Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: North Fowl
|
Author | Message Text | ||
marsonite |
|
||
Voyageur |
|
||
Bannock |
Well, I have never used it as an entry, though I have used John Lake. I think a lot of what you speculate is true, though I don't think the motorboat traffic is an issue. I think the Arrowhead is often overlooked. Part of that is it is furthest access road away and very isolated. You have to travel far by car - up the North Shore and then the Arrowhead Trail - and there are no outfitters that service that area. There are no options for travel. You must go to Moose Lake (or beyond). You are traveling along the Canadian border. Paddling is OK, but watch out if you are fishing. Be sure you are well on the US side of the imaginary line. That part of the BWCA - the extreme eastern part - is separate from the rest of the BWCA and has several entry points served by the Gunflint Trail (East Bearskin, Clearwater, Daniels, Duncan, and South). Because there are lots of entry points and little area to disperse, things can get crowded fast. This is one area where it doesn't help to go further in. Actually the further you go in, the closer you get to another entry point. I think Memorial Day will be busy. My advice is to find a campsite pretty quick. Then you have a hard decision to make, to base camp or move. Moving in this area during a busy time is chancy. One trip I scoured the area until 7:30 pm before finding a campsite. I do think there are enough campsites. The challenge is finding it. I have seen illegal campsites in this area of the BWCA and it looked like a pretty common occurrence. Have fun. Find a campsite soon. |
||
marsonite |
N and S Fowl lakes look to be several feet high or more. Water is up in the woods. None of the other lakes were that bad. |
||
nathanweidman |
|
||
marsonite |
|
||
nathanweidman |
Thanks for leaving them all there for us. We mostly fish John and East Pike but plan on trying Pine this year and stopping by Johnson Falls. Can't wait to get in the canoe! |
||
marsonite |
|
||
nathanweidman |
|
||
PaddleAway |
"This permit is not valid for entry at Pine Lake. Entry must be at Moose Lake via John Lake, the Royal River and N. and S. Fowl Lakes." Getting from the entrance point to Moose Lake isn't a long ordeal, maybe 3-4 hours if I recall correctly. As noted, Fowl is motorized, so you probably want to push on to Moose. Pretty lake, nice campsites, well worth it. We were on those lakes for three days several years ago & saw only a couple of other canoes; hopefully you have the same luck. |
||
marsonite |
The paddle down the Royal River was quite nice, partly because the the water was high. Once we got to North Fowl, we saw a lot more motors and activity than we expected. Paddling north along the US shore, we went by about 3 or 4 cabins and a resort which was a surprise. Lots of boats and motor (even a waterskier!) Turns out that North and South Fowl lakes were ruled as being outside of the BWCA in 2006 (cwcs newsletter). Obviously, people are no longer obeying the 10 hp limit. I don't have anything against motors (I have a boat myself), but I prefer canoe only lakes. Moose lake was great. We might as well have had it to ourselves, since the only other party was a few miles down the shore and we didn't even know they were there until day 2. Not bad for Memorial Day weekend! |