Overrun

[Black_Fly]

Due to leave tomorrow for my early fall solo in BWCA. Spoke to a couple outfitters up there and things are still hopping. Pilgrims everywhere. I like peace, and can't do 500 rod portages to find it anymore. Thinking of cancelling the whole shebang. Nothing worse than driving to find solitude and competing to find it. Why does making babies have to be so pleasurable? I think Canada is still closed to yanks.

 

[kona]

When I've cancelled trips for nasty weather forecasts, the clouds seem to part for blue skies. If I go, maybe its not great for a few minutes, and otherwise glorious. Folks have been out in droves this year, but can you blame them? FWIW, it seems like there is always a quiet corner to be found, even right in the middle of the city.



Fall colors are peaking this weekend/week in the arrowhead of Minnesota, but most folks are tied up with work or home-schooling during the week. Outfitters would know better than me, but I'd guess that showing up Sunday you'll probably be passing a traffic jam of cars headed southbound.

I say rally and go for it!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Well public lands are just that. Reserve if you must but it helps to smile at others not wish them away. I am glad the outfitters are busy..out of business helps no one. Perhaps not you either.

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

Thinking of cancelling the whole shebang.

We went in early August and were very apprehensive but found that it wasn't as bad as the doomsayers made it out to be. I recommend you go.

 

[ppine]

Finding the peace and solitude is an acquired skill. Intuition tells me that you have it Black Fly. The area has a permit system in case you forgot for 5 minutes. Staying away from people in wilderness areas is not that hard. Go on your trip. You need it now more than ever.

I go hiking now every morning on the BLM land behind my house of one million acres. Time for bed, so I am heading out to the trailer to read with my dog before bed. When the smoke clear a little more I will heading for a local lake for fall trout fishing. It is too important not to go.

 

[Boreal Birch]

Stay home. The Pilgrims in Minnesota have plenty of turkeys, with Thanksgiving still two months away. Bugs are bad, too many dirt roads, bears have nothing to eat, fishing is bad and the wind from the west is is real strong. Not to mention the nut cases and their hoodlum friends, lurking around for a fight with someone who may or may not be packing heat. Everything and everybody is out to get you.

 

[Odyssey]

Ponder this awhile BF. https://www.treehugger.com/how-frilu...nature-4868402

 

[yellowcanoe]

Ponder this awhile BF. https://www.treehugger.com/how-frilu...nature-4868402

I am glad I followed the link!
My first inclination was to find a recipe to bake it.

but the pic of Vest-Agder was reminiscent of one of the lovely portages on the Bowron Lakes circuit.. Love them . No rocks.

 

[Pringles]

If it’s anything like Yellowstone, the front country is overrun this year, and the backcountry, quite quiet. Park and go.

 

[Black_Fly]

Well I'm off to test the waters. Leaving a week late, changed entry points to see if that helps lower the competition for sites. I was hoping for a 2 or 3 portage trip with northern exposure to see if the aurora will come out to play. In Wisconsin now. Trees are beautiful here. We shall see.

 

[Black_Fly]

Well got back yesterday. It was busier than I remember in September, but I went 4 portages in and got some peace. Wanted to stay on Seagull Lake going out but had to settle on a poor campsite again. I love that lake, but have NEVER gotten the prime sites. Weather was great and bugs nonexistent. First time using my 20* quilt. Slept like a baby. Colors are really popping. Met an adorable younger couple studying a map on the portage on my way out, looking for a campsite. Steered them to a gem I passed that was vacant. Hope they are having a nice trip.

 

[Black_Fly]

Ponder this awhile BF. https://www.treehugger.com/how-frilu...nature-4868402

Loved the article.

"Four out of five Americans consider it a patriotic duty to conserve U.S. wilderness, according to one survey, and more than 270 million people visit the country's national parks every year. Given this endemic fondness for "nature, friluftsliv might not be as foreign in America as it sounds."

This may be true, but most Americans are motivated by self interest. Any lip service to preservation and conservation disappears quickly when there is an economic argument (even invalid ones) against such altruistic values.