December 01, 2015 at 08:02PM

We packed up camp this morning and an east wind pushed us down Knife Lake. We encountered ice in the narrows south of Robbins Island that was too thick for us to break through. The small waves rolling down Knife had broken up a lot of the ice. The air was filled with the clinking of ice chunks as wind and waves slowly wore away at the ice. Some of the ice was about an inch thick, so we backtracked and paddled around the north side of Robbins island, which was mostly free of ice. Many of the bays on Knife are frozen now and the next cold snap could end the paddling season on Knife Lake.

We took our time, enjoying the day. It started raining around 10 AM and by 4 PM, the rain turned to snow. As we set up camp, giant flakes floated down all around us. It is fun to think that this new blanket of snow will hopefully cover the ground all winter and be the last snow to melt in the spring.
We walked the portage trail to Vera this afternoon and as we expected the lake is still frozen, but the ice is not quite thick enough for us to safely travel on yet. It feels wonderful to be soaking in the heat of our woodstove, warm in dry in our @SeekOutside tent tonight after a cold, wet day. A warm savory meal was just what we needed after this wet day. We treated ourselves to a @Trailtopia beef stew dinner. Heavy snowflakes continue fall. We look forward to exploring the snowy winter woods in the morning.

Everyday the Boundary Waters continues to amaze us. This Wilderness is a true national treasure and it needs our help. Please support @savetheBWCA and help protect the Boundary Waters from sulfide-ore mining pollution. Together we can protect Boundary Waters, but we all must take action and speak loudly for this quite place. #wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #snow #winter #BoundaryWaters #BWCA