10/6/24- Sawbill has been staying busy into the fall season! We recently got the chance to outfit three different groups of students (from Eden Prairie High School, UMD, and Lake Superior College) ranging from 18 to 120 individuals. It’s always very energetic around Sawbill when we have these groups in the campground and getting outfitted.

We love getting to be a part of students’ outdoor education and appreciate how so many local schools bring their students up to the BWCA Wilderness. Some of our staff (past and present) first came to Sawbill and to the BWCA on trips like these so they are truly near and dear to our hearts. 

These students came at the perfect time as they got to enjoy both the gorgeous fall colors happening in the North right now as well as some of the last warm days of fall. We still have some nice days in our forecast, but are definitely starting to settle into a perfectly brisk October.

If you’re coming up to see us in the next couple of weeks make sure to pack layers and warm drinks to accompany a lovely, colorful north country fall. -Luna

10/5/24 – Due to continued dry conditions and high winds, the USFS has expanded the fire ban. The fire ban now encompasses the entire Superior National Forest. This includes the Sawbill Lake Campground, Crescent Lake Campground, and Temperance River Campground as well as the BWCA Wilderness Area. If you’re on National Forest land up here right now, you should not be having any open flames. Gas stoves with an on/off switch are still allowed.

-Clare

10/1/24 – The Forest Service has issued a fire ban for the BWCA Wilderness, effective today. As usual, this means no campfires, twig stoves, or other wood burning devices are allowed until further notice. A gas burning stove, with an on/off switch, is allowed. Areas outside of the Wilderness, like the Sawbill Campground, are not included in the ban – so you are still welcome to have a carefully tended fire elsewhere. The ban comes as a result of very dry fall conditions, low relative humidity, and many days of predicted high winds. There have also been a number of small but out of control fires both in and out of the Wilderness. Leaving your campfire smoldering, or even just warm coals left behind, can have devastating consequences. We appreciate everyone’s diligence!

Aside from the dry conditions, things are still lovely up here in the Northwoods as we inch closer to winter. Sawbill crew have been taking full advantage of the late summer weather and taking many last minute canoe trips. As of today, the permit quota season is over. This means that you still need a permit to stay overnight in the BWCA, but you no longer need to reserve it in advance. Between October 1 – May 1, you simply fill out a self-issued permit to enter the Wilderness. These self issued permits are free, there’s no quota limit to them, and they are available in little boxes at the entry points. All the same BWCAW rules apply though, so feel free to call or drop in if you have any questions about those.

We’ll be open our regular fall hours of 8am-7pm through October 9th. From October 10th-20th we’ll be here and open from 9ish-4ish, often times with a sign on the door to call for assistance. We’re here and the campground is open, we’re likely just out back working on fall winddown projects! Everything shuts down for the season October 20th.

Clare

9/22/24 –

Day one started at 9 am when my dad arrived. Four months had passed since the last time I saw him. It felt great to give him a hug. We spent the next couple hours figuring out what we wanted to eat and packing all of our gear into the car. We hit the water around noon with the wind in our face. About a half mile into the paddle, the lake suddenly gets fairly shallow. Both our paddles kept hitting rocks under the surface, but the canoe didn’t slide across any. The first two campsites on Homer are outside the wilderness. It was interesting to see the amenities that National Forest campsites get. Picnic tables! After about an hour and a half on Homer, we portaged quickly into Whack Lake. It had been a bit since I had paddled a new area so figuring out the scale on the map to the 3-D image that was around us took some time getting used to it. I may or may not have steered us into the wrong cove at first. The portage out of Whack starts off a bit steep but is short. 

Vern Lake has two sites, one by the portage and one on the other shore about ⅓ of a mile north. The one by the portage was taken so we went to the other. It’s a nice site. There are about 4 tent pads that vary in quality. We followed a path into the trees that led to one that could fit our 3 person tent. We had camp set up by 3 pm. I took a quick swim before hanging up my hammock to read while my dad headed to the rocks along the shore with his book. Dinner was a pouch of freeze-dried Indian Korma from Good-to-Go. I really enjoyed it! It took a bit longer for the chickpeas to rehydrate than the directions on the back of the pack claimed. No problem, we just chatted for another few minutes, still updating each other on the going-ons of our lives. We cleaned up our dinner and wandered off to find a place to tie up our bear vault. Evening entertainment that night was a small sparrow or warbler flying around catching bugs out of the air and on the branches of a near-by birch. From where we were sitting we could see the other campsite and remarked how the folks over there didn’t seem to be utilizing the west facing site to its full advantage. We barely saw them out on the rock slope that made up the majority of the shoreline and from what we at our east facing campsite could tell, it seemed to be a nice sunset. I’m sure they had their reasons. Our day ended around 9 pm after a little more book reading by headlamp light. 

Day two started somewhere between 7 and 7:30 am. The call for nourishment became too strong to ignore so we braved the slight chill to make breakfast. Nothing like a hot warm bowl of oatmeal to start the day! Dad and I decided to day trip down to Pipe Lake and check out the campsites. We hit the water around 8:30 heading south. Vern is a rather long, narrow lake. I was too busy looking around and almost steered us right past our first portage! We pulled up to the landing and after letting my dad get out of the canoe, I found myself a relatively solid mass of land to try to exit the canoe. I slipped in the mud and stepped down into the not-so-solid part. I hadn’t had the chance to tighten my sandals at this point and the mud quickly claimed one of them. Fearing it would be lost for good, I plunged my hand down to wrangle it out. I made sure to tighten my sandals before every portage from then on. The next paddling section led us through a narrower, reedy area that due to the time of year, had a noticeably lower water level. As long as one is watching for rocks, there’s still plenty of water though. Over another short portage and we were into East Pipe Lake. The far side of the portage looked like the old corduroy roads, but we assumed it was a beaver dam that washed out. There aren’t any sites on East Pipe so we didn’t linger. 

On our McKenzie map, there are two very short portages between East Pipe and Pipe, but we only encountered one that climbed up next to a beaver dam. My dad and I wondered how long the beaver dam had been there. A large number of dead husks of trees lined the bay the portage put us in. Old, tangled roots of cedars stick out of the water along the shore on either side. By now, the wind has picked up. We were aware of the wind before, but until we got to Pipe Lake it hadn’t been an issue. Unfortunately, all the sites were on the far north side and the wind was coming out of the southwest. If I had been smarter and not lazy, I would have steered us along the southern shore then cut across to the first site. I didn’t not. 

We paddled pretty hard to the first site and found the landing around a small point. Both the site and the landing were on the smaller side. We found the tent pads and checked out the latrine. The pads are on the smaller side, but I doubt there are many ideal tent pads anywhere in the wilderness. That’s just the nature of the game. There wasn’t much protection from the wind, but it was better than out on the water. After a quick snack, we pushed off towards the next site. 

The middle site is small and closed in. There is a large rock in the middle of the campsite, almost right next to the fire grate. It seems like a nice place for winter camping, but during peak bug season? It doesn’t seem like there would be any reprieve. After finding the latrine again, we headed to the third and final site. 

This site is located on the farthest shore from the portage. Site number 3 was pretty unique compared to the other two. The tent pad was large enough for a good sized tent, probably 4 or 5 people. It was situated above the main clearing. It was back away from the fire grate and benches approximately 10 feet (look, I’m not very good at estimating distance, but it wasn’t too close to the grate to be a cause for concern). The placement of the tent pad gave the site a sunken living room vibe. The main downside to this site was that it only had the one pad. We discovered the latrine one more time and hit the water back to Vern. To be honest, all three latrines are pretty full, but if the large spider webs going across the opening are an indication of anything, it’s clear they don’t get a lot of use. If anyone heads to Pipe Lake during the summer, I recommend the farthest east or west sites. Both have better tent pad options. 

We made record time back now that the wind was to our backs. Once we got to the end of the portage back into Vern, we set off. Very quickly we ran into trouble. There were rocks everywhere just under the surface of the water and mud. We tried to find a way forward, but got stuck on a rock. I ended up getting out, sinking up to my calves in the mud, and pulled my dad and the canoe backwards to some deeper water that was located past the portage the other way. After I was able to get back into the canoe, we tried to figure out where all those rocks had come from. We didn’t have any problem getting to the portage at the start of our day trip, had Vern Lake suddenly become tidal locked while we were gallivanting across Pipe and now the tide had gone out? No. I remembered after a while that on our way out, I had accidentally steered us past the portage and that by doing so, had inadvertently missed all the rocks that had just given us trouble. How silly. We made it back to camp between 12 pm and 1 pm.

We had a lunch of PB&J on tortillas and went our separate ways to read for a while. I took a quick dip to wash off any mud and read in my hammock again. Eventually I finished my book and wandered off to explore the campsite. I followed a spur trail back behind the site up to a small aspen or birch grove. The leaves had already started to turn colors at this point. I found an exposed rock and stood listening to the wind rustle the leaves for a while. Dear reader, please do as I say, not as I do. Wear some sort of footwear in camp, especially if you plan on exploring. As I was working my way back to the camp proper, I stepped down off a rock and onto what I can only assume was a stick (truthfully, I don’t actually know, there was a layer of leaves and plant material covering whatever it was). I immediately knew that I had been wounded. Upon closer inspection, I saw that I had a small hole in the bottom of my foot, between my big toe and the next one. Luckily, it was not very deep. It is fully healed as I type this out now. I carefully made my way back to camp and took care of it. I was glad I didn’t forget to pack a first aid kit this trip! 

My dad and I decided to explore the campsite in a different direction this time. We picked our way along a different spur trail that took us north along the shore. There was a large, sloping rock face we were able to walk up, and looked out across the lake. We wandered around the top of the hill for a bit as well theorizing about the geology of the area. Eventually we got hungry and headed back to get cooking. Tonight’s dinner was another package from Good-to-Go. This time it was Thai Curry. We split the pieces of pita we had and used them to soak up all the broth left. Our evening entertainment warbler didn’t show up, so we contented ourselves with watching the dragonflies zip around above the trees for a while. Soon it got dark and we hit the hay. 

Day three started the same way day two did, with a breakfast of oatmeal. We took our time packing up and were on the way back to the entry point by 9:30 am. Once again, the sudden shallow rock reef in the middle of the lake took us by surprise. It took about the same amount of time to get back to the start as on the way into the wilderness. We loaded up and headed back to Sawbill. 

I’m glad my dad and I got to go on a trip together! Sawbill is roughly 12 to 13 hours away from where my parents live and it’s tough for my dad to get enough time off of work to make a trip up here worth it. Both he and I had a great time!

Sawyer

9/17/24 – The unseasonably beautiful fall days are inspiring all sorts of outdoor adventures this week. We’ve also been busy celebrating the littlest outfitter Sig’s birthday. He’s six years old now and reports that he does, in fact, feel much older and bigger than he did when he was five. Dan and Sig played hooky for a few days and snuck in at Kawishiwi Lake for a quick daddy/son trip to soak up all the warm swimming weather while we still have it. Not one to be left out, Kit quickly roped Dan and Sig into some day trips once they were back home.

The dry fall weather has made the water levels drop after a relatively high water season. This makes hiking the creek beds much easier and is one of the Shirley kids’ favorite pastimes. There are a lot of cool places and fun treasures to be found along the creeks.

We hope you all are enjoying the last of summer wherever you are! Soon enough we’ll be socked in with snow dreaming of the next open water season 🙂

-Clare

9/11/24 – Every fall I am awoken at 5am to the sound of gunshots. I think to myself, who on earth is out sighting in their guns this early? Grouse season isn’t even open yet? That’s when I remember – that’s no gunshot, it’s the resident red squirrels stocking up for winter. The sound of a green pine cone hitting an aluminum canoe or metal roof after being dropped from the tallest white pines is my annual fall alarm clock. The impact sends sap flying in all directions, often landing on the stacks of canoes waiting to be rented, so we keep bottles of liquid hand sanitizer at the ready for cleaning off our clothes and hands.

In addition to pine cones, the squirrels start stashing mushrooms in earnest this time of year. One enterprising young squirrel chose the stack of B19’s as a likely cache location this morning. I’m sorry to say that these canoes aren’t going to stay put in that place all winter so squirrely is going to have to move this particular stash. Watching this frenetic gathering has me fondly anticipating winter and reflecting on years past. A few winters ago, we selected a lovely little balsam as a potential Christmas tree. As we inspected it more closely, and just before we cut it down, we noticed a shriveled mushroom tucked into one of its branches. Further investigation revealed a dozen or more mushrooms scattered throughout the tree. Needless to say, we selected a different Christmas tree.

Despite what the squirrels say, with the beautiful fall weather we aren’t quite ready to begin our winter preparations just yet. We’re still in full swing here, and won’t shut down for winter completely until October 20th. The fall colors are looking to be a bit on the early side this year so if you’re hoping to catch some good color along with good weather the next week or two are your best bet.

-Clare

8/31/24 – As many of our long time visitors are aware, Sawbill is owned and run by the third generation of Hansen family. I (Clare) and my husband Dan took the helm from Bill and Cindy in 2016, and promptly started raising up the fourth generation here at Sawbill. One of my favorite parts of my job is sending out family groups with multiple generations sharing the experience and building core memories. This year I thought, shoot I need to do that with my own family! My kids, Kit (8) and Sig (5), have been on many canoe trips, but never with their grandparents. A quick search on recreation.gov and a phone call to Cindy and we zeroed in on the Granite River.

Day one found us loading up two cars and headed up the Gunflint Trail. Although we don’t live far from the Gunflint as the crow flies, driving to the end from Sawbill takes about the same amount of time as it does for us to drive to Duluth! We dropped off one car at the Saganaga lot and then headed for our put in on Magnetic (via Gunflint Lake). Sig spent the first part of the day scheming which cabin he would buy when he was a grown up. Paddling past motor boats and cabins was a new experience for these Sawbill kids!

We spent the day paddling at a leisurely pace across flat calm waters with the sun on our backs. The Granite River is a lovely stretch of some gently moving water broken up by short but rocky portages along side some beautiful waterfalls and rapids. We were accompanied by several eagles and a host of turkey vultures on Clove Lake. We even watched one eagle knock another out of the air and into the water! We enjoyed lunch on one of the more scenic portages before making our way up to Gneiss Lake where we planned to camp for the night.

We made camp on a west facing site on Gneiss so as to fully enjoy the stellar sunset. Much swimming was done and many smores were devoured that evening as we all settled in to our camping routines. It had been almost 20 years since I took a camping trip with my folks – I could hardly believe I had let that much time slip by! All of us are lucky to have friends who are family that we love to canoe trip with, so while we’ve all been spending a lot of time in the BWCA we seemingly forgot to do it with each other.

Our second morning welcomed us with water somehow even calmer than the day before. The kids were anxious to be paddling again right away so Bill took them out on the glass like conditions while Cindy and I enjoyed our coffee and packed up the campsite. Kit was thrilled to have her Pop Pop instructing her on some new paddle strokes while she steered from the stern. Sig was excited for a chance to practice his paddling from the bow, too. The kids paddled Bill all over the lake for over an hour before it was time to load the packs in and head out for our next destination, Big Sag.

We made good time thanks to Sig and Kit serenading us with many renditions of non-traditional paddling songs (Queen was featured heavily) and elected to paddle through our regular lunch hour to get to a site on Saganaga for the night. We ended up on a site on Oskenonton Island with a gorgeous red pine stand and great swimming rock. Sandwiches and swimming were on our agenda after a hot day of paddling! Bill and Kit spent the afternoon fishing from the canoe, while Sig collected feathers around the campsite. After much discussion of Leave No Trace principles and deliberation on his part, Sig made the tough decision to leave the feathers behind for others to enjoy – a big step for a 5 year old.

Our last morning was spent with more swimming followed by the long paddle down the Sag corridor back to our car at the lot. We topped off our few days of adventure with lunch at the Angry Trout in Grand Marais, always an excellent choice. We all left feeling like this was truly a charmed trip. Everything seemed in our favor and we all felt immense gratitude for the ability to sneak in this quality time together during our busiest part of the season. I think we’re all committed to making sure we don’t wait another 20 years to do it again!

Clare

8/21/24 – This August has been quite the treat when it comes to night sky gazing.  The lack of light from the new moon early in the month showcased our perspective of the spiral galaxy we know as the milky way (of which we are an itty bitty part of).  With our lack of light pollution the number of stars visible almost makes it tricky to pick out the constellations.  Let’s be real though, I don’t know my constellations very well, so that is probably part of it.

Then, on August 11th, just a day before the Perseid meteor shower was about to peak, we were treated to one of the brightest northern lights displays I’ve seen.  The glow was so bright that walking outside around midnight without a flashlight was no problem at all.  Pretty unique experience with the moon safely tucked below the horizon.

If that wasn’t enough, we’ve had perfect weather to watch the moon reach its “super blue moon” status Monday night.   Even the wolves seem to be extra jazzed about the special moon as they’ve been heard howling nearby multiple times this past week.  Pretty darn fun!  -Jessica

8/15/24 – A few days ago Nathan and Amy Dalager reached out with the following story that was just too good not to share. -Jessica

As newlyweds, we did a Cherokee-Frost-Hub Lake loop out of Sawbill Outfitters and decided to splurge on a tent from your used equipment merchandise instead of using our little discount store tent.  It felt like a big investment and we hoped that it would turn out to be worth the money.

Fast forward to this summer.  We just returned from yet another BWCA adventure using that tent.  We cannot count the number of times it has been used–many more BWCA trips, car camping, kid sleepovers in the backyard…our three kids grew up with the “green tent” and after its short life as a rental followed by 25 years of constant (not always gentle) use, it has only needed minimal repairs and a few screen patches.  It is still going as strong as ever.  That tent has kept us warm, dry, and cozy for 25 years, with no end in sight.

Thank you so much for the quality gear, and don’t hesitate to use our story if some newlyweds ever come into your shop and wonder if used gear will be worth the investment!

8/13/24 – We get asked all of the time about hikes in our area and we have loads of options. These can be great day trips if you are staying in our campground and want to switch it up from paddling or they can be done wherever you can squeeze them in before or after a trip. I am going to highlight three in our area, however, there are also tons of options along the shore and highway 61 as you are making your way up to Sawbill. 

The first two, Carlton Peak and Britton Peak, have their trailheads on the Sawbill Trail itself, just a few miles up from Tofte. For both of these hikes, you can park in the parking lot for Britton Peak, but the trail for Carlton is just across the street from that parking lot. Carlton Peak is a roughly 3 mile out and back (1.5 miles each direction) trail that gives you great views of Tofte, Lake Superior, and the surrounding forest. It has some elevation, but is great for hikers of all ages. Right before you reach the summit there is also a turn for the Ted Tofte Overlook which gives you an even better view of the forest North East of the summit, and of the summit itself. This hike takes roughly an hour and a half, but could be more or less depending on pace. Britton Peak is much shorter to reach the summit, only about a quarter mile, but it is quite steep. There are also a number of mountain biking trails that start at the Britton Peak trailhead, however, bikes are not allowed on the Carlton Peak trail. 

The last hike is Eagle Mountain, the tallest point in Minnesota. To get to Eagle Mountain from Sawbill, you will go down the Sawbill Trail until the road widens and at this point turn left on The Grade. The trailhead is down that road past the turn for the Brule/Homer entry points, past the Caribou Trail, and across from the Bally Creek Road. This is another out and back hike, however, it is longer at roughly 7 miles total (3.5 miles each way) so it generally takes more than 3 hours to complete. This hike goes into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and follows the Brule Lake Trail, so you will need to fill out a day use permit before starting the hike and cannot be in groups larger than 9 people. This hike is another very beautiful trail that takes you along lakes, across marshy areas, and finally up the mountain to the tallest point in Minnesota. 

These are only a few of the many incredible hikes on the North Shore, but hopefully give some options of hikes to do in the Sawbill Area! Happy Hiking! -Anna