Kekekabic Trail Clearing Dec 6 2008

Saturday, December 6, 2008. Our crew is optimistic about the mission to clear near Bingshick Lake. At this point we are about 1/2 mile from the Gunflint trail head.

Blowdown/ fire carnage north of the Kek.

One of several massive rocks along the Kek Trail.

Visible in winter, the trail is overgrown with raspberries in summer.

Paul (l) and Dave (r). Tread is selfevident here.

Again, path is very clearly visible and reassuring even to a casual hiker.

We are taking "Kubik" short cut and advantage of easy travel over frozen pond.

Art.

Charred balsam fir trees create forest of tooth picks.

Forest fire and a lone survivor.

Moving on. Photo was taken minutes before I broke through ice near beaver lodge. Falling into icy water is a adrenalin rush you don't want to experience very often. Temperature? Somewhere around 10 deg F.

This was deepest ever. I was in water up to just below the waist. My sorel boots filled with water. Next I pulled myself up by grabbing a frozen-in branch sticking out of the beaver lodge. I knew fire wood supply was plentiful at the Bingshick campsite and chose to hike. When we reached it, my pants were ice outside. Scenes from the movie Stalingrad where everyone dies from cold flashed in my mind. Remedy: Drinking hot jello that Art brought in a thermos and drying next to a emergency fire. Thank you guys!

The Kekekabic Trail (before photo). Surprisingly, we dried wet clothing in about one hour and were able to start clearing by noon.

Tree removal step #1: Nip the branches. Here Fiskars geared loppers work with ease.

The after photo: Kek here is hikeable again.

It was quite apparent that no hikers passed through here. Backpackers bypass this segment by hiking on the ridge above and some have turned back unable to find the path.

The last treefalls of the day.

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Cross cut saw takes care of this treefall in a few minutes. Forest Service saw was very sharp and excellent condition.

Modeling for Patagonia and Smartwool. Layered clothing is best for the frigid outdoors and varied activity levels.

The obstacles were dispatched to sawdust. Trail is safe again for backpackers.

Here we will need to wait until spring to search for remnants of trail and then connect the dots. For now, the path ends here in midst of numerous treefalls. Even with map and compass it is difficult to hike more than 300 yards per hour.

Last piece of tread is faintly visible before the trail vanishes.

The "After" photo. This section of the Kek in open.

Low hanging branches can drop snow behind your neck. Here, Dave nips them off.

Back by the administrative/emergency fire, volunteers rewarm on a chilly afternoon before returning to trail head.

We look one more time at the fruits of our labor. Path is clear all the way from campsite to the creek.

A bit of poetry arranged by nature as the sun goes down.

Last look at our accomplishments.

Back to the trail head.

Being mindfull of safety after a hard day's work is very important to BWA Committee volunteers.

Nature's fiddle sticks.

We were tired but marveled at the evening scene.

Looking back.

Outbound. Sun has gone down. Still one and half hour to the trail head.

These weeds would love the tangle around my boots in November and slow me down on ridges.

Earlier in the day, I broke through the ice right to the left of the beaver house. That was a rush!

The crew members found sights like memorable.

Jupiter and Venus above the treeline as we stopped for drink of water.

At night, we finally reached the trail head on Gunflint. Temperature is 2 deg. F below zero, but everyone is happy to have completed our goal.

Back at the Forest Service cabin, we hydrate, hydrate and finally, hydrate.

Art in the kitchen.

Paul with full hands of Titanium. Tea never tasted so good.

Breakfast next morning.

BWA Committee trail clearing crew back at the cabin.