doing my first solo in august (6 nights) and have two different entry points in mind: kawishiwi lake or lizz/swamp lake. i'd love your opinions.

i'm familiar with kawishiwi and am considering doing the lady chain loop from kawishiwi to sawbill...but don't want to stress myself out with too many miles to cover. i tend to get overambitious.

i'm also considering just doing some base camping out of kawishiwi or lizz/swamp lakes. i'm familiar with kawishiwi so that seems like a good idea, but i've heard polly can get congested. malberg seems to be a popular suggestion there. any suggestions about lizz/swamp lake EP?

thanks so much.

I just came back from yet another trip to one of my favorite areas... EP47/Lizz Lake entry. I went with another of BWCA ladies and we spent 4 days paddling. Love this area!

Beautiful scenery, relatively easy portages, easy navigation, and many of the lakes are small enough that wind isn't as big an issue as say on Sawbill, so I find the paddling to be relatively easy as well.

Poplar can get a bit rough in my experience and so can Winchell but just try to paddle them early to try to avoid the winds that pick up later in the morning.

Feel free to email me if you want more info on this area... I have paddled Poplar, Lizz, Caribou, Horseshoe, Vista, Misquah, Gaskin, Winchell, Omega, and Henson and would be happy to chat about the routes/lakes.

Have you thought about using a double blade (kayak) paddle? I am bringing my 'yak paddle with my tradition straight paddle acting as a backup paddle on my solo I hope to take later this year if work doesn't get in the way.

id love to comment but ive never been in the kawishiwi area. i do agree with what luft typed about the lizz area.

Lizz/Swamp area is very nice - lots of good small lakes to paddle. You can also do a couple of pretty nice loops out and about from there -either as daytrips or longer journeys.

I've been through that area several times and have always enjoyed it. My solo last Fall took me through there again on a day in late Sept. Very nice. Check out my trip report for more information.

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Omega is a beautiful lake - if you end up there, look at the northernmost campsite in the north arm. It's out of the way and not on a travel route, which would give a little solitude. A very elevated site with quite a view.

You may want to stick with a familiar area for your first solo. Less to worry about.

quote boonie: "Omega is a beautiful lake - if you end up there, look at the northernmost campsite in the north arm. It's out of the way and not on a travel route, which would give a little solitude. A very elevated site with quite a view. "

that site was where my mind spiraled into hell. LOL

quote kanoes: "

quote boonie: "Omega is a beautiful lake - if you end up there, look at the northernmost campsite in the north arm. It's out of the way and not on a travel route, which would give a little solitude. A very elevated site with quite a view. "

that site was where my mind spiraled into hell. LOL"

Looked like "almost heaven" to me ;). I guess they could be separated by a very thin line...

quote boonie: "Omega is a beautiful lake - if you end up there, look at the northernmost campsite in the north arm. It's out of the way and not on a travel route, which would give a little solitude. A very elevated site with quite a view. "

Think I might have to try for that site on my first solo in September!
I know nothing of the Kawishiwi area but I've been in through Lizz 2 of my 6 trips to the BWCA, and would have to say that luft is spot on with her description of the area. Loop or basecamp/day trip options are many due to the smaller size of many of the lakes in the area, but if you go, try to at least take a day trip to see long, narrow Winchell with the Misquah Hills and cliffs on its southern side. It also has some nice sites on the northern side, but it might still be a bit crowded in August as I'm told it is a fairly popular destination. Can't actually vouch for that as I've only been there at the end of May with a couple of buddies and saw one solo paddler in three day.

I really like the area north of Kawishiwi. Polly does get busy and there's some burn areas around Square Lake, but Malberg Lake and the Kawishiwi River are great areas with lot of day tripping options. It's a leisurely 2-day paddle to the Kawishiwi River. Rock paintings are found on the cliffs of Fishdance Lake.


Kawishiwi River.

There are 2 really nice campsites on the large island in the middle of this photo.

quote bear bait: "I really like the area north of Kawishiwi. Polly does get busy and there's some burn areas around Square Lake, but Malberg Lake and the Kawishiwi River are great areas with lot of day tripping options. It's a leisurely 2-day paddle to the Kawishiwi River. Rock paintings are found on the cliffs of Fishdance Lake.



Kawishiwi River.


There are 2 really nice campsites on the large island in the middle of this photo."

I assume that's the one west of Malberg, east of Amber & Bow, south of Trapline, and north of River Lake...?

quote boonie: "

quote bear bait: "I really like the area north of Kawishiwi. Polly does get busy and there's some burn areas around Square Lake, but Malberg Lake and the Kawishiwi River are great areas with lot of day tripping options. It's a leisurely 2-day paddle to the Kawishiwi River. Rock paintings are found on the cliffs of Fishdance Lake.




Kawishiwi River.



There are 2 really nice campsites on the large island in the middle of this photo."

I assume that's the one west of Malberg, east of Amber & Bow, south of Trapline, and north of River Lake...?"

Yep. Not far from the sloppy portage out of Malberg.

That photo really makes me wish I had more time to get into that area on my solo.

The maps sure make that water look "small.". Not really so.

thanks for all the info everyone. so so very helpful.

i've landed on Lizz Lake EP. it sounds beautiful and like there are lots of options to lengthen/shorten my journey depending on how i'm feeling.

the maps do make everything look so small. but i know that it doesn't feel that way once you get out there.

i appreciate the suggestion about winchell. i'll try to head down that way.

i'm having a really tough time coming up with an exact route plan! i really want to leave things open. however, i know it's important to leave a route plan with family/friends.

Nicole-

I usually have a pretty open itinerary on my trips, so I usually leave my basic route plan plus any possible variations, day trips, side trips, etc. I do have a plan, but I never seem to stick to it exactly. I'm not saying that's good.

quote nicole: "thanks for all the info everyone. so so very helpful.
i've landed on Lizz Lake EP. it sounds beautiful and like there are lots of options to lengthen/shorten my journey depending on how i'm feeling.
the maps do make everything look so small. but i know that it doesn't feel that way once you get out there.
i appreciate the suggestion about winchell. i'll try to head down that way.
i'm having a really tough time coming up with an exact route plan! i really want to leave things open. however, i know it's important to leave a route plan with family/friends."

One of my FAVORITE AREAS! Be careful where you step launching on Lizz, there's a bit of muskeg at the end of the portage. Pretty little lake with a few small Brookies to find if you have a little time. Caribou and Horseshoe have decent walleye fishing. And the boreal forest in that area has a real "Northwoods" feel to it. Here's an old pic of mine paddling on Lizz.

awesome! i'm excited! thanks.