BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
April 27 2024
Entry Point 54 - Seagull Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 8
Elevation: 1205 feet
Latitude: 48.1469
Longitude: -90.8693
Seagull Lake - 54
Seagull to Ogishkemuncie and back
Entry Date:
July 03, 2009
Entry Point:
Seagull Lake
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
4
We spent most of our day hanging around camp, eating, reading, and resting. The campsite was rather small but comfortable. We had a nosey field mouse and turtle on the island and they would show up when we least expected it. It was a little tough finding a spot to raise the food pack due to a lack of suitable trees but we made due. It was also tough finding easy to cut firewood so we had to find some larger fallen logs and cut them up with quite a bit of effort. The "box" was a little close to the camp and if the wind was right, we got the idea that it was too close.[paragraph break] It was a beautiful day - around 70 degrees and sunny with a light breeze that died out after dark.[paragraph break] After a nice supper, the kids did some reading and we hit the tents to play some cards - 500 was the game of the night. We went to bed on a calm night with the sound of distant fireworks going off. 
This was my birthday. We decided to fish around the south and west side of the lake. We caught a few northern pike and smallmouth bass. We went to the north shore and portaged into Spice Lake. It was a little hard finding the portage and the portage was a little tough with fallen trees and big rocks. The reward was nice fishing in the lake and a great spot for lunch at the only campsite on the lake. We caught some northern and bass there too. The wind picked up after lunch so we headed back to camp. [paragraph break] At camp we took it easy and lounged around. It was warm and clear but the wind got worse as the day went on. We went to bed listening to the wind whistle through the trees. 
This was my birthday. We decided to fish around the south and west side of the lake. We caught a few northern pike and smallmouth bass. We went to the north shore and portaged into Spice Lake. It was a little hard finding the portage and the portage was a little tough with fallen trees and big rocks. The reward was nice fishing in the lake and a great spot for lunch at the only campsite on the lake. We caught some northern and bass there too. The wind picked up after lunch so we headed back to camp. [paragraph break] At camp we took it easy and lounged around. It was warm and clear but the wind got worse as the day went on. We went to bed listening to the wind whistle through the trees. 
Since is was still windy, we decided to break the trip back into 2 days. We broke camp and headed back to stay at either Alpine or west Seagull. It was clear and warm but there was a strong, steady breeze. The wind was from the northwest so the paddle back to Kingfisher was long and rough. [paragraph break] Kingfisher was a fairly easy paddle, but Alpine was very rough. There were white-caps and the wind was very hard to handle between the islands. It took at least twice as long to get back as it took to get through the first time.[paragraph break] Seagull didn't look too bad, we would be going mostly with the wind so we set a course roughly straight east from the portage for a couple of islands with campsites. It wasn't too bad at first, but the wind shifted from the west to the northwest and the waves got rougher as we progressed. My son in the other canoe had an especially rough time with the high waves. [paragraph break] We got the the first campsite on a large island and found a beautiful spot. It was a sloping campsite with unburned trees and had burned trees all around it. The tent sites had a few nasty rocks, but it was adequate. There was a nice rock point that gave a great view to the north and west. [paragraph break] The "box" was a little overgrown but decent. We didn't bother setting up the rain fly since the weather was clear. The wind died down as the day progressed. [paragraph break] The trip took a lot of energy and boys were starved. We had 3 meals left and I cooked up all of them and the kids were still hungry. Oh well, less to carry back tomorrow. [paragraph break] The boys stayed up late talking...it was their last night and they wanted to get every drop out of the experience. It was a cool evening - good sleeping weather. 
We broke camp early and headed out. We decided to canoe up the east side of Three Mile Island and Fishhook Island. We met a couple motor boats but they kept to themselves. It was an easy paddle and the winds were fairly low. The day was sunny and cool.[paragraph break] We made it back to the outfitters around 9:30am and took a shower. That's always a good part of the trip. Seagull Outfitters sent over a truck and jumped my van battery for me (thanks!). We made it back to Grand Marais before noon and home before 8pm. [paragraph break] This was a fun trip. If it wasn't so windy, it would have been one of the most fun trips that I have taken with my kids.
