A buddy and I are looking to hike the Kekekabic trail later this year. We've done an annual BWCA canoe trip for a while now and are finally ready to give BWCA hiking a shot. Unfortuanately, I have had some difficulty finding information on whether the Kekekabic is passable at this point. I heard through the grapevine that there was a storm last fall, which made part of the trail impassable. However, I also read that several groups of volunteers worked to clear the trail earlier this year, but I have not been able to figure out if the trail is now usable again. With that said, I have two questions:

1) Is the Kekekabic trail open for through hiking?

2) Do any outfitters provide transportation from one end of the Kekekabic trail to the other? We are interested in dropping a car off at one end of the trail on the first day, and getting a ride to the other end so we could hike towards our car.

My buddy and I have done some hiking together out in Colorado, Arizona and California, but this is our first crack at the BWCA. Accordingly, any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I can't help with information on transportation. When I've hiked that Kek in the past I've had my wife drop me off on one end. I'm sure you could arrange transportation via an outfitter, but given the length of the drive I'm sure it would be spendy.

Concerning current trail conditions, the North Country Trail Association reports on their website that "6/15/17 update: The blowdown along the Kek has been cleared to the Thomas Pond crossing .

This should be the last of the significant blowdown from last summer’s storms but there is a chance that pockets of blowdown exist further east of Thomas Pond. It is once again possible to hike the Kekekabic Trail from one end to the other.

Significant blowdown remains on the loop trails off the Kekekabic Trail (e.g. Snowbank, Old Pines, etc) but the U.S. Forest Service has crews out working on them this summer. Call the Ely office (218-365-7600) before tackling these loop trails."

I'm sorry that I don't have any first had information at this time. I'm hoping to hike the trail this Fall again, so if you go please report back on conditions.

The last time I hiked the trail was two year's ago. At that time the trail was in pretty good shape. The eastern portion before the Agamok bridge was the slowest hiking at that time because their was no clearly defined tread. I'm sure the western portion looks much different now due to last year's storm and I'm anxious to get out and take a look.

Thank you for the information!! I greatly appreciate it. I'll check in once we have completed the hike.

In 2018 looking for someone who would like to switch cars, then you can hike to your car, if anyone is interested email me, for 2018.