A bit of a long shot but has anyone hiked this former trail? I am going to take it on because it plays a decent part in my family's history but to my understanding is they stopped maintaining it in the early 2000s.

So just curious if anyone has and if they have any tips on the area. Thanks.

It has been about 15 years since I’ve been there but I will give you what I can remember. As you are paddling up the Kelso river, see the map, you will be looking for the landing on the West side of the shore. The landing is really overgrown with brush so you have your first challenge just to find the start of the trail. To find it go to the general area on the map and look down in the water next to the shore. You will find old sunken dock pilings. You can also plot the GPS coordinates and enter them into a GPS unit to find the exact location. You now just pull your canoe up on shore. I strongly recommend that you bring and use a GPS, and an USGS 7.5 min topographic map of the area. Enter the GPS coordinates for the uppermost tip of Oriole Lake and walk there. The path was very overgrown and was hard to follow. The woods have tall trees so it might be hard to get a decent GPS fix. We took a compass bearing to find Oriole Lake. At Oriole Lake you need to cross a beaver dam, you can just walk on top of it. Next step is take a compass bearing for the top of Kelso Mountain or if you have a GPS fix enter and walk to the top of the mountain. Along the trail you might find extra spools of wire used for communication from the tower back to SawBill landing. I tripped one of the many spools I found along the trail. When we got to the top I was expecting to see some kind of view of the area. No view can be seen from the ground, trees are too tall. So basically you are just in the woods, hardly see the sky. At the site you will find many things to look at. There is an old standing outhouse, a leaning shed with old wood inside, tower footings, the metal tower is on the ground in a few sections. There is an old cast iron stove in the woods along with an old communication radio with the cathode ray tubes all about. On the outhouse there is an old lantern attached to the side. Lots of metal junk like pipe and buckets about the area too. You will also see where the bears have marked the outhouse walls with their claws, also lots of bear sign markings on trees. They were almost 7 feet high on the tree, because the marks were taller than me. It was quite the adventure getting there and exploring the area and I would advise if you are in the area to check out. But like I said, bring a GPS and a topo map and compass and you will be fine.

That is exactly it savage!

Thank you Savage. Looking for the dock pilings is great info. I do not have a GPS but I should look into that at some point for these types of treks. Best I have is the Fisher map, compass, and my phone that might be able to give a general GPS spot if really needed. Huge thanks for that map you provided that looks like it has where the trail was. I am curious to see if I can even find the trail. Again thanks for the info.

Please tell us your family history in this area that you mentioned. You might be able to find and stay on the trail, just depends if someone has been through lately. We went slow and got off on a game trail that lead nowhere. That’s why I suggested compass bearings. Good luck and report back to us if you found the tower.

Savage Voyageur: "Please tell us your family history in this area that you mentioned. You might be able to find and stay on the trail, just depends if someone has been through lately. We went slow and got off on a game trail that lead nowhere. That’s why I suggested compass bearings. Good luck and report back to us if you found the tower. "

My father is from up that way (Clift Morris) (Some of you might know Wes Morris his brother who owned a bait shop on the Cramer Rd years ago) and his Aunt who was very much a parent figure to him was the first female lookout for the SNF. She worked the Kelso tower the most and the SNF did a little story on her that I will paste below.

In the story she mentions how Kelso was her favorite. So knowing how much she meant to him and how that specific tower seemed to be special to her. I have decided to try and get there with him just to take in the area. He is currently 75 now but still great shape so as long as we go slow it should be a fun day trek. I know its only remnants nowadays but just being in the spot might be kind of special. Anyways below is a copy of an article and then a link to another one.

"Superior history for Wednesday, February 16, 2022:
Vivian Johnson became the first female fire lookout for the Superior National Forest in 1944, when the forest was “short of men” during WWII.
Vivian was no stranger to the forest, having spent her childhood homesteading at Hare Lake in 1911, while her father worked with local logging companies as a subcontractor. Vivian described her experiences working the lookout towers in a1978 interview: “I was the first one-all time lookout-woman lookout on the Superior. I worked with the men. I didn’t just go up to the tower. On a day that was too humid to be in the tower, I went out with the crews releasing trees and working on telephone lines. The only thing I never did was bury a dead man or climb a pole.
Vivian spent the most time at Carlton Tower (shown in photo) but spent time in towers across the forest. Her favorite lookout was Kelso: “Course, Kelso was the best. I could look to Ely –see the lights of Ely which I had to take some riding for a while until they finally believed me. You could see all over."
Though Vivian never got dizzy climbing the towers, she did get spooked on her only visit to Lima Lookout: “I got up there about, I suppose 30 feet and the wind blew. I thought I don’t think I am going to make this...here is this darn platform with nothing around it. I got up and got on my knees and held on and finally got the door unlocked, which wasn’t easy and opened it. I went in and I wrote on the paper on the middle of the fire finder, that I was there. There would be no doubt of it.”
Vivian Johnson worked until the lookout towers closed in 1960, retiring at age 62."










Article was on Superior National Forest Facebook site

and one more article that mentions it if you'd like

link to 2nd article

Made it there and back Savage. The tip for the dock pilings was very helpful. I think the last person to walk that portage might have been you though. Lost trail multiple times and bushwhacked until we found it again. Very buggy, very hot, and not enough water but we made and it is a precious memory. Thank you again.

You’re welcome for the help. Glad you guys made it there and back to tell the tale. It was an adventure most will not try. Even the outhouse was still standing. Thought that thing would have fell over years ago. But that structure was made with real 2x4’s.

Interesting thread - thanks.

x2jmorris: "

Savage Voyageur: "Please tell us your family history in this area that you mentioned. You might be able to find and stay on the trail, just depends if someone has been through lately. We went slow and got off on a game trail that lead nowhere. That’s why I suggested compass bearings. Good luck and report back to us if you found the tower. "

My father is from up that way (Clift Morris) (Some of you might know Wes Morris his brother who owned a bait shop on the Cramer Rd years ago) and his Aunt who was very much a parent figure to him was the first female lookout for the SNF. She worked the Kelso tower the most and the SNF did a little story on her that I will paste below.


In the story she mentions how Kelso was her favorite. So knowing how much she meant to him and how that specific tower seemed to be special to her. I have decided to try and get there with him just to take in the area. He is currently 75 now but still great shape so as long as we go slow it should be a fun day trek. I know its only remnants nowadays but just being in the spot might be kind of special. Anyways below is a copy of an article and then a link to another one.


"Superior history for Wednesday, February 16, 2022:
Vivian Johnson became the first female fire lookout for the Superior National Forest in 1944, when the forest was “short of men” during WWII.
Vivian was no stranger to the forest, having spent her childhood homesteading at Hare Lake in 1911, while her father worked with local logging companies as a subcontractor. Vivian described her experiences working the lookout towers in a1978 interview: “I was the first one-all time lookout-woman lookout on the Superior. I worked with the men. I didn’t just go up to the tower. On a day that was too humid to be in the tower, I went out with the crews releasing trees and working on telephone lines. The only thing I never did was bury a dead man or climb a pole.
Vivian spent the most time at Carlton Tower (shown in photo) but spent time in towers across the forest. Her favorite lookout was Kelso: “Course, Kelso was the best. I could look to Ely –see the lights of Ely which I had to take some riding for a while until they finally believed me. You could see all over."
Though Vivian never got dizzy climbing the towers, she did get spooked on her only visit to Lima Lookout: “I got up there about, I suppose 30 feet and the wind blew. I thought I don’t think I am going to make this...here is this darn platform with nothing around it. I got up and got on my knees and held on and finally got the door unlocked, which wasn’t easy and opened it. I went in and I wrote on the paper on the middle of the fire finder, that I was there. There would be no doubt of it.”
Vivian Johnson worked until the lookout towers closed in 1960, retiring at age 62."











Article was on Superior National Forest Facebook site


and one more article that mentions it if you'd like


link to 2nd article "

Thank you for sharing! Always so interesting to hear these type of stories.

Enjoyed your trip report too.

Such great history is kept alive on these pages. Thanks for sharing this info and the photos of then and now.