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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Winter Camping and Activities :: Clearwater to West Pike.
 
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wvevans
02/07/2019 04:36PM
 
In Jan. 2015 I way over packed and without snow shoes or skis , hiked the length of Clearwater and Cold camped on West Pike for a few nights. No clue what i was doing but i caught a mess of nice Lakers.. looking at the map and looking back should it have taken more than 1 full day to make it to West Pike ? It did for me.. Lets say average conditions and little slush do guys generally make it in a day ? Looks like about 5 miles on the map. I am thinking about a march trip this time for more daylight hours. Thanks.
 
Gadfly
02/08/2019 08:13AM
 
With proper gear I am sure you could have done it much quicker. Was there a trail for you to follow? than can make a difference.
If we have a broken in trail we figure we can do 8 to 10 miles a day. If we are breaking trail it really is dependent on the conditions but we are usually able to do 4 to 5.
 
wvevans
02/08/2019 08:44AM
 
Fresh 8 inches of snow and breaking trail. Then you would come to crusty spots and break through. But i still had alot of fun. And got great advice here. Case in point i had no idea what i was doing.. a very crappy sled packing job. I did a good job on the sled itself but the rest of it not so much. My canoe camping gear was the same. I've done a 10 ish day solo each year for the past 6... My gear when i was just starting out was frightful also. I guess that's how you learn..
 
canvasback17
01/29/2021 03:27PM
 

 
Teacher
02/07/2019 07:27PM
 
Never been into West Pike but have trekked across Clearwater and camped there with a large group of students three times. Each time we left GM at 8 AM with a bus, took a long time to unpack and slowly went across Clearwater. Each of the three times we were more than set up on the far end of Clearwater by about 3ish.


I would bet if you were by yourself, you could make it across clear water in no more 2 hours. It is about four miles across.


Not sure about how long it would be to get from Clearwater to Pike.


I hope that helps.
 
wvevans
02/07/2019 07:41PM
 
Thank you.. Gosh I figured i was slow as heck trudging through the snow. No snow shoes or skis was a rookie mistake..And to much gear.
 
wvevans
02/07/2019 05:56PM
 
Every fish was a cookie cutter.