East Bearskin Campground

September 10-11, 2012

Monday:  We got packed up, showered and on the road by noon.   It was a mostly easy drive north to our new spot, East Bearskin Campground in the Superior National Forest.   I had found this campground on the National Forest site, but since it listed each pad length at only 30 feet, we normally would have to cross it off the list.   However, one site did list pads longer, so I did some more googling.   I found some guy’s post about fitting with his 33 foot travel trailer.   He reported that some of the sites were plenty long.   So we decided to try it out and hope for the best.

Upon entering the campground, we were very disappointed.  Most of the sites were TINY, some not even the promised 30 feet.   And the scenery was not ideal.    But, at the back end of the campground, we did find one site that would work.    But it looked tough to get into.   After our last epic parking job, we wanted something that was easier to get into.   So we circled back and decided to take site 18.   (We bypassed it originally because someone has it reserved in 9 days, and we wanted to find a site we could have for 14).   It’s a really nice big site, and we finally had some good communication to get the rig parked.    The site was surprisingly level.   We’ve got some decent privacy, being on our own loop with only one other site.  And 30 yards from our site is a little landing on Bearskin Lake.  (I’m typing this at a picnic table overlooking the landing).

I was a little skeptical that we’d be happy at such a remote place.  There’s no cell service, and Grand Marais is 26 miles away.    But, Missy was sure that this was her kind of spot.   Perfect privacy, dogs offleash, plenty of recreation opportunities (biking, hiking and boating: Bearksin Lake is part of the BWCA).   After only a couple of hours, I came around to her point of view.    It’s so peaceful here.   No road noise, and no neighbors.   (The campground is only about ¼ full).  We ended our day with a campfire and a spectacular starry night sky.  

Tuesday:  We walked the dogs around the campground this morning.   Since it was clear skies with a light breeze, we decided to try kayaking on the lake after dropping the dogs back at home.    I am really happy we ended up at this site; the commute to the lake could not have been easier!    We put on and started paddling across our bay.   This lake looks like it might be large and full of crossroads (we have “get a lake map” on our to-do list).  The agreement was to just stick to one bay to make sure we didn’t get lost.    As we paddled out, we saw a bird shape high up a dead tree on an island.   At first we were trying to look at it with the sun in our eyes.   As we paddled past the island and looked back, we saw our first bald eagle of this leg.   We floated away from the island in the strong winds and just watched him for probably 20 minutes or so.   We were hoping he would dive for a fish, but I guess he was just chillaxing.    I, for one, enjoyed that particular nature encounter very much.    We spent about an hour on the lake and then headed home.    It’s not whitewater, but a remote, pristine lake paddle with a shore commute to camp can be just as enjoyable.

We spent the rest of the day reading in our loungers.    Cassie hunted and did a lot of digging.   Tomorrow we’re going to take a trip to GM to check out the library and maybe buy some binoculars.    We also need to buy some more propane and firewood (this campground is picked CLEAN…hardly even any twigs left).