BWCA Moose to Basswood border route Boundary Waters Trip Planning Forum
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millz0
  
01/26/2022 11:55AM  
Hi all, I'm considering a route on which I haven't been able to find any information in the forums or trip reports, and I'm very curious about whether someone on the messageboard has done it (they must have, right?!)

I'm thinking about starting at Moose Lake (25) and heading Northeast through Newfound and Sucker, then following the border West as it zig-zags to West Basswood.

I know wind will be a significant factor, and that motorized craft will be present the whole way, but it looks like an interesting challenge with lots of paddling and few portages. Is that crazy?
 
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RedLakePaddler
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01/26/2022 05:10PM  
I have done the trip from Fall Lake to Moose a few times. I haven’t had any problems on Basswood. We alway travel it early in the morning. The boat traffic wasn’t a problem either. My daughter and grandson went from Fall Lake to Moose a couple years ago.
We always went though Back Bay to cut of a some distance. Also the lake gets very big on the west, open to the prevailing winds.

Carl
cyclones30
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01/26/2022 06:01PM  
Plenty of people on those routes and areas. You're right in that there aren't many portages. Good fishing to be found too
billconner
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01/26/2022 06:26PM  
Done it twice or maybe 3 times, twice heading to Basswood Falls, then LLC and pick up at LIS. It's a great paddle. Never bothered by wind or motor traffic - and these were in July or August.
millz0
  
01/26/2022 07:29PM  
Thank you all for the replies - excellent to read that it's a nice paddle. Glad to hear about your respective experiences in the area. I snagged a permit for late May, looking forward to it!
straighthairedcurly
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01/26/2022 08:19PM  
We entered Moose last summer, then headed through Wind to access Basswood. Spent a few days around various parts of Basswood, then returned along the border. Can't say I am a big fan of Basswood due to motorboats, but it was fun to see a new area. i haven't finished my trip report yet, but hope to publish it in the next few weeks.
01/26/2022 08:42PM  
I haven’t seen this but this is a picture a NT guide we went with sent me. Apparently the oldest cedar tree in Minnesota is in Rice Bay on Basswood lake. He said it’s massive and worth a stop.

Ryan

01/28/2022 05:40PM  
millz0: "Hi all, I'm considering a route on which I haven't been able to find any information in the forums or trip reports, and I'm very curious about whether someone on the messageboard has done it (they must have, right?!)

I'm thinking about starting at Moose Lake (25) and heading Northeast through Newfound and Sucker, then following the border West as it zig-zags to West Basswood.

I know wind will be a significant factor, and that motorized craft will be present the whole way, but it looks like an interesting challenge with lots of paddling and few portages. Is that crazy?"


I have tripped in this area multiple times. On a windy day the stretch of Basswood between Prairie Portage west to Lincoln and Washington Islands can be impassable due to waves. Best to hit it as early in the day as possible before the wind picks up.

Last year mid-May it was a beautiful, calm paddle at 8am. In 2018 my wife and I were windbound for two days there in July.
01/30/2022 10:03AM  
I saw a massive cedar on the next bay to the east. Not any taller than the others but I could only wrap my arms around half way. I suspect it's the one you're referring to.
 
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