Took a quick solo trip up to Sylvania Wilderness over the weekend. The fall colors were beautiful. Started at Clark Lake. The wind was pretty strong so I took one of the first campsites I came to on Clark Lake. Balsam 2. Turned out to be a pretty nice site. And I didn't even have to portage to get there. LOL. Since the water was pretty choppy, I decided to check out the hiking trail that circles Clark Lake. I thought I might hike a mile or so and then turn back. I ended up hiking the entire trail, 9 miles. Took 3 1/2 hours. But the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. The morning were pretty cold, 32 degrees both mornings. All in all, a nice little trip.

Thanks for sharing. Sylvania is one of my favorite spots. I've been visiting there since the mid 1980's. It's several hours closer to home for me compared to the BWCA so that has allowed me to do a lot of weekend trips up there.

Old growth creates a park like feel . Hiked the shore of Clark last May 2015,


butthead

Sylvania is 6 hours from me, as compared to 10 hours for BWCA, so it makes for a nice weekend trip. Also, I run my own company and it's difficult for me to be out of touch with clients, so due to the fact that I get cell phone coverage there, it makes it easier for me to just take off for a few days and head up there. That being said, it's not the BWCA. I still plan on carving out a couple of weeks a year for trips to the BWCA.

Like Butthead says, there is a lot of old growth forest in Sylvania. This makes the forest seem very open, due to the lack of under brush. Walking through the woods in Sylvania, you feel many times like you're walking on a sponge. The forest floor has such a build up of pine needles that it's spongy feeling.

Nice report. Sylvania is also one of my favorite spots. Made my first trip there in 1973 and been back every year since 1979. After reading your report now I am hoping to get in one more quick trip there (with similar weather!) this year.

Hope you do. What's nice about Sylvania after October 1st is that it's free and you don't have to preregister a campsite. So it becomes more like a BWCA trip.
Have a good trip.

Nice pics. Been a lot of years now since I was there. Nice place, though.