Hey guys, just wanted to see what else you guys do up there besides canoeing, fishing, exploring etc. Cards, dice games...I even thought about bringing some washers up for a good ol Okie washer game.

What do you guys bring up?

Bait, booze, and a small cribbage board.

We have a saying in our group... "We're up. Might as well fish!"

It might not be QUITE to that extent, but we still are there to fish. If it's too windy or bad weather, we might play cribbage or take naps.

In the evening, we'll enjoy a cocktail or two, but getting drunk isn't even on the radar screen. Nature is too beautiful and we work too hard to get into the place we're at to want to spend it with a hangover.

yeah...and the beer thing, whats up with that whole deal? I have read no cans in bwca no glass bottles, plus being out for a week in June would make for some warm beers...How do you guys all roll on that?

quote shavdaddy81: "Hey guys, just wanted to see what else you guys do up there besides canoeing, fishing, exploring etc. Cards, dice games...I even thought about bringing some washers up for a good ol Okie washer game.

What do you guys bring up?"

Would of been nice if the guys playing a washer game would of hauled their game out with them. 4" pvc couplings and 12 1" galvanized washers, but you guys weren't on Iron Lake.

hackey sack is always a good time, then you can make up other games with the hackey sack like bocce ball with a hackey sack, well sort of like bocce ball, and toss the sack into a hat, ect. we also usually take cards. we always said we need to take lawn darts, That might be a little much.

quote john 800: "hackey sack is always a good time, then you can make up other games with the hackey sack like bocce ball with a hackey sack, well sort of like bocce ball, and toss the sack into a hat, ect. we also usually take cards. we always said we need to take lawn darts, That might be a little much."

hackey sack is making it a long for sure! You ever play out? Everbody in the circle has to hack it once, then its live and once you have hackied it three times,you try to hit guys with the hackey sack...you are not allowed to move your feet and if the hackey hits you and you can hackey it then you kick it at somebody else...if not then its a point, three points and your out. Sorry for the long explanation...just need you to understand the awesomeness of it is all =)

quote GSP: "

quote shavdaddy81: "Hey guys, just wanted to see what else you guys do up there besides canoeing, fishing, exploring etc. Cards, dice games...I even thought about bringing some washers up for a good ol Okie washer game.

What do you guys bring up?"

Would of been nice if the guys playing a washer game would of hauled their game out with them. 4" pvc couplings and 12 1" galvanized washers, but you guys weren't on Iron Lake."

No, this will be my first time to BWCA since 1999...funny though we are going to Iron Lake. We bring six washers and toss them in a plastic cup because we are ninja like that.

Besides that, I usually sit, do nothing, observe nature, read, write, nap, day dream, take pictures. But I'm usually alone and more easily amused than most.

Fish, read, fish, smoke cigars, explore, gather firewood, have an evening cocktail, build a fire.

Life boils down to essentials quickly.

Good point Beemer.... Life in the BW does boil down to the essentials rather quickly. Not to sound too extreme or anything but when you have to REALLY work to get a hot meal or drink clean water, enjoy the comfort of shelter and just get from point A to point B.... The "little things" tend to take on a whole new dimension of satisfaction.

We tend to bring a small cribbage board & cards. Doesn't seem to get too much use unless the weather is poor. Otherwise, when we are not doing "chores" such as gathering wood or water, preparing meals, setting up or breaking down camp, or touring... we spend a lot of time fishing and exploring.

Besides fishing?????

I can't think of a single good reason why I couldn't be fishing! All that water and so little time. :>) :>)

Beer, the English drink it warm. :-( I will often bring one beer for the first fish dinner or other special occasion and something harder from the fine spirits section for after dinner around the fire or watching the stars. Fine spirits weigh less and take up less space.
Like the others, the chores of travel, setting up camp, fixing food and then the clean up and break down fill a lot of time. Chatting around the fire or star watching or just enjoying the experience. Mostly stopped taking the extras like a book or game as the BWCA is entertaining enough.

quote shavdaddy81: "Hey guys, just wanted to see what else you guys do up there besides canoeing, fishing, exploring etc. Cards, dice games...I even thought about bringing some washers up for a good ol Okie washer game.

What do you guys bring up?"

In Ohio we aren't blessed with a beautiful place like the BDUB. With that being said every minute possible is spent enjoying it to the fullest like canoeing, fishing, exploring, etc... We can play cards back home.

quote shavdaddy81: "Hey guys, just wanted to see what else you guys do up there besides canoeing, fishing, exploring etc. Cards, dice games...I even thought about bringing some washers up for a good ol Okie washer game.

What do you guys bring up?"

In Ohio we aren't blessed with a beautiful place like the BDUB. With that being said every minute possible is spent enjoying it to the fullest like canoeing, fishing, exploring, etc... We can play cards back home.

I bring a journal, look at the maps to plot our next moves, and generally just sit around poking the fire and observing nature.

And fishing, like HuntinDave said - all that water & so little time. :)

In regards to beer, there are plenty of ways to get things cooler than air temperature - tie on a sturdy line & deep six your item for several hours. It'll be plenty cool when it comes up. There's also evaporative cooling, but I don't know how well that works on liquids.

I go to the boundary waters to relax and do NOTHING. I fish, and take guilt free naps. When you take a nap at home, you almost always feel like you should be doing something. In the bdub, you can take a nap completely guilt free. There's nothing better.

If I have others along, who are not so comfortable doing nothing, then we have a deck of cards, and some dice. There are lots of games you can play with either.

Backgammon can be played with nothing more than 2 die. You simply make the board in the dirt, and use rocks or pine cones.

Bring a few steel tip darts. Instead of a dart board, use pine cones on a log. Bigger ones for less points, and smaller ones for more points.

You can always throw a chunk of wood in the water, and chuck rocks at it.

Frankly, I enjoy sitting around, just enjoying the view, and the peace and quiet. By the time I get done with camp chores, sitting around doing nothing is quite enjoyable. I'd take some of that right now.

Fishing is right up there at the top of the list, but if you bring the kids, there's no telling what they will come up with to put a new wrinkle on a trip. I had collected a pile of wrist-sized logs -- straight, smooth, and rock hard--- off of a beaver lodge for firewood but they became Louisville Sluggers for a game of rockball instead:






(They thought I should paddle out and put a 328' sign on the little islet 'down the right field line...')

If I am with the guys ,fishing morning, noon , and night, if I am with my wife it is #%@*!*#@ dusk till dawn.

Beemer makes a good point. When the essentials ARE done and it's pouring rain.....it's read, shoot the breeze and EUCHRE!

Paddle, portage, set up camp, fish, collect firewood, cook, clean, explore, photograph, nap, sit around the campfire, smoke cigars, drink wine, drink coffee, poop, daydream, look at maps, paddle, fish....do it all over again, take down camp, paddle, portage.

fish, read, fish, read about fishing, have a whiskey

Read, shoot photos/videos, BS

how about a good old fashion sock drying, yar! its been a while

quote shavdaddy81: "yeah...and the beer thing, whats up with that whole deal? I have read no cans in bwca no glass bottles, plus being out for a week in June would make for some warm beers...How do you guys all roll on that?"

you can buy plastic bottles......long rope, mesh sack with a rock......deep six them keeps them fairly cool.

Let's see, as a solo tripper/fisherman after paddling, portaging, fishing, tent setting, wood gathering, cooking, clean-up, clothes drying, food hanging, coffee percing, journal writing, rain dodging, photographing, hook sharpening, more wood gathering, and water purifying, I study maps over and over.... and then go snipe hunting. Over and over and over....till I drop. Sometimes I have time to talk to myself...

We always go for a random walk around. You never know what you will find while exploring. We look for small ponds, lakes or things that are kind of off the beaten path that most people dont take the time to find. Helps break up the trip so your not on the water the entire time. Otherwise a deck of cards is easy to pack.

paddle, set up camp, get water, go fishing, make fire, cook food, smoke cigar, drink whiskey, get up and do it all over. I cant wait to go again!

Fish, nap, booze, fish, nap, booze, go for a hike, paddle to next lake and fish, play cribbage and read, try not to fall asleep in the hammock, cook, drink, fish. Huh.
Oh, stare at the stars and moon in the evenings while fishing.
Listen to twins games in the evenings.
Bushwhack exploring with my GPS.
Fish.
Look for wood, start fire, cook.
Relax, read, fall asleep and take a nap in the hammock.
Write notes about all the fishing, drinking and napping in my journal notebook. Take lots of pictures to show to all the lazy scared people back in the city that will not go to the wilderness.
Day trips to other lakes for more fishing and exploring and some shore booze. I mean shore lunch.
We really don't drink that much. Or do we.
Look for wildlife.
My lady and I did some other things up there but what happens in the bdub, stays in the bdub.
Drink.
My favorite thing/time is getting up early and making coffee. Watching the light envelope the world, throw a line out, make some breakfast and get some water. Not particularly in that order.

Cowdoc, that is pretty much what we were thinking...

quote schweady: "Fishing is right up there at the top of the list, but if you bring the kids, there's no telling what they will come up with to put a new wrinkle on a trip. I had collected a pile of wrist-sized logs -- straight, smooth, and rock hard--- off of a beaver lodge for firewood but they became Louisville Sluggers for a game of rockball instead:






(They thought I should paddle out and put a 328' sign on the little islet 'down the right field line...')
"

hahaha...beautiful, thanks for sharing!

Relax

Swimming

Take a bath






Go for a hike

Feed the animals. :)

Have a cocktail





Play cards

Go rock hunting

Climb a hill






Take pictures

Never know what you'll find in the woods.

Read a book







Cut some firewood

Pick some berries

Did I mention, pick some berries?!?!






Take a nap. But, go to the bathroom first! :)

Jump in the lake

Watch the wildlife






Play with your children





Look for animal tracks

Enjoy being immersed in the splendor God has created.





.......and if all else fails? Hug a tree! :)

Lovely pix.
I too find it the perfect time to explore. A great part of that is getting up close and personal with the little things. It's a fun meditative journey into someone else's life. From there you can take your fully relaxed person back out to that warm flat rock and pour yourself into yoga!

TB... that was great! How old was your daughter in that picture?

We pack a football and a frisbee on our trips:)

Most of the things TB said, although we don't take children and we don't jump off of cliffs. Instead of cards, we might play Racko.

Write in my journal. Just sit and look at the lake. Pray. Meditate.

Plan the next trip. Think about all of the other trips.

Stalk butterflies.

Take photos.

Lie on a warm rock and do absolutely nothing. :-)

quote Spartan2: "Stalk butterflies. "

I had heard there was a stalker somewhere in the BW. Finally, she has been identified! (We can all sleep better now.) :)

quote hwdhusky: "TB... that was great! How old was your daughter in that picture?"

2 months

quote Spartan2: ".... Lie on a warm rock and do absolutely nothing. :-)"

+1

quite possibly one of the best indulgences to be had in the BW...

Cliffjumping, slow paddle to check out bluffs, islands and points, swimming, euchre, poker with mostacolli noodles as chips, 4 hr hike (just pick a spot, pack some water and a snack and go- you never know what you'll find!). We also play a great campfire drinking word game- for example- "name a guitarist (and we go around in the group and keep naming 1 each til we can't think of anymore), name a lead singer, name a baseball team, etc. If you get stumped, drink! :D

I'm an English professor, so I look forward to nothing more than reading a good book out on a rocky point. I am also an avid fisherman, but if I had to choose between carrying weight for fishing gear vs. books, I'd choose the books. And yes, books (plural).

In fact, I love finding books in the winter that I really, really want to read but won't because I know they'll be perfect for the BWCA. I love Sigurd Olson books, and any of the ones published by the U of M that deal with the north country.

But I'm a bit weird. People look at me pretty funny when I find my little bit of heaven by doing nothing but reading and taking breaks by looking at trees and water.

On a solo trip, I'll forego a fire for the last hour or two of daylight to get out on a point and read. After it gets dark, I'll go into the tent and either go to bed or continue to read by headlamp. Wake up in the morning, read through sunrise, paddle, and repeat. That's when life is good.

quote schweady: "Fishing is right up there at the top of the list, but if you bring the kids, there's no telling what they will come up with to put a new wrinkle on a trip. I had collected a pile of wrist-sized logs -- straight, smooth, and rock hard--- off of a beaver lodge for firewood but they became Louisville Sluggers for a game of rockball instead:



(They thought I should paddle out and put a 328' sign on the little islet 'down the right field line...')"

Like moms say all over "its all fun and games until someone gets a rock to the head"

Read. Sometimes I carve things.

stare at the backwoods tv (aka fire)

What I do totally depends on who I'm with. I go up with some friends and we fish all day every day. We actually fish too much sometimes so that we are stuck doing camp chores in the dark, we need to learn to plan that better but the fish are always biting somewhere.

When I'm with my wife the pace of the trip is drastically different. She loves to just sit and read. She also brings multiple books since she can burn through an 800 page book in a day.

While the wife is lounging and reading I'll do all kinds of stuff. i will do some reading and some napping but I have a hard time sitting still, I'm always wanting to do something. So i'll usually do camp chores for awhile, I collect fire wood and organize it according to size next to the fire grate, then I'll take a picture of the pile like so.

After thats done I'll go exploring to see if theres anything cool behind camp. I'll cast some lures off shore to see if I can stumble into a few fish. I'll play with the dog since he's usually following me around through this entire process anyways. I'll play around with primitive fire starting but I normally get bored before it actually works.

I normally have no trouble entertaining myself.

Schweady....
I think i have about that exact same pic of our group playing 'rockball'....great way to pass the time (and quite amusing, we have a member of our group that can mimic a twins announcer to a tee)....We also bring a small football, passes some time and is a great way to stretch out your muscles the day after a long day paddling/portaging.

Other than that, time is spent doing camp chores, checking the diptherm(water temp), checking the leeches, checking minnow trap, etc etc....you can keep yourself entertained even if it is raining and 4 of you are sitting under an 8x10 tarp...