BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 24 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.
May 2016 Cold and Rain but worth it
Entry Date:
May 28, 2016
Entry Point:
Brule Lake
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
4
We put in at Brule Lake on Saturday May 28th. It wasn't raining so that was a plus. My husband and I are minimalists when it comes to the BWCA. One pack for each, a food pack and day pack for exploration trips. After much thought I decided to put the screen tent in as a surprise for “C and J” just in case the bugs were bad. I have never been so grateful for that one item. The bugs were in full swing. We had one very nice but slightly windy day and took advantage and did some fishing and exploring. The wind picked up so we didn't go too far which was unfortunate because we didn't get much fishing in.
The temps dropped. The winds stayed strong. A very nice man and his dog Zoe pulled up on shore asking if it would be OK to re-position his loaded canoe. It was nice to meet him and his pretty dog. We wished him well and he was on his way. He told us the forecast called for storms the following night. Rain. Cooler temps. Wind. We are outdoor people who don’t skimp on proper gear. I had my base layer, long sleeved heavy warm shirt, zip up hooded jacket, black winter coat and my rain gear coat on my upper half. The lower half I had long underwear, heavier outdoor pants, snow pants and my rain gear bibs on. Oh I also had my winter hat and glove on and my buff to help with the bugs and wool socks and Keens. I was comfortable. “C & J” were not. To be fair, I was starting to feel to chill myself. Did I mention rain? HA…everything was wet. We moved the screen tent back at bit into the shelter of the trees and used the tarps to create a bigger tent of sorts to get out of the rain and wind. That helped for a couple days until the weather radio called out for temps to drop into the 30’s, or low 40’s for sure. After much discussion it was decided to leave the BWCA early. Although it made me sad to leave I am glad we did after watching all the rain go through there after we left. “C & J” didn’t want the trip to end and brought up going to the Dells for the remainder of our trip. My husband and I have never been there and it’s not something that we would ever think to do but life is short…we went and we had such a good time! Best of both worlds. Feels good to know I broadened my horizons. Thanks for reading my report. My husband did a video for me that I love. If you would like to see it click the link or copy into your browser. If it doesn't work, go to YouTube and put in BWCA 2016 and it's under Bob Schultz. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
https://youtu.be/s_bXA7E0vLw
Safe Travels
~Lisa