Wondering if more folks than not, that do one or two annual trips, go the same route and hit mostly the same lakes. I am starting to find I am now planning on going in at EP14 or 16 every year now as I know the lakes, sites and mainly the fishing spots now. Am I boring and lazy?

Are you boring or lazy? I doubt it. Anyone who travels the BWCA cannot be called either. Simply getting a trip organized takes work. Committing to put your paddle in the water and move about the BWCA to travel or fish is work. On the other hand, we are creatures of habit. There is something to be said for learning a set of water well enough so that when you want a tried and true trip experience you know where to head. That is not boring, it is wisdom. If you are feeling the need for more thrill, bring someone new to the BW and put them on one of your favorite fishing holes and watch their eyes light up when they catch the biggest walleye or northern they have ever had on or simply catch their supper.

Also, the same old trip is seldom exactly the same. The BW is changing all the time. Water levels rise and fall. Beaver dams come and go. Storms rearrange campsites and portages. Fires ravage the countryside. Last year, I went through the Lady Lakes route for about the fourth or fifth time in my tripping years. There are places there that are not even close to being the same as the first or second trip through. Fire, beaver dams, wind, etc. have all changed the experience.

On the other hand, more often than not, I love getting out on new water and testing my route finding skills and learning new territory. Learning new water takes time and effort. But, that is what these cabin fever days of the year are for. I think I will find a new route this year. It is about time for me to get a map of a new area and start marking and researching a couple new routes.

Since I had been away from the BW for a lot of years, we have started trying new routes each year just to get familiar with places again or to see new places. But there is something to be said for the same lakes since the planning process is simplified and the navigational demands are minimized.

We try and change it up every year. Always leaving off the Gunflint, but different EP's and routes.

We do need to get to the Ely side for a change.

I'm always looking for something different; even if I use the same entry, at least part of the route will be different. I'm a traveler, not a base camper. I'm not a fisherman either. I'm usually solo, maybe 1-2 others, so campsites aren't that big a deal. Researching different areas and planning new routes is part of the fun for me.

Neither way is right or wrong, just an individual preference. Do what works for you.

If you've never been to the east side, you might want to consider doing one off the Gunflint Trail or Sawbill Trail.

I used to do just like you for my family trip with dad, cousins, uncles, EP 16 and up north to fish LLC, Iron, Agnes, etc. Now we are broadening our trips and plan to hit Ensign, Knife, Kek and that area this year. I used to think it might be hard to find the fish when trying new places, but I’ve learned that it’s not. There’s fish all over and you’re going to find them if you spend a few hours on the water. On my solo trips I try to get to new places, seldom traveled places every time I’m out. I definitely wouldn’t call what you do lazy or boring...it’s your trip/vacation, do what you want. Plus, it’s hard to fault you for your choices, that west end is probably my favorite segment of the whole BWCA. I could spend a whole summer in the lakes just south of LLC (Finger, Beartrack, Eugene, Gene, Hustler).

We’d probably be doing the EP 16 loop every year if I didn’t take over as the trip planner a few years back. My group is pretty laid back and doesn’t much care where we go as long as there’s fish and fun.

Tony

I've never done the same trip twice. Ely, Gunflint, Sawbill areas.....I've tried them all. I have launched from same entry point, but then changed the route/loop. I've overlapped some parts of routes after launching from a different e.p........but never the same exact route. I have camped a few times at some favorite sites, but I also like to look for new favorites. I like to see new country.

The only time I've ever done the same route it was about 10 years apart and it was a large loop we did the opposite direction.

We make it a point to try new areas. I understand the finding fishing spots and knowing what to expect but we like the adventure. It's all new territory, fun finding new fishing spots, cliffs, etc. This year will be my wife's 5th trip and she's never seen the same lake from a prior trip and she loves that.

If I want to fish spots I know, we'll take the boat to the cabin and fish the spots my Grandpa has been going to for 50 years. We see the BW as more exploration and scenery.

We tend to do variations on a theme and the variations are often small. I like what Michwall said about it never being the same. I call it traveling in the fourth dimension. If you always go to new areas then you don’t see the changes over time.

Also, we are seeking renewal more than adventure and being in our favorite places contributes to that emotional healing.

Any BWCA trip is special for me as I drive all the way from Washington DC. I like the point of its never the same, and I have yet to travel/trip the same week, and this year will be my first July trip. I think 2020 I will try the west end, but will go with my "same ole" this year, with hitting a few different lakes though.

So far no trip I've been on has been a clone of a previous trip. A couple trips have shared portions of the routes, like last summer's Red Rock loop involved Seagull, Alpine, Sag, and Gull which were also traveled in '08 when we went to Thunder Point via the South Arm and then back along the border to Sag.

A buddy who goes to the Q will do essentially the same trip whenever they go, not certain of the route other than they go in Beaverhouse and then paddle about 15 miles to their destination lake where they camp at the same campsite they've been going to forever. They're there for the fishing though. I go for the sights.

cowdoc: "I've never done the same trip twice. Ely, Gunflint, Sawbill areas.....I've tried them all."

NO WONDER you win the "Name that lake" contest all the time! LOL :)

I haven't replicated a route yet, but I did go into Knife on both trips last year, first trip being a loop in through Birch and out through Splash (visiting Kekekabic mostly) and second trip in through Birch and out through Birch (visiting Cherry and NAK). I will actually be heading up through Moose for a few days of fishing around the third week of May, but my big trip this year will be through EP16, a new one for everyone in the group except one guy which is kinda cool because it gives us a little context for what to look out for and when to stop and whatnot. I really do like the Knife area and I think I'll choose that for short-ish trips or to get newbies acquainted, because it's pretty quick and easy to get to with a tow, and there's great fishing, beautiful clear water, and beautiful rolling hills.

Overall though I don't want to replicate a route exactly because there is just SO much to see, and so little free time to see it, that I want to explore all that the BWCA/Q has to offer. Probably will be doing my first Q trip with 2 friends next year up the Falls Chain to Kawnipi. I will be very excited for that one.

We all go to the BWCA for different reasons. Going the same route can over time give you the feeling of being home again each time you visit and their is value and appeal in that. If it makes your time in the BWCA more enjoyable then thats awesome.

Others have the desire to see new places and to see whats around that next bend so they change it up and look for new places all the time. If thats what they like than thats also awesome.

I'm somewhere in the middle of the 2. I mainly go to check out of the rest of the world for a while but that can be done any many different kind of trips so.

No matter what you do as long as it works for you and its how you get the most enjoyment out of the time you have in the BWCA then thats all that matters.

cowdoc: "I've never done the same trip twice. Ely, Gunflint, Sawbill areas.....I've tried them all. I have launched from same entry point, but then changed the route/loop. I've overlapped some parts of routes after launching from a different e.p........but never the same exact route. I have camped a few times at some favorite sites, but I also like to look for new favorites. I like to see new country."

Same here, but I don't have that many trips under my belt. Once a summer and this will be my 6th summer this year. I just feel like there is too much area to explore to go back to the same place over and over. Though my last trip with going to little sag makes me think that trying that again to get more time in the area to see the rest of the lake would not be a bad idea. I would probably use a different entry point though. It's the same concept where I've done that Brant entrance once and I'd like to try something else.

I have been to same lake for 3 trips now. Fishing is my and my trip partners main goal. I like the fact that I’ve learned the lake and have my go to spots to fish. That being said I felt the need to see new water,so I will be doing a spring trip to a new lake and a fall trip to go to lake.

I sometimes do a "do over" trip on a route I like, but more often lately push to see new territory. One thing I always enjoy is when I'm doing a route that's new, but it crosses into some familiar spots I've been before for a little part of it. Last year I went up LISN for the first time, but the easter end of my loop included Ga-Be and Oyster, which had been the western end of my loop two years ago. Kind of knits the whole place together.

The only route I have repeated is Saganaga to Lake Superior, first time as teen and the second as a co-leader. Parts of some routes I return to, but as part of a new route. I don't have a whole lot of trips left in my future, so I'll be mixing it up to include some places I really wish to return to and some new places along the way.

ThreeRivers: "Wondering if more folks than not, that do one or two annual trips, go the same route and hit mostly the same lakes. I am starting to find I am now planning on going in at EP14 or 16 every year now as I know the lakes, sites and mainly the fishing spots now. Am I boring and lazy?"

What's your go-to Ep 14 route? Been meaning to try that entry point.

This is a great topic, and a struggle for me every year. I fall in love with an area(every area) and want to go back and spend more time learning about it. But there are so many EP's, lakes and routes to take. Plus theres always that dead end lake you had to paddle past that didn't get explored last time. UGH!

I try to go up 2 time per year, and so at least one trip I go somewhere new or at least change up the route or even just reversing a previously do route. I find it amazing how different a trip can be just seeing it coming from the other way. So many options so few able bodied years.

I try to do a different entry point for each trip. Or if I use the same one, go a different route than I have done before. I may go in through Moose lake, but have gone through Birch to Knife, or off to Basswood, or just camped the chain. Plan on going Splash, Ensign route this year with my kids. All have been completely different trips.

I've overlapped a lot of routes but have only done the exact route twice one time, if that makes sense.

Our group does basically the same trip every year... for 20 years. We are stuck in a rut. Last year I suggested we change it up a little. So we went the same route and stayed at a different campsite! We like the routine of fishing the same spots and learning more detail of the area. And seeing the subtle changes year to year. Many years, we also have made a second trip and checked out other areas and entry points, mostly Quetico.

Back in 2012 I took my family on their first ever BW trip. My kids were 7-9-11 at the time. We went in #14 LIS North, up through Slim, Steep, Finger, Thumb down to Oyster and came out at #16 Nina Moose I think. We averaged about 6 miles a day. Dad got to carry both canoes and usually go back and get a pack or two. It was a SLOW experience to say the least. My kids named our BW vacations, "survival vacations"

We learned from some mistakes. We made some adjustments for the kids, like bug suits, and we planned another trip.

In 2013 We went to Mudro, up through Beartrap to Sunday, Iron, across Crooked, up the horse River and back out Mudro. It was a little quicker traveling, as the kids were a little bigger and knew what to expect, but Dad still got to at least double portage most of the trip.

Fast forward to 2019. My son graduates this year and for his graduation present, he wants to do both of our previous trips in one gigantic loop. I've sat down and figured out a way to make it happen. We're going to see most of the same country but add a little new country going from Agnes to Iron and then Oyster back to Lower Pauness. He wants to see if him and Dad can do it in the same time it took the family to just do one loop.

This trip will require the most planning and smart packing that we have done. We have to be able to single portage everything to be able to cover the ground that we need to to make his timeline happen. I must admit that 105 miles and 16 miles of portaging, in 7-8 days, doesn't sound like a vacation, but I'm sure that we will be talking about this "survival vacation" for many years to come.

I then get to plan a lazy trip for a first time visitor for the fall. Sadly, I may still go back to the areas that I know.

I’m hoping to get out there. But my right arm is near useless. The rest of me is healing though and my youngest daughter is coming to spend the summer. So I may do an easy for me something. Like a pma or something, haha. But I just change things up for the heck of it. Some of us are getting old enough we can go to the same lake for the first time every time. Haha.
It is amazing though to go into lakes you know and still find things you didn’t know from previous trips. Also coming in from different directions gives a lake a different feel sometimes.
The important thing is you go...

I will be following the same route as last years trips but adding one more lake. Last May was to caribou, July was to Horseshoe, this May either Gaskin or Vista. At 69 and soloing (is that a word?) I like to spend more time exploring the lakes and finding game trails and following them inland rather than portaging. If I feel like fishing or laying about I do that with no pressure to get going and make it to the next mark on the map.
Maybe if I could get my sons and grand kids to do the heavy lifting while feeble old grand dad enjoys the sun I might change my mind.

Merlyn

nofish: "We all go to the BWCA for different reasons. Going the same route can over time give you the feeling of being home again each time you visit and their is value and appeal in that. "

I've been going to the same lake for 46 years. I think i've been there 44 times in that stretch. I've gone other places in the boundary waters, and have liked those trips, but invariably, I miss "home".

I too sometimes feel a little guilty always going to the same place all the time, but if I had a cabin in the north woods, I'm sure I would visit it every year. This one just has nylon sides.

I have so much history on that lake, with my family and friends, that it is a memory trigger for me.

It's certainly not the best fishing lake, but it definitely feels like home.

It's funny how that works. I've been hunting the same land for 17 years, and have no intention of hunting anywhere else. But when it comes to the boundary waters, I always feel like I "should be" seeing more of her. But when it comes time to pull the permit.... it's the same ol' place.




Many of us spend our entire lives with the same man or woman. There are certainly other men and women out there that we could partner with....But there is bond that forms, when you spend so much time with the same person. A love, a wordless communication, an intimacy, that you would never have with a lifetime of one night stands.

When I was in my teens and 20's, it was all about new water, new water, new water. Paddled hard and fast and moved every day. Covered a bunch of it, but there are definitely still some places on the map I haven't been.

Now, in my mid-30's, I find myself wanted a bit of both -- some new water on each trip, with some "old" water, too.

I have never done the same route although I wouldn't be opposed to doing it

Traveling the same route does not mean the same experience. I've been traveling the same route for the past 10 years and I've not grown bored one bit. In fact, I've discovered new things about each lake. I've found new places to fish and new places for photographing plants and flowers and wildlife. Back in my younger days I tried to cover as much ground as possible. I realized you can really see less when you're constantly traveling.