Trip Routing Suggestions - Boundary Waters Canoe Area
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Brooks-
I've put together this webpage to give you a rough idea for what you'd expect to see in a BWCA canoe trip. The trips above are both really nice trips and you would have some flexiblity in them as far as routing is concerned. They are not set in stone. In either case regardless of route taken, the entry point to start would be Lake One (30). You could also do these routes starting at Moose lake or Snowbank which is sometimes the case if the Lake One entry point is full - only 18 parties per day are allowed to enter there. The red dots are campsites (complete with biffy and firegrate) and you can camp only on bonafide sites. All sites are first-come. first-served, so you want to travel early in the morning and set up camp by 2 PM in case the lake you happen to be on has no available sites. You may have to press on to another lake if that is the case. People who dink around like they are in Disneyland with five-star concierge services are the ones who panic at 9 PM when they realize they have nowhere to sleep tonight. Sleeping in one's canoe is less good.
This trip would start of the beginning of the red line (Lake One - that's the actual name - really snazzy -you'll see a a circle with "30" in it) and progress the first night of camping on Lake Insula, (1AB). Then continue on to Lake Thomas to camp in the vicinity of 2AB. Follow to 3B for the area of the thrid night of camping. Loop around to 4B for the 4th night stay with Day 5 paddling back to the Snowbank landing. For a 5 day trip, this would be a fairly aggressive, but achieveable route that would put over 60 miles in travel especially if done in 5 days. There would be no time for fishing on this type of trip because most efforts would be spend making and breaking camp, cooking, and passing out from exhaustion in the tent. Making this trip a 6-7 day trip with shorter daily travel distances or the same travel lengths with a day or two of hanging out at a basecamp somewhere near the top of the loop would make room for day-trips, fishing, and general hanging out. Also, less chance of a mutiny.
No matter how determined a group is, I've seen their "mettle" tested and the whiner(s) who everybody wants to drown, will surface. Physically challenging canoe trips (or anything else) are survived more by mental fortitude than anything else. Some people have the determination and some don't. The ones who don't will be left on the portage to be eaten by wolves. (kidding) On that note however, it is not unusual to hear howling wolf packs depending on when you take the trip. May-early June and August are best howling months. If you haven't heard real timberwolves howl, it'll make your hair stand on end, initially, especially at midnight while safely hiding behind that thin sheet of nylon called the tent. But it's "rip-stop" nylon.... Haven't lost anybody to wolves...yet.
The smaller suggested loop with the blue line is about 46 miles or so. You could also follow that route and take day trips to make up mileage for the 50 mile canoe badge. This trip is very achieveable in 5 paddling days but the same limitations will apply.
It's moose country all through the Lake One, Two, Three, Four, Hudson, Insula region. Insula is a good fishing lake. Well actually they all are, but Insula can really stand out for walleyes, northern and bass. This entire area is a darkwater area. The water is clear, but stained a bit darker due to tanin in the water which comes from marsh areas (called muskeg here). Everything north of Insula will be very clear water and then it becomes lake trout country. Thomas, Frazer, Kekekabic plus all the little lakes coming back down have lakers, walleye, bass and northern pike. This summer (2008) was absolutely awesome for fishing. Fishing tanked in September but the May-August was probably one fo the best years I can remember. Everybody on our canoe trips caught fish. This would have been a good year to go out with a fishing rod, fillet knife and the shirt on your back...maybe some pants and matches, too. Oh yeah, footwear - the portages would be brutal without running shoes or boots. Maybe a compass and a map too. But, you get the idea regarding fishing, however.
As for gear, we primarily rent canoes and packs. If you have frame packs for doing Philmont, leave it at home and rent a pack instead. Frame packs are for hiking, not canoeing and you end up with the wrong stuff for this type of trip for reasons explained here. This link goes to our other site redrockstore.com which also offers a lot of info regarding canoes, canoe handling, etc, in the "FREE Canoeing How-to links" listed on the right side of the homepage. It can be good review material for people getting ready to go on a trip.
Canoe rental rates average about $35 per canoe per calendar day. In the BWCA, you may not have more than 4 canoes and 9 people per permit. Two related permit groups - say half the troop - would not be allowed to travel together or even all stand on the same island together. Nine people max in any given area. That being said, I have heard stories of overzealous Forest Service personnel trying to write a ticket for two unrelated groups who both happen to be standing on the portage together, but the Barney Fife Syndrome is usually not a problem.
You would need to make your permit reservation (required) for the dates your actual trip at http://bwcaw.org. Your trip need to begin on the start date listed (determined by the permit maker - you) on the actual permit. Starting a day early or late is not allowed. To make reservations a credit card is required. Your card will be charged $32 for a deposit. The actual fee per person is about $16 each for the entire trip up to 30 days long. Your initial deposit would be applied to the total cost of permit when you go to pick it up.
You would pick up your actual BWCAW permit (remember, the online process is just to reserve a permit) at the US Forest Service Kawishiwi ranger District either the morning of your trip or the day before. From there, you'd stop in here to arrange the rental canoes and we'd most likely haul them to Lake One for you. I say most likely because some folks are set up to haul their own rental canoe. We charge a round-trip canoe delivery fee of $15 to Lake One. We would either pick up the canoes at Snowbank or Moose Lake if the above trip is one that you decide to take.
To know that you are back from a trip, on the day your trip starts, we generally take you and your car to the return point and lock it up. Then we return you to your entry point. You proceed on the trip following map and compass for the nex 5-7 days or so. When you get to the return point, you leave the canoes and stop in at Red Rock to let us know you are back in. We then go get the canoes and you can continue on the long journey home if that is your plan. Showers would be available in Ely at an outfitter that has larger facilities available, to whom we refer many of our customers.
Well, this is a start. I'm sure you will have additional questions. Thanks!
Joe Baltich
Red Rock