I won't claim to have a perfect LNT record, but think most of us visiting Canoe Country try to keep the place free of trash. Have you seen any LNT 'fails' that you'd care to share? I'm sharing a couple fails I saw on a recent trip.


The first was a padded toilet seat we found behind a campsite on Quetico's Cirrus Lake. It was our first day of 10, so we didn't have space to carry it out. I hope the person needing it came back for it.


The second was egg shells hidden under a rock in a campsite on Quetico Lake. We collected the shells and added them to our trash bag.


TZ

One of the most bizarre i had was a site on lake Three that was covered with those little cocktail fruit spears. There were little colored spears and swords everywhere. The kids had a blast picking them all up and it kept them entertained for a while.

Saw a boot (one boot) by the privy on Fourtown… I’d be interested to learn the story there. Ha.

Maybe the other boot was down the whole. But as you said the story behind it has to be good.

This little moose skull totem was probably one of the coolest traces left behind. We didn’t dare disturb it.



A less positive one, we stayed at the Whale Lake site after hiking the Brule Lake trail. Most of this is definitely off the beaten path, until you get to Whale Lake, which is right by Eagle Mountain. There’s was no downed firewood left anywhere remotely close to the site, so of course people resort to stupidity, cutting down large live trees, stripping all the birch trees, ect. Rather unfortunate. Looked like some knucklehead even tried to burn the sitting logs.

A weird one that comes to mind for me:

I did a short late season weekend trip to Gabbro. Some dirt bags dug up the fire grate and tossed it in the woods. Did you know the legs on those things are 24”?

I dug out the fire grate location and put the grate back in place to where it was supposed to be. Took a few hours.

I did a day trip around the lake the next day for fun and found another campsite where they did the same thing. I didn’t have the energy to get that one put back in. Sorry. I’m sure the next group had their day putting it back in the ground.

Tom

Joshuatree43: "This little moose skull totem was probably one of the coolest traces left behind. We didn’t dare disturb it. "

That's not a moose skull. It's a pelvis.

A number of years ago during one of our Quetico trips, we arrived at a campsite and found that a group of morons had left 10-12 poop landmines literally just outside of the main area of the camp.

Now think about that for a second... the group was not only pooping within the boundaries of the campsite, but everyone had been doing their business in front of everyone. I can't even comprehend the level of stupid...

Oh boy do I ever. There is a good thread going right now about what people do to stay occupied on a canoe trip. Well I spend time searching for trash in campsites. It's sort of a treasure hunt. I have also gotten into the habit of bringing a larger pack than I need in order to pack stuff out. Here are some of the highlights:

3 Different Anchors
Four pairs of underwear
More socks and shirts than I ever want to see again

Two Canoe Yokes: Found a strange solo yoke on Snipe. I don't know how anyone forgot that. The one that makes me laugh even harder was on the mile long portage around Upper Basswood Falls. I found two halves of an Alumacraft yoke discarded over 50 ft off the portage and 75 ft apart. I can just imagine the horror and following tantrum of breaking an aluminum yoke (pretty impressive) and then chucking them into the woods.

Moved Fire Grate: Similar to the post above, I too have found fire grates which were moved from their intended spots. The one which sticks with me was the nice site on Wasini. The grate was moved way back into the woods and was full of broken beer bottles (glass). We packed all the glass out and replaced the grate. Idiots....

Full pound of Asparagus: Winter trip this spring. Found an island site in Wood which was trashed this winter with loads of cut trees and branches and garbage everywhere. The cherry on top was a full pound of Asparagus (probably more) spread throughout the sleeping area.

Poopy tent pad: Again, similar to the story above. The site had one tent pad and someone found it fitting to take a dump right in the middle of it. Nice! Thanks....

The Bear Tree: We all can relate to this one. Some sites seem to just have one bear tree and it ends up getting decorated like Christmas with all the lost ropes. There was one tree on the site closest to one of the western portages on Ottertrack. I spent the afternoon and evening pulling ropes out of the tree with a long pole. Got some 400 ft of rope and paracord and a pulley out of that one tree.

Not Quite Out: This weekend, I stayed in a campsite on Quadga. First, I found a water filter 8 ft down into a crack in a rock. Someone didn't have a fun day. I fished that out. Then I went to start sorting through the grate because there was a ton of garbage. I tend to stir with a stick because you never know what idiots will leave in there. Glad I did. There was a full bed of hot coals in the grate along with half a dozen beer cans and most of a pack of cigarettes and two tent stakes for some reason. The irony didn't go over my head though that I was sitting in the Pagami burn with this bed of coals someone left. Pagami was a lightning fire, but plenty of other big ones (Ham Lake, Sag Lake Corridor....) were people started.

Outfitted Coleman: On Kekekabic, I stepped off the portage and found a big green coleman stove from one of the outfitters. It had obviously been chucked into the woods, not stashed. I could easily imagine someone reaching the end of a tough stretch of portages and becoming frustrated with their overweight gear. Wonder what story they told the outfitters....

Cheese Wiz: We were sitting as a group in a Lake 2 campsite chatting. I was drawing in the soil with a stick when I hit something solid. Start digging more and I find a plastic tip. After some excavating, I find a fully intact 1970s era Cheese Wiz can buried under the site.

Carvings: I am always saddened and amazed at the array of scout names and troop numbers (among others) carved into the trees at Eddy Falls.

Wanna Banana?: This comes from one of my friends, and it's a funny not bad one. They realized that they hadn't brought any fruit on the trip and were bummed. But, when they turned around, there was a full bunch of ripe bananas sitting in the cedar tree in their site. Thus forth, we knew the campsite as Site Wannabanana.

Fish Wrappers: On a site on Brule, I found a large stack of store-bought fish wrapping starting at the fire grate and obviously wildlife scattered way back into the woods. Someone doesn't understand the BWCA do they. Who needs to pack fish in with them?

Garbage Barge: I was guiding a trip around Basswood. Easy trip with minimal portaging so there was lots of time at the end of the day. Basswood is kind of a gross lake for campsites since all the motorboats tend to bring lots of crap in with them. By the end of the trip, my canoe was known as the garbage barge because I had three full black trash bags of trash in my canoe. Included in this total were two frying pans, a griddle, the broken yoke mentioned above, a couple fishing rods, loads of food waste, 9 new TP rolls (we came out net positive on this one), and on and on it went. My canoe looked ridiculous.

And obviously I have found way too many hatcheted trees, nails pounded everywhere, food waste, the obvious signatures of a bear stolen pack, huge burned logs, stupid amounts of fishing garbage, and on and on and on it goes. I hope that the extra garbage I haul out every trip makes it just a little bit better. At least the next person will get a better/ cleaner experience out of the sites I visit.

Gadwall Lake





Alice Lake





Trashed Tuscarora Lake campsite

arctic: "

Joshuatree43: "This little moose skull totem was probably one of the coolest traces left behind. We didn’t dare disturb it. "

That's not a moose skull. It's a pelvis."

Ha! We’ll that makes it even stranger but just as interesting. Definitely my first encounter with a moose pelvis. Thanks for the correction.

TreeBear: "Cheese Wiz: We were sitting as a group in a Lake 2 campsite chatting. I was drawing in the soil with a stick when I hit something solid. Start digging more and I find a plastic tip. After some excavating, I find a fully intact 1970s era Cheese Wiz can buried under the site.
"

Did you see if there was anything in the can?? Free snack! ;)

Weirdest thing we ever found were a bunch of broken diner-style ceramic plates. Those were a pain to pack out -- heavy and kept cutting through the trash bag.

Ice fishing auger and pack with shovel and rods along the portage from Winchell to Wanihigan

cowdoc: "Ice fishing auger and pack with shovel and rods along the portage from Winchell to Wanihigan "

Free gear for you.

Twist ties! What is the deal with twist ties? I have picked up hundreds over the years. The only interesting finds came this May when the high water uncovered pieces of a Liberty 76 Beer bottle and in Aug. a message in a small clear locket was deliberately left hanging on a tree just outside camp. I packed both out and still have not decided whether to reveal the message contents on the forum or not; it was disturbing and sad.
I guess I have been lucky as all the campsites I have stayed at or visited over the years have all been in relatively good shape.

A couple years ago we were looking for a campsite on Lake Agnes. They were all taken. We were moving on to Nina Moose when we turned around and saw a group leaving the closest camp on the eastern shore. We turned around and, as they paddled past us, asked if they were leaving. Nine guys ages 20-50. They were all silent then one of the young ones said, “yup”.

We pulled up to the campsite and it was like a 1960’s Canadian fishing escapade had just vacated. Egg shells tossed behind the fire grate, cigars smudged out on the hearth, jeans and socks left in a pile, and plastic bags shoved under the seating logs. Plus, six fresh fish carcasses laying on the trail to the biff.

We were ticked off, and spent the first 45 minutes cleaning up, imagining what we would say to those guys given the chance.

Maybe the oddest one I've seen was on Insula at "the Rock" campsite. In the water just off shore was the head of a 4 wood (golf club). Now I enjoy golf, but that's a bit extreme in my opinion.

CabinAfter: "A couple years ago we were looking for a campsite on Lake Agnes. They were all taken. We were moving on to Nina Moose when we turned around and saw a group leaving the closest camp on the eastern shore. We turned around and, as they paddled past us, asked if they were leaving. Nine guys ages 20-50. They were all silent then one of the young ones said, “yup”.

We pulled up to the campsite and it was like a 1960’s Canadian fishing escapade had just vacated. Egg shells tossed behind the fire grate, cigars smudged out on the hearth, jeans and socks left in a pile, and plastic bags shoved under the seating logs. Plus, six fresh fish carcasses laying on the trail to the biff.

We were ticked off, and spent the first 45 minutes cleaning up, imagining what we would say to those guys given the chance. "

Reminds me of when me and a friend were looking for a campsite on Agnes after spending time on Iron. We pulled up to an Eastern site on Lake Agnes and there was food thrown on the ground and in the water EVERY WHERE. We also found some gloves and other garbage. It was disgusting.

Just returned from a Crab lake trip. Touring our site and empty sites we found: a bunch of very large fresh carrots, many items of fishing gear,a lot of very damaged fresh trees and lots of trash.

My brother and I had our permit reserved for a late May BWCA trip about 20 years ago when the ice out didn't cooperate. We called an audible and ended up at Willow Flowage in Northern Wisconsin.

We found a large island and set up camp. As we explored the island, we were amazed to find a bowling ball return. This was the old kind with the steel rails coming out from under the alley and attached to the covered ball collection unit. This thing probably weighed a few hundred pounds and was around 8 feet long.

Maybe it was used for some sort of ice-bowling game?

moray: "Just returned from a Crab lake trip. Touring our site and empty sites we found: a bunch of very large fresh carrots, many items of fishing gear,a lot of very damaged fresh trees and lots of trash."

That's a shame. Not something you want to see especially traveling from SoCal.

This thread is so depressing.

I've seen lots of LNT fails, but nothing compared to what I've read on this thread. Can "LNT fails" include noise? While I see plenty of physical signs of LNT fails on campsites and portages, the increase in noise is what I've noticed the most.

Mike

MikeinMpls: "This thread is so depressing.

I've seen lots of LNT fails, but nothing compared to what I've read on this thread. Can "LNT fails" include noise? While I see plenty of physical signs of LNT fails on campsites and portages, the increase in noise is what I've noticed the most.

Mike"

Quetico is calling you, Mike. :)

Jackfish: "

MikeinMpls: "This thread is so depressing.

I've seen lots of LNT fails, but nothing compared to what I've read on this thread. Can "LNT fails" include noise? While I see plenty of physical signs of LNT fails on campsites and portages, the increase in noise is what I've noticed the most.

Mike"

Quetico is calling you, Mike. :)"

oh.... I hear it loud and clear (pun somewhat intended.) I may reach out for some basic information.

Mike

Once found a really nice leaf rake. I kept it can call it my canoe rake. It really rakes leaves nice.

MikeinMpls: "This thread is so depressing.
Can "LNT fails" include noise? While I see plenty of physical signs of LNT fails on campsites and portages, the increase in noise is what I've noticed the most.

Mike"

Yes!! On my last trip I was a little shocked at the amount of unnecessary noise I heard. I understand talking too loud at times, clunking stuff in your canoe, even talking from one canoe to another at a distance, etc. On one of our nights we were camped several hundred yards from a portage. All of a sudden I heard someone screaming at the top of their lungs, "Come back, I found it. Come back!" They must have yelled it 10-20 times for 2-3 minutes. On a different lake I paddled past a campsite where someone had brought in a boom box and was jammin' to the tunes, that in my estimation, had to be turned up to full volume. We could hear the music hundreds of yards away. And there is always the guy that whoops and hollers at the top of their lungs each time they catch a fish.
Sometimes I wonder if folks realize how far sound travels in that environment.

MikeinMpls: "

Jackfish: "

MikeinMpls: "This thread is so depressing.

I've seen lots of LNT fails, but nothing compared to what I've read on this thread. Can "LNT fails" include noise? While I see plenty of physical signs of LNT fails on campsites and portages, the increase in noise is what I've noticed the most.

Mike"

Quetico is calling you, Mike. :)"

oh.... I hear it loud and clear (pun somewhat intended.) I may reach out for some basic information.

Mike"

Any time, Mike!

Sound can, at times, travel surprisingly well over water. Wind helps a lot too, especially as when a bow paddler shouts to be heard instead of turning their head a bit to be considerate and you happen to be downwind.

I once discovered a new to me campsite on a lake I'd been to a few times before that seemed a good fit for me as a solo for a day or two. I was actually surprised when I saw a campfire light up across the way at the big group site because I thought I had the lake or at least that section of it all to myself.

I could actually hear them talking when I went down to get water. It was a nice night with a very slight breeze blowing every few words in my direction. I didn't hear them at all when sitting by my fire that was a dozen or so feet above lake level.

They weren't loud or obnoxious or anything like that. It was just a conversation I could hear when my ears were near lake level. I almost wanted to say hey, how's it going guys but thought better of it at the time.

I posted a couple years ago if anyone had lost their marbles? Found a bag of them on Con Island , Shell lake. Thought it was amusing to ask, but definitely a trace.

Oh, meant to tell original poster...saw a latrine with a ring like that,but brown, and a slow closing lid on my trip this week. Fancy.

MN_Lindsey: "Saw a boot (one boot) by the privy on Fourtown… I’d be interested to learn the story there. Ha."

Maybe it was Red Foreman's boot?

I am lenient in regards to LNT and noise. Would I ever bring a boombox into the BWCA? Hell no. However, I admittedly would dance at my campsite if some other hooligans decided to play music. If I hear an individual or group shouting about a big fish being caught, I’d smile and give a celebratory fist pump for those guys.

I’m not meaning to make light of LNT - it’s vitally important and should be taken seriously. But, for me, the noise aspect is never going to make me pout or ruin my day.

MidwestMan: "I am lenient in regards to LNT and noise. Would I ever bring a boombox into the BWCA? Hell no. However, I admittedly would dance at my campsite if some other hooligans decided to play music. If I hear an individual or group shouting about a big fish being caught, I’d smile and give a celebratory fist pump for those guys.

I’m not meaning to make light of LNT - it’s vitally important and should be taken seriously. But, for me, the noise aspect is never going to make me pout or ruin my day. "

+1