West Bearskin Border Route

[0:00:02 – 0:00:04] Adam: Welcome to Tumblehome Express.
[0:00:05 – 0:00:06] Adam: Toot toot.
[0:00:07 – 0:00:08] Adam: Leaving the station now.
[0:00:08 – 0:00:10] Adam: Toot toot.
[0:00:11 – 0:00:18] Adam: We’re going from Bearskin, West Bearskin, border route trail all the way down to Gunflint.
[0:00:19 – 0:00:22] Adam: I’m Adam and joining me here in Studio K to talk routes.
[0:00:24 – 0:00:25] Adam: That’s my good friend Eric.
[0:00:25 – 0:00:25] Adam: Hi.
[0:00:25 – 0:00:54] Adam: hello quick route guide those deep dark winter months you’re trying to put something together i gotta work on my train whistle big time yeah not gonna what i need like a what what kind of noise is a bullet train make oof all right don’t do they have horns on those things or they just get off the tracks what’s the point of a horn when you’re going 235 miles per hour it’d be funny if it still went toot toot
[0:00:57 – 0:00:58] Erik: Oh, yes.
[0:00:58 – 0:01:01] Erik: Again, coming at you with a nice short episode.
[0:01:02 – 0:01:14] Erik: You’re just looking to put your finger on a route for this upcoming 2020, 2021, any fill in the blank years in the future.
[0:01:14 – 0:01:18] Erik: You want just a little bit more information than what you can find out there on the interweb.
[0:01:19 – 0:01:22] Erik: Boy, oh boy, I really sounded like an old man there with that term.
[0:01:24 – 0:01:27] Adam: www.winterweb.biz This is the West Bearskin Border Route
[0:01:35 – 0:01:38] Erik: as described on the ClearwaterOutfitters.com page.
[0:01:39 – 0:01:44] Erik: And it is, I would say, one of our most popular routes that we set people up on.
[0:01:45 – 0:01:47] Adam: Are you mostly dropping people at Gunflint to start?
[0:01:47 – 0:01:49] Adam: Is this the way it normally would roll?
[0:01:49 – 0:01:51] Erik: You know, to get… West to east.
[0:01:51 – 0:01:55] Erik: Yeah, so this route runs from Gunflint to south.
[0:01:56 – 0:02:04] Erik: Sorry, Gunflint to north, to south, to Rose, to Duncan, to West Bearskin, and vice versa.
[0:02:06 – 0:02:26] Erik: Probably more often than not, starting at West Bearskin, running from east to west, ending at Gunflint, typically calling for a ride or setting a very specific pickup time.
[0:02:27 – 0:02:29] Erik: We’ll give you the black and whites on this one.
[0:02:30 – 0:02:31] Erik: This route is probably…
[0:02:31 – 0:02:33] Erik: I think I’d rather go the other way.
[0:02:33 – 0:02:40] Erik: Right, yeah, that’s one of, I would say, the biggest tips that I would give people if they’re looking at this route.
[0:02:41 – 0:02:52] Erik: I would say it’s probably close to 25, 30 miles in both directions with the vast majority of paddling occurring on Gunflint Lake.
[0:02:53 – 0:03:05] Erik: um, either to start or to end, which actually is outside the boundary waters, um, route times that we, um, suggests would be three to four days.
[0:03:06 – 0:03:15] Erik: Um, with that amount of time, you have definitely enough time to stop and spend a good amount of each day, um,
[0:03:16 – 0:03:44] Erik: …fishing, exploring… …and that’s definitely one of the highlights of the area… …is… …probably the exploring more than the fishing… …you’ve got access to the Borderot Trail… …Rose Falls… …just generally… …probably I would say… …some of the most beautiful lakes in the entire… …Bongewater slash region… …Rose Lake is… …consistently… …brought up… …in conversation…
[0:03:45 – 0:03:48] Adam: It’s the most Instagrammed lake on the Vento.
[0:03:48 – 0:03:54] Erik: I would say, I mean, especially because of the number of visitors, that does affect it.
[0:03:56 – 0:04:01] Erik: But whether you’re going from west to east or east to west, I would say it is a generally easy route.
[0:04:02 – 0:04:04] Erik: outside of the size of the lakes.
[0:04:04 – 0:04:05] Erik: Other than Rat.
[0:04:06 – 0:04:07] Erik: Yeah, Rat’s a tough one.
[0:04:07 – 0:04:08] Erik: You got to get through Rat.
[0:04:10 – 0:04:13] Erik: Didn’t, yeah, failed to mention South, Rat, then Rose.
[0:04:13 – 0:04:14] Erik: Sorry, Rat.
[0:04:15 – 0:04:16] Adam: Oh, I made sure.
[0:04:16 – 0:04:17] Adam: Yeah, so.
[0:04:17 – 0:04:18] Adam: We got to Rat.
[0:04:19 – 0:04:26] Erik: Biggest thing on this route, I would say, would be the size of the lakes.
[0:04:26 – 0:04:42] Erik: So, again, when you’re talking about things that you are weighing in consideration of a route, paddling in the wind, trying to fish, that can be a bit of an issue on gunflint.com.
[0:04:43 – 0:05:03] Erik: north south i mean there’s not too many of these lakes where you’re going to be oh boy it’s real windy but i still want to go out and fish i can find this little secluded bay there’s not too many options for that on any of these lakes i think some of the biggest waves i’ve ever paddled was uh you and i were paddling south uh from north over to rat that one morning
[0:05:04 – 0:05:04] Erik: Oh, yeah.
[0:05:04 – 0:05:06] Erik: It was a heavy tailwind.
[0:05:06 – 0:05:07] Adam: Crazy tailwind.
[0:05:07 – 0:05:09] Adam: And even then it was still like… Surfing.
[0:05:09 – 0:05:10] Erik: Borderline.
[0:05:10 – 0:05:13] Erik: I mean, it was like mid-August, so we weren’t in any trouble of like… No.
[0:05:13 – 0:05:16] Erik: Hyperthermia, but it was like, I really don’t want to like get swamped out here.
[0:05:17 – 0:05:19] Adam: I hadn’t had the best night’s sleep the night before, though.
[0:05:19 – 0:05:20] Adam: I wasn’t 100%.
[0:05:20 – 0:05:20] Adam: Yeah.
[0:05:20 – 0:05:20] Adam: So…
[0:05:24 – 0:05:24] Erik: Yeah.
[0:05:24 – 0:05:38] Erik: Still, in general, I would put it in an easy route because really over the course of those 35 miles, you’ve got the little Gunflint to Little North Portage, which is essentially a carryover on some old railroad grade.
[0:05:39 – 0:05:43] Erik: You can actually still see the railroad line like going into the water.
[0:05:43 – 0:05:44] Adam: It’s a little disturbing.
[0:05:44 – 0:05:47] Erik: There’s like an old cart still too, you can see.
[0:05:47 – 0:06:06] Erik: definitely a few uh skeletons down there waving yeah there’s uh the hello some gems still in that cart there is the uh 80 rod portage between north and south which is known as the height of land yeah you get to do the ceremony well should i save that i’m gonna save that for my uh maybe i’ll talk about that later
[0:06:07 – 0:06:17] Erik: Well, it is a very historical portage, but it is also a geographically important portage because it does designate the Laurentian Divide.
[0:06:18 – 0:06:21] Erik: So everything north of that portage flows north to Hudson’s Bay.
[0:06:21 – 0:06:22] Erik: Everything south…
[0:06:23 – 0:06:27] Erik: Still flows to Lake Superior, hence the names North Lake and South Lake.
[0:06:28 – 0:06:31] Erik: A very straightforward portage from South Lake into Ratt.
[0:06:33 – 0:06:36] Erik: Basically a carryover from Ratt into Rose.
[0:06:37 – 0:06:46] Erik: Basically the only portage that’s going to give you any kind of a bit of trouble if you’re going from west to east would be the stairway portage because it is going straight up from Rose to Duncan.
[0:06:47 – 0:06:51] Erik: Um, with that being said, it’s, you know, stairs.
[0:06:51 – 0:06:57] Erik: You’re just walking up some stairs with a big pack of, you know, equipment on or a canoe.
[0:06:57 – 0:06:58] Erik: Yeah.
[0:06:58 – 0:07:01] Erik: That’s going to be a bit of a climb, but there’s stairs.
[0:07:01 – 0:07:03] Erik: It’s not like slick rock or anything.
[0:07:03 – 0:07:05] Adam: I’ve got a fun fact for you.
[0:07:05 – 0:07:06] Erik: Fun fact.
[0:07:06 – 0:07:06] Erik: Let me just finish.
[0:07:06 – 0:07:11] Erik: The last portage you get off the route would be a 75 rod walk in the park from Duncan to Bereskine.
[0:07:11 – 0:07:13] Adam: Some big trees on that portage too.
[0:07:13 – 0:07:14] Adam: Yes.
[0:07:14 – 0:07:16] Adam: And you will cross the Caribou Rock Trail there.
[0:07:16 – 0:07:17] Erik: Mm-hmm.
[0:07:18 – 0:07:21] Adam: Fun fact, Rose was originally called East Rat.
[0:07:22 – 0:07:23] Adam: No, it wasn’t.
[0:07:23 – 0:07:26] Adam: But they changed it to Rose because they just didn’t like the ring of it.
[0:07:26 – 0:07:28] Adam: It doesn’t have a very good ring to it.
[0:07:28 – 0:07:32] Erik: I think the lake kind of has the shape of a rose, oddly enough.
[0:07:32 – 0:07:33] Erik: It’s always been my…
[0:07:33 – 0:07:35] Adam: It also kind of looks like a rat, though.
[0:07:38 – 0:07:39] Erik: It kind of does, actually.
[0:07:39 – 0:07:41] Erik: There’s a long tail.
[0:07:41 – 0:07:44] Adam: They should just change it back to East and West Rat.
[0:07:45 – 0:07:46] Adam: Could you imagine?
[0:07:46 – 0:07:48] Adam: That’s my suggestion.
[0:07:48 – 0:07:52] Adam: It wouldn’t be on Instagram as much if they called it East Rat.
[0:07:52 – 0:07:52] Adam: East Rat.
[0:07:53 – 0:07:54] Adam: You can’t hashtag that.
[0:07:54 – 0:07:54] Adam: No.
[0:07:55 – 0:07:59] Erik: So it is one of the more popular routes that we send people out on.
[0:07:59 – 0:08:05] Erik: I would have to believe that a lot of area outfitters are sending folks out on these big border lakes.
[0:08:06 – 0:08:15] Erik: Or even if you’re just passing through, it is a very popular area for people doing the big border lake paddle, whether that’s all the way from…
[0:08:15 – 0:08:22] Erik: Lac La Croix over to the Big Lake or even just from Sag down to somewhere in between.
[0:08:22 – 0:08:25] Erik: Popular routes, Voyager’s Highway.
[0:08:25 – 0:08:28] Erik: There’s a lot going on outside.
[0:08:28 – 0:08:28] Erik: A lot of history out there.
[0:08:29 – 0:08:31] Erik: It’s just a pretty route.
[0:08:32 – 0:08:34] Erik: So along the way.
[0:08:35 – 0:08:48] Erik: I would say most people are taking this route to enjoy the border route trail, which intersects between Rose and Duncan at the stairway portage.
[0:08:49 – 0:08:56] Erik: You can also access it from the farthest east campsite on south, which I would think provides…
[0:08:57 – 0:09:01] Erik: Access to, you know, follow up to our top 10 vistas.
[0:09:02 – 0:09:03] Erik: A couple of those vistas.
[0:09:03 – 0:09:04] Adam: This is in the vista.
[0:09:04 – 0:09:05] Adam: Yeah.
[0:09:05 – 0:09:08] Adam: This area is filthy with vistas.
[0:09:08 – 0:09:10] Adam: It’s vista rich.
[0:09:10 – 0:09:11] Adam: It’s lousy with vistas.
[0:09:12 – 0:09:12] Erik: Mm-hmm.
[0:09:13 – 0:09:24] Erik: So, you know, if, if you’re heading out with, uh, you know, some first timers and it’s like, well, I don’t want to just sit in the canoe, uh, with, you know, kids or first timers all day that can get a little old.
[0:09:25 – 0:09:32] Erik: That’s a really great opportunity to like say, well, this is also a thing that the bunch of waters has to op that has to offer.
[0:09:32 – 0:09:35] Erik: It’s not just paddling and sitting in a canoe all day.
[0:09:36 – 0:09:39] Erik: Um, great points of interest.
[0:09:40 – 0:09:40] Erik: Um,
[0:09:40 – 0:09:45] Erik: Yeah, the Heideland Portage has more going for it historically than it does really visually.
[0:09:46 – 0:09:50] Erik: But if you bring a couple of those stories to the table, that can be fun to share.
[0:09:50 – 0:09:58] Erik: The initiation of original first-time voyagers on that portage can be fun.
[0:09:59 – 0:10:18] Erik: You know, I would say if you are choosing, you know, between an entry point at number 58 South, which has three permits per day, or an entry point of number 60 Duncan Lake, which is on the east side, also with, I think actually Duncan has four a day.
[0:10:20 – 0:10:29] Erik: You really just have to kind of weigh your options in terms of what you believe is going to occur weather-wise.
[0:10:29 – 0:10:31] Erik: Generally, the winds are out of the northwest.
[0:10:32 – 0:10:33] Erik: West, northwest.
[0:10:34 – 0:10:36] Erik: So starting at Gunflint would…
[0:10:37 – 0:10:37] Erik: Yeah.
[0:10:37 – 0:10:41] Erik: Find yourself more often than not with a tailwind.
[0:10:41 – 0:10:56] Adam: I’d be, I’d definitely be more worried about like getting to Gunflint and then facing a West wind and having to fight all the way down Gunflint into, which would, you know, even a little bit of wind on Gunflint will produce some pretty sizable waves.
[0:10:56 – 0:10:56] Erik: Yeah.
[0:10:57 – 0:10:58] Adam: Just due to the size of the lake.
[0:10:58 – 0:11:05] Adam: So I would always like have that in the back of my mind if we were going East to West, I’d be worried about that no matter what the weather radio was saying.
[0:11:05 – 0:11:05] Adam: Yeah.
[0:11:05 – 0:11:09] Erik: I would think that that’s probably the biggest thing to consider is the wind.
[0:11:09 – 0:11:10] Erik: Gunflint, north, south.
[0:11:11 – 0:11:15] Erik: Notoriously wind-bound lakes.
[0:11:15 – 0:11:21] Erik: And just for first-timers or kids, not as much fun paddling because you’re just on this big old lake.
[0:11:21 – 0:11:22] Erik: Yes, it’s beautiful once you get to camp.
[0:11:22 – 0:11:26] Erik: You get that big sky, big open water, great northern lights viewing.
[0:11:27 – 0:11:29] Erik: But it can get a little tedious sometimes.
[0:11:30 – 0:11:31] Erik: paddling on those big lakes.
[0:11:32 – 0:11:40] Erik: So keep that in mind if you’re choosing a route with kids, especially getting out to Rose and exploring and experiencing the stairway portage, Rose Falls.
[0:11:41 – 0:11:42] Erik: Rat Falls.
[0:11:42 – 0:11:46] Erik: Rat Falls, that is, which is one thing we haven’t really said.
[0:11:47 – 0:11:49] Erik: But outside of standing and looking at Rose Falls…
[0:11:50 – 0:11:52] Erik: There’s not much you can do with it beyond that.
[0:11:53 – 0:11:54] Erik: It’s not like Johnson Falls.
[0:11:54 – 0:11:55] Erik: You can’t get into it and go swimming.
[0:11:56 – 0:11:59] Erik: You can get into it.
[0:11:59 – 0:12:00] Adam: I don’t think you can really swim.
[0:12:00 – 0:12:01] Adam: No, yeah.
[0:12:01 – 0:12:02] Adam: And I wouldn’t recommend getting into it.
[0:12:02 – 0:12:03] Erik: Not great swimming.
[0:12:04 – 0:12:05] Adam: It’s not great getting in either.
[0:12:06 – 0:12:09] Erik: I would say generally pretty good smallmouth fishing throughout.
[0:12:10 – 0:12:13] Erik: Duncan, Rose, South especially.
[0:12:14 – 0:12:24] Erik: Great lake trout fishing seasonally on Duncan, Rose, to a certain extent South, a little bit tougher.
[0:12:25 – 0:12:34] Erik: If you’re looking to walleye fish, the only real opportunities for that would be up on the narrows between North and Gunflint, which can be pretty good in the spring season.
[0:12:34 – 0:12:37] Adam: Yeah, Little Gunflint got some walleye in there.
[0:12:37 – 0:12:38] Erik: For sure.
[0:12:38 – 0:12:41] Erik: It’s one of the better, you know, where the water flows in from Little North.
[0:12:41 – 0:12:46] Adam: There is like a fishing sanctuary early in the season there.
[0:12:46 – 0:12:47] Adam: You got to mind that.
[0:12:47 – 0:12:49] Adam: It is a little closed off.
[0:12:49 – 0:12:51] Adam: They’ll have some buoys up if you’re there early in the year.
[0:12:51 – 0:12:51] Erik: Mm-hmm.
[0:12:53 – 0:12:57] Erik: Um, yeah, the, the, the whole area itself, I would say is generally very popular.
[0:12:58 – 0:13:03] Erik: So again, weighing your options, seclusion, probably not so much.
[0:13:03 – 0:13:12] Erik: You know, it’s a, it’s an excellent fall route because you get that seclusion back, but then you also get those big hillsides of fall colors.
[0:13:13 – 0:13:17] Erik: Um, maybe the lake trouts start coming up a little bit on Duncan and Rose.
[0:13:18 – 0:13:22] Erik: Um, but though generally I would say Duncan and Rose, um,
[0:13:23 – 0:13:37] Erik: Up there with the two most popular slash busy lakes in the area almost all year because of accessibility, because of the day trip options out to the stairway portage and Rose Falls and the accompanying vistas.
[0:13:38 – 0:13:41] Erik: So keep that in mind if you’re getting out late.
[0:13:42 – 0:13:50] Erik: More often, people who have trouble finding campsites that come back to Clearwater, I hear those issues occurring out on Duncan and Rose.
[0:13:51 – 0:13:54] Erik: And then just generally watching canoe traffic go by because of the day trips.
[0:13:54 – 0:13:55] Erik: Some of the downsides.
[0:13:57 – 0:13:58] Erik: Connoisseur’s tip.
[0:14:00 – 0:14:04] Adam: Mine would be at the, you kind of alluded to it and so did I, at the Heideland Portage.
[0:14:05 – 0:14:09] Adam: The Voyageurs used to do a ceremony for the first time through.
[0:14:10 – 0:14:14] Adam: If it was on your first run through the Heideland, they would do a ceremony.
[0:14:15 – 0:14:16] Adam: You can read about that.
[0:14:17 – 0:14:24] Adam: You know, you could take like a, you know, a bow of cedar and sprinkle water on your fellow paddler or…
[0:14:25 – 0:14:27] Adam: You know, come up with your own ceremony.
[0:14:27 – 0:14:32] Adam: You can’t really do it wrong, but it should be commemorated in some way.
[0:14:32 – 0:14:38] Adam: If you want to jump in, there’s a nice beach there too, and that would be kind of a sub-connoisseur point.
[0:14:38 – 0:14:40] Adam: There’s a nice beach there on North.
[0:14:40 – 0:14:43] Adam: There’s a nice beach on Gunflint.
[0:14:43 – 0:14:47] Adam: There’s a couple nice beaches along the way, but that’s one of them.
[0:14:47 – 0:14:50] Adam: You should definitely stop and celebrate in some way.
[0:14:50 – 0:14:51] Erik: Yeah, for sure.
[0:14:53 – 0:14:56] Erik: My connoisseur’s tip, which is kind of a bit of a…
[0:14:59 – 0:14:59] Erik: I don’t know.
[0:15:00 – 0:15:06] Erik: I feel like when I explain this to people when they call, it doesn’t even seem like an option.
[0:15:06 – 0:15:12] Erik: And I don’t know necessarily why, if the Forest Service is trying to downplay this for a reason or what.
[0:15:13 – 0:15:20] Erik: But so over the course of the summer as an outfitter, I get to see the number of permits available for a certain period of days out.
[0:15:20 – 0:15:28] Erik: And inevitably when people call or I’m looking out into the future, entry point 58 South Lake is one of the…
[0:15:29 – 0:15:58] Erik: almost always available permits and i think it has to do with the fact that if you are a person looking at planning a boundary water strip and you see entry point 58 you’re like oh well that’s available let’s see what that entails and then you start looking you’re like oh i gotta paddle all the way yeah i gotta put in at gunflint and paddle 15 miles in a day just to get to where i am literally supposed to be on my entry date like i have to be there that’s like yeah of the rules
[0:15:59 – 0:16:10] Adam: Yeah, more people would probably want to get it a day ahead and then you can either stay at the end of Gunflint or up on north or something and stage yourself and then enter the next day on the south.
[0:16:10 – 0:16:11] Adam: If you’re going to do it that way.
[0:16:11 – 0:16:12] Adam: And that would be a way to do it.
[0:16:12 – 0:16:13] Adam: Nothing wrong with that.
[0:16:13 – 0:16:14] Erik: No, not at all.
[0:16:14 – 0:16:15] Erik: Just plan that day out.
[0:16:15 – 0:16:18] Erik: There’s perfectly fine campsites on Gunflint.
[0:16:19 – 0:16:23] Erik: They feel to me like they get a little bit more used because of motorboat accessibility.
[0:16:23 – 0:16:24] Erik: Yeah.
[0:16:24 – 0:16:24] Erik: Yeah.
[0:16:24 – 0:16:27] Erik: But the campsites on North are fine as well.
[0:16:28 – 0:16:29] Erik: I really like North.
[0:16:29 – 0:16:30] Erik: They’re perfectly set up.
[0:16:30 – 0:16:33] Erik: They’re put there because of the popularity of the route.
[0:16:34 – 0:16:36] Adam: They’re historic campsites too.
[0:16:37 – 0:16:37] Adam: Yes.
[0:16:37 – 0:16:38] Adam: You can feel.
[0:16:38 – 0:16:38] Erik: Oh, yeah.
[0:16:38 – 0:16:43] Erik: You can tell that they’re there because they’re amiable to human use.
[0:16:44 – 0:17:02] Erik: The thing that doesn’t get mentioned that is entirely an option, which I find like we set people up on more than putting in at Gunflint these days, is especially because the people who are looking for Southlake entry points are usually along the lines of more last second.
[0:17:02 – 0:17:03] Erik: They don’t have as much time.
[0:17:04 – 0:17:13] Erik: This is entirely legal to do this, and that would be putting in at Mayhew Lake Road.
[0:17:14 – 0:17:22] Erik: At the end of Mayhew Lake Road, there is a spur trail that slash portage that goes up to Topper Lake.
[0:17:23 – 0:17:25] Erik: So you probably want to pull out a map to see this.
[0:17:25 – 0:17:27] Erik: It’s kind of hard to visualize, but…
[0:17:27 – 0:17:29] Erik: You drive in Mayhew Lake Road.
[0:17:29 – 0:17:35] Erik: It ends at basically a spur trail that goes up to a loop that connects to the border rod trail.
[0:17:36 – 0:17:42] Erik: But off of that spur trail, you can hook into a portage that goes up to a small Brookshot Lake topper.
[0:17:43 – 0:17:48] Erik: And you can paddle across topper over to a 100 rod straight downhill.
[0:17:49 – 0:17:50] Erik: Not even like…
[0:17:50 – 0:17:51] Adam: Not even joking.
[0:17:51 – 0:17:53] Erik: They don’t even mess around with switchbacks.
[0:17:53 – 0:17:54] Erik: It’s like a 45-degree angle straight downhill.
[0:17:54 – 0:17:55] Erik: Kind of a chute.
[0:17:55 – 0:17:56] Erik: Yes.
[0:17:56 – 0:17:57] Erik: Into South Lake.
[0:17:58 – 0:18:02] Erik: And that cuts off essentially like six hours of paddling.
[0:18:03 – 0:18:05] Adam: Yeah, it’s pretty easy, especially going that way.
[0:18:05 – 0:18:08] Adam: I also have done South Lake up to Topper.
[0:18:08 – 0:18:09] Erik: That’s a doozy.
[0:18:09 – 0:18:10] Adam: That’s a real doozy.
[0:18:11 – 0:18:30] Erik: I wouldn’t say that that’s the way to do it, but if you’re short on time, you’ve just got a weekend trip and the only permit available is 58 South Lake and there’s a permit or two available still, but you don’t think you have the time to get down Gunflint.
[0:18:31 – 0:18:33] Erik: the topper lake access is an option.
[0:18:33 – 0:18:37] Erik: That’s not to say you can’t, you know, maybe you want to paddle at Gunflint.
[0:18:37 – 0:18:38] Erik: That’s totally fine too.
[0:18:40 – 0:18:42] Erik: But there are two options in the south.
[0:18:43 – 0:18:53] Erik: And depending on what the situation of the group is, you know, I find like I said, I put more people in at topper than I ever do at Gunflint anymore.
[0:18:53 – 0:18:54] Erik: Cuts off a lot of paddling.
[0:18:55 – 0:18:59] Erik: But if paddling is what you’re all about, both of those options exist.
[0:19:00 – 0:19:06] Erik: Uh, it’s up there in terms of, uh, my routes, probably because it’s right in my backyard is one of my favorites.
[0:19:06 – 0:19:10] Erik: Uh, I’ve day tripped it, uh, innumerable times.
[0:19:10 – 0:19:16] Erik: I’ve paddled it in a day, uh, once with Tori all the way from West Bearskin to Gunflint.
[0:19:17 – 0:19:19] Erik: Uh, that has, you know, you need really good conditions for that.
[0:19:20 – 0:19:22] Erik: Generally beautiful, big open water.
[0:19:22 – 0:19:22] Erik: Uh,
[0:19:23 – 0:19:31] Erik: Uh, look out for the winds, pretty decent fishing, nothing, you know, exceptional with some nice access to vistas, hiking.
[0:19:32 – 0:19:43] Erik: Um, and if you’re really adventurous, some fun, very off the beaten path, um, trout lakes in the area, you’ll know where to look if you’re in the area, just on the map and what those are.
[0:19:44 – 0:19:44] Erik: So.
[0:19:47 – 0:19:49] Adam: All right, I think that’s a good place to leave it.
[0:19:49 – 0:19:52] Adam: Thanks for joining us for this episode of Tumble Home Express.
[0:19:53 – 0:19:56] Adam: My name is Adam, and that was Eric.
[0:19:57 – 0:20:00] Adam: And remember, it’s East Rat, not Rose.
[0:20:02 – 0:20:02] Adam: I’m just kidding.
[0:20:03 – 0:20:03] Erik: Always Rose.

Episode Transcript

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