Good morning all,

After much hemming and hawing on an entry point decision between 30 (Kawishiwi) and 19 (Stuart River), we finally settled on the Stuart as our primary plan with Kawishiwi being our backup if our dates were unavailable. I was on first thing at 9:00 this morning refreshing approximately 600 times between 8:58-9:00 and was able to secure our permit for EP 19 on June 5 for 4 nights.

We have a loose plan, but are open to suggestions if anyone who has gone in EP19 has anything along the way that we must do/see. Also looking for feedback on feasibility of the travel days as we're not looking for more than 5-6 hours in any one day. That plan is (route options attached in photo):

Day 1: 5:30 AM start toward EP 19. We plan to either stop on Stuart, or if time allows, try to get up to the island site on Rush. This is a bit of a gamble on our part, as we may need to backtrack to Stuart if the site is not open on Rush. There are 4 of us between two canoes, traveling as light as possible (i.e. mostly dehydrated foods, only essential gear). I'm a bit concerned about trying to single portage the initial portage to the Stuart, as I am a bit of an opponent of wearing ourselves out first thing, but I think we are going to give it a shot. It may end up being a 1.5 or double portage but we'll see. Last year we did EP23 to Basswood falls in one day double portaging and it was an 8 hour day which the rest of the group agreed was a bit too long so I don't want to stretch the day too much. Any insight onto approximate time of travel to get to Stuart/Rush?

Day 2: We are looking at trying to get up to Iron. I imagine we'd take a leisurely pace as it doesn't seem like too long of a trip. I'm a bit concerned that campsites might be occupied up there so I'd like to get an early start on the off chance that we are not able to secure one we can head back to Stuart Lake.

Day 3: Curtain Falls/Fishing while staying at the site on Iron for that night.

Day 4: I'd like to get back down to Stuart in the morning and set up a camp, and then head over to explore the Dahlgren River. I'd like to see the falls and fish the river a bit. Any insight on feasibility of this idea? Any insight into what species of fish are in there? I'm not concerned about Walleye and Northerns as I'm sure we will catch our fair share on Iron, but one of our group members loves smallies so if there are smallies in that area, we may consider trying to do Curtain falls on Day 2 and coming back down to Stuart on Day 3 rather than Day 4.

I secured a Stuart River permit for a few weeks after you. We haven't made any plans about whether we will stay on Stuart or try to get a site on Iron. I will watch this thread for ideas for our trip as well!

grizzlyadams: "I secured a Stuart River permit for a few weeks after you. We haven't made any plans about whether we will stay on Stuart or try to get a site on Iron. I will watch this thread for ideas for our trip as well!"

I was pretty anxious since there is only one permit per day, but it looks like there are still a fair number available for EP19. Enjoy and hopefully we can get some insight on the trip here.

I would push for iron the first day. Get an early start.

I have been to Stuart a couple of times, but never to Iron. That said, I like your ideas. I think this is great entry point.

I think your best bet is to camp on Stuart on nights 1 and 4 and Iron on nights 2 and 3. If your goal is to go 5-6 hours a day, I think the only way you'd get to Rush on Day 1 is if you single-portage every portage and do not take any breaks along the way. You'd have to be moving pretty quickly to cover that much ground. The other risk is that if water levels are low this summer, you will also probably have a couple of beaver dams on the Stuart River that you'll need to carry over. (If I remember correctly, there is a large beaver dam on Stuart that you'll need to unload the canoes to get past -- it's too big to do the "pushover" maneuver).

And you're right that you're running a risk that the one campsite on Rush is occupied when you get there. You could keep going to on to Iron, but now you're talking another hour or two and at that point in the afternoon, you might have a risk of not finding something on Iron, either. Then you're really screwed. And backtracking is a long day too, especially if the campsite on Fox is taken because you're going all the way back to Stuart. The odds of Fox, Rush AND Iron all being full are probably pretty low, but the downside is pretty steep. It all depends on your risk tolerance of course. I've been on Stuart a total of 8 nights around Memorial Day and mid-June and it's never been completely full during that time.

So, if you stop on Stuart on Day 1 and then get going early on Day 2, you should get to Iron right after people who are on the move have left their campsites and you have the best chance of grabbing a good campsite. Then you have a day-and-a-half to fish Iron, (and Crooked) and check out Curtain Falls.

Then Day 4 you have a short hop back to Stuart and Day 5 you go back down the Stuart River.

As far as fishing, it's easy to catch eater-size walleyes on Stuart, but I've never seen a big wally come out of the lake (although that could be my lack of fishing skill). There are no smallies on Stuart. Iron and Crooked are both great fishing lakes. I've never heard of anyone fishing the Dahlgren. If you do fish the Dahlgren, I'd just try at the bottom of the falls. And speaking of that, Dahlgren Falls and the Dahlgren River are both pretty scenic, but I imagine that they can't compare to Curtain Falls in terms of size and scenery. A good place to check out, but not sure I'd devote a lot of time for the Dahlgren, other than to check it out. The portage from Stuart to Dahlgren is pretty cool -- lots of old growth pines.

Last point -- you asked if there was anything else you should think about doing there. There is a very high rock bluff on the east side of Stuart -- it's cool to hike up to the top and check out the view.

Sorry about the long post, hope that helps. Have fun!

freeboard: "I have been to Stuart a couple of times, but never to Iron. That said, I like your ideas. I think this is great entry point.


I think your best bet is to camp on Stuart on nights 1 and 4 and Iron on nights 2 and 3. If your goal is to go 5-6 hours a day, I think the only way you'd get to Rush on Day 1 is if you single-portage every portage and do not take any breaks along the way. You'd have to be moving pretty quickly to cover that much ground. The other risk is that if water levels are low this summer, you will also probably have a couple of beaver dams on the Stuart River that you'll need to carry over. (If I remember correctly, there is a large beaver dam on Stuart that you'll need to unload the canoes to get past -- it's too big to do the "pushover" maneuver).


And you're right that you're running a risk that the one campsite on Rush is occupied when you get there. You could keep going to on to Iron, but now you're talking another hour or two and at that point in the afternoon, you might have a risk of not finding something on Iron, either. Then you're really screwed. And backtracking is a long day too, especially if the campsite on Fox is taken because you're going all the way back to Stuart. The odds of Fox, Rush AND Iron all being full are probably pretty low, but the downside is pretty steep. It all depends on your risk tolerance of course. I've been on Stuart a total of 8 nights around Memorial Day and mid-June and it's never been completely full during that time.


So, if you stop on Stuart on Day 1 and then get going early on Day 2, you should get to Iron right after people who are on the move have left their campsites and you have the best chance of grabbing a good campsite. Then you have a day-and-a-half to fish Iron, (and Crooked) and check out Curtain Falls.


Then Day 4 you have a short hop back to Stuart and Day 5 you go back down the Stuart River.


As far as fishing, it's easy to catch eater-size walleyes on Stuart, but I've never seen a big wally come out of the lake (although that could be my lack of fishing skill). There are no smallies on Stuart. Iron and Crooked are both great fishing lakes. I've never heard of anyone fishing the Dahlgren. If you do fish the Dahlgren, I'd just try at the bottom of the falls. And speaking of that, Dahlgren Falls and the Dahlgren River are both pretty scenic, but I imagine that they can't compare to Curtain Falls in terms of size and scenery. A good place to check out, but not sure I'd devote a lot of time for the Dahlgren, other than to check it out. The portage from Stuart to Dahlgren is pretty cool -- lots of old growth pines.


Last point -- you asked if there was anything else you should think about doing there. There is a very high rock bluff on the east side of Stuart -- it's cool to hike up to the top and check out the view.


Sorry about the long post, hope that helps. Have fun! "

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for providing so much insight, I was hoping someone with experience would chime in. I think we will take your advice with the caveat that we'll be flexible, as one must be in the BWCA.

I think I remember reading something about there being the oldest stand of red or white pines in the BWCA along that portage to Dahlgren. Does that ring a bell? I know my group would be up for that, as it's a somewhat easy trip off Stuart.

We frequently do this route all the way to Iron. We're mostly in our 30s but in reasonably good shape. We single portage and move fairly quickly and always do it in a day. I tracked it on my InReach the last couple years on our trip out, so we were pretty light and from the East campsite on Three Island it was 13.6 miles and took 5 hrs 39 min. From the East campsite closest to the falls it was 14 miles and took 6 hrs 18 min. Maybe add 30 minutes more for a loaded trip in, knock of an hour or so if you are on one of the two south west sites. Because of the length of a lot of the portages, this route would take significantly longer if you do not single portage. You never run into anyone on portages since it's only one entry a day, which is really nice. That first portage is a doozy, but it is pretty downhill on the way in. There are two large beaver dams on Stuart River, which keep the water levels very consistent I think, with essentially no current, which is nice. We usually go in September now, and water level has always been the same. The dams are big, we just unload, pull the canoes over, and re-load, not really a portage. If you look at satellite imagery on Google you can see both of the dams, one is just north of the 98 rod portage and quite a bit south of White Feather Lake. The other one is within eyesight of the portage into Stuart Lake (the 100 yards or so between the dam and that portage is the only place the water has been low in my experience). Based on the condition of the portages between Stuart Lake and Iron, I would say a vast majority of the permits for EP19 Only go to Stuart and don't go beyond. That portage between Stuart and Fox is essentially a mile long, it's not hard, but often feels like the hardest just b/c where it falls in the trip. I would say it would be very unlikely for both the campsite on Fox and Rush to be taken, neither look very used, and again, I don't think many people go through there (plus only 1 entry a day). I wouldn't stay on Dark unless it's a last resort, it's probably the muddiest, most foul smelling lake I've seen in the BW. The portage from Dark to Iron is quite steep both directions, but not too long. The only real problem with Iron is people can pay to take a boat ride almost all the way too it. It also has a fairly small number of campsites on for it's size, but we've never not found at least one open. Super neat area with some cool history that you can see some remnants of; I believe there used to be a lodge right by the falls before it became the BWCA.

Digger07: "I would push for iron the first day. Get an early start. "

I was going to recommend the same - start early and you'll get to iron just fine. Better fishing and more to explore. It's longer than your 5-6 hour day, but in my opinion worth it. Just power through it. Drink some whiskey and smoke a cigar when you get there. Sleep in the next day and you'll cherish the extra time on Iron.

Here’s the view from the bluff on Stuart!


Tony

freeboard: "I have been to Stuart a couple of times, but never to Iron. That said, I like your ideas. I think this is great entry point.


I think your best bet is to camp on Stuart on nights 1 and 4 and Iron on nights 2 and 3. If your goal is to go 5-6 hours a day, I think the only way you'd get to Rush on Day 1 is if you single-portage every portage and do not take any breaks along the way. You'd have to be moving pretty quickly to cover that much ground. The other risk is that if water levels are low this summer, you will also probably have a couple of beaver dams on the Stuart River that you'll need to carry over. (If I remember correctly, there is a large beaver dam on Stuart that you'll need to unload the canoes to get past -- it's too big to do the "pushover" maneuver).


And you're right that you're running a risk that the one campsite on Rush is occupied when you get there. You could keep going to on to Iron, but now you're talking another hour or two and at that point in the afternoon, you might have a risk of not finding something on Iron, either. Then you're really screwed. And backtracking is a long day too, especially if the campsite on Fox is taken because you're going all the way back to Stuart. The odds of Fox, Rush AND Iron all being full are probably pretty low, but the downside is pretty steep. It all depends on your risk tolerance of course. I've been on Stuart a total of 8 nights around Memorial Day and mid-June and it's never been completely full during that time.


So, if you stop on Stuart on Day 1 and then get going early on Day 2, you should get to Iron right after people who are on the move have left their campsites and you have the best chance of grabbing a good campsite. Then you have a day-and-a-half to fish Iron, (and Crooked) and check out Curtain Falls.


Then Day 4 you have a short hop back to Stuart and Day 5 you go back down the Stuart River.


As far as fishing, it's easy to catch eater-size walleyes on Stuart, but I've never seen a big wally come out of the lake (although that could be my lack of fishing skill). There are no smallies on Stuart. Iron and Crooked are both great fishing lakes. I've never heard of anyone fishing the Dahlgren. If you do fish the Dahlgren, I'd just try at the bottom of the falls. And speaking of that, Dahlgren Falls and the Dahlgren River are both pretty scenic, but I imagine that they can't compare to Curtain Falls in terms of size and scenery. A good place to check out, but not sure I'd devote a lot of time for the Dahlgren, other than to check it out. The portage from Stuart to Dahlgren is pretty cool -- lots of old growth pines.


Last point -- you asked if there was anything else you should think about doing there. There is a very high rock bluff on the east side of Stuart -- it's cool to hike up to the top and check out the view.


Sorry about the long post, hope that helps. Have fun! "

That's it -- great picture!