Boundary Waters Trip

[Blinocac200sx]

There are several things to understand about the BWCA. First, Mosquitoes are the state bird in Minnesota. Second, don't take any soap, when you smell like nature, bears have a harder time finding you. Third, Canadian camp sites have better cook grills, American camp sites have better "facilities".

 

[HiImSeth]

I've never been to the BWCA, but I have spent a bit of time canoeing, camping and hiking. There is a lot of stuff you don't "need", but it sure is swell to have.

I'd try to avoid going heavy on the cotton, save for maybe t-shirts. Definitely no cotton socks or underoos. It gets soaked, is slow to dry and will make you heavy, wet and cold. I'm a fan of SmartWool socks and Patagonia underoos. My favorite pair of pants for that kinda stuff is also a pair of Patagonia Continental Pants that are a polyester/nylon blend. Super light, pack small, water beads right off of them, and they are almost as cool as wearing shorts yet they keep the bugs/itchy plants off your legs. Any similar hiking/outdoorsy pant that's not cotton would be on the money. Polartec long johns under them if it's a might chilly.

For a light hiking boot I've been a big fan of the Vasque Breeze for the last couple of years. They are very light and comfortable. I've got a couple of other people wearing them and they like them as well.

Oh, and get a dry bag for your camera and take mad pictures, son. Sounds like a blast.

Sounds great. Thanks for all the pro-tips. They don't eff around on the pricing for that Pantagonia stuff. I've seen it around and the name alone sounds badass, so I guess I might have to pick some up. The underoos especially, if nothing else. You ever mess with those pant/short things where the leg unzips and bam, you have shorts? If so, worth it or no?

I'll check into those boots. I've wondered if I needed a real 'hiking' boot or if something like the Merrell Manistees or Keens would work and be dual-purpose. Waterproofage + get my portage on, etc. But again, I'm a noob so maybe I need more ankle-support than what something like that would offer. Feel free to call me an idiot and tell me to get a real boot.

Oh and re: the camera. I reallllly want to take the D300 to hopefully get some awesome pictures, but it's a heavy/expensive sob. Kinda leaning towards borrowing/buying a decent waterproof point and shoot of some sort. Not sure yet tho.. I know I'd be happier w/ the pictures from the D300 so I may just take it. Undecided.

Multiple dry bags are a must. Weather can get nasty when you are in the canoe. The last thing you want is a wet sleeping bag. Keep it all dry. Just remember though what you bring you have to pack.

Right on. Any suggestions on the best dry bags for the money?

+1 on no cotton. Nylon socks, the underarmor style shirts and those nylon dickies pants.

Have camp set up and be in your tent before the sun starts to set, the mosquitoes aren't playing around.

pack as light as possible.

And lastly, there is no use for a nylon stringer up there, make sure to use a metal stringer......trust me on this one

Cool, thanks for the info. I don't own any nylon socks, but I'll check into some of those and the SmartWool stuff. I've got some underarmour type of gear. I'm kinda thinking maybe some long sleeve stuff w/ built-in SPF for bug/sun protection. I hear from a lot of folks if you buy the right stuff it's not too bad rocking long sleeves. Thoughts?

I went 4 years in a row. You're getting a late start so the mosquitos should be hell, take lots of bug spray with DEET. Dry bags are a must, you will get stuff wet. The lures we had the best luck with were red and white daredevil spoons, and torpedoes. Make sure you have steel leaders as the Northern Pikes teeth will cut your line. A pair of fish grippers are handy for the pike too. Bathing sucks as the water is very cold. Make sure you filter your water with a good katadyn or other type of filter. Crystal lite/tea packets are great to help cover any taste in the water. Try and keep your pack around or under 50lbs. And don't forget to take TP.

Oh nice, 4 years in a row. I'm hoping this goes well and I'll want to go back, as of right now I am sure I will. If I get Allagash'd or something maybe not, but we'll see. Aliens are cool.

Anyhow.. that late start + mosquitos being hell is what I've heard a lot when I tell people of our timing. Sucks, but idk anything about this I'm just going w/ some other guys who are planning this shindig. Hopefully if I go back we can do it during a less-mosquito'd time. I know you mentioned bug spray w/ DEET, but do you also soak your stuff in permethrin? I've read some about that, but dunno much about it.

Oh, and be sure and watch this. Watch it again the night before you leave.

You're welcome, bro.

Thanks dude. Been a while since I've heard the voice of the 'Unsolved Mysteries' host (no homo). He definitely gets you in that "omg wtf" mode. I'm excited to go now. We'll definitely be putting together a watch partay for this business pre-departure.

 

[Hump66]

I never soaked my clothes in permethrin, just used the DEET bug spray. If you do go again, the best time to avoid the swarms of mosquitos is around the middle of may to late may. You'll be amazed at how many there are, they will buzz you to sleep at night. 1 more thing, when you get in your tent, do a quick sweep for mosquitos, they tend to hang out along the corners of the tent walls. Helps to avoid night time "air raids".

You asked about dry bags, these are what I used. Works awesome, and when you do tip your canoe(and you will), they seal well enough to float.
http://cascadedesigns.com/sealline/packs-and-duffles/boundary-pack/product

 

[WNM]

Under Armor boxer jocks are 19.99 a pair, but will revolutionize your life. Never thought I would wear let alone buy $20 underwear, but I wear it exclusively now.

 

[Poke78]

Generally, you are going to have a choice between snow season and mosquito season. Going in May, there will still be snow in any shaded area. As soon as it melts, the skeeters come out. My son went one summer with a Boy Scout troop and he had a great time in spite of the blood suckers. I'm sure you will, too.

 

[RidgeHunter]

Sounds great. Thanks for all the pro-tips. They don't eff around on the pricing for that Pantagonia stuff. I've seen it around and the name alone sounds badass, so I guess I might have to pick some up. The underoos especially, if nothing else. You ever mess with those pant/short things where the leg unzips and bam, you have shorts? If so, worth it or no?

No joke on the pricing. I've been slowly upgrading my gear to the good stuff a bit at a time over the last few years. Like WMN said, I never thought I'd be one to spend that much on underoos, but speaking for the Patagonia boxer briefs, they are indeed life changing. I also SmartWool sock errtime I wear boots now because I like them so much. Good socks, underwear and boots make life better. I order a bunch of that crap from Moosejaw, so the rewards points ad up eventually.

I'm a pants guy and only wear shorts when I run, so I can't speak for the zippy ones. I know many cats like them, so they should be kosher if that's your bag. I'd say the main thing is to make sure they are some kind of poly/nylon blend that won't really get wet. No jeans or cotton duck, any of that jive. I can jump in the water in mine and come out and they are pretty much dry in less than a minute. Rain phases them not.

I dunno how strenuous of "hiking" you're going to be doing with your portages. Those Merrel Manistees look pretty boss for their ability to take on water. Much better than the standby of old tennis shoes. They definitely make good stuff, and the water thing would be a valuable attribute. I would assume those would be swell for that kinda work. It's a trade off, a light hiker would hike better...one of those would take on water better.

Rocking long sleeves? Go watch Hispano workers in a farm field sometime. They all wear long sleeves even on the hottest, sunniest days. They are not dumb. I don't wear them all the time, tho. ( I also don't frequent mosquito laden areas like the BWCA tho) But the folks you heard from are right, they have their place.

Hopefully one of your group is easily freaked by that Unsolved Mysteries episode. SOS flash any lights you see. I can reference you a UM episode relevant to just about any activity, if you ever need to freak someone out in another context. It's a free service I offer.

 

[Hump66]

I preferred pants to shorts up there, keeps the bugs at bay. Just get some breathable material pants and you should be fine.

 

[brennan]

Columbia fishing shirts long and short sleeve and their fishing pants.
When I was looking at going you could rent equipment for only a couple of dollars a day.
Rent a Kevlar canoe.

 

[Blinocac200sx]

Yes, a light canoe is very much worth the money to not have a heavy aluminum monstrosity pressing down on your lungs during a 3 mile portage.

 

[HiImSeth]

This is all awesome stuff. I appreciate the suggestions and information given here. I'm looking forward to the trip and thinking I may go broke buying stuff for the trip, but I'm pretty sure it'll be worth it.

I'm leaning towards these underoos at this point. They seem to get good reviews (on the linked site and others) and are a bit cheaper than the Pantagonia/UA stuff.. I think.

I'm thinking since those underoos dry so fast and whatnot I could probably get by w/ just like 2 of them and just wash them as needed. Idk, could be wrong. What do you pro's think?

Oh and maybe these socks.