Recently our Duluth Pack canvas cutter, Jeff, embarked on a journey with a friend to hike the length of the Kekekabic Trail. The Kekekabic Trail is a challenging one, to say the least. It is a 40 miles trail the travels up and down through the Boundry Waters Canoe Area (BWCA).
The maps for the trail are found here (Kekekabic Trail Club wesbite). On the first section from the Fernberg Road to Snowbank Lake, half way you encounter a large clear cut area. Snowbank Lake to Parent Lake, this section was extrememly brushy. Parent Lake to Disappointment Lake had well marked spurs along the trail. Their first night camping after 11.5 miles lead them to Moiyaka Lake and a very nice camp spot.
The second day they headed past Hachet and Thomas Lakes for a nice break, then through some very wet marsh’s to Strup Lake for another nice break spot. The next section had a lot of ups and downs, yikes! This section is also home to the highest point on the trail. The campsite at Loki and Harness Lake was not desireable and the rest of the day was spend going up and down and then up and down some more! Day Two did bring the best campsite at Agamok Lake after 15.5 miles.
The third day they headed through 8 miles of the Ham Lake Fire burn down area, this section had a lot of overgrown parts as well. They found a campsite near Bingshick Lake, woke up the next morning and hiked the last 3.5 miles out to civilization!
Overall they thought the trail was overgrown, rocky, and often hard to find. They also encountered more water hazards then expected and scores of mosquitos and wood ticks! They were glad to be finished!
Thanks for sharing your story and photos with us! Now back to work!
I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking!
Amazing. That’s one word, to sum up my night winter camping under a full moon and 30 dog sled teams. I should (and will) let the photos do most of the “talking”.
morning. Other teams soon followed suit, with distant barking alerting us that the next team was soon to arrive. 
their teams without any assistance, (as a pre-qualifier for the Iditarod). Each musher had a spot with hay for the dogs to warm up and sleep in. Once nestled in, dog booties were removed, food was served, and sleep was top priority.
curious onlookers. How are the tents made and how are they set up? How do the stoves work? What should you pack for winter camping? And are you warm?! (I have addressed most of these questions in my previous winter camping blog). Yes, we were warm! Warm from shoveling snow for our tent site and warm again once the stove was lit.
In between answering camping questions, and taking in the sights and sounds of the Beargrease, we were enlisted to help out on a few occasions, leading dog teams back onto the trail after their break. The dogs were definitely ready to get back on the trail! 
checkpoint again, and how fun it would have been to be able to watch them come back through the next day!
When I mention winter campingto folks I get a myriad of responses from “that’s crazy” to “sounds like an adventure!’ I will try to cover the basics so you, too, can have a winter wonderland adventure!
CLOTHING - A complete change of clothes including extra wool pants and ice breaker long underwear. Extra 
(self inflating ones tend to lose air). Mittens are warmer then gloves. A cooler (to keep items from freezing, sits well in a sled). 
will go with your skis or snowshoes. Allow time (average 1-3 hrs) for the snow to settle and pack down before putting up your tent. While the area is settling you can gather downed firewood and chip an ice hole for water. Set up tent (usually a two
person job). Nearest to the door, dig out a section for the stove and cooking area. This will create a nice higher platform to sleep on and a cold air sink near the door. Next assemble the stove while the 
other folks gather more firewood. Next set-up your sleeping platform. Lay down your ground cloth first, then a wool blanket, your closed cell foam sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. (We offen lay another wool blanket on top of our sleeping bags for the dogs to lay on and wrap them up in). Another night time tip is to fill your water bottle with hot water before you go to sleep to have unfrozen water in the morning. If you turn your water bottle upside down the water will make the cap easier to unscrew.