This route has been described as easy. I found it anything but.
View from the northeast side of Snowbank Lake. Cliffside Camp.
The Snowbank Disappointment Loop is a 24-27 (depending on the source) mile hike in the BWCA wilderness that is both scenic and rugged. A perfect 2-day hike for a weekend with my son. I thought.
I have taken all of my children on father-daughter and father-son canoe trips since they were age 10. This was the first overnight hiking trip on which I took my son Declan He's grown up enjoying the backcountry and solitude of the BWCA so I thought it might be fun to include him on a short hike. At 24 miles or so, the Snowbank Disappointment Loop is long enough to be an overnighter (2 or 3 days) but short enough to do on a weekend. At only two days, we wouldn't need to carry much food, extra clothing, or other sundries. Our packs would be light. The plantar fasciitis I had been managing seemed to be okay and I thought my foot would be good to go. I was wrong.
Declan is a working man now, and this early into his career he has zero vacation time saved. He worked a full day on Friday and we headed up to Ely at about 5:45 pm, stopping in Cloquet to fuel up and have dinner. We ate at Pedro's (pretty good Mexican fare that would be much improved if they used only 1/4 of the queso sauce they drenched over everything) and arrived at the Motel Ely (keys in the door to our room) at about 10:30. We were up at 7:30, breakfasted at Britton's (huge portions) and hit the trail by 9:30 am.
We decided to hike the loop counterclockwise - feeling that we would appreciate the spectacular views more on day two than on day one. We were right mostly,
Hikers beware. For a hike that circumnavigates two lakes and passes by several others, there are very few access points to decent water. Many of the water sources are beaver ponds, marshes, and seeps that just feel a bit sketchy. We started out with two liters each but were conserving our intake because the next point to filter good water was about 9 miles in at Disappointment Lake. We strolled into an occupied canoe-in campsite (sorry fellas) and asked if we could filter water. Of course, we could. This is America. We had planned to filter water and eat a bit of lunch while doing so but didn't want to intrude any longer than necessary so after filtering we hiked a bit further to the next site where we stopped to eat and rest. The trail thus far had been good with few navigational curiosities, and the footpath pretty easy - mostly grass, few rocks, and roots, with loads of grouse to add to the excitement. Beaver dams. Quite a few of them on both days. I enjoy them.
We had just another 5-6 miles to go to make camp. The trail became a little more challenging, not so much because of the slight ups and downs, but because of the funky footing. Lots of sharp rocks and grasses covered divots and holes that become prime ankle twisters if one wasn't careful. We missed the first hiker campsite after the Ahsub Lake portage but found the second. It was a burned-out, balded rockface (sounds a bit like me) with a great view but a bad fire grate and scant grassy bits in which to drive stakes to pitch a tent. There were poor hammock opportunities.
We made camp, filtered and drank water (we were both thirsty), lit a small fire, and played cribbage. Declan won. We had fun trading stories and hanging out. Well, at least I did. We went to bed, but I did not sleep well as my thin sloped grassy bit had some significant rocks that hampered my comfort and enjoyment of the evening. I did manage some solid sleep between 3 am and 6 am. We were surprised that we had cell phone reception at our site, though we shouldn't have been as we could see a cell phone tower in the distance.
In the morning, we had a quick breakfast - pop tarts for Declan, a superfood slam pro bar for me - and headed up the trail. The temps were cool (mid 50's rising to low 60's), the sun was out, and the views were spectacular. But I was sweating as though I were in a sauna. That's not good. By mile four I had downed both liters of water - twice as much as I usually drink. Perhaps it was all that queso the night before. Maybe I was coming down with something. Maybe I'm just a big ol' sweaty baby. We stopped at a campsite to refill, and "cameled up" by drinking a liter then refilling all bottles before setting off again. With the rocky terrain requiring agile footwork, my plantar fasciitis came back with a vengeance due to the strain and stresses of the trail. I found myself favoring my left foot which led to more stress and loads carried by other parts of my legs and body. The fact that I was sweating profusely and unable to replenish liquids fast enough (even with Nuun tabs and electrolyte blocks) didn't help. My usual quick pace slowed to a near crawl (just over 1 mile per hour) over the undulating and rocky terrain. My clothes were soaked. Declan was cramping too but hiked ahead of me and waited at the trail intersections to know where to go for the next few miles. I've often done 35 - 40 mile days hiking from before dawn to well after sunset and I've never felt so slow or tired as I did on this hike. If I hadn't had my hiking poles, I might not have made it. I certainly didn't feel like myself. On day one, we made 16+ miles in 7 hours (including our lunch break), and on day two we were only able to cover 10.5 miles in 7.5 hours. We were both sore and tired when we got back to the trailhead - pretty thankful to be done.
We changed into our 'driving home' clothes and headed to Ely. We gassed up, ate at the DQ (#9 with large fires and a chocolate shake). We stopped to pick up some lotion for Declan's chafing nether regions (ouch!) and then stopped again in Virginia for Gatorade and water, then stopped again in Sandstone to change drivers. My hands and legs were cramping, and my left foot was on fire. I took over driving and it was a tough ride home, the both of us staving off charlie-horses and cramps while staying in the lane and navigating Sunday night coming back from the cabin traffic. I'm hoping my son isn't so disillusioned that he won't come out hiking again. I like spending time with him.
Still, it was a good time. Type A time, but a good time nonetheless. We'll have stories to tell of the kind-of-sucky hike we once went on.
Top Tips for the Snowbank Disappointment Loop:
If you can hike at 3 mph on the SHT, plan for 2 mph max on this trail. The footing requires constant awareness.
If you do this in the Summer, carry at least 3-4 liters of water. 2 wasn't enough for me in 55-60 degree temps.
Don't stay at the cliffside hike-in campsites just north of Ahsub lake. Stay at either Newfound Bay (huge, leafy) or the canoe-in sites at Ahsub, Disappointment, or Snowbank.
This trail should be doable in a single day with some effort, 2 days at a reasonable pace, and 3 days if leisure is your intent. Maybe I'm getting old at 61 but I think 3 days might be your man.
Manage your hydration. I thought we had. I was wrong. Drink twice as much as you think you need. Add electrolytes. It's crazy out there.
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