New Trip Report posted by walltentjon

Trip Name: 3 month solo freeze in trip on Knife Lake.

Entry Point: 25

Click Here to View Trip Report
UPDATE: Here is the link to the first video in a series of videos documenting my trip:
Video of Jon's Trip on Utube

impressive, nice view from the point!

Great report. Your trip sounds like an awesome adventure. You possess some wonderful skills. Can't wait to read about your next trip.

One word: WOW!

A most amazing journey and adventure. It would make a good book.

UP Boy

The photo from the top of Thunder Point is a great shot!!!

Great report!

Very cool! You have some guts sir. How did you learn to make all that stuff? Classes or maybe books? Helluva trip. Thanks for posting. Nice pics too.

what an incredible experience! would be interested in hearing more about other things you experienced out there: animals, tracks, airplane traffic.. anything that made more noise than the silence of freeze-up.

Thanks for the very interesting report about a unique BW trip! I too would love to hear more details.

Epic! Fantastic! Great pictures! Your grandkids will have them in their office someday, and say that's my grandpa in the BWCA. Hope you kept the toboggan. (And... Glad you didn't decide to eat any wild seeds or sleep in any green buses ;). Best to stick with the lard.

Wow! You should get that trip published in Boundary Waters Journal or any other outdoor magazine.

quote walleye_hunter: "Wow! You should get that trip published in Boundary Waters Journal or any other outdoor magazine. "

Agreed!

Impressive.

What kind of wild life did you see? Wolves, deer, moose,?

The most exciting wildlife encounter was with wildlife that I never saw. One day in mid January when I was out on a daytrip away from my campsite, a group of three wolves came to check out my camp. Their tracks were centered around my water hole where they were trying to get water. One of the sets of tracks entered right into the center of my camp and walked right around my tent. The tracks were massive. About twice the size of a coyote track. I was under the impression that wolves were afraid of the scent of people, and I found this rather disturbing when I got back to camp at dusk.

quote : "The most exciting wildlife encounter was with wildlife that I never saw. One day in mid January when I was out on a daytrip away from my campsite, a group of three wolves came to check out my camp. Their tracks were centered around my water hole where they were trying to get water. One of the sets of tracks entered right into the center of my camp and walked right around my tent. The tracks were massive. About twice the size of a coyote track. I was under the impression that wolves were afraid of the scent of people, and I found this rather disturbing when I got back to camp at dusk."

Yeah, that would scare the %&*@ out of me. Did you hear wolves? They must have been watching you.

Thank you. I was beginning to believe there may not be many left that dream of such adventures. Nice to see your living them. Thanks again.

What an adventure to take on. How did you prepare for your practice plunges? what safety measures did you take seeing you were alone?

quote : "The most exciting wildlife encounter was with wildlife that I never saw. One day in mid January when I was out on a daytrip away from my campsite, a group of three wolves came to check out my camp. Their tracks were centered around my water hole where they were trying to get water. One of the sets of tracks entered right into the center of my camp and walked right around my tent. The tracks were massive. About twice the size of a coyote track. I was under the impression that wolves were afraid of the scent of people, and I found this rather disturbing when I got back to camp at dusk."

Imagine if you had a trail camera set up when those wolves took a stroll thru your camp.

I can only echo the superlatives already posted by others. Very unique trip. I'm impressed and humbled that you were able to make so much of your own gear in the bush.

Those practice plunges into cold water were enough to make my butt pucker. I don't think I could force myself to jump in. I can only assume this was in relatively shallow water and close to camp with a fire already going in the hot tent in case you weren't able to get another one started?

Alan

Very cool stuff, impressive indeed.

A tripping style that very few have done - super interesting. Really enjoyed reading about your bushcrafting skills. Clearly you planned well. I would love to hear more details!!

Bad ass man, bad ass!

quote : "Bad ass man, bad ass!"

Yup, I agree, total bad ass. I would love to do a trip like this.

I just started getting some of my videos from this trip edited. Here is the link to my first video in the series documenting my trip: Jon's video of trip on utube

As far as the preparation for the practice plunges goes, I had practiced jumping through the ice extensively prior to this trip while having warm cars and a buddy to pull me out close at hand. This gave me a pretty good idea of what I can and can't safely handle. On this particular trip I did a "practice" of my practice plunge on a warmer day (30 degree air temperature) to make sure that my ice picks, dry clothes, and fire starting kits were functional before I risked jumped through in subzero weather.

WOW Jon! What an amazing adventure. And to think we worked together at Seagull this summer and you've been my tow driver on a number of occasions. Pretty dam proud to say I know that GUY!

I hope you will be back this summer!

Incredible........ You have done what many of us only dream. I am looking forward to watching your videos. Simply amazing.

quote walltentjon: "I just started getting some of my videos from this trip edited. Here is the link to my first video in the series documenting my trip: Jon's video of trip on utube "

Woah.... That video is hardcore. I would say you have big gonads but I'm sure they were shrunk to the size of almonds after that ice plunge. I am a subcriber now and look forward to the rest of the story. Thanks for documenting! Hard to believe unless you actually see it.

This was so much fun to read. Thanks for posting! Epic story.

quote Kiporby: "And to think we worked together at Seagull this summer and you've been my tow driver on a number of occasions. Pretty dam proud to say I know that GUY!

"

Me too, longtime customer of Debbie's here. I believe you drove me to 81 Landing once or twice. Good on you to get out there and have a good time. Wow, what an adventure.

Never heard of a pump drill before, can you fill me in on how you made that?

Great report and excellent Videos. Can't wait to watch more.

I think we found one of the next contestants on Alone.

I have to ask: How did you control the mental part of an experience like that? Being alone for that long would drive me crazy, not to mention the potential danger.

quote SaganagaJoe: "I have to ask: How did you control the mental part of an experience like that? Being alone for that long would drive me crazy, not to mention the potential danger. "

I agree. Especially with the limited daylight. I would never want to do more than a three day solo in the winter.

Awesome report. The video is amazing also! Thanks for sharing.

awesome report and thanks. Did you eat a lot of fish?

Great report, I am not sure how I missed reading it posted on this site. I was going through all kinds of trips reports earlier this spring when the weather wasn't great. I stumbled upon this report on the BWCA sub in Reddit.

Makes me think when I am deer hunting in November in Minnesota and I get a little chilly, I can go back to the car to warm up. This trip takes a whole different mindset.

If this is true, (as no evidence has been presented) then +1. You and your toboggan need to stay out. No respectable 'bushcrafter' would have such little regard for the woods. If the accusations are false, then my apologies. Carry on.

That is horrible news. So sad.

quote s500yards: "If this is true, (as no evidence has been presented) then +1. You and your toboggan need to stay out. No respectable 'bushcrafter' would have such little regard for the woods. If the accusations are false, then my apologies. Carry on."

+1 We need some evidence that some crime was committed. Neb32 created an account just to post this. While it is entirely possible that it is a new member that wanted to get the word out, it is also worth noting that since they are new, they have no credibility built up on this site. Accusations carry weight and on an account that could just be a throwaway, meaning you have nothing to lose, we are going to need a little more than just "he said she said". For all we know, Ned32 could be a competing business trying to undercut the competition's credibility or an ex feeling jaded. That's why we need some evidence before going any further.

That said, I did watch a few videos and the trees do look rather green. There were a lot of wood shavings on the ground too with no tarp for clean up. The lean to that he made seemed to be almost entirely live pine. If all this was done well away from campsites then there shouldn't be an issue, but if this was destroying campsites as claimed then Jon should be held responsible for it.

I just read this. Incredible!

WonderMonkey: "I just read this. Incredible!"

Unfortunately he left an incredibly mess at the campsite he used.