I will go on my first solo (second BWCA trip) in the last bit of August. I have 10 days and a permit to enter at EP14 Little Indian Sioux North. Fishing, solitude and the 'wilds' are my goals. Probably many of you have gone in there and if you would like to tell me about that area or that time of year I would be very interested.

Here's a link to a solo trip report and one from a group solo I did from that entry point.

IMO LIS North is a nice entry for a solo. You have some rivers, smaller lakes, and opportunities for solitude. Good fishing is a bonus.

Nice opportunities for solitude are Agawato Lake, Emerald Lake, and Heritage Lake. There are nice sites, good scenery and more solitude on the small lakes north like Fat, Eugene, South, Little Beartrack, etc. Be sure to loop through Ge-be-on-e-quet and spend a night there. Beautiful lake.

Late August should still be warm and pretty busy.

You'll have a great time.

A nice loop is to head over to Oyster - up towards Pocket Creek and back West and then South to the EP. Can be done in 5 days, with 10 you can have lots of layovers.

Nice route.

Thank you for these suggestions. It is nice to hear about the experiences of others and I get a good share of vicarious pleasure during the off=season reading about other people's trips and adventures. The particulars of mishaps and misadventures of others are also quite informative about how to stay out of trouble I think. I look forward to hearing from others.
David

Be sure to stop at Devils Cascade. Incredible.

JD

the other posts have the right idea but i would like to add that i like the LIS because you can ease into the trip.by the time you paddle down the winding river to the first easy carry you have got the glitches out and the paddle stroke down.the Elm carry is a good shake down for the others coming up.i go all the way to Lac La Croix and beyond and with each mile i get bigger water to deal with rather than getting dropped into the big stuff in the first ten minutes or spending hours in shallow water going over and around beaver dams and burning out wet and tired by the first days camp.

I did my first solo (and second trip) through #14 - went through the llittle lakes south of La Croix in late Sept. I really enjoyed the area. I didn't see anybody else for four days. The wind and weather were issues for me, but shouldn't be so problematic for you in late August. I only had a week, so was under more time pressure than you'll be. Take your time and enjoy it. I made the loop through Loon and then east to try to take advantage of the prevailing winds (did not work), which meant I carried up to Steep Lake. It's a pretty good climb going that direction, even for a hillbilly :). Be sure to make a side trip to see the pictos on La Croix if you haven't already seen them. There are a couple of places along that route where you cross the Sioux-Hustler Trail if that interests you.

Make sure you check out the Devil's Cascade and hike the trail to the backpacking site. Check it out (if no one is there) as that site has one heck of a nice view.

You will have a beaver dam to go over at the entrance to Upper Pauness Lake. I floated over it last week. :)

David you'll enjoy this area one of my faves. Will be a little busy in Aug. If you want to get away from the crowds all I have to say is Yodeler. Best SM fishing and I was there in Aug as well.
My Report

There is some work involved but the pay off was great.

JB

LIS was my first BW trip entry point. I think I have done it a total of five times. Couldn't agree more with everyone's positive comments on that entry point. There are SO many options for routes short and long. You can get in "deep" and secluded within a day or two depending on how hard you push it.

On one of my solo trips I stayed on the northern most site on Hustler. The Sioux-Hustler trail is behind the site. I hiked the trail to Range Line for a day trip. Had my fist moose sighting there.

I have also bushwhacked (not on a solo trip) from Lynx through Yolder through the PMA to Finger. That was getting in to the wilds.

I still have it on my "hit list" to check out Emarld and Achundo lakes.

PJ if you are going to Emarld to fish I heard it's so shallow you can walk across it. Other than that I heard it's a very pretty lake.

JB

Thank you for these recent editions. As you can imagine I am getting excited by the fast-approaching date and these recent posts are keeping me jacked up. David

quote jb in the wild: "PJ if you are going to Emarld to fish I heard it's so shallow you can walk across it. Other than that I heard it's a very pretty lake.


JB"

Thanks for the info, Sounds like Knight Lake.

quote jb in the wild: "David you'll enjoy this area one of my faves. Will be a little busy in Aug. If you want to get away from the crowds all I have to say is Yodeler. Best SM fishing and I was there in Aug as well.
My Report


There is some work involved but the pay off was great.


JB"

FYI There are no approved campsites on Yodeler and it is not in a PMA so you can't camp there.

SHHH

With that kind of time and solitude on your mind I would suggest the interior loop, south of Lac La Croix. Slim to Finger are probably you best chances for isolation along this route. There are a few dead end lakes you could venture into as well.

I did this loop in June. I did it in six days. I expected seven and frankly I wouldn't count on doing it in six again. With 10 you have plenty of time. I would suggest doing the loop clockwise. That takes you across loon first and leaves the Oyster-Shell stretch for the end of the trip. That way you can move at your pace through the loop and stretch it at the end by visiting some dead end lakes on that southern stretch.

quote Merganser: "With that kind of time and solitude on your mind I would suggest the interior loop, south of Lac La Croix. Slim to Finger are probably you best chances for isolation along this route. There are a few dead end lakes you could venture into as well.


I did this loop in June. I did it in six days. I expected seven and frankly I wouldn't count on doing it in six again. With 10 you have plenty of time. I would suggest doing the loop clockwise. That takes you across loon first and leaves the Oyster-Shell stretch for the end of the trip. That way you can move at your pace through the loop and stretch it at the end by visiting some dead end lakes on that southern stretch."

Thanks,Merganzers. I hope you had a good trip. How was the fishing if you fished? I like your suggestion of doing the trip clockwise and the interior loop south of La Croix is also what I was thinking. I will be 63 in September and this is in some ways a challenge to see what I can do. Hopefully I won't fail the challenge. Six days sounds like you were moving along.

lac la croix is an absolute must see. just make sure you are paddling to the east. it's a big lake and has some big open stretches but there are many islands. canoeing it solo is wonderful, even with big waves a canoe paddled solo is very seaworthy. with most of the weight in the center of the boat the bow and stern rise perfectly to meet the waves. i love this area but could not imagine going there without paddling LLC.