BWCA Disappointment

**Tim Pappy Case** · 12-01-2020, 13:07

Signed up to canoe and hike hybrid on Snowbank/Parent/Disappointment area. Hoping to find a campsite to hang and be close to a trail. Anyone recommend a site on a lake? Forgot to mention, after ice out. Thanks, Pappy

**firemedic5586** · 12-02-2020, 01:02

I'm not sure how much canoeing your going to be getting in with the lakes iced up.

As for the hiking trails: Snowbank and Disappointment area had a big blowdown in 16., MAKE SURE YOUR PLANNED TRAIL IS OPENED!!!!! I headed a Scout troop into that area in 17, the All Trails App had the trails open, the Ely tourism Board had it opened. It wasn't.. There was a small paper sheet posted at the entry point stating it was closed, in English. Long Story made short, myself and the scout troop ended up doing a rescue of about 6 hikers.. They were on the Snowbank Spur, then it disappeared, they pressed on thinking it would get better... Until it got to be a tangled mess out of Lord of the Rings.. They were forced to try and hike back out, walking in the lake following the shore line.. That's when I spotted them from across the lake and new something was off.. We faired them back to the trail/portage between Parent/Disappointment/Snowbank. Only one of the people spoke broken English, everyone else spoke Spanish.. I'm guessing nobody read English.

I don't know what your skill set is, one of your fellow Iowa campers got way in over his head not long ago.. LINKY

A LINK to the BWCA forum...

**Adroa** · 12-02-2020, 02:09

Might be able to figure some sites from Shug's videos. Wonder if that guy was just caught completely off guard by the snow or had something else go wrong.

**firemedic5586** · 12-02-2020, 02:53

Originally Posted by Adroa

Might be able to figure some sites from Shug's videos. Wonder if that guy was just caught completely off guard by the snow or had something else go wrong.

He was WAY OVER is head... Piss pour gear, and a skill set to match.. At least he had the sense to be able to "Phone Home"..

**Tim Pappy Case** · 12-02-2020, 12:57

I should have mentioned our trip wouldn't be happening until after ice out, sorry about that. That is scary, I once had a paddler ask if they were at a certain point on a lake, when I told them they were several lakes off I thought they would cry. We got them straightened out, it was the large islands they mistook for peninsulas. Thanks for the Shug videos, always a joy to watch. Scouts helping lost hikers is a tribute to the scouting program, I was a scout myself and my wife and I frequently hike the AT and SHT. Thanks for input!