BWCA Campsite 1736 on Pietro

This campsite is perched high on a rock cliff, probably 20 to 30 feet above the water, and the view is absolutely stunning. The downside is that the entire campsite is basically solid rock. I found two flat areas that could work as tent pads, but there's no real soil, so staking tents would be nearly impossible. All of the trees here are young jack pines and aspens from the Turtle Lake fire. Another challenge is access. Getting from the landing up to the kitchen area is steep and awkward, and hauling gear up here would be a chore. The view is the reason this site gets any stars at all, but it comes with some serious tradeoffs.

This area was burned in the Turtle Lake fire, and possibly again in the Pagami Creek fire. We had lunch on this site while fishing Pietro on a day trip from Bald Eagle. There are obviously no real trees, the area is thick with lower growing brush, but if you wanted to, you could camp here. There is a fire grate, and a latrine, and even a few logs to sit on around the fire. Access is a pretty cool angled ledge going up the cliff from a tricky landing, but what a view! I wish I could have seen this site before the fire, but I will say that the fishing for smallmouth was great!