The Accommodations
Our accommodations were at the Artcrank Cabin located on the shore of Armour #2 Mine Lake at True North Basecamp in Crosby, MN. This would be our "basecamp" for a weekend full of outdoor activity.
The Trails
Day 1-Portsmouth & Yawkey
Once we got unpacked with all of our gear settled into the cabin and had a little lunch it was time to hit Cuyuna's groomed singletrack. One of the perks of staying at True North Basecamp is being able to jump right onto the trails from the cabin.
It was 1° F when we were ready to roll and the high would be around 7° F so Alex and I layered up in our subzero gear since we would be out until sundown. This meant choosing apparel that would provide the proper balance to keep warm without overheating. Sweat can be your enemy and cut a ride short when the temperatures are this cold.
We headed down the trail connector from the Basecamp and then jumped on Drag Line (South), the Cuyuna Lakes State Trail and back onto Drag Line (North) for a ride that would take us all the way around Portsmouth Mine Lake.
A little ways past the Portsmouth Campground is the public water access where we could get out onto the lake.
The snow wasn't too deep so we ventured out for a roll in the virgin powder that was covering the ice.
After riding the Portsmouth Unit we took the New Haul Road back into the trails of the Yawkey Unit. Here we would ride Man Cage, Manuel Drive, Trout, Tugger and Bobsled until the sun began to set where we headed back towards the basecamp on Haul Road.
Day one trail conditions were perfect. The groomed singletrack was hard-packed and very fast. We had to make sure to keep our eyes on the trail because if we veered off just slightly the snow was very deep and a crash was inevitable.
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| Day 1-Portsmouth & Yawkey |
Day 2-Portsmouth/Mahnomen Unit
Day 2 would take us through the Portsmouth Unit on our way to the Mahnomen Unit where there would be a bit of climbing and some fast downhill sections. We followed the connector trail, Switchback from the west end of Portsmouth Mine Lake until we got on Galloping Goose which would take us along the south shore of Huntington Mine Lake. We left Galloping Goose for the Sidewinder connection to Sand Hog Mountain.
After a scenic climb we made it to the overlook on Sand Hog Mountain and stopped for a photo op. Now it was time for the fast ride down the mountain and back onto Galloping Goose.
We got off the trail on Miner's Mountain Road and rode past Miner's Mountain Rally Center on our way to the Cuyuna Lakes State Trail. The freshly groomed state trail was our fast track back to our cabin at True North Basecamp.
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| Day 2-Portsmouth/Mahnomen Unit |
Day 2-Ice fishing
After our morning ride we relaxed a bit and had lunch. Our cabin was right on Armour #2 Mine Lake so I wanted to try my luck at ice fishing while Alex would get some outdoor photos and video. The trout season opener was the following weekend so I was unable to fish many of the lakes in the CCSRA because they are designated trout lakes that cannot be fished out of season. After a stop at Oars-N-Mine in Crosby for some bait and "intel" on the lake, I would get started. The lake our cabin was on was open for fishing so I drilled a few holes to check depths and structure near the inlet of Serpent Creek being careful to stay far enough away from the open water. I was pretty close to shore and the water was 28' deep with 6" of ice.
Once I found a spot near the creek inlet that had fish both suspended and near the bottom I decided to set up and fish until dark. It was nice being so close to our cabin in case I needed anything. I graphed a lot of fish and presented a variety of different baits, both live and artificial, but they just weren't biting that afternoon. I decided to try a Swedish Pimple spoon tipped with a minnow head to see if I could get the attention of some larger panfish. That didn't work either except for this hungry little northern pike. He was a "hammer handle" so I let him go so he could grow. There must be some big northerns in this lake because he had half of his tail bitten off.
After catching the little pike the bite was dead. Around sunset the fish must have moved out to deeper water because I was no longer graphing them on my fishfinder. I packed things up after dark and hauled my gear the short walk back to the cabin. We planned on doing a night ride on the trails but after being outside all day long we were wiped out and hungry so we skipped it to relax and eat dinner in the cabin. We still had one more morning to ride.
Day 3-Back to the Mahnomen Unit
Checkout was at noon but we wanted to get in another ride so we headed out early and took the fastest way back to the main trailhead at the Mahnomen Unit via the Cuyuna Lakes State Trail. Here we would get a chance to ride some of our favorite trails one more time. The scenery throughout the Mahnomen Unit is spectacular with the stands of pines, birch trees and overlooks of the mine pit lakes and land surrounding them.
We took our time to enjoy the ride and scenery on a light dusting of snow from the previous night before jumping back onto the Cuyuna Lakes State trail for the ride back to the basecamp.
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| Day 3-Back to the Mahnomen Unit |
Short Video Recap of the Weekend
It was a great weekend at Cuyuna. There's so much to do here and only so many hours in the day. We packed in as much as we had the energy to do spending much of our time outside despite the cold temperatures that weekend. True North Basecamp is the perfect place to stay and play while visiting Cuyuna. Because of its prime location, everything we wanted to do was accessible by foot, bike or 5 minute car ride. The cabin served as our basecamp for sleeping, taking breaks, getting something to eat or just warming up so we could get back outside and ride our bikes. If you enjoy fatbiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or ice fishing, make True North Basecamp your "basecamp" on your next winter adventure.
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