I'm anxiously counting down one month to a much to short 4 day trip to the BWCA.  Entry point is Sawbill on Sept 18th.  We plan to base camp out of Burnt, Smoke or Flame - any recommendations would be great!  I only recently realized that I'm the only one out of our 5 man group that isn't former military..  I'm screwed..  The funny thing is though, when i bring up the idea of packing light to these guys, it seems like they don't get it.  They keep telling me all these extras that they're bringing.  I guess they'll learn - although basecamping won't make it such a big deal probably.

Anyway - sure looking forward to the trip.  Any recommendations for campsites, fishing, or otherwise along that route or in the area would be appreciated.

Tom B.

We didn't explore the Fire lakes as much as I'd hoped for (on the trip report bstrege linked above), so I can't offer much more than to say that Burnt was a very scenic lake & that the portage to Kelly was difficult - but nothing to be avoided at all costs.  But, if your group is into this sort of thing, we felt the Jack Lake mine was a really cool spot.  It would be a manageable day trip from the Fire lakes.  Very Moosey area too.

Have a great trip!

Thanks for all the feedback and tips - i look forward to trying them out.  I'll try to take pics of campsites and things so I can contribute more to this wonderful site as well.  Counting down now, less than a week so the final packing will happen this weekend.  Looks to be a little chilly but not bad during our stay - should be a wonderful time.

Tom B.

Hope you have a good trip, and let me know if you have any specific questions. Great smallmouth and walleye fishing on Sawbill, Smoke, Burnt, and Kelly especially. Flame Lake only has one campsite, but it's usually empty since nobody wants to cross the portage to check if it's free. If you camp there you'll have an entire lake to yourself, with a nice rock to jump off into the water to boot.