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gravelroad	03/12/2022 09:27PM   MidwestFirecraft: "bobbernumber3: "What was your entertainment and activities for the two days?" At night I read Calvin Rutstrum's, Paradise Below Zero, which I thoroughly enjoyed. " That book has launched many a winter camping career, including people far more famous than I am. My favorite quote from it, from the tale of a couple of guys on a trip far into the Canadian woods: "Now, dammit, we can yell for help and no one will hear us."
MidwestFirecraft	03/12/2022 03:03PM   Had a great solo Hot Tent trip for two nights on an old growth white pine island. It was a beautiful location that I have never been able to reach in the warmer months because it is surrounded by swamp. I love old growth forests that have a high canopy keeping the forest floor open like a park. It was great that a lot of oak was mixed in for hot, spark free fuel. My new light weight HDPE table worked great. Winter camping has been such a blessing. It is a lot of work, especially solo, but I love being able to get out all year. May Canoe trip is only two months away!
bobbernumber3	03/12/2022 07:14PM   Looks like you had a nice set up there. Great pictures. What was your entertainment and activities for the two days?
MidwestFirecraft	03/12/2022 07:34PM   bobbernumber3: "What was your entertainment and activities for the two days?" I did a lot of exploring in parts of the woods that I have never seen. I was able to cross frozen swamps and lowlands that would be 3 feet of boot sucking mud and deer flies in the summer. I floated right across on my snowshoes. I know this is nothing new for experienced winter campers, but I have never been out later than early Dec prior to this year. As you know, collecting firewood takes up a considerable amount of time (I burn through the night). I also did a lot of searching for sheds to no avail, but it was fun to do. At night I read Calvin Rutstrum's, Paradise Below Zero, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
MidwestFirecraft	03/13/2022 07:26AM   gravelroad: "That book has launched many a winter camping career, including people far more famous than I am. My favorite quote from it, from the tale of a couple of guys on a trip far into the Canadian woods: "Now, dammit, we can yell for help and no one will hear us." " Great line! That was how I felt the first time I made it deep into a PMA. My favorite quote from the book is from when the father and daughter get iced in on Northern Lake Winnipeg and had to wait for solid freeze up to go out by dog sled with Rutstrum. Their attitudes change from being prisoners of the North at the beginning of the trip, to dreading returning to civilization at the end. "Life would soon inadvertently have to sink back into a conventional if not languid conformity, and having peeked momentarily into paradise below zero, their mundane lives could never again be quite the same."
GeneH	03/23/2022 03:09PM   MidwestFirecraft: "Had a great solo Hot Tent trip for two nights on an old growth white pine island. It was a beautiful location that I have never been able to reach in the warmer months because it is surrounded by swamp. I love old growth forests that have a high canopy keeping the forest floor open like a park. Jealous. :-) You found a great spot that's hardly touched. Best I've done is off the trails in Nemadji on frozen bog-ish stuff. Other than that it's been snow camping in Sand Dunes St. Forest 'cause it is close. BWCA trails in winter can be quite a challenge, but you were smart enough to cross open areas with snowshoes. Good plan. Great pictures. Thank you for posting them.