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“Winter” in the BWCA


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  • #1305436
    Matt F
    BPL Member

    @matt_f

    We had a long winter in Minnesota. The snow and cold pushed its way to late april, and once spring was here it was shortlived, wet and cold. Now, its been 90s and humid for much of July, and I find myself thinking fondly upon our May snow storms. In that spirit, here is a report from a "winter" trip to the BWCA in April:

    My buddy Pete and I had been looking to fit in a spring backpacking trip, but our window of opportunity was shrinking before our eyes. Weekend obligations piled up and one snowstorm after another left us firmly buried in the white stuff in mid-April. We were both free April 19th to the 21st and rather than missing an opportunity to hike we basically just threw in the towel, admitted it was still the middle of winter and grabbed some cold weather gear.

    I had literally just finished a few consecutive overnight shifts at work and Pete picked me up in the parking ramp in downtown Minneapolis. I was basically useless on the drive up to the Boundary Waters but at least managed a couple hours of sleep.

    As we began our drive up the Gunflint trail toward the South Lake Trailhead (about 40 miles “inland” from Lake Superior), another snowstorm started to roll in, and if the feet of snow piled on cars stranded in cabin driveways was any indication, this had been the norm recently.

    parking spot

    A year prior I had been paddling in a t-shirt and shorts just one week later in the same neck of the woods. This year the forecast lows were around 10F with highs just below freezing.

    We actually had to drive around until we found a lodge that had plowed a small parking lot, asked them if we could drop the car there, then walk about a mile down the road to the trail head.

    road walk

    The snow was deep! We took turns breaking trail and working our way toward the Border Route Trail.

    deep snow

    I had firmly developed a case of the stupids as I neglected to pay close enough attention to the map, compass, and as it turns out my BDMs (Big Dumb Mitts). I dropped one at some point, back-tracked about a mile, then returned to the place I first noticed I was missing it and found it about 6 feet down the trial. I blame the sleep deprivation ☺

    found mitten

    Rather than going to the Border Route that night we called an audible and made our way to moss lake with the intention of hooking up with the Border Route the next day. We cruised (read: slogged slowly) across the lake and finally reached camp some time after 7 PM.

    lake slog

    lake slog 2

    The beauty of winter camping in April is about four hours more day light than you’d have in December.

    We stomped out a platform, set up our tent, and set to the business of making dinner and melting snow.

    snow melt

    The next day we awoke to a gorgeous clear (but cold) morning. We grabbed some breakfast and were on our way through a short portage to Duncan Lake. As far as we can tell, night time lows were in the high-single-digits to low teens each night. Pretty strange for April in Minnesota!

    AM

    AM2

    Little did we know there was running water just a couple hundred meters from where we’d slept.

    AM3

    water

    After marching across Duncan we met up with a spur that took us to the Border Route Trail and eventually above Rose Lake. The Border Route was slow going: lots of snow, steep trail, and plenty of trees to maneuver around. Still, it provided a bit of variety to contrast with the lake walking.

    beaver dam

    woods

    That afternoon we descended down to Rose Lake in what felt like a heat wave. The snow wasn’t melting, but the bright sun on the snow and ice of the lake made it feel tropical. We set up our decidedly 3-season tent in a protected spot in the woods and made ourselves a snowpack island where we spent the evening cooking, taking photos, and drinking a bit of whiskey. Decent times.

    woods 2

    woods 4

    woods 5

    tent

    rose lake

    blue snow

    evening

    evening 2

    snow melt 2

    stars 1

    stars 2

    The next morning we set out to have a relatively ambitious day: we’d continue east through the end of Rose Lake, make our way through a very flooded portage trail then travel across Daniels lake, Bearskin lake, then back to Duncan Lake at which point we back-tracked our initial days’ journey.

    flood portage

    lake 2

    lake 3

    After about 8 hours of travel and a few soggy steps into deep slush repositories in the middle of the lakes we made our way back to the trailhead. Looking back at our photos from this trip almost makes me miss winter already.

    finish

    pete end

    A couple post-trip thoughts:

    First, this trip was awesome. Pete and I have hung out a couple times since and we both just kind of shake our heads at how much this trip exceeded our expectations as a two night wilderness experience. The BWCA is heavily traveled in the summer, but go there in winter conditions and its essentially a huge empty wilderness area full of wolves, moose and silence .

    Second, we snowshoed this trip, but the BWCA just begs to be skied. We spent a lot of time on portage and hiking trails, but my next (winter) trip will be on backcountry XC Skis with a bit more time on the lakes. Snow shoes are fantastic, but I couldn't help but to think that the big wide open lakes and generally gently sloped portage trails are well suited to travel by skis. There seem to be a bunch of BPLers interested in getting out more on skis and in winter, and i'd love to see a concerted effort to get a crew of us out there in the next couple of seasons.

    Third, I was somewhat surprised at how comfortable I was in mild winter-conditions with highs below 30 and lows in the single digits with feet of snow on the ground in spite of largely 3-season gear: I used a ULA Circuit, WM Ultralite bag, Big Sky Evolution 2P tent, Exped Synmat UL + cut down ridgerest and a coleman peak remote canister stove (though the canister stove was a bit finicky at night). My baseweight including a Sony Nex 5 camera was around 14 pounds. There were a couple of things I'd bring next time but for the most part I was happy with my gear.

    We had pretty calm conditions, and I'm looking into shelters that are light but could handle a bit of blowing snow as I think the Big Sky tent is clearly not suited to legit winter conditions. I don't endorse heading out with inadequate gear, but I do endorse choosing to make the trip in spite of a cold/wet/windy forecast and challenging yourself. This was a prime example of pushing the limits of the gear we brought along but making adjustments and good decisions in order to stay warm/dry/comfortable.

    Thanks for reading,

    Matt

    #2006567
    Tim Drescher
    BPL Member

    @timdcy

    Locale: Gore Range

    Great trip report! Brings back memories of the consecutive winters I spent in Ely. That eerie still silence…

    #2006600
    David Chenault
    BPL Member

    @davec

    Locale: Queen City, MT

    Awesome report.

    It's been hot as heck around here for over a month: I do miss winter!

    #2006619
    Jim Colten
    BPL Member

    @jcolten

    Locale: MN

    Nice trip Matt! Funny how the weather can't seem to read a calendar, eh?

    Rose Lake area was my first exposure to the BWCAW, also in winter … early March and I know what you mean about the warmth of the sun.

    Some of your pics could have been right out of my "mental photo album"

    #2006625
    rOg w
    BPL Member

    @rog_w

    Locale: rogwilmers.com

    deleted

    #2007425
    Sam Haraldson
    BPL Member

    @sharalds

    Locale: Gallatin Range

    Awesome TR. BWCA hiking trips are often kind of mediocre due to the bogs and lakes but winter trips (even "winter" in April) are awesome when you can cruise for miles over frozen lakes. Definitely hope to see some more from you on future ski trips up North.

    #2007456
    Dan @ Durston Gear
    BPL Member

    @dandydan

    Locale: Canadian Rockies

    Rog, I'm interested in the XC Open. Keep us posted.

    #2007761
    Mitchell Rossman
    Member

    @bigmitch

    Locale: Minneapolis-St. Paul

    Also interested in this XC open if in early Feb. Would be a nice change from winter ultras.

    #2007853
    Matt F
    BPL Member

    @matt_f

    Rog – I love the idea of a cross-country ski open – why let the folks out west hog all the fun? Keep me posted when you get the ball rolling. Also, what is that section of the NCT like? I can't imagine skiing 60 miles through SHT-type terrain, but perhaps things are a little gentler in that neck of the woods.

    As far as the tarp and snow block idea is concerned: i'm not there yet, but I am planning to dabble in pyramid shelters again. I previously had a shangri-la 3 but moved back to traditional tents for a while. I'm picking up a BD mega light with the intention of using it in winter but also with an inner for windy/wet/shoulder season conditions with my wife. I figure the square shape ought to be easier to pitch and after a fair bit of research i can't find anything as rugged or roomy as a mid/inner combo for the weight. I'll be posting a couple tents for sale shortly.

    Matt

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