The 48 rod portage between Polly and Kona can be waded through in either direction but there are several points where you have to pull the canoe over rocks. One of our canoes portaged and got to the end of the portage a couple of minutes before our canoe which we waded and dragged through. We arrived at Malberg Lake around 2 p.m., but it took another hour or more to find a good campsite. We ended up at a great 4 rated campsite on the west end of Malberg across the bay from the 67 rod portage. The landing was a wide sandy beach, there were plenty of trees for tying off tarps, and hammocks, etc. and four or more tent pads. The site had a great fire grate and log seating area, and plenty of shade. This would be an ideal site for a large group. A large brown snowshoe rabbit was seen at the site and was not scared off by these campers. 
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On Tuesday morning, we all took a 5 or 6 hour excursion to Fishdance Lake to see the pictographs there and explore the rest of that lake. That evening our fisherman caught some good small mouth bass and walleyes but since we had already eaten, he did not keep them. On Wednesday, we checked out some other campsites on Malberg, including the highly rated Campsite 1058 on the far east end, which in my opinion was inferior to the far west end Campsite 1042 where we camped.
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On Thursday, we paddled down to Lake Polly and camped at the nice 4 rated Campsite 1081. There were at least three good tent pads, plenty of trees and a good spot for a camp kitchen area. It was worthy of its good rating. There were lots of big boulders for laying out on or viewing the lake from a couple of directions. Our fisherman caught a nice 12" - 15" small mouth bass which we enjoyed as a supplement to our supper. The mosquitoes were swarming at dusk and their humming filled the air, soon to be replaced by frog croaking for most of the night. 
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On Friday, we paddled down to Kawishiwi Lake and camped at Campsite 1006 on the northwest end, which we found most worthy of its 4 star rating. It had a maximum of three tent pads, and a deluxe pit toilet. A grouse was observed walking along the toilet trail, and a larger unidentified animal ran across the trail on another trip. Butterflies were prevalent at this site, and the massive rock sloping bank was ideal for laying out. Our fisherman caught some small mouth bass near the campsite which supplemented our supper. 
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We arose early on Saturday morning and paddled to the landing in 25 minutes and got loaded up for our long drive back to Ely. On the Forest Service road leading out of Kawishiwi Lake, a large moose was seen running along the roadside, and soon after that a bobcat ran across the road. We got back to Voyageur North Outfitters by 9 a.m. and showered and soon started our long trip back to Illinois and Indiana. It was a most enjoyable trip with great weather and great people. Next year's trip is already the object of great expectations. 