Pow-Wow a TR and Pics

“What a trip!

This is my first attempt at including the TR with along wiht the pics, let me know what you think, thanks.

Pow-Wow Pics”

“Very nice, simer!”

“Yeah, really cool pics. I liked the reflections of the clouds in the lake.”

“Thanks for sharing....hope ya had fun...now ...a trip report!!!!”

“the trip report is in the pics”

“click on 'em, start at the beginning and advance through them to get the trip report - hopefully that works, let me know what you think”

“Simer - I like the way the TR is included in the album. WLD and tekdude (and others) do theirs like that and I've always enjoyed it.

Thanks for sharing”

“works good simer, i like doing it that way, makes the pictures way better.”

“Nice, I like this picture best: http://community.webshots.com/photo/141998612/142024985pmDziE Are you the dude in the other picture with the longer hair?”

“The dude with the longer hair, lol - yeah that'd be me considering the two people i have to choose from are snake eyes - no hair, and me - too much hair.”

“You look A LOT different than your phil pic, lol.”

“i've said that i should update my pic on phil's page... that one was taken the fall of '01, so it's getting kind of old.”

“Damn hippie! Get a haircut! ;-) j/k”

“lol, i went back and looked thru the pics again, that's an AWESOME place man, every bit as beautiful as the Sierra mtn, or anywhere else I've been.”

“One of the best parts - definately not the only one, but compared to a trail like the Superior hiking trail that's busy all the time - we saw nobody, not a soul from the time we turned on the 17 mile gravel road that led to the trailhead to the highway to the point when we turned back onto the highway after the trip.”

“where's snake eyes with his elaborate trip report? - he's got it all planned out. He kept threatening me - "if you do that i'll have to put it in the trip report"”

“Yes, just WHERE IS SNAKE EYES??!? Did you slash his throat in the wilderness and leave him for bear bait? hmmmmmmmm???!?? LOL!”

“I saw him post on the foul mouth thread, i don't think he's still out there...”

“Great weather, eh Simer. How would you compare the Pow Wow Trail to the Superior Hiking Trail other than less people?”

“Personally I loved the trail, it just had a feeling of remoteness, and I liked being on lakes - the SHT has very few lakes, though the SHT has much more impressive views. The pow-wow trail is more rugged and the SHT has more elevation change, I love hiking on both trails, but I think this weekend's hike has been my favorite trail I've done in MN.”

“Great pixs, simer!

Could you id the people on the pixs?”

“id... snake eyes and simer - is it tough to figure out?”

“Put the names on the picture captions dude! ;-)”

“what for?”

“I know who you are and what you look like but a whole lot of others do not. ;-)”

“I know who i am, that's what matters right?”

“Sorry I took so long. I couldn't get into the frivolous trip report until the essentials such as taking care of my gear were dealt with. Tent and sleeping bag are now dry and all hiking gear is now properly stowed. Clothes are laundered, truck is cleaned and post trip maintenance check completed. Now for the trip:

First let me say, in all sincerity, Simer is really a class act. All the hoorah about the trip aside, it is always a pleasure to meet and get to know younger folks and learn what they think and why they think it. Simer is definitely a credit to himself and to his parents. Now to trash him...not really.

As a matter of principle it is probably not a good idea to choose someone who is 2 years less than 1/3 your age when going on your first significant backpacking trip. That being said, I couldn't have had a better partner. He was very patient with my newbieness and more than willing to share his knowledge. I picked him up at his residence in the small northern hamlet of Ely, Minnesota. Simer lives in what was once a single family dwelling that can best be described as early american crack house. In other words an abode that would be deemed unsuitable for anyone but young college students.
The weather was absolutely unreal in its perfection: we had a mix of everything; a little snow (not really enough to count, a touch of rain (but only at night), a little cool and overcast weather (serving only to make the hiking better), and quite a bit of sunshine (but not even close enough to make you uncomfortable). Simer mentioned in his report about the Spruce and Ruffed Grouse. The interesting thing is the hunting pressure on these creatures is so nonexistant that you could walk within 3 feet of them and they would just look at you. I have no doubt that with a small amount of grain they soon would be eating out of your hand. While we didn't see any mammals on the trail there was so much moose and wolf scat on the trail that surely there had to be a critter or two in all that wilderness somewhere. At one point I thought that a person (other than myself) with an entrepreneurial nature could have gathered a couple of bags of the drier moose scat, coat it with polyurethane and make necklaces to be sold to the tourists from Illinois and the Twin Cities. We had a little fun making jokes about those hardy and adventurous souls on the Namekagon River canoe trip (nicknamed by me as the Wine & Cheese trip) and wished we had thought to bring along a bottle of Ripple and some Velveeta so we could properly toast their success.

What else is significant? Probably nothing I have written, but what the hey? In approximately 40 miles of trail that we hiked I saw only one small piece of paper. We both agreed that it was likely not a positive testimonial to those who ventured forth, but perhaps a statement about how few people actually "walk" into this area (most go on those preppy little canoe trips). The trail was rugged but that only presented a challenge. After finally getting my pack properly adjusted (early in the second day), the trip really became a breeze for me. From the first day every day seemed a little easier and I gained in strength and stamina. Why is that worth mentioning? Only because this was my first trial in what is planned as a preparatory year for my intended AT thru hike in '05. I won't rehash all that I have been doing in the past year to get to this point, but will say that as a person gets a little older and by virtue of hard physical work is able to recapture some of their more youthful capability, it is beyond euphoria. You can't smoke anything that makes you feel that good.

What did I learn? Weight. I thought I'd really packed small, but ended up carrying back half my fuel, enough food for two more days, clothing I never used and a few other odds and ends. I could easily have shaved 7 to 8 pounds from my total.

Summary: It's kind of hard to summarize what's been a rambling on of whatever popped into my mind, but I would reiterate that if Simer190 posts other trips, people should sign up. We only travelled through a scant portion of the BWCAW, and only skimmed what we did see. If I didn't own this house I'd be packing to move up there right now. I can't think of an area I'd rather have for a back yard. And, oh yes, next trip I'd bring a fishing pole.”

“See, I didn't cuss. Not even once.”

“The cool thing about simer is he can be friends and hike with 'old' people too. Most young ones don't learn that till after they get out of college and get real jobs working with 'old' people.
At least one of the 'young' people here have posted they didn't want to hike with anyone over 25.”

“just what i need is a wolf sh*t necklace...

you flatter me”

“simer's dog did his best to bite and eat my leg at TC2, so simer is not all good. ;-)”

“lol - feel lucky that my dog liked you, you didn't get the mauling that nlol got.

Forest is getting a lot better now, his immaturity is leaving him, and he's getting a wider exposure to people, along with obedience in agility training.”

“It was moose sh-t, not wolf sh-t, and you're neither from Illinois or the Twin Cities: so stop being flattered (lol). BTW, it's my job to do the cussing around here. You're supposed to be the role model”

“Cool pics Simer. I didn't see Forest in any of them. Did you leave him at home for this trip?”

“Forest got kicked out of my apartment last fall, he's living with my parents for now.”

“Nice reports guys. Hope you can take the compliment from a "wine and cheese" kinda TTer, lol.

Actually, on the river, it was beer and cheese. No little dabs of either -- the cheese was gnawed on in 1 lb. bricks and beer came by the case. The fancy stuff was just for the kickoff party!!

But then again, we didn't have to carry any of it on our backs farther than from the vehicles to the riverside.

Anyway, hope you checked out the "She hurt her lip on the big weiner" thread to get the full picture of Namekagon canoe tripping.”

“Thanks Pekka. Just kidding about the wine and cheese stuff. I never knew mashed potatoes mixed with tuna could taste so durn good. You don't even have to be a good cook for something to taste good after hiking all day. I'm a little sensitive (blush) for that "she hurt her lip on a big weiner" stuff but will check it out at your suggestion.”

“Just a provocative thread title for a trip report -- reached by consensus in the saloon, which shows you what everyone on the trip thinks will appeal to the average TTer's tastes in literature.”

“SURE, SURE, the CHEESE comes back to haunt me!!

LOLOLOL”

“SURE, SURE, the CHEESE comes back to haunt me!!

LOLOLOL”

“What would anyone be expected to be haunted by in a state of Cheese Heads?”