Permit Reservation Day got me to pondering...

Not interested in a big loop, this is a trip for my wife and me and she is most interested in keeping it simple (easy). Our usual MO is a base camp destination and back out the same route. So, I'm not worried about appearing to be asking for the easy way out on this one. I am.

Plan A: EP 62-Clearwater - Caribou - Little Caribou - Pine

Some little details make me hesitate, since we have little experience on routes on the east side:

Does Clearwater have a lot of motor traffic? Is there ample parking for a vehicle with a canoe trailer at the entry point?

One of our only open dates would be the first weekend in July, entering on Friday, exiting on Monday. EP 62 permits (3 per day) don't seem to be going very fast this morning, but I still wonder: what are the chances that we won't be able to find an open site on Caribou on that weekend? I try not to get “stuck” on any particular site, but it doesn’t help that online reviews on Caribou's sites get better as you keep heading east, possibly tempting you to pass up open spots for “better" ones. And the one on Little Caribou seems the most popular/best of all.

I'm thinking of using Hungry Jack Outfitters for our bunkhouse the night before and to rent our canoe (did some business with them last June). Are there other/better approaches to Johnson Falls than from Clearwater? All of the other routes I’ve found from near the HJO area seem more strenuous than my wife would hope. (ie. E Bearskin-Alder-Canoe... Plan B)

If there's little to no wind.....EP #68 Pine Lake.

TuscaroraBorealis: "If there's little to no wind.....EP #68 Pine Lake."

Yeah, pretty big "If." Somehow, I can guarantee that, on a trip with my wife, every stroke of those 7 miles of paddling straight west would be into a stiff headwind and would double the expected 2-1/2 hours.

Tusc, you know this area as well as anyone on this site. Am I on the right track at all with my Clearwater entry? Are the concerns in my questions justified? Or am I guilty of a higher level of unfounded fears that come with seeing new territory?

There is not a lot of motor traffic on Clearwater. The parking lot is small.....you could probably wiggle a trailer into the trees behind the truck. Do you plan to just cross the tip of Clearwater and portage right away into Caribou....or paddle down the length of Clearwater and take the 200 rod into Caribou? I know the Caribou site at the far east end is a nice one, but a couple of the far east ones are very nice on Clearwater also. That 200 rodder is gradual down hill to Caribou. Nice trail. A paddle down Clearwater will give you the view of the Palisades.

Reading the words 'easy' and 'basecamp' made Pine jump out at me too. When I plan for a base camp I'd find it a lot easier to paddle into the wind on a day trip than to portage my stuff a couple times. Pine lake also has the bonus of only one permit per day so it's pretty unlikely that you'd have issues finding a site. You'd probably want to outfit somewhere else if you go in this way too.

Another option you might look at is going in through East Bearskin. You can camp on one of several smaller lakes there (Alder, Canoe, Pierez) and take a nice long hike to get to Johnson falls, no need to bring the canoe along as you can walk the entire way.

A few years ago I did Clearwater to Caribou the weekend after opener, weekend before Memorial day. We got the second to last site on Caribou, I was shocked it was that busy, but it was. I've been there in mid July and had it to myself too, so there's just no telling till you get there! The bonus of going in here is that you can have an amazing breakfast at Clearwater Lodge!

If you're doing the Canoe - Pine portage with nothing more than a water bottle and a few snacks... then it's a no brainer. Enter at East Bearskin EP #64.

In my opinion, Clearwater is perhaps the most scenic EP in the BWCA. But, if you're looking to avoid tough portages??? The Clearwater - Caribou trail is fairly challenging. Conversely, ALL the portages from East Bearskin - Canoe Lake are as easy as trails of those lengths could be. Nice camps on Alder and Canoe- and this also puts a trip to the Spaulding Lake cabin on the itinerary.

If/when you do make it to Johnson Falls, be sure to check out the colossal cedar tree just downstream from the lower falls.

Regarding the wind, youre right that it is a pretty big if, but if Pine is 'rocking'? Odds are Clearwater, Caribou & Alder would be as well.

Thanks, Tusc. I put some of my questions to the folks at Bearskin Wilderness Outfitters, and could easily see us going that route. Putting in directly on an outfitter lake is very appealing as it eliminates the need for canoe transport. Eliminating even the short drive from an outfitter to a nearby lake means no trailer or roof rack items and probably saves just a bit of time.

And, I could certainly see us basing on Alder or Canoe and making day trips to Johnson Falls and the Spaulding Lake cabin.

Same question, second verse: Does East Bearskin have a lot of motor traffic? I notice that this is a step up, allowing 25 HP...

cowdoc, I was thinking of just cutting off directly to Caribou, but the Palisades look great. I've never been tempted to camp on a motor lake, however, at least not since our early years on Fall Lake/Pipestone Bay. Right now, it seems like Clearwater is going to wait until another time.

Sounds like you have made up your mind, and that is fine. East Bearskin is a good way to go, and the Alder/Pierz/Canoe area is nice.

But my suggest would have been more like cowdoc's. We have done Johnson Falls and this area several times, and my preference would be to stay the night before in one of the little B&B rooms at Clearwater Lodge and enjoy breakfast there (they are also an outfitter), park there, take off in the morning from the beach at Clearwater where you are enjoying the spectacular view of the Palisades the entire way up Clearwater Lake--in my mind one of the most beautiful sights in the BWCA.





We have usually camped on Pine and gone to Johnson Falls from there. I have a couple of favorite sites on Pine. The trail to Johnson Falls from Pine is an easy one, and we have enjoyed our visits to the falls every time.

Whatever route you take, have a good time!

We did the Bearskin route also. Stayed on Canoe.... west site. Explored Paddle and hiked the stream that flows in from north. Daytripped to Johnson Falls. It's a pretty easy day to get to Canoe from the Bearskin e.p.

Here's what I did. Entry #64, one short portage and camped on Alder Lake. Next morning I paddled to east end of Canoe Lake, left my canoe on landing there (as others do) and hiked it to Johnson Falls. Easy hike. Took a snack-lunch and a bottle of water. Was the only one at the falls so I had fun exploring. Didn't swim. Take precaution against bugs bcuz you are going to hike through forest cover towards the end part of the trail. Not too buggy, though. Some muddy spots to step around. I don't know how long it took me. I didn't time it. Easy 1/2 day side trip at casual pace.
On my day of departure, I broke camp late and caught some afternoon wind on the paddle back to EP 64. It felt like E. Bearskin grew much longer.

Hang on, I'm not really ruling out anything. There are certainly a lot of tempting sights and routes in this area! And I thank each of you for chiming in. It's becoming a lot clearer now.

I heard back from the folks at Bearskin and for a pre-trip bunk they suggested reserving a night at the USFS East Bearskin Lake Campground. Nothing all that wrong with that and we could certainly make it work, but not exactly our #1 choice for night-before accommodations. Of course, there are the main lodge's cabins, at $250 per night and up...

Spartan, I might just look back at Clearwater and those B&B options! :-)

In my experience, East Bearskin has much more of a 'populated' feel to it then Clearwater does. The waterway is much narrower and the cabins seem to stretch further down the lake and are more noticeable. Still, not deal breakingly so to me - If I've got my heart set on accessing that area quickly.

Another option for lodging would be to stay at one of the camper cabins at the campground on East Bearskin (availability???). I believe nearby Flour Lake also had them. Of course, just to muddy the water, :) staying at Clearwater Lodges bunkhouse would make grabbing breakfast in the main Lodge much more convenient. I highly recommended stopping in there, even if you don't have breakfast or any other impending reason. It's a truly fascinating structure and they have a small interpretive area too.

Also, since you'll be in the area....try and make some time to check out Honeymoon Bluff .

Just remember though.......if you do shuttle (E. Bearskin to Clearwater, or vice versa), it takes a lot longer than you think to drive from Clearwater to E. Bearskin. Those roads are longer than they look on the map, curvy and gravel.
FYI, the camper cabins are neat but they have no water, electricity......nothing but a roof, walls and beds. Just more secure and easier than pitching a wet tent.

Yeah, we've been in some of the MN State Park camper cabins, and know the limitations. And there are some of those at E Bearskin that are open on our first-choice date. I was surprised that my wife said that she was open to something like that. Go figure: she'll usually veto sites without flush toilets/shower building when we are car camping but more than happy with a latrine and a swim when we're on a canoe trip...

So (whiplash alert!), I am leaning back to Clearwater... especially since I just now noticed that they could outfit us with our canoe and have a couple of bunkhouses available with private bath and shower facilities... Thanks for the aside, Spartan: "(they are also an outfitter)" An email to those folks is on its way. Thanks, copy-paste!

The Palisades are calling, but I might need reassurance that I could really be happy base camping on the east end of that lake, if so fortunate. Yes, there will be the day trips, and yes, we could always go for a base on Caribou or Little Caribou (although she's looking to avoid hauling all of our gear up and down that hill), but I am wrestling with calling it a wilderness canoe trip if we were to spend our nights on an entry point lake that allows 10 HP motor traffic... And with a canoe that's the favorite of the folks at Red Rock! ;-)

(One guarantee: She WILL light up at the question I may spring on her tonight, "How would you like zero portages on entry day?")

If you can get it........

The eastern most site on Clearwater is (in my opinion )perhaps the quintessential basecamp site in the BWCA. It's not necessarily a five star site but, it requires no portaging, has potentially decent swimming and fishing, and offers a plethora of easily reached top notch day trip options. (Palisades, BRT, Mountain lake overlooks, Gogebic Lake and scenic bridge area, Johnson Falls etc.) In fact there is a spur trail behind camp that connects to the BRT. So, if you're windbound, you could still access the overlooks & Gogebic without ever having to dip a paddle. Plus you're far enough down the lake as to avoid most/if not all of the motor traffic.

I'll second that site. There was a little damage from the wind storm of July 2016?......we were there in late August and there was still some cleanup to do.


Another nice site is 682.....third from the east

......and I'll second cowdocs recommendation of campsite #682 . :)

It's a bit more worn down and, since its further up the lake & at a pinch point,you'll definitely see more traffic. But, it's a very nice site as well.

So... 62-Clearwater permit reserved, bunkhouse and canoe reserved through Clearwater Lodge. Beyond that, we shall see what adventure awaits.

For trip #40, I sure felt like a first-timer... :-)

Sounds like you are planning a fun trip.

While you are at Clearwater, save up some time to spend in the historic Lodge. We always stayed in Charlie's Room upstairs, as we loved actually sleeping in the lodge, but even if you are in the bunkhouse, it is fun to spend some time in the lodge, enjoy the big fireplace, and the unique diamond willow furniture, see the exhibits about the history of the place. Have a piece of pie if you get there the day before! And I would get there in time to make the trip up to Honeymoon Bluff the evening before my trip and watch the sunset over Hungry Jack Lake--it's a nice panorama view, often with an eagle or two soaring overhead.

Honeymoon Bluff has become a tradition for our granddaughter now when we are on the Gunflint.

From Honeymoon Bluff, sometimes the eagles are soaring below you ;)

Thanks for all of the help, guys and gals! It is great to get more familiar with the Gunflint. We have occasioned the area off-and-on since our first night on Eagle Mountain in 1981, and quite a few sections of the Superior Hiking Trail up that way have been covered over the years... Pincushion Mountain, Devil Track River, Wood Creek, Kimball Creek, Kadunce River, Carlson Creek... but the EPs and lakes of the eastern BWCAW have always mystified me. The names have become somewhat familiar after reading about them here over the years, but I was still at a loss to find them right away on a map or figure out how their routes are interconnected. This has been a fun winter of map reading and dreaming.

We even switched our reservation for our annual June car camping/SHT outing -- after 15 years straight of basing at Split Rock SP -- to Judge CR Magney SP. That will mean even more sections between the Gunflint and the BRT come into play, not just the occasional stretches covered after driving up to Grand Marais for just the day. Really looking forward to that.

We have used HJO and based on Alder. No motors on Alder and Bearskin is in your dust by the end of about an hour or so. The long portage to Johnson Falls is easy enough going in, but I needed rest stops on the way back even without much carry along or the canoe. There is some serious elevation change. If a good night sleep is important before or after your trip, HJO has real Mattresses as good as I use at home in their bunkhouses. (Quality at home). On Alder, the best camp sight is the third one in on left side of lake just past a really small island as you enter. If all are full, there are 3 lesser sites just past Alder a short portage, almost a lift over, to them on that lake.. A downside to HJO is waiting until 7:00 AM for their light non-cook breakfast which they bring to your bunkhouse. We left earlier than that and did not really miss that much to make it worth waiting around for.

Did the Clearwater loop last year through McFarland and Pike lakes. Entered at EP62 on July 7th and exited July 11th.

We got to the EP at 3:00 pm, so a little later than I wanted haha. I also had three first timers with me! 4th of July being in the middle of the week last year made it busy!!!! After we portaged out of Clearwater and started paddling on Caribou we noticed that all the campsites where full (looked like a lot of families with little kids) and pushed on to Little Caribou (my favorite camp site). Yep that was full too, would have been to stay there as it is so close to Johnson Falls. Now we are on to Pine Lake and the sun is starting to get low quick! The first 7 campsite where full! Oh crap! We ended up meeting a group on the water coming the other way and they to said all the sites they have passed where full except one. So we ended up camping with them that night. They where a nice group of people. After Pine we only saw one or two other groups. The east side of Clearwater is beautiful by the way!

I have used Clearwater Outfitters twice now, they let me park at their lodge during my trip.

Have not read everyone's comments yet, if I repeat some information.