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Wes44
member (41)member
  
03/11/2019 12:39PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Hi, I'm a Midwest transplant who's now a conservation advocate in Oregon. I'm taking a sabbatical and considering a solo BWCAW trip. I've done a number of trips in the past and have a good understanding of what I'm getting into & my own personal limits.

I'm eyeing the first two weeks of June for a 5-10 day trip. I understand every year is different, but generally speaking, how is that time of year for biting bugs? If it's nightmare season, I might try to do a shorter trip in the fall.

Also, if anyone has route suggestions, I'd take those too. I'm willing to put in the portage work to get away from crowds and wouldn't mind a base-camp day(s). I really prioritize solitude, wildlife, and scenery in that order. I'd like to do a little fishing, but I don't need much more than a weedy bay to cast for pike and smallmouth. I'm not wedded to a particular area and the Quetico is definitely in play.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Canoeit
member (31)member
  
03/11/2019 01:34PM  
my first trip to the BWCA was the 2nd week of june. The biting bugs were relentless. I believe they were black flies. that being said the weather was pretty good,some rain some sun. Chilly mornings turned into mild afternoons. Overall great trip and the fishing was really good. Just be prepared for the black flies. early to mid September is beautiful weather with almost no bugs.
inspector13
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03/11/2019 01:44PM  
Wes44: "I'm eyeing the first two weeks of June for a 5-10 day trip. I understand every year is different, but generally speaking, how is that time of year for biting bugs? If it's nightmare season, I might try to do a shorter trip in the fall.
Thanks in advance!"

That is pretty much peak for ticks and mosquitoes. Black Flies are on the wane some years, but deer flies, horse flies, and stable flies aren’t bad yet.

flynn
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03/11/2019 02:29PM  
In the first week of June last year, around the Knife/Kekekabic/Ima/Ensign area, the mosquitoes were annoying for about an hour in the morning until it warmed up enough for the dragonflies, and about an hour and a half in the evening (8:30pm to 10pm, maybe 9pm to 10:30pm). Skeeters have always loved me but with closed shoes, loose fitting pants, layered clothes with shirts tucked in, and a jacket, I only really had to worry about my neck and head. I used picaridin and it worked so much better than DEET has _EVER_ worked for me. They legitimately stayed away. When the skeeters were really bad on Ima around 9:30pm, I had my rain jacket on with the hood up, and they were trying to fly in at my face. I had to walk around in circles while eating my dinner in order to avoid them. They mostly vanished around 10:30-11pm but when they were bad they were pretty bad. Like I said though, skeeters have loved me my whole life, and I feel like they could have been a good bit worse than they were, overall. (Hope I didn't just jinx my early June trip this year).

We saw no black flies, and bees and horse/deer flies were pretty minimal even on warm sunny days when a lot of flying insects seemed to be everywhere you looked, even on the water. I didn't have much of an issue avoiding being bitten however and I don't even think I got bitten once by a fly. I did come home with about a dozen mosquito bites though, not including the ones that healed during the course of the trip!

Wear lots of clothes to prevent bites, use picaridin (read up, good stuff, and safe), and just hope that you miss the black flies. Mosquitoes will be bad from early June through July and into August so it's mostly a gamble for when they'll be especially bad.
03/11/2019 03:39PM  
A lot of times it depends on the particular Lake. I've had bad insect problems in June and no insect problems in June. So many factors. Probably want to decide soon so you have a better chance of getting the EP you want
03/11/2019 04:13PM  
In a nutshell if you are concerned about bugs September is a much better choice.
flynn
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03/11/2019 04:29PM  
minnmike: " In a nutshell if you are concerned about bugs September is a much better choice."


You do make other concessions though, like fishing not being as good, and the days are much shorter than in June. We did have much less wind overall for my mid-Sept trip but we still had some windy days. Both times of year provide different experiences. I don't like bugs but I consider the benefits of early June to make dealing with them worth the effort. Solitude (sorta), cold water, and good fishing.
Wes44
member (41)member
  
03/11/2019 05:01PM  
Thanks everyone!

I'm afraid you are collectively confirming my fears (but not quite enough yet that I'm ready to walk away from the June date).

Are permits competitive already competitive at the beginning of June? Also, though I'm sure there are lots of threads with route suggestions, I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for the route?

Again, I'm looking at 5-10 days, willing to put in the portage work to get away from crowds but I don't want to put in miles for the sake of miles. A day or three in a base camp would be great. In order, I prioritize solitude, wildlife, and scenery. The Quetico would be fine!

Thanks again, I really appreciate all the insight!
Michwall2
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03/11/2019 05:58PM  
In the BW - Entry 37: Kawishiwi Lake. Head north to Malberg and the west to the Amber, Beaver, Adams, Boulder area. Very little visited part of the BW. Last fall we took a short detour to Amber Lake and discovered a beautiful sand beach campsite. Looked like a great spot to spend a few days. Visit the pictographs on Fishdance. Daytrip to Alice to fish on a calm day.

You could also keep going north out of Malberg to Kivaniva, Pan, and Makwa.

I have one word to say about the bugs-permethrin.

Have a great trip.
03/11/2019 07:00PM  
Wes, I have the following comments about your post and potential trip:

* Glad you have the interest and drive to take the trip. No matter what i am sure it will be a rewarding experience

*I tripped in late June back in the 1980s...haven't taken a june trip since. The bugs were absolutely relentless. But having said that we were young and unprepared, sat around in shorts and t shirts instead of long pants and long sleeved shirts. Insect repellent is infinitely more effective these days too. Permethrin wasn't around then, or at least I wasn't aware of it. Helps a lot. If you end up going then a small lightweight bug shelter could be worth its weight in gold for a safe haven.

*Going the first two weeks in June I would expect the bugs to be ramping up but not at their worst. Mosquitoes and black flies will be the offenders, biting flies come later on. Especially if spring is a bit late. Bring a headnet.

*Don't know how much if any flexibility you have on trip dates but mid August is to me, the sweet spot as far as conditions go. Generally more stable weather with warm days and coolish nights, bugs are anywhere from mildly annoying at dawn and dusk, to not a factor at all, water is warm, daylight hours are still pretty long. The downside is it is a busy time for exactly the reasons i mentioned above. But being solo you can canoe as short or as long of days as you wish and will not need the Taj Majal campsite that will sleep seven. Another plus, blueberries and raspberries are often still around.

*September can be a great time but days are shorter, water is cooler and there is definitely a possibility of more weather extremes, depending on when you go. Bugs are very likely a minor factor at that point.

*As far as routes, the difference between 5 and 10 days is huge. But michwall's suggestion of entering at Kawishiwi and heading up to Malberg is a good one. From there options exist to go west, north or east including some nice loops. This is an area, north of Malberg, that is one of the more remote areas of the BWCA so if you happen to go at a busy time you still might find some solitude. You can be on Malberg in one good day and from there the options are many.

Have a great trip



GraniteCliffs
distinguished member(1981)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/12/2019 12:24AM  
You should check out the solo forum. Lots of solo perspectives. And experience
mjmkjun
distinguished member(2885)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/12/2019 12:41AM  
BWCA in Autumn will charm you. The colors changing, the warmth of a campfire to ward off the nip in the evening or morning air. Comfortable day temps to paddle and hardly sweat.
The final word is, it's full of wholesome paddling, fulfilling, fun, challenging stuff at either time of year. There are people out paddling as long as the weather holds out and then after lakes freeze over there are folks that drag a sled to camp and fish. Some lakes are just as busy in September as July or August.

'Trip Reports' section offers lots of insights and pointers. Read several pages and search for a particular route/lakes you may be interested in doing. Try differing words and set of words on your queries. Utilize the "Search" feature.

Burpy bake bim
Guest Paddler
  
03/12/2019 09:22AM  
Dont let everyone talk you out of a first week of june trip. The bugs will be much worse by the first week of july.... In june it will be cool enough to wear long sleeves most or all of the day.

Try stuart river entry for superb solitude.
Grandma L
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03/12/2019 10:59AM  
minnmike: " In a nutshell if you are concerned about bugs September is a much better choice."

Yup, says it all. September or even second half of August would be my choice! As for Route - I would do the Border. In Moose River North or Little Indian Sioux North - heading east over to Fall Lake or Moose Lake. See the pictographs, and all the great waterfalls. Not too busy if you are after Aug. 15. Some schools start early and their staff have to be back even earlier.
Wes44
member (41)member
  
03/12/2019 11:12AM  
Thank you again everyone! I appreciate all the thoughts - including tips on where these questions have already been answered on the message boards. I've been lucky enough to do fall trips in the past and agree that it can't be beat!

I'm back on the thread one more time to see if I can squeeze a little more information out of this great community!

I *might* be able to get out there a week or so earlier. That means the trip would overlap with Memorial Day. Any thoughts on the probability that biting bugs would be sufficiently better? And/or if the Memorial Day crowds would be overwhelming?

...and to be clear, yeah 5-10 days is a lot of variance. I guess I'm more interested in the top end. Say 8-9 days. I understand that trip suggestions are better found elsewhere but I'll take all the advice I can get.

Thanks again all!
lundojam
distinguished member(2726)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/12/2019 04:16PM  
Go when you can go and hope for the best. I've only had one trip truly ruined by bugs and that was in July. Take precautions, go to bed when the skeeters come out, and wear real clothes that cover you up, especially your ankles. That's the worst. The bugs are part of it, though, and frame of mind is probably the most important thing when coping with those MFers.
03/12/2019 04:57PM  
Wes-

As far as routes, a lot depends on how far you are willing to travel, whether you double or single portage, or if you are willing to shuttle to one entry and exit at another. Eight to nine days opens up a lot of possibilities. I would concur on EP #37 - I have done several different trips from there and there are a lot of possibilities. You can do longer and shorter trips. I have trip reports on a couple of them - 2014 and 2016 - that you might want to read for some ideas. You could also do some loops out of Cross Bay #50 and the two entries out of Round Lake - Missing Link #51 and Brant #52. Round Lake and Cross Bay are a short walk apart - less than a mile I think - so you can start at one, exit at the other.

You could also do trips between Kawishiwi and Sawbill - like the 2014 trip - with a shuttle. You could do several different variations of that route. Once you go beyond a day or so of travel from those entries, especially over a couple of long/difficult portages, the crowd gets a lot thinner.

Read some reports, look at the maps, throw out some ideas, and get some feedback.
WHendrix
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03/12/2019 05:19PM  
I've been going the first week in June for several years and have had mixed luck with the bugs. This year we are going in on June 13 and I'm expecting the bugs to be a problem. I have found that they are not too bad during the day, especially if you are out on the lake fishing. We have been taking a Nemo Bugout the last few years and that has helped enormously for the times we were in camp. Two years ago was especially bad when we were on Basswood and had to stay in camp nearly every afternoon because of thunder storms. It's something you might want to look at.
Duckman
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03/12/2019 07:49PM  
I don’t normally smoke cigars, but when in the Bdub that time of year, I smoke Oliva serie v’s.

Very good bug repellant. My favorite time is sunset and the first hour of night when the loons go crazy. A good cigar that takes a while to finish is perfect for all sorts of reasons.
gravelroad
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03/16/2019 06:06PM  
Wes44: "I *might* be able to get out there a week or so earlier. That means the trip would overlap with Memorial Day. Any thoughts on the probability that biting bugs would be sufficiently better? And/or if the Memorial Day crowds would be overwhelming?"


You'll need an entry permit for your trip and you'll need a recreation.gov account for that. So, if you haven't signed up yet, do that now. Then you can see which permits have been taken already and which are still available. That allows for some mid-March speculating about crowds:



Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Permits
 
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