Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Listening Point - General Discussion :: Abandoned Cabins
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srust58 |
Pine Lake in the eastern BWCA. I remember it being on the northern shore probably somewhere in the eastern portion of the lake. Photo taken in 1979 |
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mapsguy1955 |
It is cool though, seeing some of these relics of history that have cultural significance, like White Otter. I don't mind them eliminating the old trapper's cabins though. It is lovely to see pure nature without our embellishments. There are so few remaining places like this. |
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ellahallely |
quote bottomtothetap: "Anyone know anything about a resort or cabins one time on Gun Lake (the one between Gull and Fairy). Stayed at a site there one time--#1085--and back in the trees a bit it looked like depressions and maybe even some concrete slabs that might have been remnants of a long-gone resort. Also curious about site #1637 on Basswood Lake at the mouth of Wind Bay. That site seems to have "terraces" up the slope from the lake to the main part of the site that cabins could have set on at one time. Also some flat areas there that it was hard to tell if they were man-made pavement or just very flat rock. " I know this is old, however site #1637 on Basswood Lake was Maple Leaf Lodge. Across the opening of the bay to the NE was Su-Sha-Nan Resort. I found this link on the old resorts some of you might like. basswood-resorts Maple Leaf Lodge |
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airmorse |
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Dances with Sheep |
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TuscaroraBorealis |
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mgraber |
missmolly: "Marten: "I dreamed I was out on skis in 1985 and came upon an old log cabin far from any road in northern MN. Frustration set in because GPS's were not around yet and without knowing the location ownership info could not be obtained. It's a dream so a local forester tells me who owns the cabin. I find his number in downstate MN and call him before heading to my afternoon shift. He informs me the cabin sits on 40 acres he has title to and for $1200 the whole works is mine. The best part: IT'S NOT A DREAM!!! Wow, what a cool story! |
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egknuti |
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bolavand |
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cheesewiz |
That's really cool! I'd love to hear some of those stories. |
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jmchev |
Marten: "I dreamed I was out on skis in 1985 and came upon an old log cabin far from any road in northern MN. Frustration set in because GPS's were not around yet and without knowing the location ownership info could not be obtained. It's a dream so a local forester tells me who owns the cabin. I find his number in downstate MN and call him before heading to my afternoon shift. He informs me the cabin sits on 40 acres he has title to and for $1200 the whole works is mine. The best part: IT'S NOT A DREAM!!! Wow. What a cool experience! Hopefully we all find our slice of heaven on earth. |
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MikeinMpls |
As an aside, the Forest Service has a list of over 7000 archaeological sites in the Superior National Forest, most related to Native Americans. The list is classified and is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for fear of desecration, disruption or thievery. Mike |
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jmchev |
mjmkjun: "kanoes: "quote Chilly: "There is an unbuilt cabin kit that was air dropped in and is sitting on pallets NW of Baskatong Lake. The receipt was from a place in Wisconsin and all the hinges and screws were there too. " Gullible youngster here. So was this a joke? I spent a good hour yesterday searching Google maps and historic aerials for this "pallet" lol. |
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jamotrade |
quote solotrek: " We found that cabin too while we were spending a night at the site. It seemed odd that it was so far from the water. Lots of small garbage pits around with rusty cans, bottles, and snus boxes. |
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mr.barley |
quote HighPlainsDrifter: "MR. BarleyMy photo was taken last May. As you can see they have it jacked up and are doing some fixing on the foundation. There was a stack of the new latrines behind the cabin and also a huge aluminum canoe. |
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tobiedog |
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solotrek |
quote bdavid1157: "Solotrek is there some place to get more info about this cabin?" I got my information from Walter Okstad. His email address (at that time) was wokstad@fs.fed.us Good luck! |
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GraniteCliffs |
Sure enough, both cabins have now completely fallen in and are barely visible in the overgrowth. Both the cabins and I have been at this for a long, long time. I guess I, too, will be fallen in and lost in the overgrowth..... |
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HighPlainsDrifter |
Barley and Plums Your picture jogged nice memories of our fall 2007 trip (came up from Kawishiwi Lake via Boulder, Ledge, Hoe, Vee, etc) Some of the character of the old cabin has been lost in the face lift. I do not like the paint color. I think the old faded green fit the environment a bit better. They should have kept the moose jaw and thermometer on the wall....... the place looks way to sterile. I have a tooth from that jaw. In my picture, I was holding a little tin Log Cabin Syrup container. I left that there. The aluminum canoe was on the side of the cabin when I was there (you can see the bow) The place had a special feel. I am glad they fixed up the cabin. What about the 70 year collection of crap out back? ...... from old mattresses to cast iron stoves..... Have they hauled the junk out? Was the log out house still there? How about the flat bottom wood boats? |
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254Bow |
quote mr.barley: "It's along the portage between Gillis and Crooked " That's it! Thanks for the pic. Been about 4-5 years since I was there. Love that portage. |
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mooseplums |
quote HighPlainsDrifter: " |
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ellahallely |
part-1-link|summer |
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Pinetree |
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MikeinMpls |
quote Pinetree: "Was inside the Fraser cabin once on Fraser lake and they had photo's of big stringers of walleyes all over the wall." When was that? Mike |
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Pinetree |
quote MikeinMpls: "quote Pinetree: "Was inside the Fraser cabin once on Fraser lake and they had photo's of big stringers of walleyes all over the wall." My brother has a better memory than mine I will ask him but it is very close to 1988 in March. It was not too many years after that it burnt down. Also remember like the year before in the summer there was a lot of people staying there opening day of fishing season as we canoed by. |
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WinstonRumfoord |
quote Marten: "...The best part: IT'S NOT A DREAM!!!" If I said I was not jealous, it would be the biggest lie I could ever possibly tell :) Enjoy your treasure! |
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Grandma L |
quote bruceye: "There was one on an island about half way up Fraser that was privately owned till the 40's. USFS torched it about 15 years ago along with most of the island." Yup - I was there - years ago-mid-1980's as I recall. |
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Pinetree |
quote Savage Voyageur: "Not abandoned but there is a cabin that is used by the Forest Service on Insula. I think that it is a working cabin. A very small part of the lake just East of Stingray Island on the south end is part of the Superior Forrest and Insula Forrest land. Use to be a Conservation cabin on On Insula. The The Pagami Creek Wildfire Area on September 11, 2012 burnt it up,than the following year MN. DNR cleaned up and flew the debris out of there. |
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borderroute |
Kevlar: "Bruceye, that cabin on Fraser was there in about 1980. I talked to an older man there who said the owner had been a young man when he had to choose whether to sell the cabin to the F.S. or keep it and never be able to sell it or pass it on (when he would die, it would become F.S. property). He kept it and used it winter and summer for another 30 years or so. The F.S. would let him bring a snowmobile in in the winter, and a motor on his canoe in the summer. After the owner died the FS gave the family time to take anything they wanted, took all the metal stuff out, and then burned it. Good morning. Whereabouts a Knife Lake are you talking about a cabin on an island? Are you sure this wasn’t the remains of Knife Lake Pete’s camp? They camped on the same island for about 25 years, but there was no permanent structures there. Dismantled in 2002 when Pete was not physically able to go up anymore. |
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bolavand |
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jamotrade |
quote solotrek: "quote jamotrade: "quote solotrek: " Hmmm. We didn't even consider the higher water theory but we did notice the shallow bay. Our theory was that it was a trapper's shack and he wanted to be closer to the backwater areas. |
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schweady |
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fitgers1 |
quote bolavand: "The cabin on Fraser was owned by my grandfather, Nordal Anderson. He purchased the island in the 1920's and was allowed access to it until his death in 1991. He spent 60 quality years up there." Thanks for the history bolavand. How cool it must be to have a link to the past in that area. Did you ever get to spend any quality time there with him? Welcome to the site. |
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awbrown |
At one time in the 60's, geologist's were all over that area looking for "oil" of all things. |
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bolavand |
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quark2222 |
Tomster |
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smuts |
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Lightfoot |
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Miami1 |
Anthony |
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solotrek |
These photos were taken on the north side of Lake Three. According to Walter Okstad, Forest Service Historian, this is the remnant of a 1932 NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act) camp. NIRA was only active for about one year before the law establishing it was declared unconstitutional so this camp was only active for a few months. |
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HighPlainsDrifter |
In what year was your photo taken? My photo was taken in 2007. The cabin in your picture looks exactly like the one in mine..... right down to the knots on the logs. Maybe my comments about maintenance are not appropriate On Little Sag, supplies within this cabin (presumably used by Summer work crews) showed that the cabin was far from abandoned...... what has been abandoned was maintenance of the building....... need not get on that soapbox here....... but it don't make a lick of sense (to me) to let history die in the name of a wilderness designation |
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eagle93 |
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Savage Voyageur |
There also is an abandoned outhouse and shed on the of Kelso Mtn. Old lookout tower. I have seen many of the building footings and fireplace footings where there used to be cabins. I will be going to where the Root Beer Lady's/ Dorothy Molter's was in June. |
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mr.barley |
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n8ville |
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missmolly |
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mr.barley |
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254Bow |
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mocha |
Jim McQuat, the builder |
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kanoes |
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mooseplums |
We also found the remains of an old cabin on Tanner Lake in the Q. |
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bruceye |
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schweady |
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arctic |
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Amok |
Under this assumption, there will be very few unused, old, abandoned buildings in the BW. I do not know what the Canadians do to these types of buildings. |
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arctic |
Outside of the parks there are countless old trappers cabins scattered throughout the North, all the way up to the Barrenlands. Some are still used in winter, but most are in various stages of decay. |
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Kevlar |
Other cabins: another private cabin on an island in Knife Lake, gone since about 1995. The ruins already mentioned on the Gillis portage. Ranger cabins on Little Sag, SW side of the lake, on LLC south and east of Tiger Bay, still in use (with a great old boathouse from back when the FS could have boats). Lower Basswood Falls had a cabin (Furtman stayed in it one summer and wrote a book about it) but that cabin burned, probably arson. A FS cabin on Kekakabic that was restored and used by a husband and wife ranger team, and they got it put on the Nat. Reg. of Hist. Places! That site lost most of its trees during the 99 storm. There is also a cabin just outside BW with easy access to Wood Lake. I know of another cabin still in use in the west end of the BW, probably with the very quiet permission of the FS...perhaps some arrangement made when buying other property from the owners back in about 1975. I have seen over a dozen cabin ruins or cabin sites in the Q, probably all old trapper cabins. The trapper cabins almost all were on the north side of the lake, facing south to get as much winter sun as possible. You can often find bed springs from a bunkbed, and broken pieces of an old stove. In the BW there were many resorts and private cabins that were bought out and burned. Often you can identify the site by the lack of bigger trees, just bushes, in an area the size of a small yard. They are often on a slope, near the water...the cabin must have been on stilts on the front side. If you go up and walk around the back side of the area, you can sometimes find a hole with old junk in it (I hope it isn't the latrine!). |
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DTrain |
BWCA Video |
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cheesewiz |
quote bolavand: "quote cheesewiz: "That's really cool! I'd love to hear some of those stories." Your Grandfather sounds like a really interesting person. That era was around the time my Grandfather lived. I always thought that would have been a very neat time to be alive. |
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onepaddleshort |
quote bottomtothetap: "Anyone know anything about a resort or cabins one time on Gun Lake (the one between Gull and Fairy). Stayed at a site there one time--#1085--and back in the trees a bit it looked like depressions and maybe even some concrete slabs that might have been remnants of a long-gone resort. Also curious about site #1637 on Basswood Lake at the mouth of Wind Bay. That site seems to have "terraces" up the slope from the lake to the main part of the site that cabins could have set on at one time. Also some flat areas there that it was hard to tell if they were man-made pavement or just very flat rock. " You can use this site to research a lot of these kinds of questions. I looked up the site on Gun and they have a 1964 topo map that shows a cabin at that location. As to the Basswood site, there is a 1959 topo that shows four cabins at the location of that campsite. |
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TuscaroraBorealis |
Jack Lake mine Crooked Lake cabin Artifacts thread |
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awbrown |
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IceColdGold |
This is an old trappers cabin on the second portage going northwest off of White Otter Lake. It has a tin roof and is amazingly preserved. It looks just like it did 30 years ago. |
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Frenchy19 |
quote IceColdGold: "White Otter Castle this last September: could be one of the largest cabins ever built by one man. It has been restored at least a couple of times. The last restoration was in 1985 I think. Very cool! I hope to see these some day. |
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riverrunner |
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mooseplums |
quote riverrunner: "One can find remains of peoples lives in all most all man made wilderness areas where peoples property was forcefully taken by the government." Interesting point ....one not often mentioned here .... |
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Marten |
Marten's cabin history in video |
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Pinetree |
quote Marten: "I dreamed I was out on skis in 1985 and came upon an old log cabin far from any road in northern MN. Frustration set in because GPS's were not around yet and without knowing the location ownership info could not be obtained. It's a dream so a local forester tells me who owns the cabin. I find his number in downstate MN and call him before heading to my afternoon shift. He informs me the cabin sits on 40 acres he has title to and for $1200 the whole works is mine. The best part: IT'S NOT A DREAM!!! Very nice |
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riverrunner |
I know to well about it. |
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Frenchy19 |
quote Marten: "I dreamed I was out on skis in 1985 and came upon an old log cabin far from any road in northern MN. Frustration set in because GPS's were not around yet and without knowing the location ownership info could not be obtained. It's a dream so a local forester tells me who owns the cabin. I find his number in downstate MN and call him before heading to my afternoon shift. He informs me the cabin sits on 40 acres he has title to and for $1200 the whole works is mine. The best part: IT'S NOT A DREAM!!! Very, very cool! |
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hooky |
quote Marten: "I dreamed I was out on skis in 1985 and came upon an old log cabin far from any road in northern MN. Frustration set in because GPS's were not around yet and without knowing the location ownership info could not be obtained. It's a dream so a local forester tells me who owns the cabin. I find his number in downstate MN and call him before heading to my afternoon shift. He informs me the cabin sits on 40 acres he has title to and for $1200 the whole works is mine. The best part: IT'S NOT A DREAM!!! I know what I'm going to watch tomorrow. Thanks for posting this. Part 1 of the series |
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quark2222 |
quote Marten: "I dreamed I was out on skis in 1985 and came upon an old log cabin far from any road in northern MN. Frustration set in because GPS's were not around yet and without knowing the location ownership info could not be obtained. It's a dream so a local forester tells me who owns the cabin. I find his number in downstate MN and call him before heading to my afternoon shift. He informs me the cabin sits on 40 acres he has title to and for $1200 the whole works is mine. The best part: IT'S NOT A DREAM!!! Just awesome. I just watched all your YouTube videos. Tomster |
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Pinetree |
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schweady |
jmchev: "Gman42: " The vehicle is at N48° 03.759' W91° 47.529' Back behind camp #1110 But please resist the temptation to deface or pull parts off of the vehicle. Sort of sad to see how much it has been degraded over the years. |
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Harv |
egknuti: "Decals1970: "I've been to this cabin by Sandpit Lake that Egknuti had mentioned . It is a beautiful spot, and I had the impression that no one has been using this cabin for quite a few years. There are some really amazing cliffs with giant clusters of boulders close by this cabin, just alongside the portage from range lake to sandpit. " Not sure how appreciative the owner would be with people walking , looking , hanging around his cabin. It still gets used. |
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Decals1970 |
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Decals1970 |
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Great Melinko |
Decals1970: "I'm not sure how appreciative a person would be who is intending to take a sauna in the old wood-burning sauna shack. They probably wouln't be very appreciative of the neglected state that sauna is in. " Skulking around private property isn't very wise. I'm sure people can "find" all sorts of cabins and shacks in NE Minnesota. |
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Decals1970 |
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Great Melinko |
Decals1970: "You're being quite presumptuous, Oh Great One. There was no "sulking" involved on my behalf. I accidentally happened upon this spot, on my canoe trip 5 years ago, from following an out-of-date map which indicated there was a portage trail leading directly through that property. " I apologize. |
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HighnDry |
mr.barley: "Ranger cabin on Little Sag. " The last that I heard with regards to this site is that it is staffed from time to time. |
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mjmkjun |
kanoes: "quote Chilly: "There is an unbuilt cabin kit that was air dropped in and is sitting on pallets NW of Baskatong Lake. The receipt was from a place in Wisconsin and all the hinges and screws were there too. " LOL! That kanoes (RIP) sure did have a sense of humor and wit about him. |
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Harv |
Decals1970: "I'm not sure how appreciative a person would be who is intending to take a sauna in the old wood-burning sauna shack. They probably wouln't be very appreciative of the neglected state that sauna is in. " I was just informing you that the property is still used on occasion; not what state the sauna is in. Must of been a pretty out dated map |
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Gman42 |
Not an abandon cabin, but there's an abandon logging camp on Fourtown Lake. A walk through the woods from a specific campsite will get you there. The site contains old barrels, mattress springs, discarded cans, and this sweet vehicle. |
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Decals1970 |
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Marten |
mgraber: "missmolly: "Marten: "I dreamed I was out on skis in 1985 and came upon an old log cabin far from any road in northern MN. Frustration set in because GPS's were not around yet and without knowing the location ownership info could not be obtained. It's a dream so a local forester tells me who owns the cabin. I find his number in downstate MN and call him before heading to my afternoon shift. He informs me the cabin sits on 40 acres he has title to and for $1200 the whole works is mine. The best part: IT'S NOT A DREAM!!! This old cabin has provided a lot of enjoyment for many over the last 30+ years that I have been blessed with its ownership. There are no " No Trespassing" signs on the property and a sign over the door says "Velkomen" and all are welcome to go inside. Many enjoy the cabin vicariously through my videos. https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNorthwoodsman1 Marten's Videos |
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mooseplums |
quote bolavand: " My grandfather passed away when I was quite young, just short of his 89th birthday. Unfortunately, I have no memories of him. I have grown up hearing fantastic stories from my parents, older brother, and other people who knew him. I have made an effort to visit his cabin-site at least once a year, beginning when I was two years old." I read somewhere or it was told to me that asparagus still grows there |
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wetcanoedog |
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timatkn |
quote n8ville: "there is a cabin..ranger cabin i believe in the bay just below lower basswood falls." Actually it is boathouse used by the FS for storage tucked back by Lower Basswood Falls. You have to go back in the bay to see it. I bet many people miss it in their hurry. If you hike back in the woods you can find the foundation of the old Ranger Cabin that was located at Lower Basswood Falls. Furtman writes about in one of his books. He stayed a few summers in that cabin working for the FS. If you look around on Fraser you can find some logging relics and a fireplace. Zupps resort used to be near Curtain Falls. You can find some foundations, dumps, and tiling if you look. It is amazing how the forest reclaims some areas. T |
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mooseplums |
quote bruceye: "There was one on an island about half way up Fraser that was privately owned till the 40's. USFS torched it about 15 years ago along with most of the island." In an earlier printing of the Beymer book, "The Western Region", he mentions the cabin on Fraser, and warned that if you hear the drone of a small outboard, not to panic, it was a resident of an island on Fraser Lake, one of the few allowed to live in the BWCA...I believe that was as current as the late 70's early 80's |
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mooseplums |
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cowdoc |
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The Great Outdoors |
Are you sure you're not confusing Fraser Lake with Otter Track (Cypress) Benny Ambrose lived there for many years, appeared to have died from a gas stove explosion when they found the body???? There is a plaque left on the island he lived on. Had two cabins, the summer cabin overlooking the lake, and the winter cabin made out of huge white pine logs. The forest service torched both of them. |
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arctic |
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mooseplums |
quote HighPlainsDrifter: "MR. Barley summer work crews do use it. There was a stack of new latrines, as well as tools. They raised it off the footings, as if they were leveling it, and it was freshly painted. Barley and I were there in May of 2010. |
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mooseplums |
quote The Great Outdoors: "Mooseplums Nope it was on Fraser Lake. It was a wooden sign on a tree |
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bdavid1157 |
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solotrek |
quote jamotrade: "quote solotrek: " I, too, thought it was interesting that it was set so far back from the main lake. However, it appeared that the water was much higher at one time so they built the cabin on the back side of what may have been an island. There seems to be a shallow bay by the cabin which may have provided access to the main lake and also provide some shelter from the elements. Interesting.... |
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timatkn |
Another view of the lower basswood falls boathouse. The Fraser Island cabin site also has a cement engraving with a name and the date the cement was poured. The signifcance was June 6, 1944---D-Day. I am sure there is a cool story behind that. T |
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jonoester |
I understand if you would not wish to divulge the information, because you fear of people ruining them. Jon |
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rlhedlund |
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mr.barley |
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Chilly |
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kanoes |
quote Chilly: "There is an unbuilt cabin kit that was air dropped in and is sitting on pallets NW of Baskatong Lake. The receipt was from a place in Wisconsin and all the hinges and screws were there too. " did you start on it? |
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Stumpy |
March Lake, Quetico |
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bottomtothetap |
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TheotherDrew |
Gunflint lake to Daniels lake. Just after entering North lake where you get into the big water from the narrows my wife turned around and said "I want off the water now!" The wind was pretty strong and the waves were high and white capping. I got my map out and saw what would be the first legal campsite you would come to on North lake from that direction, first one on the right. Once we all got settled I started poking around the area. There were a lot of paths to follow in the area. Far more than you would usually find. Not too far from the tent pads I found the remains of a massive stone chimney. It would have held heat for a long time. There was also a concrete foundation around it that was not all that big. There was also a lot of trash from the early tripping days. Really old Primus gas cylinders and old beer cans, All piled inside the walls of the foundation. That cabin had been burnt or torn down a long time. I wondered about it's history. I have often wanted to go back to Saganagons and see what remained of the cabins that Frank Powell owned that my father used to take me to in the early Seventies. |
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jmchev |
Gman42: " Would you be willing to share the location of this site? I am planning a trip in this area this summer and would like to check this out. Thanks, JC |
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Bushpilot |
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overthehill |
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quark2222 |
My canoeing buddy at the time would ferry out supplies to the resort from the Brule landing battling west winds on some days in a flat fronted barge driven by an outboard. This was probably in the 1960's for him. Crazy big waves and the barge certainly did not part the waves well at all. He had a lot of great stories about those times. Tomster |
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Lotw |
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Decals1970 |
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Decals1970 |
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missmolly |
Marten: "I dreamed I was out on skis in 1985 and came upon an old log cabin far from any road in northern MN. Frustration set in because GPS's were not around yet and without knowing the location ownership info could not be obtained. It's a dream so a local forester tells me who owns the cabin. I find his number in downstate MN and call him before heading to my afternoon shift. He informs me the cabin sits on 40 acres he has title to and for $1200 the whole works is mine. The best part: IT'S NOT A DREAM!!! I'm so glad he sold it to you. You're the perfect person to own it and love it. |
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egknuti |
Decals1970: "I've been to this cabin by Sandpit Lake that Egknuti had mentioned . It is a beautiful spot, and I had the impression that no one has been using this cabin for quite a few years. There are some really amazing cliffs with giant clusters of boulders close by this cabin, just alongside the portage from range lake to sandpit. " I can't remember who owns the cabin. An old ranger told me but I forgot the name. I don't know if it still gets used, but it appears the owner still keeps his canoe licenses up to date. |