February 2019 certainly has been snowy. Winter started out rather mild with rain in December and January, which is not unheard of but certainly not the norm for northwest Wisconsin. Then February came along with snow storm after snow storm. I heard someplace it has been the third most snowy February on record.
In some ways it’s good; lakes will certainly get a boost to their water levels come the Spring thaw. In other ways it can be bad; deer as an example are going to be struggling to find food they naturally eat in the woods and forests. Of course there are more cons and pros to it.
Personally I’m feeling the strong desire for Winter to end and Spring to arrive. Canoe tripping is calling to me, big time.
Canoe Season 2019
I’m eagerly looking forward to my first major canoe trip of the year, a May Boundary Waters Canoe Area trip shortly after the Minnesota Fisher Opener! Last year in 2018 there was a sudden blast of cold and snow in early Spring that had people worried about ice being off the lakes in the BWCA come May. It ended up not being an issue.
However I wonder what things will be like this year. Winter seems to be firmly in place right now. Looking at the forecast there is more cold ahead with no days in sight with temperatures over freezing. And more snow in the forecast too!
Will the 2019 canoe season ever get here? Not fast enough for my tastes. My new Old Town Guide 119 is calling to me.
Canoecopia
March 8th through the 10th is Canoecopia; the world’s largest paddling expo, held yearly in Madison, Wisconsin. I’m going! Last year I was making plans on going this year to buy a new canoe, but I couldn’t wait and ended up buying my new canoe early Autumn last year.
Even though I no longer need to buy a canoe or any other canoe tripping gear, I am going to go check things out at Canoecopia. It will probably just make things worse and build on my already nearly overwhelming desire for the canoe camping season to begin, but I don’t care… I’ll be there throwing gas on the fire. It’s only about a four hour drive from where I live. Plans are arranged; hotel is booked, money set aside to spend on food and trinkets while there.
Looking forward to it. In fact one of the YouTubers I enjoy watching, Joe Robinet, is going to be there doing some seminars.
Killing Time Until Canoe Tripping Season
The last couple weeks I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos of people canoe tripping. On top of that I’ve been pouring through my camping gear almost every day. Every other day I am pulling out my various maps of the BWCA, Quetico, Voyageurs, and WCPP to gaze over them lovingly as I day dream about future adventures in the wild places.
What else is a person supposed to do until the Spring thaw comes? I’m eagerly looking forward to ice off the local lakes so I can put my canoe in and get in some paddling before the big BWCA trip in May.
TD
