Hello, looking for advice on route options for a 6-day trip out of Moose Lake in August.

We are planning to get a tow into Birch or Splash (maybe in one and out the other?)

We enjoy paddling in and base camping for a couple of nights then moving. Considering parking a second car and coming out through snowbank. Our priorities are more solitude, cool sights and history, fishing is a bonus but won't make or break our trip. 6-10 miles in a day is a comfortable distance.

Any advice welcome!! Thank you!

If you’re looking for solitude a Quetico trip out of Prairie Portage would be your best bet when entering via Moose. The Birch-Knife-Ensign loop is one of the more popular loops and can be quite crowded… and sometimes challenging to find campsites.

Welcome to our site. Good info about how far you plan to travel.
I have reviewed permit availability with a late July loop Moose, Knife, Ensign. The entire area from Knife to Lake One is booked and these are popular places and times. Solitude in the BWCA is getting rare and Quetico does have that advantage for future planning. Solitude is perspective and the route will give us some quiet time, and we expect to see others every day.
I have found reading trip reports a good source of info on sites to see, campsites and fishing conditions and the occasional tip.

Thank you!! I should say I'm not expecting complete solitude just hoping to avoid the heaviest trafficked routes. But it sounds like it may be hard to avoid lots of other people enjoying nature w
ithout going into Canada.

Assuming you already have your permit, Ihere is some big water to contend with if you go east through Knife, down SAK, into Kekekabic, Frasier, Thomas, Ima, and our Ensign. Thomas to Ensign is a lot of repetitive portaging though.

Ottertrack, Ester, Hanson, then to South Arm is also loop-ish.

If it isn’t windy, no big deal for 6 days - but if this is your first lengthy paddle, you might want to shorten that up or do one portage into Basswood, go heavy and comfy, and not have to portage again - or just do 2 or 3 portages and make a bit of a loop into a couple of the bays.

Paddleswithdogs: "just hoping to avoid the heaviest trafficked routes."

I hate to break it to you, but Moose Lake is the heaviest trafficked route.

The chain of lakes between Vera and Spoon are normally pretty quiet compared to Knife/Disappointment/Ensign/Birch/Basswood. It's not hard to avoid 'crowds' in the BWCA, there are a ton of smaller lakes and dead-end lakes to camp on. The amount of other people you see is normally inversely related to how hard you had to work to get there.

Thanks everyone for the input and heads up! Hopefully we can find our way a little off the beaten path. We do already have a permit mid August.

Most of my bwca adventures have been on island and little Indian Sioux rivers and I've generally been lucky with very quiet trips. But we got brave this year and got excited to branch out and explore other areas. I think my least favorite bwca feeling is congested portages and feeling like we're in a race to find open camp sites. We don't mind a long hard day of paddle and portage to get deeper into the woods so we'll probably shoot for that and adjust plans as the wind and weather allow.

Does lake insula tend to see a lot of traffic? Maybe it's just far enough away from Moose, Snowbank and One EPs to calm things down a little??

You could touch Insula (or even Alice) out of Lake One EP the first day if the wind isn’t in your face and you portage efficiently. Probably still a little busy that time of year, only one “tough” portage out of the numbered lakes into Insula, and the portages will be a mess with people.

There is a lot to explore between Knife and the South Arm. You could also explore a PMA if you are seasoned and looking for some solitude - look into pulling a permit for a night or two in a section - Spider PMA is within striking distance of Moose EP.

Insula isn't as remote as it once was, though you can say that about most of the BWCA anymore. However the route from Moose/Splash through Ensign, Ima, Thomas down through Insula and the numbered lakes is a great one. You could leave a car at the Lake One public landing or see if Kawishiwi Outfitters would let you park one there for a fee (and added security).

If the time works out, a daytrip to the pictographs on fishdance would be possible from Insula as well. One suggestion if you come to Insula from the north is to go through Kiana instead of Alice. I've never done the portage north of Alice, but most comments aren't complimentary. The one from Kiana is simply a nice walk in the park. Enjoy the trip and happy paddling!

For reference, Splash to Lake One is 33 miles total. 2.5 portaging (Double portage).

Thomas to Insula portage felt long - that was about it. Nothing strenuous, nothing Yum-Yum or worse. A nice walk. Recently I hear there is a beaver dam midway with some water on the trail. The north arm of water leading into Alice is also very remote-feeling.

I’ve been through Kiana as well - also a remote feeling - seemed very out of the way. If I had the choice I would paddle the river from Alice to Insula - great stretch of river.

Fishdance pictographs are outstanding if you are close by.

I was visually impressed by the numbered lakes into Insula. Not sure what I was expecting - I had envisioned portage paths you could drive a semi down and paddlers marching down them like disorganized ants. I knew there was moving water, but didn’t know how outstanding the series of rapids actually were.

If you have 2 cars it would be worthwhile to 1-way instead of loop back into Moose - Snowbank or Lake One.

Knife Lake to SAK to Kekekabic to Frasier/Thomas, down to Alice, and out Insula and the Numbered Lakes should be very doable in 6 days with the right weather.

The pictographs are stunning, and I had the entire area to myself. I also hooked into one of the largest pike ever. Towed my 15' Keewaydin Pack boat in circles. was never able to get it in the boat.