Click to View the Full Thread

Author	Message Text
cowdoc	02/27/2011 11:26AM   quote Rob Johnson: "Link to the discussion about the "strange" forest near Vera Lake in this PMA. Strange Forrest Thread " Link is for Ferne Lake.....Vera is not a PMA lake....it is between Ensign and Knife.
Rob Johnson	02/27/2011 01:21PM   quote cowdoc: "quote Rob Johnson: "Link to the discussion about the "strange" forest near Vera Lake in this PMA. Strange Forrest Thread " Link is for Ferne Lake.....Vera is not a PMA lake....it is between Ensign and Knife." My Bad!!! Fixed it...
DanSolo	05/26/2015 03:05PM   Made it to Record Creek and Record Lake over Memorial Day weekend. Was raining the whole day I visited; a very steady rain. I had planned on visiting Caveman and Scotch Lakes too, but the rain made everything suck so had to settle for Record Lake and Record Creek. Record Lake is a beautiful lake. I actually liked Record Creek even more though; very pretty area. There are two ways on a map that appear reasonable for getting to Record Lake. One is from Mahlberg directly. At its closest point, my GPS showed Record Lake a mere 1224 feet away from Mahlberg Lake. But, after visiting that spot, it was easy to decide to go check out Record Creek where it flows into the Kawishiwi River. This is right by the end of the 62 rod portage between Mahlberg Lake and the Kawishiwi River. The bushwhack: After paddling a couple hundred feet from the mouth of Record Creek, you come to some rapids. On the right side of the creek is a usable path (someone occasionally comes this way, enough to make a faint path). It is rocky and slipping (since it was pouring rain on me). The bushwhack around the rapids is maybe 20 rods. Once above the rapids, it is smooth paddling until you get about 500 feet from Record Lake. At this point, there was a good sized beaver dam that is easiest to liftover on the right side. A fallen tree marks the entry into Record Lake. This is a very pretty lake, probably the nicest one I've visited. I didn't fish, but water is certainly deep enough and the lake has Record Creek flowing through it for current so it probably doesn't freeze out. Water is dark stained. Did not see any fish, but rain made it hard to notice fish swirls. Headed south past Record Lake up Record Creek toward Bugo Lake. Didn't plan to go all the way out to Bugo, but did go about 30 percent of the way. Attached are two photos. One is pano of Record Lake. The island would be a decent place to camp. The other is Record Creek just south of the rapids you bushwhack around. If you want to see more, I had a GoPro camera recording this entire trip and will post that data out on the web within a few days. Search BWCA PMA and Record Lake and you will find it easy. All in all, a relatively easy PMA lake to visit if you are in this area.
PaddleAway	02/27/2011 10:57AM   My paddling partner & I hit Ferne Lake this past August, with thoughts of spending two nights on Ferne & seeing if we could locate the old eastern half of the Pow Wow & do a little exploring during the day. It didn't turn out as planned. It took us hours to find the old portage from the small creek into Ferne; it was mis-marked on all three old maps I'd managed to dig up (waaaaaaaay mis-marked). There is some serious blowdown in the area, at one point, while searching for the portage, it took us half an hour to go 1/10 of a mile...without packs. When we did finally locate the old portage is was mid-afternoon. It's marked at 330 rods. We took our packs first & the portage was the most difficult I've ever been on. Lots of blowdown. Areas where the portage just disappeared underfoot. By the time we reached Ferne, it was debatable whether we could go back, fetch the canoe/food pack, & make it in before dark. After panting for a while, debating whether we were real men, we decided not to risk it & just marched back. I did dip my foot in Ferne. It was frustrating, but heck, we were in the BWCA, so that passed quickly. We talked about getting up early the next day, but doing that portage again, staying one short afternoon/night, & coming right back out didn't appeal. Someday, we'll get back, & we'll know where the #&$^( portage is.
Wintersguy80	03/14/2019 01:27PM   On on day hiking on this spring where the old road to camp 4 crossed the parent and head north. Portage in ferne memorial day weekend in the mid 90s it was hell. We had to paddle part of the Portage. Never again. Betting on high water this spring and exploring channels off the parent. Hoping to be able to get to snusbox lake. I know this is all on the very edge of the pma but hey...
Pinetree	04/16/2016 09:05PM   Anybody been to Ferne since the fire. I walked part way after the fire the next spring. I think it would of been very doable than. By now some of the standing dead burnt trees may be falling making it a mess.
Pinetree	03/14/2019 03:18PM   Wintersguy80: "On on day hiking on this spring where the old road to camp 4 crossed the parent and head north. Portage in ferne memorial day weekend in the mid 90s it was hell. We had to paddle part of the Portage. Never again. Betting on high water this spring and exploring channels off the parent. Hoping to be able to get to snusbox lake. I know this is all on the very edge of the pma but hey..." Wow you did make it tho to Ferne. Great. Yes mid 90's to warm to portage anywhere,even beside there.
Wintersguy80	03/14/2019 03:22PM   Pinetree: "Wintersguy80: "On on day hiking on this spring where the old road to camp 4 crossed the parent and head north. Portage in ferne memorial day weekend in the mid 90s it was hell. We had to paddle part of the Portage. Never again. Betting on high water this spring and exploring channels off the parent. Hoping to be able to get to snusbox lake. I know this is all on the very edge of the pma but hey..." Wow you did make it tho to Ferne. Great. Yes mid 90's to warm to portage anywhere,even beside there." Yeah it was during the high water season and yes we made it.. stayed a night and got out.. good fishing tho. Not gonna try this year. But gonna go look for the natural spring on the powwow before it.
Amok	06/22/2011 03:48PM   bump
rtallent	05/27/2015 09:10AM   Nice. I took the same route quite a few years ago, but did not remember details, except that it wasn't a real hard bushwhack. Caught northern in the lake, though not monsters. Did not camp there. I like the photos!
Rob Johnson	05/26/2015 11:34PM   Thanks for the pics!
Bogwalker	05/27/2015 06:12AM   Thanks for the intel-Glad you made the trek.
PINETREE	07/10/2011 09:52PM   The western edge of this one is where the individual got lost off the Pow Wow trail and did everything wrong,but luckly lived and wrote a book. I have done numerous trips in the western 2/3 from top to bottom years ago. The trails exist only sporadically(the lost individual took the wrong trail to begin with off the POW Wow,but the trail he took slowly peters out. I have taken it and if I did not have a compass I would of been mixed up real good.That whole area has old logging trails that were pretty good until around mid 1980's even early 1990's you could find your way around, now they have really grown over and you could say they are gone.Once that was the best Moose country in the BWCA. That is past tense now.
Rob Johnson	02/25/2011 10:35PM   THE LAST OF THE PMAs and probably the biggest. This one is on the southern side of the Bdub. There are old portages and old campsites in this one as well as signs of past logging. The closest ranger station: Tofte or Ely EPs: 34, 35, 36, 37 The Usual Pics:
Rob Johnson	02/25/2011 10:46PM   Link to the discussion about the "strange" forest near Ferne Lake in this PMA. Strange Forrest Thread