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BWCA - Snowbank/Disappointment Loop 10/22
Got a chance to head up for my first overnights in the Boundary Water at the beginning of October. In typical Minnesota fashion I got to enjoy all 4 seasons during the 4 day trip. Before heading up I grabbed the McKenzie map #9 and downloaded Wild Map Snowbank (Terrain) on Avenza to help plan.
Got to the trailhead around 5 with a plan to only go two miles to the first campsite on the trail. It was an incredibly comfortable 70 degrees as we headed off and plowed through those miles quick(ish) passing some pretty views and colors.
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When we got to where the campsite was supposed to be though all we found was blow down. We spent 20 minutes or so walking back and forth, climbing into and around the knocked down trees searching for a trail or hint of campsite. Eventually we got far enough in that we determined there was just nowhere between us and the lake that wasn't covered in trees. With it getting darker already we crossed that campsite off the map and kept hiking while looking for a place to setup. Since we were looking for anywhere to setup (hammock for me and trekking pole tent for my friend) the trail being surrounded by a lot of uneven ground led to a bit over a mile of walking. I kept seeing trees and going oh how about here and my friend just looking around at the ground and us keeping going. Eventually though we got to a section we would both be able to fit and got setup surprisingly well. Overnight stayed fairly warm and we both got a good sleep.
Morning came around and the temperature was in the 40s. The plan had been to do less than 5 miles the second day and stay at a campsite on the northern end of the lake. While the trail didn't have any major ups or down it did feel like it was all either up or down which immediately got us warm. We got to our planned campsite at 11:30 and took a look at the map. There were another couple of campsite not that much farther on but this one had great spots for both of us, a sheltered fire ring and a beautiful view. Since none of this trip was about pushing miles we said seems like enough hiking for the day and setup to just relax.
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The rest of the day alternated between sun poking out from behind the clouds and light rain so we felt like we made a pretty good choice. Was either feet up watching birds swimming in the bay or slowly swinging in the hammock waiting for the pitter patter of rain to subside. When it finally got dark we managed to get a fire going and then turned in pretty early. Overnight temps dropped probably around the low 30's and for the first time in my hammock I really felt a chill from underneath. Mainly it was focused on my butt and my back and it did make staying asleep hard. In my RidgeRunner I generally get by just fine with my Nemo pad but this time regretted leaving my 20 degree underquilt at home. Fortunately I had brought a sleeping bag liner which added a bit of warmth to my underside and pulled my sit pad into the hammock for my butt which entirely solved one cold spot.
Next morning was in the 30s and a light drizzle. We were aiming for a campsite on the south eastern tip of Disappointment Lake so probably 8 or 9 miles. We took it slow out of camp and prepared for a few dam crossings we knew were coming up. One of them turned out to be a bit squishy and uncertain but for the others we felt like we could scamper across without issue.
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We saw more blowdown along the northern end of Snowbank including the absolute largest one either of us had either seen. My friend is probably around 6 feet and kindly provided scale for this photo.
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We didn't have any major rain during the day but there was enough to wet the ground and soak through shoes and socks. We checked out the two campsites on the north eastern end of Snowbank just before the trail heads away from the lake. Both had a lot of blowdown with the trail to the southern one completely hidden. We managed to suss it out though and stopped there for lunch. I made the mistake of taking off both my shoes and socks in a vain hope they might dry a bit in the high wind. Sadly by the time we packed up all that had happened was they got incredibly cold which made putting them back on and the first 10 minutes of hiking incredibly unpleasant. Feeling of dry feet just before that though was priceless. If you have a hammock I would not recommend either of these sites or at least plan on getting really creative with your hangs.
As we transitioned away from Snowbank I was surprised to find the trail seemed a bit better maintained. Trail so far has been easy to find and follow but this was like the good sections of the Superior Hiking Trail. Up until this point we hadn't seen any other people or even canoes out on the lake so I was totally surprised when stomping out of the woods and onto the trail came a guy with a gun. He didn't have a backpack or anything and was entirely friendly. Seemed like he was as surprised to see us as we were to see him. We stopped at a campsite a little ways away with a large group there, probably 6 or 7 tents and assumed he was part of all that. The trail kept up with the ups and downs but by 5 we had made it to our campsite and gotten setup. We gathered firewood and enjoyed some light wintery mix along with our fire before turning in.
In the morning we saw that the island our campsite faced had a beautiful dusting of snow despite our site being entirely snow free.
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We knocked the wintery mix off of tarp and tent, enjoyed some morning hot chocolate and started off. Immediately upon rejoining the trail we realized things had changed a lot more overnight than our campsite lead us to believe.
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Since it was our last day we just enjoyed the beauty of the snow and happily plowed through letting out shoes and socks get as wet as they were going too. There were quite a few trees down on the Kekekabic Trail we were taking back west to the trailhead and a coupe of times my friend broke out his saw for impromptu trail maintenance. We followed a portage trail to Pickerel Bay for a final long snack break and enjoyed our final view of Snowbank.
Overall a wonderfully relaxing trip even with a huge range of weather. Looking forward to more Boundary Water adventures in the future.
