Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: Trying to decide on our route out of Ely- Seeking your input
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lindylair |
This route offers beautiful lakes, good fishing, moderate portages and better than average campsites. Boot lake is a sleeper walleye lake, maybe not for numbers but there are some big walleyes there. Fairy is a cool little lake, I loved it. There are two campsites there but I doubt they are often both occupied. The eastern campsite is awesome and the fishing is good, including panfish. I did not get to stay there, it is on my bucket list. Gun Lake - Crossing over the portage to Gun as I got to the landing I immediately noticed a huge difference in water clarity, Gun Lake has incredibly clear water. There are some great campsites there. Gull lake, another good fishing lake and an incredible peninsula campsite if it is available and fits your schedule. Thunder Lake is remote and beautiful. A few campsites to choose from. The DNR walleye census numbers for Thunder are off the charts. Beartrap lake is a nice lake and there is a 5 star campsite there with an island right in front of it. You won't know if it is available unless you paddle in a bit but if it is you will be the only ones on a remote beautiful lake with good walleye fishing. At this point you will want to backtrack to Gun lake and go down the barrel of the gun to the east and head to Moosecamp lake. Another pretty remote lake with good fishing and a few nice campsites. The next day you will head down the Moosecamp River for a scenic ride to Fourtown lake. There will likely be a few beaver dam pullovers, part of the fun. Spend your last night on Fourtown for an easy exit. This route is a leisurely route that could be done in 2-3 days. Travel days won't be long and you will need to plan an extra night or basecamp somewhere along the way - that's not a bad thing, pick a site you love and just hang out, fish and relax for one day. You might just like it! Because it is a very popular entry, even though you are going off peak, I would be ready on the first day of permit availability to go online and book it. You won't regret it. Sunset from our Gun Lake campsite Boot Lake Walleye Otters along portage from Fourtown to Boot The view from Fourtown Lake campsite - last night View from one of the portage landings between Mudro and Fourtown View from the 5 star campsite on Beartrap lake |
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mirth |
Lake 1 area and the triangle aren't really low traffic areas though. What kind of scenery are you going for? |
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mjmkjun |
EP 38 Sawbill Lake/Campground (fees & hot showers) or EP39 Baker Lake/small primitive Campground (no fee). Scenic. Fishing good. Both entry points offer you the opportunity to do Sawbill Loop route -- counterclockwise. No waterfalls or pictos but has good fishing perks. Cherokee is a scenic lake studded with islands on the southern end. I've done it 3 times. (in/out backtracking the same lakes/portages, clockwise, counterclockwise.) Good chance at moose sightings on Jack Lake. Being set on Ely, do consider for a future route. Worth it! |
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LostInREI |
For scenery we’re just looking for nice big trees, maybe some cliffs, waterfalls, etc. Anything we wouldn’t see in our flat, boring, midwestern area. Thanks again for your input guys, I really appreciate it! |
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BobDobbs |
Shoot for crooked lake, you've got the basswood falls complex to the east, and curtain falls to the west. mudro is one of the closer entry points from Ely. |
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WalleyeHunter24 |
MN_Lindsey: "You could try for Little Indian Sioux North. There is Devils Cascade. We went over to Shell/Lynx etc, and then swung back to look at the Cascade/cliffs. This might meet your interests..." +1 Great scenery off of Lynx as well. Agawato Lake levels rise and fall with beaver dams dictating water flow, leaving some really beautiful views both at high and low water marks. Good fishing opportunities can also exist if the right environmental things are happening (weather, water temp, bait-fish spawning runs, etc.). Caught a 32.25" Walleye on Little Shell on one trip. |
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LostInREI |
We talked about our route a bit and I've read a few different people on here recommend doing that counter-clockwise due to the flow of Moosecamp River. Any thoughts from you all on that? We are going through Voyageur North and doing a full outfitting with them since we are somewhat novice campers and don't have a lot of the quality camping gear they have so I believe they are also going to go for the permits for us. Lynn said he is going to aim for the permit for EP 23, but we are fine with 22 as a backup. I don't want to take a permit for 23 and not use the opportunity to camp on horse so we will likely make it a point to camp on horse if we get that permit. |
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boonie |
Edited for another senior moment. Go downstream, it'll be easier to go down beaver dams than up and over. |
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old_salt |
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LostInREI |
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WHendrix |
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mjmkjun |
P.S. Correction to a previous post I made in an earlier post of yours: I did a clockwise loop, not counterclockwise. I'm playing the 'senior moment' card on that one. ;) |
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mirth |
Then you'll not only get lower basswood falls, but also the pictos right after, plus table rock. Some good pieces of voyageur history. |
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MN_Lindsey |
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Jasonf |
With that said at 5 days if you do this loop you will be moving more and might not get the most out of Crooked, it is a big lake. I would prefer 7 days and make it a little more leisurely. |
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Bushman |
LostInREI: "Crooked lake is a ways up there. Is that a do-able (and enjoyable) trip to get there and back in 5 days??" Absolutely! Get an early start and head towards the Horse River. We were north of the falls and camped on Basswood River right about 1pm. My son and I 1.5x portaging and also our first trip into BWCA. Even if nothing is open close to LBF it's a short trip up into Crooked Lake. We went in at Moose River north this year and up into LLC. It was nice but busy. I loved Crooked so much I want to get back up there in 2020. Do yourself a favor and do not count on getting a site on Fourtown on the way out if you choose to do the loop. You can find my trip report under my name on the side. Good Luck Bushman |
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LostInREI |
We have been scouring this board for a good route out of Ely in mid-June. The one our outfitter suggested (Bald Eagle-Gull-Phosphor-Pietro-Turtle-Gabbro) sounds like great fishing, but looks like it will not be the most scenic. I'd love your input on a scenic 5 day route for a group of 2 or 4 (2 have not given hard commitments). Most of what I've looked at has been around the Kawishiwi Triangle but we are open to other routes, we just don't know where to start. Here are the two or three that I've been able to find that sound interesting, have decent fishing, but on the downside have some hefty portages and seem to be a bit crowded. Wouldn't mind having the option to stay an extra night if we find a good campsite, but otherwise looking to move most days. We'd love to be away from people, but crowded by BWCA definition doesn't seem too terrible. We just don't want to have to fight for campsites every day. Option 1: EP 30, down the Kawishiwi River (optional trip into Lake One-- not sure if we'd have time), take the North fork, into Clear Lake, to South Kawishiwi headed back northeast to exit at EP 30. Option 2: EP 30, down the Kawishiwi through Clear Lake, and then to the Southwest to exit at EP 32 or 33. Option 3: EP 30, down Kawishiwi, take the south fork heading toward Little Gabbro. Not sure if we'd have time to get all the way to EP 84 or if that is a little too lofty for us in 5 days. Thanks in advance for your input! |