UpNorthica

One day last fall, my family and I put in on Snowbank Lake. On that day, there happened to be 40-mph gusts, with waves reaching 2-1/2 feet high. While passage across the lake gave me a newfound respect for Nature’s power, I was most impressed with all the windfalls literally crashing around us on the portage to Lake Disappointment. So were my kids, to say the least — this was their very first experience in the BWCA. We witnessed the drastic changes that just one day’s weather can bring to the trail.

It is grassroots organizations like the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee, who help to manage those changes. Organizing clean-up weekends with volunteers, they clear the trails of windfalls and overgrowth. This year, they have three such weekends that you can sign up for. Crews are heading to The Brule Lake Trail, Eagle Mountain (highest elevation in Minnesota,) and whaddaya know, the Snowbank Trail. You get vigorous physical workouts, enjoyment of the wilds with people like yourself, and the affirmation that you are literally paving the way for future stewards of the trail. You can find details and a registration form on the Committee’s site.