I’m hoping to get a Moose Lake (EP 25) entry permit this year for the last weekend in June (assuming the permitting issues are resolved by then). I expect that this will be popular time and getting a decent campsite on SAK could be difficult. My plan is to take a tow (yeah, I know that’s cheating in a way) so that we get a head start and improve our odds of getting a campsite. Are there any opinions regarding whether it might best to go in on Saturday morning or Wait until Sunday morning to enter? Am I overthinking this and won’t make a discernible difference what day we enter?

I would enter on Saturday. Never give up a day in the BW on the off chance you might get a better camp when you get to your lake. If the one you get is not what you desired most, if available, move the next day.

Either of those days are probably going to be a bit busy. Not sure it will make a ton of difference, but if it is going to take a day out of your vacation to wait 'til Sunday then go in on Saturday. Take the earliest tow you can get and paddle hard. Figure you make it to Knife in 4 hours, and SAK a few hrs after that. It's a great paddle. With any luck I will be in that same area around that time.

do saturday, you are on vacation. don't worry about the camp site. remove the stress, enjoy your trip.

Im ten hours away and have entered late Saturday afternoon, getting just to around PP for first night. Apparently less tow traffic if it's really as busy at some times as some claim, nice head start, easy fresh food night.

I think the question of when do people vacate campsites. Not sure earlier is better but if around Sucker or Birch, you'd get to SAK at a good time I'd think.

I've entered Knife on a Friday and on a Saturday. There were more people entering on Saturday, but about the same number of people exiting (maybe half a dozen groups?) on both days. The Saturday entry wasn't bad at all. We took a tow to the Sucker-Birch portage and got paddling on Birch at 9:30am, hitting Knife at 1:30pm on the dot. I wouldn't worry too much about campsites; there are many on Knife and a lot of them are decent. Go in Saturday for sure.

flynn: "I've entered Knife on a Friday and on a Saturday. There were more people entering on Saturday, but about the same number of people exiting (maybe half a dozen groups?) on both days. The Saturday entry wasn't bad at all. We took a tow to the Sucker-Birch portage and got paddling on Birch at 9:30am, hitting Knife at 1:30pm on the dot. I wouldn't worry too much about campsites; there are many on Knife and a lot of them are decent. Go in Saturday for sure."

Thanks, Flynn! Do you think making it to Cherry by 3:00 PM is doable if we take the tow in from Moose first thing in the morning?

Pilgrimpaddler: "

flynn: "I've entered Knife on a Friday and on a Saturday. There were more people entering on Saturday, but about the same number of people exiting (maybe half a dozen groups?) on both days. The Saturday entry wasn't bad at all. We took a tow to the Sucker-Birch portage and got paddling on Birch at 9:30am, hitting Knife at 1:30pm on the dot. I wouldn't worry too much about campsites; there are many on Knife and a lot of them are decent. Go in Saturday for sure."

Thanks, Flynn! Do you think making it to Cherry by 3:00 PM is doable if we take the tow in from Moose first thing in the morning?"

I don't know if you read my trip report to Cherry but that is one of the places I went last year! If you get a very early tow, at like 6:30am, then I think you could make Cherry by 3-3:30pm if you pushed it. It took my friend and I about 8 hours to get from the Sucker-Birch portage to the big island in the SAK, double-carrying, checked a few campsites on the way, not dilly-dallying but not hauling it either. I think it would have been about a 9 hour day if we went straight to Cherry through NAK/Little Knife. PP says 7h45m assuming double carrying, 3mph paddle, 2mph portage. I usually pad another 20% to those times (I'd say another hour if it says 7h). That being said, PP says 6h to our campsite on SAK, and it took us 7h45m in reality with a 15min break for snacks once we got to Knife, and checking 3 campsites on the way down to SAK. So...... if you try to limit your break time on Knife, and you have decent paddlers, you can probably hit Cherry in 8-9 hours. If you get a tow at 6:30 and hit the water by 7 (might be 7:10) then with 8 hours that puts you at 3pm. You might be a bit later than that depending on wind but I'd say 3pm is probably the earliest you could get there if you caught a 6:30am tow. I will say the LittleKnife-Amoeber, Amoeber-Topaz, and Topaz-Cherry portages are short and easy, with some tricky landings, but still easy. I really really enjoyed that area. Don't rush too much through it. :)

If you do get up to Cherry, don't miss out on Lake of the Clouds. I ended up not making it up there and am kicking myself for it after seeing photos and looking at a water topo map. It's a huge crater basically. Bring a fishing rod; I read there is some decent laker fishing to be had. The Cherry-Lunar portage is apparently a bit of a bushwhack but worth it.

Flynn:

I did read your trip report - that's what got me thinking about trying to get to Cherry. However, after looking at the map, I wonder if it might be faster to take a tow up Sea Gull to Sag and to American Point and then paddle west into Knife from the west? It looks like at least a couple more weeks until they have the reservation system fixed so I can evaluate my options.

There will be 4 of us in the group - me, my two sons and my son-in-law. My two sons have paddled before and my SIL is "strong like ox" so he should be a good paddler. At the very least we'll have three sherpas and an experienced older guy, so I think we'll be able to move pretty well both on water and land. Still, with only four nights in I want to get in as fast as possible.

Going from American Point to Cherry is definitely faster. PP is showing 5 hours with the same settings as before. You could probably do it in 6, 6.5 tops. The portage from Hanson is reportedly no joke and one of the hardest in the BWCA, so you will want to pace yourselves. Thankfully, you wouldn't have much portaging earlier in the day, so you should have a decent amount of strength to push through it. I actually kind of want to do it, just to see for myself what it's really like. You could get in and out in one day with that route for sure if a tow picks you up at American Point too. I was considering doing a route using Tuscarora Outfitters which probably wouldn't apply to you based on the time you have, but...

* Get driven from Round Lake up to Sag
* Get towed to American Point
* Stay on Cherry, then Ogish, then Lil Sag, then Tuscarora
* Exit on Round Lake

This route is convenient because if your route ends up changing a little, you don't have a pickup time or anything. You can get to Tuscarora Outfitters at 7 or 8pm if that's what ends up happening. I think I will do this route next year or the year after. It covers a lot of area that I want to see.

Best of luck on your trip! I hope to see some photos :)

Lots of good advice. My advice would be to fight for more time. I'm just getting into it on day 4. Get the whole week. Life is short. You certainly won't be regretting it. :)

The worst thing to do is be rushed. The point of a trip like this is to slow down right? Get away from the stress of the normal routine. It sounds like your first day will be very stress filled worrying about getting a site. What if you had 3-4 more nights? Get up there and start chilling on day one. That's the way to go bro. Zen and the art of the canoe trip. Listen to the loons, observe your surroundings, chill on the portages, it's all good.

BTW, I love the quote on your profile page. :)