Hi All!

Headed out of Sawbill for a long weekend but sprained my hand/thumb. My planned loop won’t be happening but limited travel is possible (my partner will portage canoe). Any advice on a spot to base camp that won’t be too crowded?

Normally I could tell you where to go but this year seems different. So many permits taken especially in that area. Maybe smoke or flame.. possibly Kelso. The south end of Alton is normally open. Ella looks off the beaten path. Those would be what I would be looking at if I were you looking to base camp without too much portaging. I would most likely aim for Kelso and take a glance and then if not back track to southern Alton and take a site there. I would also hope for a breeze from the north lol. Short paddle into it and then if needed it can carry me to the south. Then from there if nothing was open you have quite a few lakes that have multiple campsites in a worst case scenario.

Two weeks ago, Baker area was full up and down from EP 39 to temperance area, but sites would open here and there. You just needed to be flexible. A good time was had by all. Or at least I saw no long pusses in canoes heading south back to the EP. :)

Last week, Sawbill was a virtual wilderness Disneyland. The parking lot was memorably full (but cheerful!). It was incredible weather Thursday and anyone with a canoe or kayak was on Sawbill. Everyone just taking it all in it, looking all around at the beauty. It was inspiring to see so many different people all out there to do the same thing - enjoying the wilderness. All that said, I took a friend who had never been canoe-camping, let alone to BWCA, to the fire lakes region Tues - Fri and there were plenty of open sites. In fact, we had Smoke to ourselves for two nights in spite of many canoes passing through south end back and forth between Burnt and Sawbill. Flame's single site had someone there. We spent some time sitting on the shoreline of a site on Burnt having coffee watching all the canoe traffic. Two parties went into Flame and back out, likely sad they didn't score that nice single spot! But there were plenty of open sites on Burnt. The east-facing site on Smoke is great for star-gazing and sunrise. We watched two full-moon rises last week - unbelievable. The west-facing site toward Burnt portage is deep in the cedars and a little too dark for my tastes, but many love it because it's big, with rocks on the shore that let you sit up a lawn chair and watch the sun go down.
The north-east site had tons of blue and raspberries, along with nice fresh piles of steaming ursa-doo so we did not. Someone was in the north-west site when we arrived, and although they left, we never checked it out.

Easy portages in the area (except the glut-burner from Burnt to Kelly, which isn't that bad - it's the Laurentian Divide area so everything is boulder-y and hilly). Fishing in the fire lakes is reportedly nice. I try not to catch either dinner or large pike, so I'm not a good resource for serious fishing advice. Cherokee will be nice for you, maybe not your buddy doing all the portaging but the portages are not that bad. The one along Ada Creek, from Ada to Skoop is muddy but the water is high so that you can line the canoe and walk the mud and rocks to the west of the creek. Lots of sites there, but it is a "destination" lake with pressure from Baker, Brule and Sawbill areas.

Alton - Kelso was well-covered by morris above. Such a pretty area. Walleyes on Sawbill and Alton. Pike in Kelso. Easy portages. Nice sites all over the area. Sawbill lake sites will likely be full unless you grab one as someone is leaving.

My best advice is to hit it early if you're concerned about a site - like, 7am early, you're on the water with the other gunners. 8am is late, and 9am will work for those who walk through life with abundant good fortune. I don't know - it seems like later August starts to die down. UMD is back in school, school sports and band and so forth are starting up. Maybe it will be a little quieter, especially as larger, full-family-with-teenager, base-camping groups start to thin out.

Finally, one last thought. If the trip is not coming together regarding your injury, then consider a base camp right at Sawbill campground. You will have all the comforts of home and can nurse your injury, but still do some incredible day-tripping far and wide throughout the area. It's really incredible - hence its popularity.
Have a wonderful trip - paddle on!
~JP

Thanks!

Sorry to hear about your thumb. I tore a lot of stuff in my thumb a number of years ago and was on the eve of leaving for a month long whitewater slalom training. When I went to the doc to have it checked out, they made a brace for it that was molded to the shape of my hand gripping the paddle. I was able to paddle hard everyday with no issues. If you have time and good insurance you could do that and then not have to change your plans.

I was on Alton early August. From the traffic I saw coming from the Sawbill portage, I think northern half of Alton was actually less busy. Vast majority of groups headed south. But the area was packed in general.