Cty 3 to Hwy 61 (2.58 miles) ** ACCESS ISSUES **

Quick Facts: Location: (As the crow flies) 7 miles NE of Two Harbors, 34 miles NE of Duluth. Shuttle Length: 8.3 miles. (See details in 'Directions' Tab.) Character: Wild, scenic, contorted drops. Put-in is approximately 935' elevation. Take-out is approximately 602' elevation (Lake Superior mean elevation). Thus total elevation change is approximately 333'. General Overview While this section could offer some interesting boating, and we are aware of numerous 'poachings' of the run, the entire area is privately held and trespass is (reportedly) aggressively protected/punished. We cannot recommend boating this reach due to these landowner disputes. From 'Northwoods Whitewater' by Jim Rada: 'Warning!! The Encampment River flows through private lands belonging to 'Encampment Forest Association,' a group that has posted the land against trespassing. You will have to figure out for yourself how to approach this obstacle to access this beautiful and intimate river. We put in on lands outside the Association's holdings and took out at the mouth of Crow Creek. Our takeout necessitated a 1.5-2 mile flatwater paddle on Lake Superior to avoid trespassing on Association lands. Our encounter with the Association was mixed: the guests staying in the cabins were very curious and friendly, the caretaker couple we talked to viewed us and future kayakists as a trespassing nuisance and only reluctantly granted us permission to finish our run. We were attempting to be as discreet and unobtrusive as possible but you'll have to handle this yourself. The private ownership of the land and the tiny size of the Encampment kept paddlers away until 1996, when spring high water provided ideal conditions for this interesting run. The EFA has protected the river corridor from development, which means the Encampment area hasn't been logged and displays a forest of huge pines. This forest is one of the few reminders of the past magnificence of the North Shore's old growth forests. The Association also has some rustic foot trails along the river that facilitate scouting and portaging without detracting from the setting. Robert Ruffner, Paul Everson, Chris Brobin and I did a first descent in April 1996 after I'd scouted the river on an October hike. We put in on one of the branches of the Encampment that was crossed by a dead end dirt road that branched off Lake County 3. The first mile of our three mile run involved weaving through brush and swiftwater as the Encampment gained strength from other branches. The whitewater begins about where the Superior Hiking Trail crosses the Encampment. It was interesting to compare my notes from the dry water hike to the reality of the Encampment with water. I found that everything was generally about one class harder than I'd guessed it would be! For instance, the low ledges that start to appear near the hiking bridge were more class III than II and the bouldery drop that came a third of a mile below the bridge was closer to IV than to III. This meant that the serious water, which begins less than a quarter-mile from the boulder drop was intense indeed. When you see a log footbridge spanning the river - get out! Scouting from the right will reveal a tantalizing piece of whitewater. Just upstream from the bridge the river drops sharply about nine feet over a ledge that looks like it could 'upset your plans.' The runout from the nine footer is a slide into a fifty foot pool followed by an arcing falls that spills 25 feet into a bowl-like amphitheater. On my dry water hike, the thought of running this pitcher falls stuck with me as one great reason to run the Encampment. Unfortunately, the strength of the lead-in drop combined with the presence of an angled log at the base of the falls made a run seem reckless. We carried over the footbridge and used the forest trail to portage downstream, If one could put in just below the falls, you'd have the 'opportunity' to bounce down a 15 foot boulder drop. It didn't look pretty. Even better, it wasn't roo hard to carry down to the pool just above the little falls, and we enjoyed a fun run on this class IV+ drop. Below the little falls, the river turned into a slalom course with small ledges and boulders. This led to a bridge and just below the bridge was a rocky 20 foot drop onto more rock, which is quickly portaged on the left. At this point you are only a hundred yards from Highway 61 and in the midst of some cabins owned by the Association, so we made tracks downstream and under Highway 61. Just after passing under 61 you come to the most enjoyable rapids on the run: a series of slides over the bedrock that lasts a hundred yards and drops thirty feet. It was a rush to zoom down those slides blasting through hydraulics and hitting waves. It provided entertainment for us and the cabin guests clustered along the river. We regrouped in the pool below this class IV and scouted the next drop, another IV which included a 5 foot ledge followed by some tight maneuvering. Though not as much 'fun' as the previous slide, it was technically challenging and enjoyable, and also the last rapid on the run. Friendly folks called to ys from a footbridge and then the currents of the Encampment merged with Lake Superior. We'd done it! We smiled as we paddled off toward Encampment Island and our Crow Creek takeout. We'd enjoyed the forbidden fruit.