I’ll be taking a solo trip (3rd solo, 20+ trips in total) in early September though 30+ lakes I’ve never visited. The route is roughly Snowbank-Ensign-Kekakabic-Fraser-Boulder-Beaver-Alice-Thomas-Ima-Disappointment and all points between. 7 days, 6 nights and have laid out a general plan for stopping points each day. Will be an early start on day 1 to hopefully avoid most of the wind/waves on Snowbank. I will be fishing along the route and in the evenings after settled into camp each day.

I know Ensign is a busy lake and I’m planning on seeing the Fishdance pictos but have purposely not researched the hell out of this trip because I want to enjoy the route and explore on my way instead of ahead of time. I’m not even looking up campsite ratings ahead of time because as a solo, sleeping in a hammock and moving daily, I won’t need to be picky. That being said, I may likely never get back to this area (or at least not all of it) so will gladly take advice on “don’t miss” things. Any input is appreciated.

If you can time it right for a sunset from the top of thunder point, you won’t be disappointed. One of my favorite places ever to view the sunset. Safe travels.

SoDak: "If you can time it right for a sunset from the top of thunder point, you won’t be disappointed. One of my favorite places ever to view the sunset. Safe travels. "

Thank you for that suggestion. It won’t be a sunset (although that’s an amazing plan for another trip!), I should be able to slide off my route and make a side-trip there from Spoon as I travel through the chain of lakes south of Knife.

Pictos on Fishdance. Not too far from your portage to Alice. Cool cliffs on Wisini. Tricky portage coming into Boulder from north. Nice beach campsite on Amber if you pop in there off River Lake. Cool route.....have fun.

I did the southern portion of your route in June 2024 and have a few pointers not yet mentioned.

Firstly, a caution regarding the section approaching Boulder from the north. Namely, at the eastern end of Roe Lake the maps show the portage landing headed to Cap on the stream at the east end of Roe. The position is correct but, in my experience, the stream might be nearly impassable. We were heading west and the section from the landing to the main body of Roe was clogged with water plants. There were two of us, both in solo canoes, and we had to grind out the 500 to 800 feet to open water by rocking our boats and pushing with our paddles. Honestly, I thought we might be trapped and have to tie off to the boats, "swim" to the bank and drag our boats onto the bog where we might be able to portage to open water. As such, be wary at that point, getting caught in the weeds alone could be very dangerous. Be prepared to scout a route a bit north of the stream and follow the tree line to the Roe-Cap portage if the water is low/you don't see a clear line up the stream.

Secondly, from there on the route all the way back to Snowbank is top notch. Boulder, Adams and River are beautiful and serene with great island spots. I loved them so much that we're headed that way from EP 37 in the second half of September. I wrote a lot more detail and then reread your initial post so I don't want to spoil anything else. Just take your time and enjoy a stunning part of the Wilderness.

Great trip you have planned! I coveted some of the same ground solo a couple years ago. You are only going touch a corner of Fraser, but its similar feel to Thomas which you will spend more time on. Beautiful and typically lots of Bald Eagles. Depending on your travel times, Sagus is a beautiful little lake to spend an evening. The portage from Cap to Boulder is interesting. Boulder is the lake I wish I would have spent a layover day on. Beautiful!!
The paddle from Boulder to the Pictos, as someone else stated, is straightforward and super enjoyable. Watch for those Goldens along the River….
Alice has quite a few sand beaches, if that’s your thing. Another beautiful lake. I have had challenges in recent years finding open camp sites on the way out from Thomas to Snowbank same time of year. Although reports on this site have cited fewer folks in the BWCA….
Enjoy the trip and please tell us how it went!

Can I come? Sounds like a great trip!
I second Boulder as a layover lake, I experienced some pretty fantastic smb catching there a couple of years ago. And then make sure to find moving water for Kawishiwi River walleyes the next day!
Don't count on finding an open site on Disappointment on your last day, even in September.
You're planning on moving faster than I like to solo. For me, that would be an 8-10 day trip. I lose much of the sense of exploration when I feel rushed to put miles on. And sometimes I just want to stop and fish for a day or two.
I hope you're single portaging and started putting your pack on the scale already. I miss the excitement leading up to a long solo! Bottle some of that and send it over, please!
Still love the route! (other than Snowbank! Moose permit isn't available that day? You're not missing much by skipping Boot) If I was in better shape or had a bow paddler I wouldn't hesitate.

cowdoc: "Pictos on Fishdance. Not too far from your portage to Alice. Cool cliffs on Wisini. Tricky portage coming into Boulder from north. Nice beach campsite on Amber if you pop in there off River Lake. Cool route.....have fun."

. Good little nuggets and Wisini is a lake I plan to overnight on if everything falls into place on the first couple of days. thank you!

pleflar: "I did the southern portion of your route in June 2024 and have a few pointers not yet mentioned.


Firstly, a caution regarding the section approaching Boulder from the north. Namely, at the eastern end of Roe Lake the maps show the portage landing headed to Cap on the stream at the east end of Roe. The position is correct but, in my experience, the stream might be nearly impassable. We were heading west and the section from the landing to the main body of Roe was clogged with water plants

Thank you for this and the following info- would have been a bit of a blind spot for me for sure. Hopefully the higher water levels of this summer will make that a bit less tricky.

Paddle4Hike:
Enjoy the trip and please tell us how it went!"

Thank you for all the info- and I’ll definitely be doing a trip report after, sometimes I’m a bit slow getting trip reports together but it will happen eventually.

While I won’t be able to use a layover day on this trip, Boulder is a lake I am planning an overnight on so happy to hear that was a good choice (if it works out).

Z4K:
I hope you're single portaging and started putting your pack on the scale already. I miss the excitement leading up to a long solo! Bottle some of that and send it over, please!
"

Appreciate the info. I’m definitely a double portager, but this trip was set up to be a bit of a personal challenge and is certainly covering more miles per day than I would usually do. Thankfully, portaging is not something I mind and I love the walk back empty-handed to take in all the sights even more. I had my leisurely fishing-based trip back in June and I wanted to try something new, so we’ll see how it goes.

I have traveled through most of those areas. If the water is low, getting to the east end of Roe can be a boggy, muddy, shallow water battle. One year we couldn't paddle the stream and had to rough portage over the bog. I love all the paddling on the Kawishiwi River. If you have time as you come down out of Beaver, cut to the east to visit the portage that enters the NE part of Malberg. So beautiful! I also love the passage between Thomas and Fraser. Have a great trip!