a bucket-list adventure
I’ve been wanting to do a ski-in winter camper cabin trip for YEARS. Having someone else who wants to do it + carving out the time for it have been just a few of the many barriers in actually doing it.
Thankfully, my Boundary Waters travel buddy, Nora asked me last winter if I’d join her on just such a trip in 2026. She purchased a package to support Save the BWCA that was donated by Bearskin Lodge. YES! I immediately jumped at the chance.
Still… carving out the time to align our schedules was a tricky one. I’m happy to report that we were able to do it!
Single-digit to subzero temps were forecasted for the weekend. A full moon, snow, trails, and boreal forest were waiting for us, and we were thrilled!
Cross country ski 1.5 miles to a remote cabin in the woods? No electricity, running water, or heat? Yes, sign me up!
We quickly found that pulling our gear for the weekend to the camper cabin was more challenging than anticipated. We had packed somewhat lackadaisically because we assumed wrongly it would be far easier to ski a sled of gear vs. portaging a canoe + gear. Wrong!
We were soon overheated, despite the frigid temps. We laughed our way (to the point of tears) up the hills, sometimes coming to a complete standstill, and sometimes sliding backwards. I relented to taking off my skis all together on a couple hills.
Once we arrived to our adorable camper cabin, our spirits were high! We were so hot from exercise that the chilly unheated cabin was no issue. We got to work making a fire in the woodstove and unpacking for a weekend in the woods.
With the full moon calling, we hopped back on our skis for a night jaunt through the boreal forest. Without our gear in the sleds to drag us down, we felt so liberated and fast! No headlamp needed. Just the light of the wolf moon!
When we returned to our cabin, now heated up to a balmy 20º inside… we got to work prepping dinner: campfire style pizzas on a griddle (that griddle hauled in was nice but one of our weight issues on the way in….lol).
While we cooked dinner, unpacked some more, and chatted, the cabin quickly heated up above 80º. We frequently found that the cabin would reach higher temps and we’d need to prop a window or door open to balance it out.
Trips to the cute little remote outhouse nearby were a beautiful scene of winter wonder.
That night we were warm and comfortable in our camper cabin. The next morning we woke up, stoked the fire, and then got coffee and breakfast going. I pre-cooked up pancakes. We warmed them up on the griddle and enjoyed a feast.
A full day of skiing the many groomed trails at Bearskin Lodge awaited us. We were thrilled to pack a lunch and drinks and head off to explore.
We loved the trails, and found that stopping for lunch was a pretty quick endeavor. Our apples were likely frozen (why did I bring apples on a single-digit-temp-long-ski adventure?) and our nalgene water bottles were DEFINITELY frozen (woops-duh), but our sandwiches were edible. Luckily Nora had put LMNT hot cocoa in a thermos and we were able to drink that. A lot of key lessens were learned on this winter weekend excursion!
After nearly 10 miles of total skiing, we trekked back to our camper cabin to get the fire going again. We got it warm in no time, and lulled off to sleep. Shortly after dozing, Nora woke up in a panicked sweaty frenzy because she was closer to the woodstove on her bunk. The temperature was reading 102º!! More laughter ensued….
Once we got back to a normal temp, we cooked up dinner. This time we did a Trailtopia freeze-dried dinner + stove top warmed naan bread. mmmmmm
After dinner, we snowshoed the 1.5 miles back to the main lodge to enjoy a “hot tub house” session. We were VERY excited about the showers in the hot tub house. We relaxed, laughed, got warm and clean, and then hiked back through the woods to our cabin. We admired the many animal tracks in the snow (so many otter slides through the woods!!!).
That night we slept hard! What a full and awesome day!
The next morning we packed up, made a quick breakfast, cleaned up, and headed out with our sleds. They were much lighter now because we made an effort to backpack unnecessary items/weight throughout the weekend back to our cars. LOL! No hill struggles this time. Still sweaty and hot in no-time. Yet, it was a fun ski out with the sleds.
We met up with our Birchwood friends at Gunflint Lodge for a scenic winter walk and hot cocoa before leaving the magic of winter on the Gunflint Trail.
A winter weekend for the books! It was challenging, fun, and awe-inspiring. 10/10 would recommend and do all over again. Hooray for winter adventures!!
Having something like this to not only look forward to, but also look back-on fondly, is truly what life it about for me. Thank you for initiating this and inviting me Nora!
