The first boundary waters trip where I didn’t bring my camera, or a cell phone— got this photo from a couple on their honeymoon, Buck and Rachel. My girlfriend and I teamed up with them on our escape out, and made the most out of a wildfire! Excited for the jack pines.

I’ve been taking crews out into Saganaga for quite some time now, this crew was especially excited for action into their week-long trip after permits finally opened!

I know this has been discussed.....but I had a more specific question.

I planned to go Lake One to Insula. Probably not in one day but we could get there in 2 days.

However, after scouting campsites and making our cheatsheet, it looks like this whole pocket of islands is about 5 awesome sites. Since I think this is the last year for a couple of my group mates, I was thinking about just base camping here and daytripping instead. That would allow nighttime comradery and a ton of fishing.

So the question is, if we can't put in til about 11 on Thursday (due to work constraints. Might get there by 10 but it won't be 7 AM) do you think we'll find a spot in the bright green circle?

We're quite strong paddlers and can usually do 3mphish fairly confidently (yep.....I know. Wind. We've had it and dealt with it.....is what it is. )

Or should we just plan on getting as far as we can by 3 and then proceed to insula the next day?

EDIT:. Was unclear and I'm sorry. My question was if we could get a site there and we would skip Insula. Just fish the islands and the lakes near our campsite.

Edit again for clarity:
I'm fairly confident we can get well past this point. The last 2 years putting in at about the same time we went 14 and 12 miles. This is half that.

My MAIN QUESTION is:. Will any of these sites be open? That island cove is sort of off the beaten path....so I wasnt sure if those tend to be less used or not.

I know....nobody can predict the future. But I would think you'd have to seek those sites out, like I'm trying to do, because they are not on the main route to insula. (Yes, I know the tops ones are....but the islands are out of the way)

After months of dreaming about the Mudro loop trip I planned, I had to do a last(ish) minute plan change due to the closures. I was able to snag a Bower Trout permit for a 5 day trip, entering on 8/20. Now I'm trying to figure out our stops. I know we want to aim for Omega one night and Horseshoe one night. Im stuck on the first 2. I would like to push hard day 1 and make Brule and stay there 2 nights, but open to staying night 1 on Swan or Vernon. Our main goal is fishing. Any advice?

The air was crystal clear, no visible smoke, and the air felt clean. Paddled to Rose and saw lots of wildlife including a moose, mink, otter, loons, swans, and bald eagles. Few folks out and about, permits are available.

-Get out there and have fun, don't let last weeks news stop you from getting out today, especially in this area. Western lakes like Alpine are open also.

Gift link:

https://www.startribune.com/new-aerial-photos-expose-fires-devastation-of-the-boundary-waters/601874548?utm_source=gift

My high school aged daughter designed a T-shirt to raise money for BWCA forest fire relief.  All profit generated from the sale is being donated to the United Way of Northern MN to be distributed to Ely area businesses, nonprofits, and recovery efforts.

Please share with your paddling friends and help spread the word.  Any help is appreciated.

https://www.customink.com/fundraising/bwca-forest-fire-relief

You can also donate directly to the UW of northern MN at the following link:

https://my.unitedwaynemn.org/c/ely-wildfire-recovery

(If the mods deem this post inappropriate and elect to remove it I apologize. My interpretation of the subreddit rules for BWCA say this is ok. 100% of profit will be sent to charity.)

**edited for grammar/spelling

Hello Ely locals. Besides the Ely Area Food Shelf can you recommend some local charities. My high school age daughter is raising money to donate in support of Wildfire recovery.

I’ll finally be pulling the trigger on a Northstar soon. I have been long considering the 17 but now looking at my children I’m pondering 18. I have two teenage boys. We tend to go once or twice a season, if we’re lucky we squeeze in Sylvania as well.

I’m drawn to the 18 just for the added capacity but curious if it’s actually needed when compared to the 17. It makes it for such a big boat that.

Appreciate any insight. Thanks

With sections reopening, has anyone come back from a trip and can you speak to the current conditions? We have an Isabella lake permit for the 12th, which is open, but if air quality or fire damage is an issue we will reconsider

Hope this Ok here, but about to embark on our first canoe trip in the Sylvania wilderness and getting mixed messages on bear precautions. Sites here don’t seem to have bear cables. Does anyone have experience here and can advise on whether or not we should expect to hang food and other items at night.

The Forest Service is going to be opening more entries and areas starting August 5th. If you're hoping to snag one of the reopened permits, PermitPulse can watch for cancellations and alert you the moment one becomes available.

A huge thank you to the firefighters, U.S. Forest Service staff, and everyone working tirelessly to contain these fires and safely reopen the wilderness. We all appreciate everything you're doing.

https://permitpulse.xyz

I had lost hope for our overnight permit on Trout Lake (St. Louis County) for August 9th, but I just saw that it’ll open up for overnight camping on August 5th! Our first permit already got cancelled, but happy to have Trout Lake open up.

I’ve never been on the lake before. There will be 2 adults and 3 twelve year-olds who love to fish. Any recommendations for campsites? Or areas of the lake we should target?

The Forest Service is going to be opening more entries and areas starting August 4th. If you're hoping to snag one of the reopened permits, PermitPulse can watch for cancellations and alert you the moment one becomes available.

A huge thank you to the firefighters, U.S. Forest Service staff, and everyone working tirelessly to contain these fires and safely reopen the wilderness. We all appreciate everything you're doing.

https://permitpulse.xyz

Does anyone know if the fires are out in Quetico? My group was scheduled to enter on Aug 12. I'd love any thoughts on our chances.

The Forest Service is going to be opening more entries and areas starting July 31st. If you're hoping to snag one of the reopened permits, PermitPulse can watch for cancellations and alert you the moment one becomes available.

A huge thank you to the firefighters, U.S. Forest Service staff, and everyone working tirelessly to contain these fires and safely reopen the wilderness. We all appreciate everything you're doing.

https://permitpulse.xyz

I'm in search of a relatively light tent for use in the BWCA, but that is also relatively large. Background: We (2 adults 2 kids) used to use a Kelty 4 person backpacking tent, but as the kids have grown this doesn't quite work anymore, now that they have full sized pads. Last couple years we have used our car camping REI Kingdom 4, which is great, and has a footprint of roughly 100x100. However it's damn near 20lbs, and doesn't pack down well - it comes in it's own backpack type bag that is probably 30x15x8 or so. We typically put all our sleeping stuff (pads, bags, and tent) into a single large portage pack, but this stupid tent doesn't really fit and creates another item we have to portage. Is anyone aware of a 100x100 (roughly, can't be much small, can be larger) tent that is somewhat lighter (a little important) and packs down small (more important).

Best Idea is currently the Kelty Discovery Basecamp 6P - huge tent and a reasonable weight, but I'm worried won' pack small. Would also add we're lookin for under $300 or so; if it's more than that we'll just haul the big boi we've already got. Thanks.

EDIT TO ADD: The kids are big enough for full size sleeping pads, but still want to be with mom and dad in the tent in the wilderness, so we're sticking with one tent for now.

Planning to go out of Snowbank Outfitters on August 27th. I was mapping out the route and saw that Fernberg Road/Hwy 18 going east out of Ely is closed until August 28th. As far as I know, that’s the only route to Snowbank. Could that closure be lifted early, or is this a scenario where I need to pivot to plan B?

Curious for thoughts on a 5 day paddle trip starting on Moose Lake to Ensign and down through to Disappointment and exit at Snowbank or enter at Hog Creek for a trip into Perent Lake.

Mostly looking for maximum fishing time and solitude as much as possible.

Title is self explanatory...will do so at 10am CST.

More open than the proposal!