Thursday, February 28, 2019 On our final morning, we gathered in the communal tent for breakfast and then began to break down our tents and gear. Hannah and I had ours ready early and our partners were quick to get ready as well. After a meal and an organized re-packing, we took a quick selfie and were on our way.

The trek out was as I remembered--hard! And again I was at the back of the pack train as a light snow fell. Billy commented that the trail now looked like a "sidewalk" by the time I got to it. Still I managed to fall off from time to time and get stuck in the snow. At one juncture I leaned forward to step, my snowshoes hit together and I landed face down in deep snow. As I crawled up the hill and attempted to get up among the tight willow and pine Hannah cheered me on referencing an accident I had back in 2001, "Jeff! He broke his neck but look at him now!" Then she paused and said, "Well not NOW." We all loved that. I did finally get up and Billy kept saying "You wanted this Jeff." Indeed I did. Finally the snow sleds came into view and before long we were back at WCB. The three had much work to do with a group due to arrive at camp for a retreat so we did not linger--I left shortly after we returned and drove happily home.

Thoughts here at the end:

I would never do this without people who are good-natured, willing to work hard and fun. Experienced partners help A LOT.

If you keep your eyes open you can learn a lot from the experienced ones.

These guys cook all winter trip meals in food saver bags boiled in water. All pre-cooked. p All the food was homemade and delicious and the point of the bag cooking is that there is very little clean-up since winter camping lacks large access to water like summer trips.

Double bagging kept me very warm.

Cooke Custom Sewing winter tents are large, ultra lightweight and amazing. One could not pull of a long hard trip dragging a very large, heavy tent. A large space adds to the ambiance, as I stated above.

Four Dog titanium stoves are the perfect fit for this mind of trip. They are very well designed and seems that every little detail has been thought out. They are built like tanks, kick out heat and are easy for cooking as well.

If you want to stay warm use split cedar. It burns long and warm.

Winter in the BWCA is the ultimate in solitude. At one point I heard the flap of one raven's wings as it went over and then let out a call. There's just something about that lit up tent, the smoke puffing out of the pipe and laughter around a hearty meal of delicious lake trout that just came from ice cold water. Can't beat it.

A shout out to the tripping partners: Hannah is a badass wilderness woman who wants to conquer it all and cheerfully accepts any challenge. Billy is our guide, and we always feel confident in his presence. He fillets all the fish, plans the routes and has the final say on all things that matter. Best for me to just listen when he speaks frankly about anything trip-related. Jake is a new friend who was completely positive and funny. Like me, he enjoys passing the time on trail singing any old stupid song that pops in his head. He seemed to know every lyric to every song.

I can't wait to do this again. Thanks to everyone out there who so willingly shares insights, knowledge and encouragement as some of us winter newbies give it a try. I am completely hooked.

"You wanted this Jeff." Yes I did Billy. And I want to do it AGAIN.