On foot

Despite the (deserved) attention the BWCA gets from canoeists, there is another way to experience this wilderness. Backpackers have their choice of trails including the 42-mile Kekekabic Trail, which is the only trail to traverse the central BWCA; the KTC has been maintaining this and other trails in the area. The Border Route Trail runs between the long, skinny lakes of the eastern BWCA for 38 miles. The BR and the Kek can be combined into what would be a week+ of northwoods jungle adventure, and allegedly the 205-mile Superior Hiking Trail now connects with the eastern end of the Border Route. These three trails have been proposed as parts of the huge North Country Trail. These and other trails (Angleworm, Pow Wow, Sioux-Hustler) offer solitude equal or beyond that of most Boundary Waters lakes. Route-finding skills are important, and the trails can be clogged with downed trees in places. The Border Route I remember as a teenager was one of nearly mythical challenge, mystery, and triumph -- it would be fun to hike it again someday.

(Maps here and here)