Beginning to plan a trip to the BWCA for myself, my two teenage sons, and two friends and their teenage sons…seven of us in total. We are going in June 2023 and for five of the seven, this will be our second trip to the BWCA.

We will be using an outfitter for our gear and food but thought we would look at possibly planning the route ourselves. Our goals are to take our time, explore the lakes we pass through, do lots of fishing, stay away from busy lakes as much as is possible, and generally focus on enjoying being in an incredible place with great friends. We will be on the water for a total of seven days.

The outfitter we are using mentioned the more common entry points they shuttle customers to are: Moose Lake, Snowbank Lake, Lake One, Wood Lake, and Fall Lake. We plan to spend more than one night on a couple of the lakes, so we are not looking for a terribly long route. Using the entry points mentioned by the outfitter as potential starting locations, we came up with two route ideas:

Option 1 – Snowbank, Boot, Abindoji, Swing, Gibson, Cattyman, out and back to Ima, Adventure, Jitterbug, Ahsub, Disappointment, Parent, and back to Snowbank.

Option 2 – Birch (by way of outfitter tow service), Carp, Knife, Bonnie, Spoon, Dix, Skoota, Missionary, Trader, Vera, Ensign, and Splash.

Would appreciate any feedback or alternate route suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Option one will get you away from people quicker and, generally, be less 'crowded'. - if that's important. Of course, you'll see people on Ima, Cattyman Falls area & Disappointment but, not like you will on the route to Knife and then the Ensign area.

The portage into Abinodji is a beast. However, the lone campsite there is actually pretty decent and you'd have the lake to yourselves. (if it's available?)
Be wary of the landing on Jitterbug Lake for portage the into Ahsub. Years ago we nearly lost a member of our crew in the mudhole that serves as a landing. ;)

Since it sounds like you'd pass through there first? I would try to get a campsite on Ahsub (both sites are decent & this lake will be much quieter/less traffic etc.) and then daytrip into Disappointment for fishing. It's an easy portage between those 2 lakes. There's also some very good hiking trail options in this area.

I did a portion (Snowbank - Ima) of option 1 a few years back. If you haven't seen it already? Here's the trip report.

TB,

Thank you for you reply and information about our potential route...much appreciated!

I had not read the description of the portage into Abinodji until after your reply...hmmm, it certainly sounds intimidating. Although most of my group is in good physical condition (I would be the least so) and all are regularly involved in moderately strenuous outdoor activities, when you combine carrying canoes and the larger backpacks required for a trip like this, it makes for a very challenging task...certainly something to be aware of...thanks again for the heads up!

We will also heed your advice regarding the mudhole on Jitterbug Lake portage landing, since we would prefer to end our trip with the same headcount as we started! :-)

I enjoyed reading your trip report, thanks for sharing.

You did not mention the length of the trip, I'll assume one week if you are shotting for a couple of layover days.

You have a couple of good options, but more than specifics I will share what approaches have worked for me when bringing teenagers on a few scout trips:

1. Have an outline of your trip, but know that it can change. Have different options in mind even before you start. You know where and when you are starting and where and when you are ending, whats in-between can be flexible. I also like to have a rough idea of ways to make the route shorter or longer based on weather and/or how everyone is doing.

2. Starting on day one, have a goal in mind, but set up a 'decision point' along the way, typically somewhere you will be around 11am-noon. Have a bite to eat and get input on how everyone is doing. This a a great time to let the teenagers (if they are so inclined) to start to make some decisions. Do they want to stick with the original goal?, do they want to push a bit further to get to a more isolated lake or certain campsite? Or has it just been a hard day and they want to wrap up travelering for the day. Repeat this each day.

3. If you know you are going to be having one or more layover day(s), don't be afraid to push it a bit on the travel days. That hammock will feel all the better if you put in a full travel day the day before.

4. If you are getting dropped off and picked up, look at possibilities of being dropped off on one spot and picked up another. Your starting point will be set based on your permit, but you can exit anywhere. For example, you could go in on Moose and get picked up at Snowbank. Or start and Snowback and get picked up at Lake One. Maybe you already thought of this but it does open up a lot more route options.

The example I will use is our trip last year. We were dropped off at Birch and had in mind basically your option 2. This was a 5 day trip. However after the first day the kids decided they wanted to go a bit further so at Spoon we kept going South instead of cutting back West. We went through Kekekabic down through Fraser to Thomas and then travled back to Ensign through Ima and Ashigan. It was a great trip, but the general thought was it would have been even better if we could have had a layover day or two while we were between Kek and Ima. We hardly saw anyone while we were in that area, while Knife and especially Ensign were very busy.

Be prepared for mosquitoes and black flies. . .think the plagues in the Exodus. Is your priority fishing? Then June would be a great time despite bugs. If, however, your priority is simply exploring and spending time in a wilderness area, I would recommend September. Mid August at the earliest.

We did a trip starting on Moose with a tow up to Splash Lake then a few short portages into Ensign for a few nights. From there we traveled to Disappointment thru Ashigan and past Cattyman Falls. We exited at Snowbank. Great scenery and excellent fishing on Ensign, Ashigan (smallmouth) , and Disappointment.

Based on my personal experience and for what it is worth I want to spend the least amount of time on Snowbank as I possibly can. That lake is always brutal!

I'll throw in my two cents on your option 2. The "Dix, Skoota, Missionary, Trader, Vera" chain is fantastic. It's far less traveled, and for good reason. The portage from Vera-Ensign is a hike and scares a lot of people off. The one between Missionary and Skoota is no joke either.

The one concern for your group would be size of the campsites. There isn't a lot of information on the sites in this stretch. While I traveled it I didn't take time to check out the sites (wish I had...).

Vera is a great place to have a layover day. A day trip to Neglige is a fun experience if you do. That portage is no longer maintained and will give the teens something to remember!

On knife, the ribbon rock near isle of the pines and thunder point are worth seeing. If you feel like pushing a little further or a day trip on a layover, Eddy falls area in South Arm of the Knife is great. Beautiful falls and excellent fishing below the falls.

Lot's of scout groups in that area that time of year.