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SHT in February: A tale of two trips


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  • #1269817
    Matt F
    BPL Member

    @matt_f

    In an effort to embrace winter in Minnesota, I decided to get out for a couple of multi-day trips on the Superior Hiking Trail in February. I haven’t done much winter camping before: perhaps 5 nights total prior to this season. The following are two (very different) trip reports, and a few thoughts/conclusions aimed at helping others somewhat new to winter travel.

    Trip #1 started late in the afternoon of Tuesday, February 15th at Gooseberry Falls State Park. I didn’t have a lot of direction or much of a schedule heading into this one, so I just loaded up my gear and 5 full days worth of food and headed north with my parents’ yellow lab, Kaya, in tow. I had loose plans to meet a friend the following Sunday at one of a couple trail heads to the north.

    kaya and dog pack

    Kaya, my hiking partner and wanna-be dog pack model.

    Things started out benign enough, basically just coasting along packed down state park ski trails as the late afternoon sun slowly faded. I didn’t need snow shoes at first, but after a couple of miles the tracks stopped, and I was breaking trail through deep, heavy snow made dense by daytime temps well above freezing. I was able to make about 2 miles per hour in spite of breaking trail, and Kaya happily followed along, hopping from snow shoe track to snow shoe track. That night I stomped out a tent platform just off the trail at a non-descript site a few miles from Gooseberry, just south of Blueberry Hill backcountry camp, and set up my three-season tent (chosen to keep Kaya inside at night). I was optimistic about the coming days as the temps were almost spring-like and the travel was not all that slow…yet.

    Aside from a pack of coyotes making some noise for a few minutes just down the trail (or so it seemed) around midnight and a nearly-full moon that lit everthing up like a street lamp, the night was uneventful. Warm overnight temps left a small quantity of water left in the vestibule completely unfrozen. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this would mean tough travel later that day.

    After waking up and downing a no-cook breakfast we started down the trail toward split-rock river, enjoying some views from up high, but occasionally losing the untracked trail once out of the trees, resulting in us dropping our packs and tromping through deep, heavy snow until we found our way. Kaya was occassionally unimpressed with my navigational abilities:

    dropped packs

    Eventually we descended to the Split Rock River valley, where state park hikers left us with more easy walking on track out trails. A bit of open water even allowed me to fill my bottles without pulling out the stove….or getting too close to open water.

    water gathering

    After ascending away from the river, the going got really tough. The afternoon sun was really heating up, and temps were in the mid 40’s. So much for The Nation’s Icebox! For most of the afternoon I actually was snowshoeing shirtless with rolled up pants, as I had drenched my wool shirt in sweat in spite of trying to maintain a steady, slow pace. With each step my 30” Northern Lites snow shoes were sinking in up to a foot, leaving me to then muscle my buried, heavy snow shoe out of a deep pit of soggy snow. This was hard work for me, and Kaya was forced to follow in my tracks as she would be instantly chest-deep and at a stand-still upon any attempt to strike off on her own.

    kaya in tracks

    We took a long break on Christmas Tree Ridge, during which Kaya decided my 36” ridgerest was from now on her own.

    kaya on pad

    The rest of the afternoon was more of the same. The snow kept on getting softer and heavier, and at one point I realized that I was actually in a somewhat dangerous position: in spite of being in OK shape, I was exerting myself to an incredible degree to make even modest gains in distance. I had to stop to take breaks every 30 steps or so, and I could feel fatigue setting in. Even though I was only 5-6 miles from a trailhead, if I was injured, or if Kaya was injured, I’m not sure how I would have gotten out. During normal 3-season conditions, I could have eventually limped out with a sprained ankle or knee. Snowshoeing through what felt like quick sand would not be possible at anything less than full strength. I had never really felt this exposed on the SHT before, in spite of having covered the entire trail on foot at least twice. I didn’t really know what to make of this conclusion, and trudged on to an established backcountry campsite called “Beaver Pond”about 12 trail miles (felt like 30) north of where I woke up.

    kaya in camp

    Not only did night time temps remain above freezing, but a steady misting drizzle set in. I woke up to an eerie quiet fog and more saturated snow. I was warm and dry inside my tent, but was well aware of what steady cold-rain could quickly do if I let my guard down. To make matters worse, even with fresh legs I felt my travel was nearly at a stand-still: I was grinding out perhaps 0.5-0.75 miles per hour. This was the hardest wilderness travel I had ever experienced, by far!

    birch in mist

    Some time that morning, I decided I needed an exit strategy: I’d either be faced with more wet, slow travel, or if the temps became frigid (as they inevitably would), I’d have potentially bigger issues as everything I had would be frozen and things could turn dangerous. I climbed to the top of a ridge, found phone reception, and asked my friend from Duluth if he’d be available any time before Sunday: he said that night would work for him, so I did something I'd never done before: met him at the Beaver Bay trail head and bailed early on a trip, with the intention of coming back up once the north shore was once again frozen and conducive to travel on foot. My pride took a bit of a hit, but I tried to remind myself that I’m still new to this sort of travel, and the important thing was getting myself and Kaya out safe and sound. Once I was within a couple miles of the Beaver Bay trailhead, I once again hit tracked out trail, and meandered around Beaver River for a while, waiting to meet my buddy.

    Beaver River

    I had mixed emotions at the time, but looking back I feel I made the right decision, both for safety and my own enjoyment.

    Sure enough, things on the North Shore normalized during the coming days, and on February 23rd I again packed up my gear (though I was minus Kaya this time), and set out for the SHT. This time around my gear and food were a bit more dialed in, with a 15 pound base weight and a total of 26 pounds worn/carried excluding consumables. I contacted Cascade Lodge, who shuttled me about 34 trail miles south to Temperance River trail head.

    trailhead

    I walked along the Temperance River for about a half mile:

    temperance

    The forecast called for mid-twenties and flurries that afternoon, but shortly after starting my hike a steady snow started falling as I ascended toward Carlton Peak:

    carlton

    closer to carlton

    As I skirted Carlton Peak, views were mostly obscured by falling snow, and I continued on to the north passing Britton Peak, and steadily progressing north at about 2 miles per hour. Even though I was only wearing a thin wool t-shirt and a wind shirt, I was overheating. In fact, the falling snow (4-5 inches fell while I was walking) started melting on contact on my upper body and arms, wetting-out my wind shirt. I kept moving to stay warm, and the moment I arrived at camp I added a light fleece and a puffy down layer under my drenched wind shirt to keep my body temp from plummeting at rest. I somewhat clumsily set up my Golite Shangri-la 3 in the falling snow (I didn’t need an enclosed shelter now that Kaya wasn’t travelling with me), crawled in and started melting snow and cooking dinner.

    shelter at night

    The snow slowed down overnight, and setting up under some large pine trees kept much snow from building up on or around my 'mid.

    mid in morning

    The next morning had a winter-wonderland sort of feel: blue skies, sunshine and everything covered in a few inches of fresh powder.

    snowy trees

    However, this meant that whenever I brushed up against a pine tree I’d have snow dropping onto me in piles from above. This is where I really grew to appreciate my windshirt: I left the hood up, and rather than getting covered in snow (which would eventually melt and leave me cold and wet), it all just slid to the ground.

    I had some of the toughest snowshoeing of the trip this morning: I ascended the mountains around Lutsen ski area, which meant steep climbs through encroaching pine trees, then crawling under, over and around blown-down trees up on windy ridges. However, the views were awesome!

    moose mountain

    Dipping into the lower lying areas felt really serene, by comparison:

    blue paint

    I skirted Lutsen Ski area, stopped to melt some water, then continued north.

    lutsen

    Working my way north, the unpredictability continued. The poplar river valley was completely untracked, and for some reason I began randomly post-holing even with 30” snow shoes on! Also, thick brush made much of the hiking feel like bush-wacking.

    deep snow

    As the day began to draw to a close, I was treated to a couple more views (of the Poplar River Valley), and even found some open water to fill up my water bottles.

    poplar valley

    Tired of negotiating downed trees, I hopped onto a lake to cruise the last quarter mile to my camp for the night: East Lake Agnes.

    snow shoe tracks

    As I was setting up my tent, I realized the temps were dropping rapidly: all day, temps were in the single digits to low teens, but now the clear evening skies were clearly letting heat escape at a rapid rate.

    setting sun

    I took one last look at the setting sun and settled into my ‘mid for a long evening of cooking and making hot drinks as a steady breeze picked up. An audiobook on my iPod shuffle helped the time pass.

    cooking

    Overnight I stayed warm, but I think I was on the edge of what my sleep system could handle. I can’t confirm just how cold the night became, but at 8 AM my thermometer (previously under my sleeping bag and not able to give accurate readings) still read -5F. I’d estimate overnight lows were anywhere between -10 and -20 F outside.

    shelter in am

    I stupidly neglected to put my boots inside my sleeping bag overnight, so was left to try to warm them up in the morning. I placed them (inside a stuff sack) in my bag for about 20 minutes, then put them on my feet still cold. I tore down camp and got moving quickly, still wearing my down parka and Patagonia micro puff pants over my typical snowshoeing clothing. After about a mile I was finally able to drop the puffy layers, and kept on, breaking trail as I went. The morning was windy, cold, and somehow had an ominous feel to it in spite of beautiful sunshine and clear skies. After covering 3 miles or so, temps had slowly reached low single digits (F), but I realized my left foot still didn’t feel right: it was numb, and wasn’t warming up in spite of my core being quite warm. As if on cue, I walked right up to a shelter built next to an adjacent snowmobile trail.

    shelter

    I decided it was time to take care of myself, and set up shop here for a solid hour. As it turns out, my boots were still frozen and were constricting blood flow to my two smallest left toes and the ball of my foot on that side: they were white. I got my stove running, loosened and warmed by boots with hot water, massaged my feet, and eventually restored blood flow.

    shelter with stove

    I drank a liter of hot drinks, filled my bottles, ate heaps of snacks, and by the time I got moving again felt like a new man, physically and mentally. This was the turning point of the day.

    As I travelled onward, I felt stronger and happier, and at some point entered an area apparently densely populated by wolves: most stretches of the SHT were near or covered by wolf tracks and occasional deer kill sites, all left since the new snow fell less than two days ago. The temp plateaued at around +10F for the remainder of the afternoon as I meandered along inland ridges, sincerely enjoying myself and watching occasional wildlife. At some point I decided that +10 F was a wonderful temperature at which to travel: I was completely comfortable, and could go up and down hills, exert myself and rest, and maintain a fairly steady core temperature by making minor alterations in my clothing/handwear/headware.

    Looking north toward Grand Marais:

    ridge view

    Trail on the ridge: A friendly wolf tried to break trail for me sometime during the past day or so.

    wolf breaks trails

    By about 3:15, I had covered the remaining 12 miles in my route, reaching Cascade Lodge adjacent to Cascade River State Park.
    I was greeted by these two:

    horses

    Just like that, the trip was over. I made a quick clothing change, and started heading south again. This time, I had a profound sense of satisfaction after the successful completion of a challenging trip, more or less as planned. Before I had made it even half way home, I was already thinking up ways to return for one more winter trip this year.

    #1702342
    Matt F
    BPL Member

    @matt_f

    I've linked a gear list for my second trip to my profile. The following are a few thoughts on winter technique/philosophy based upon my admittedly limited cold-weather experiences.

    •Being able to make minor clothing changes on the move will keep you much more dry and comfortable: hoods, hats, balaclavas, liner gloves, zippers and big shell mitts make big differences, and none involve actually stopping to take off your pack.

    • Pockets are key: two in my soft shell pants, two hipbelt pockets, and napoleon pockets in my windshirt and light fleece pullover kept my liner gloves, balaclava, snacks, camera and maps all at-the-ready and kept me from having to take off my pack all the time.

    • Hooded wind-shirts are awesome…mostly. During a 25 degree snow storm I was kept dry for an hour or two, but eventually mine wet-out in a big way. This was something of a failure. The next couple days, however, it proved invaluable for protecting me from snow from weighted down pine trees: I’d brush against/under a snow covered pine bough, the snow would fall on me, then slough right off, never getting a chance to stick to me or melt on me.

    • Don’t let your boots freeze!

    • I will never winter camp without at least a 36” piece of CCF, and will likely usually take more. However, I also enjoy having compact gear for maneuvering around trees etc.

    • Things break easier when it’s really cold. My nalgene cantene developed a puncture due to having some frozen water coating the inside when I folded it in half to store it.

    • I see the appeal of pyramid shelters in winter: hanging out to cook/melt water “inside” all evening is great, as is digging out seats to make things comfortable. However, they take practice to set up. In particular, having a well-solidified tent platform that holds stakes firmly is much more important than with a free-standing tent. This takes time.

    • Winter nights are long: my 0.5 oz ipod shuffle with an audio book made them more fun.

    •-10F is cold. 10F is great snowshoeing weather. 25 F is too warm during exertion, and makes snow melt on contact.

    •Sleeping bags hang on to a lot of moisture in cold weather. Mine gained 10 oz after only two nights. I see why vapor barriers would be important on longer trips.

    •Nalgene bottles are awesome in winter. I’ll bring two from now on instead of one bottle and one “wide mouth canteen”. A couple ounces just don't matter that much.

    Putting liner socks and gloves between two worn baselayers while you sleep is a good way to dry them.

    Winter makes places feel wilder and more remote: travel is slower and tougher, and the consequences of mistakes are greater. As such, winter camping is an awesome way to add an element of adventure and risk to places that might normally feel pretty familiar and accessible.

    #1702359
    Philip Delvoie
    BPL Member

    @philipd

    Locale: Ontario, Canada

    Matt,

    Great trip report and pictures. Enjoyed the read.

    #1702365
    Shawn Peyton
    BPL Member

    @alifeoutdoors

    Locale: Iron River, WI

    Bravo Matt. Great report. I wouldn't let the first bail out bother you in the least. It takes guts to camp the north shore in winter. The attempt itself is impressive and you came back for a second round. I raise my glass to you.
    Cheers

    #1702432
    Eugene Smith
    BPL Member

    @eugeneius

    Locale: Nuevo Mexico

    Matt,

    Thanks for the thorough and informative trip report, nuggets of informational gold in there! Great photographs to boot.

    The trekking pole, guyline, Nalgene fishing method for retrieving water from the break in the ice was awesome.

    #1702554
    Tom Clark
    BPL Member

    @tomclark

    Locale: East Coast

    Nice TR, and breakdown of gear/technique at the end. I can believe that -10F or 25F weather makes for a very different trip. Looked like there was a wide range of snow depth.
    Tom

    #1702586
    David Chenault
    BPL Member

    @davec

    Locale: Queen City, MT

    Excellent TR and gear overview. Rain saturated snow is just about the worst travel surface I can think of. Last spring in Yellowstone I had rain at 8000' overnight; the next day I was (occasionally) postholing crotch deep with skis on.

    #1702645
    Sam Haraldson
    BPL Member

    @sharalds

    Locale: Gallatin Range

    Superb trip report, photos, and post-trip commentary, Matt. The snowy photos of Carlton Peak make me homesick though!

    #1707345
    Matt F
    BPL Member

    @matt_f

    Hey guys –

    thanks for the kind words and sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread – I was able to get out for another overnight on the SHT just a couple days after posting and then things became busy again. I like seeing winter trip reports from other people because of my relative lack of experience and the fact that winter travel is simply more involved from a gear and skill stand point.

    Eugene – I have to admit I saw Skurka use the "fishing" technique for getting water in a AYE video somewhere….though most tricks like this seem to circulate around and I imagine this one has been used for a long time.

    Dave – Thigh-deep with skis…yikes. I'm beginning to understand that conditions are a lot more variable in the winter than spring to fall combined, and really change the way and speed at which we can travel.

    take care,

    Matt

    #1707374
    Jim Colten
    BPL Member

    @jcolten

    Locale: MN

    Great Trip Report Matt!

    Jumping from "a few winter overnights" to setting out on a 5 day trek was ambitious and snowshoeing from Temperance to Cascade in three days is impressive, especially solo.

    Seems clear that you've developed the kind of keep_aware/evaluate/act mindset that's so important in challenging conditions.

    #1707416
    Sam Haraldson
    BPL Member

    @sharalds

    Locale: Gallatin Range

    The North Shore is a superb location for testing your mettle. You have such great road and trailhead access allowing for relatively quick and safe bailouts but at the same time when you get into the woods, off the road you feel like you're deep in the Wilderness. Add in the blistering temps common in winter and the not-to-be-taken-lightly depth of the snowpack and you've got a recipe for proving your hardness.

    #1707584
    Chad Miller
    Member

    @chadnsc

    Locale: Duluth, Minnesota

    Nice trip report Matt!

    I agree that the SHT can be a tough hike in the winter. I was out on a couple trips in January and February where the lows where -35 and -22 respectively. Fortunately I pull a pulk sled so I can bring plenty of puffy warmness. :P

    It is great though to be out on unbroken trail! That being said having someone around would also be nice! If you're up here again and looking for a backpacking partner just let me know. I'm heading out for a trip the weekendish of March 18th. I'm self employed so I can come and go as I please. :)

    #1707788
    Jim Colten
    BPL Member

    @jcolten

    Locale: MN

    Matt,

    For reference, some recorded low temps for your second morning:
    Silver Bay (elevation 1089ft) … -4F
    Grand Marais (elevation 1789 ft) … -11F

    #1707866
    Matt F
    BPL Member

    @matt_f

    Jim – thanks for looking into those temps for me: -11F around Grand Marais sounds about right. Also, as far as the decision making stuff goes, I agree this is a very underrated skill when it comes to wilderness travel, especially in tough/cold/wet places. I worked as a canoe guide throughout college on trips ranging anywhere from 5-28 days, with the longer trips taking place in pretty remote areas of Ontario and Manitoba. Three seasons of being responsible for a bunch of high school guys for a month straight definitely made me think a little more critically about risk-taking and decision-making, and I think this has made me a lot more confident with regard to solo travel. Still, thinking of how involved these short trips were for me makes me marvel at folks that do extended winter travel.

    Chad, -35F is crazy! Were you in a quinzee? Also, I'd love to get out for a trip sometime. Unfortunately, the next two months are pretty well booked up for me as I've started another rotation (I'm a 4th year med student), picked up a job that will eat up a month including most weekends, am graduating and getting married all within that time. However, we'll have to keep each other posted regarding future trips: solo winter travel is alright, but I think having a hiking partner or two is smart, good company, and also opens up more possibilities as far as trip locations, distance and logistical stuff like car shuttles.

    Sam – I'm sensing a little North Shore nostalgia….good stuff.

    Matt

    #1708440
    Chad Miller
    Member

    @chadnsc

    Locale: Duluth, Minnesota

    You're right Matt, for the -35 F night I built a quinzee. I was glad I was pulling a pulk sled because I could use the empty sled a one big shovel. This allowed me to build the quinzee in about two hours total. :)

    We defiantly have to get out on the SHT when your schedule allows. Right now I'm planning on heading out this weekend for a short overnight trip. I'll be doing an out and back from Temperance River to Oberg Mountain. Right now the temps look to be highs of just above freezing with lows only down into the 20's.

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