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Echoes of ’93 – Managing a Complicated Wilderness
“There is currently too much visitor use in some areas of the BWCAW on some days. Excessive use results in the following impacts: Off-site camping on non-designated sites which impacts vegetation, soils, and heritage resources. Some designated campsites and portages are too heavily impacted based upon our LAC inventory data. Approximately 85% of all existing…
The Evolving Food Pack – How Gear Improves Over Time
Every spring as outfitters begin gearing up for the busy summer season ahead, production begins to turn from winter dogsports back to portage packs. Alongside the new gear, a reunion of sorts takes place as old packs come back to us through the fall and into the spring as outfitters send in old gear for…
Map Mondays – Week 7 – Larch Creek to Brule Lake
As part of our continuing series on the “route planning game,” we are creating routes using randomly selected entry points, exit points, and number of days to create unique and fun BWCA routes. Let’s check it out! Total Mileage: 52.5 milesNights: 6Paddle Distance: 42.8 milesPortage Distance: 9.7 miles Day 1: Miles: 13.6Target Campsite: Saganaga Lake,…
Let’s Break the Ice on a BWCA November Canoe Trip!
It’s been snowing all week here in Ely which points to a winter season fast approaching. In the meantime, this is one of the more challenging seasons for wilderness travel with many big lakes still open, smaller lakes starting to freeze, and trails and forests covered in fresh, wet snow. To the majority of…
5 Guide Tricks for Finding Great BWCAW (or Quetico) Campsites
Finding a great campsite can be one of the great joys of a canoe trip. Waking up in a stand of majestic pines, enjoying a cool breeze rolling off the lake on a midsummer afternoon, and cooking over a campfire without worrying about bugs can make a campsite that much more memorable. Occasionally, these sites…
In the Context of Wilderness
Earlier this week, September 3rd, was the 59th anniversary of the 1964 Wilderness Act which established the BWCAW and 53 other areas as newly defined wilderness. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has since gone on to become one of the most well-known and widely-beloved wilderness areas in the country. In examining the BWCAW today,…
The Best BWCA Entry Points for Every Winter Activity
With lake ice quickly becoming travelable, many of us are dreaming about where in the BWCA we’ll head this winter. Winter is a peculiar contrast to summer in this neck of the woods. A whole different gear set is required to travel and stay safe (more on that in future articles.) Accessibility becomes much harder…
A Bird’s Eye of the BW – Telling the Story from Above
It started as a funny game of sorts. As I was scrolling past google satellite imagery dreaming of future canoe country routes and trip plans, I would begin noticing the occasional canoe group on the photos. I soon began looking for them. It was a game of “I spy,” picking out small floating canoes and…
Paddling The Margins
Buy Tickets After five years of planning, preparation and training, Jack sets out on his most ambitious kayaking project yet. Paddling The Margins follows the journey to paddle unsupported over 2,000 kilometers along some of Canada’s most beautifully remote coastline, the Pacific Northwest. Director and Producer: Jack River Hampton
Thank you for the summary of the report – interesting! You noted “Overnight hikers, for instance, make up about 1% of permits in a given year.” I’ve wondered if there would be value in more promotion of the BWCAW trails and even adding a few long trails (which would require allocating more money). It seems to me hiking allows more people (I’m thinking dozens not thousands) to enjoy the wilderness without interfering with canoeists. Hikers tend to be minimalists so really all they need is a trail that occasionally goes past a water source and some sort of camping space even far away from a lake. The existing BRT and KEK are good examples. There are plenty of permits available but the trails are under utilized. Maybe it’s just too hot during the summer for long hikes.
I considered hiking the Kekekabic Trail, but the part I was on was overgrown. The trail is maintained and marked. But the lack of hiking traffic allows the underbrush to grown knee high. It makes it difficult to see where your next step will land. And I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect the Forrest Service to trim the trail. I don’t know if the abundance of undergrowth is why people do not hike it. I did not camp on the trail. I was on an overhight paddle on Dissapointment Lake.
Hello Tom. Thank you for your insightful feedback. Hiking in the BWCA has always been a bit of a niche, and I have never really understood why. There are some really amazing trails like the BRT and the Kek (which you mentioned.) Others like the Sioux Hustler, Pow Wow, Herriman, and Angleworm are amazing also. There are also a bunch of small trails which see less support and are very underutilized. Part of the problem is, as you also inferred, summers are tough for hiking. The forests of the BWCA are dense and the bugs can be on another level. Part of it I think is the draw of the area. It is known for its canoeing; that’s what it is managed for and that’s what draws people. In the past, the USFS has been hesitant to allow new trails to open and has, at times, been hesitant to allow for existing trails to continue to be maintained (see the 1993 report article for an example.) In 1993, there was serious consideration in closing the Sioux Hustler. The Kekekabic was at one time abandoned before volunteers made it what it is today. The Pow Wow lost its eastern half and nearly lost its western half after Pagami Creek until volunteers did the nearly-unimaginable and cut thousands upon thousands of trees off of it. In other instances, the forest service has not allowed volunteer crews to reopen trails such as the old Stuart River trail which ran to Lac La Croix. So, with that, the volunteer organizations which cooperate with the forest service are world class. They make the hiking trails possible; these trails wouldn’t exist without them. That said, though hiking numbers have grown some over the years, it’s still small and likely will continue to be so. It’s just not what the BWCA is known for and nearby trails like the SHT and the state parks take higher traffic. In any case, for those in the know, the hiking trails in the BWCA are special and do provide a unique perspective on a place most people encounter from inside a canoe. For what it’s worth, I feel the BRT is the best hiking trail in the state, but it’s also wild, rugged, and challenging. With limited signage and limited trail marking, wilderness trails are not for everyone, but it’s also what makes them truly special!
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