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  1. #1
    New Member wnnapddl's Avatar
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    Hanging in the BWCAW?

    I'd like to hear from anyone who has canoe camped in the Boundary Waters Area with their hammock. Did you always have proper trees? One person has warned me that I may need to set it up on the ground at some of the campsites....but photos of the area look like there are plenty of trees.
    I would like to hear any reports from those who may have been there....especially how you handled severe weather......Thanks!

  2. #2
    Senior Member fin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wnnapddl View Post
    I'd like to hear from anyone who has canoe camped in the Boundary Waters Area with their hammock. Did you always have proper trees? One person has warned me that I may need to set it up on the ground at some of the campsites....but photos of the area look like there are plenty of trees.
    I would like to hear any reports from those who may have been there....especially how you handled severe weather......Thanks!
    You will have no problems hanging there at all - all BWCA sites are selected for their combination of water access and protection, including trees. Almost all lakes have multiples sites, so some are better than others, but I have never found a campsite that I couldn't hang on and have always had a hammock on every BWCA trip.

    kwpapke did a trip this spring, see his post here:

    http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4648

  3. #3
    New Member wnnapddl's Avatar
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    Hopefully the Quetico will be hammock friendly.

    I'll be traveling as the only hammock with a scout group, and hopefully campsites that fit the needs of the group will fit mine!
    I should still experiment with setting it up on the ground, or from one tree.......

  4. #4
    Senior Member Ramblinrev's Avatar
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    urge a compromise.... for every night you have to spend on the ground, they will have to hang their tents...


    well .... maybe that's not real practical... but it sounds like fun to me..
    I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

    "Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
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  5. #5
    Senior Member fin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wnnapddl View Post
    I'll be traveling as the only hammock with a scout group, and hopefully campsites that fit the needs of the group will fit mine!
    I should still experiment with setting it up on the ground, or from one tree.......
    You will find sites that they cannot put a tent in, like hanging over a shelf rock or over rougher terrain where you would never put a tent. How big is your scout group? I haven't read the rules recently, but I thought groups over 10 needed special dispensation, and most sites won't handle more than 4 or 5 tents, tops. Heck, when I tented it, I had trouble finding level spots for one 2 man tent that didn't have a root or a rock in my back - but hammock spots were everywhere! You'll probably be able to let them all pick their spots first, and still find plenty of places to hang. You will definitely be able to get down near the water more easily than they will, as most of the best hammock sites are near the water's edge. Depends how adventurous you are.

    What's your entry point? If you're going out of the Ham Lake/Round lake, or Seagull lake entry points, I'm very familiar with that side. There's a big boy scout camp on Seagull, and one very, very great site on Seagull that I know intimately. Alpine has some good sites. Little Saganaga or Tuscarora and Crooked lake. Snowbank entry over by Ely as well - some really cool sites on Snowbank for large groups, but it's an entry lake.

  6. #6
    Member steene's Avatar
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    There may be a few areas

    The recent fires along the Gunflint Trail may have affected hanging choices in certain areas. The USFS should be able to tell you what areas you can expect to find burnt over.
    Overall I wouldn't worry about it.

  7. #7
    Senior Member fin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by steene View Post
    The recent fires along the Gunflint Trail may have affected hanging choices in certain areas. The USFS should be able to tell you what areas you can expect to find burnt over.
    Overall I wouldn't worry about it.
    The sites that were affected in the Gunflint have been mostly closed - only the sites that the plastic cr****ers melted and the trees all burned off were closed. Probably 1/2 on Seagull. Sounds like he's going to be in the Quetico across the border, which was also severely affected. Some links to BWCA info and Fire Data.

    https://bwcaw1.reserveusa.com/rules.html

    http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Nat...3?img_id=14261

    http://www.bwcaw.org/5140908_windand...eSNFforweb.pdf

    http://165.221.39.44/

    http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/

  8. #8
    Senior Member FreeTheWeasel's Avatar
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    BMLarson and I were in the BWCA in September of 2006. We went into Sawbill Lake and canoed north through Cherokee and then back down through Weird, Jack, and Smoke Lakes.

    Mr. Larson was an enlightened hammock hanger and I was a silly ground dweller. There were no shortage of trees, I can assure you. On several occasions I struggled to find a flat place to put my one-man tent which doesn't take up a lot of room. Once, I almost couldn't put it up because I was camping on about 2 inches of duff on top of a giant slab of granite. My tent is not free standing and I couldn't drive the stakes into the ground! I had to tie off on a dead log and a rock.

    Figure BMLarson had a troubles? Nope. He walked over to the first two trees he found and threw his hammock up. It wasn't until a trip to the Ozark trail where I had problems finding a flat spot on a hill after a thirty minute search and he was set up in 3 minutes that I realized that the ground is no place for a primate.

    While we were there, we had to change our route because of the fires. They were certainly dramatic. While we never actually saw flame, we saw enough smoke to get slightly concerned. We did run into two guys who did see flames on both sides of them. I think I would have slept in the canoe on that particular occasion.

    Dealing with the weather is the same in the BWCA as anywhere else. Since I've joined the hanging crowd (sadly, I've not been back to the BWCA), I've been rained on a number of times, even setting up in a driving rain. I stayed dry by setting up my tarp first and my hammock and insulation afterwards. The only thing that would be different would be the fires and no tarp is going to protect you from that

    FreeTheWeasel
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    Last edited by FreeTheWeasel; 07-02-2008 at 01:08. Reason: Added info on weather

  9. #9
    Member Buckeyebuck's Avatar
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    We were there last Summer w/ 4 hammocks. The only four to sleep consistently for that matter. The two ground dwellers were always talking about roots.

    Anyhow, unless you are travelling extensively in the blow-down or fire areas, there should be no problems for a hammock or two. The hammock let me pitch very close to the water on several nights and the sound of the lakes, loons and, one night wolves, is truly amazing.

    Wish I was there . . .

    Here's a link to my pics from that trip if anyone is interested. Sorry 'bout the many redundant photos.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/cincinna...ersCanoeArea07
    Last edited by Buckeyebuck; 07-02-2008 at 07:18.

  10. #10
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    Tough hangin' in the Ham Lake fire area

    Quote Originally Posted by FishinFinn View Post
    kwpapke did a trip this spring, see his post here:
    http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4648
    As FishinFinn mentioned, I had no problems finding trees to hang from. I did start my hike in the Ham Lake fire area - attached a picture of Magnetic Rock, now standing alone. Obviously you can't hang in the fire area, though it is recovering nicely.
    --Kurt
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