Dark clouds swept over the land ahead of the storm. Rain seemed inevitable as we leaned into our harnesses, helping Tank pull our load down Ottertrack Lake. We stopped to rest in front the towering rocks streaked in white, black, and orange but after a few swigs of water and a @clifbarcompany we hurried on, hoping to make a few more miles before the storm hit.
At the east end of Ottertrack we stopped to set up camp. The ominous sky signaling it was time to pitch our tent. To our delight it never rained! We dug an 18 inch deep snow pit for our stove and staked the tent with sticks pounded into the snow. We set up camp, gathered, cut, and split a pile of bone dry spruce and were climbing into the tent when the first snowflakes appeared. A few minutes later it was hard to see across the lake and the snow continues to fall. Even now, after polishing off dinner and a freshly baked chocolate cake, we are listening to the continuous patter of snow on the tent. This morning we woke up to the high-pitched chatter of a flock of gulls– what an unusual time to be in the Wilderness. We are lucky to be watching the seasons change. “Some places should be preserved from development or exploitation for they satisfy a human need for solace, belonging and perspective. In the end we turn to nature in a frenzied chaotic world, there to find silence, oneness, wholeness, spiritual release,” – Sigurd Olson
Follow @savetheBWCA, sign the petition at http://ift.tt/1x2erSX, and help protect the Boundary Waters from a series of proposed sulfide-ore mines.
At the east end of Ottertrack we stopped to set up camp. The ominous sky signaling it was time to pitch our tent. To our delight it never rained! We dug an 18 inch deep snow pit for our stove and staked the tent with sticks pounded into the snow. We set up camp, gathered, cut, and split a pile of bone dry spruce and were climbing into the tent when the first snowflakes appeared. A few minutes later it was hard to see across the lake and the snow continues to fall. Even now, after polishing off dinner and a freshly baked chocolate cake, we are listening to the continuous patter of snow on the tent. This morning we woke up to the high-pitched chatter of a flock of gulls– what an unusual time to be in the Wilderness. We are lucky to be watching the seasons change. “Some places should be preserved from development or exploitation for they satisfy a human need for solace, belonging and perspective. In the end we turn to nature in a frenzied chaotic world, there to find silence, oneness, wholeness, spiritual release,” – Sigurd Olson
Follow @savetheBWCA, sign the petition at http://ift.tt/1x2erSX, and help protect the Boundary Waters from a series of proposed sulfide-ore mines.
#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #onlyinMN #captureMN #snow #canoe #BoundaryWaters #minnesota #BWCA
