Skipper Lake
Making Connections
- Portage East, 320 rods to Entry Point on Poplar
Lake
- Portage West, 10 rods, to Little Rush
Maps
- Fisher
F-13, No. Gunflint Trail,
Gunflint, Bearskin Lakes
- McKenzie
3, Ballclub Lake
Links
- DNR Lake No.160304
- Lake Map No. N/A
- Lake Table No. 10C
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Scale 1:21420
Full image approximately 2
miles square |
Description
Skipper is a smaller lake tucked just
inside the northern border of the BWCAW and less than two miles south of
County Road 12, the Gunflint Trail. Just over 100 acres in area and 30'
deep, it is barely a mile long on its east/west axis; a quarter mile across
at its east end. It is one of the entry point lakes (#49) on the Rush/Banadad
route that runs west from Poplar to Long Island.
Out of its northeastern end, a 320 rod portage (a full mile) loses 70' of
elevation as it drops into Poplar to the east. From the west end, a 21 rod
carry connects with Little Rush and 50 rods beyond with Rush. Campsites
Skipper is a smaller lake and supports
but one established campsite, along its northern shore. Planning Considerations
The route through Skipper, on the Rush/Banadad
route, is probably the least traveled of the east/west routes through this
region. Of the traffic from Poplar Lake (outside the BWCAW but providing
access to several entry points), to the hub that is Long
Island, most will drop farther south, to the Pillsbery/Henson,
or Gaskin/Winchell
routes. In large part this is due to the longer and more challenging
portages on the Rush/Banadad route. At the east end, access is available
through One Island Lake, and a 220 rod portage, or Skipper, with a 320 rod
carry. West beyond Banadad, one faces four portages totalling nearly
600 rods before reaching the next campsite, on Long Island. Wildlife
Skipper supports populations of Northern
Pike (Esox lucius), Walleye
(Stizostedion vitreum),
White Sucker (Catostomus
commersoni), and Yellow Perch (Perca
flavescens).
Notes and Comments
After a week of portaging in the BWCAW, the
mile long descent (some 70') out from Skipper goes remarkably quickly. Nothing
like practice, (and perhaps the promise of the ice cold beverage of choice
at the other end).
Last updated on
11 April, 2004
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