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ND man tackles 20mi. of the NCT in winter; reflects on winter camping

This article was written by Dakota Prairie Grassland Chapter member Brian Huschle of Grand Forks, ND about his December solo hike on the NCT.  He went from Hubbard County Hwy 91 west to the South Entrance / US Hwy 71 trailhead, a distance of approximately 20 miles over three days/two nights.

A Reflection on Winter Camping

Being on the trail in the dead of winter has for me become more than a chance to get out for a camping trip.  It has become – for those familiar with the term as it is used in yoga and meditation – a practice.  For the past 13 years an annual solo trip, on or near the winter solstice, has afforded me the chance to reflect, refresh, and return to the New Year ready for the challenges to come.  Each year, I find a trailhead and start down it – on foot or ski – embracing winter’s solitude.

Trailheads have run the gamut from backpacking in freezing rain in Nebraska to waking to an unexpected sub-30 in the Badlands of North Dakota; from ski touring the North Country Trail in the Chippewa National Forest to taking in telemark turns along the Appalachian Trail in the Green Mountains of Vermont.  For the past couple of years I have headed to the luxury of groomed trails and the James Lake Cabin in Manitoba’s Turtle Mountain Provincial Park. This year, however, it was time to get back to the roots of the solo solstice trip – a through ski on a 20-mile section of the North Country Trail from Hubbard County 91 to U.S. Highway 71 beckoned.  While I gain some assistance skijoring with my Siberian Husky, the cargo sled of camp gear and unbroken trail made the 20 mile trek in two nights a doable yet pleasant trip. It was capped off by switching to lighter ski gear for a quick six mile loop on Itasca State Park’s groomed trails.

Winter camping – whether in the luxury of yurt or cabin, the comfort of a woodstove heated tent, or the solace of a tarp shelter pitched in the snow – affords a quiet not offered in other seasons.  No pestering hum of mosquitoes or creeping of tiny tics’ feet upon one’s leg; no firing of hunter’s shot gun or passing of raucous groups out for a day hike.  The Chickadee’s chirp, the wolf’s howl, the raven’s caw, and the passing tracks of deer, moose, and occasional fellow winter traveler, afford all the companionship needed to appreciate stillness’ silence.

Settling into sleep in the raw cold of a long winter night can serve to remind one of life’s baseline, and places into perspective the petty problems with which we too often occupy our time.  Waking to winter’s extended twilight as the sun slowly works its way above the horizon allows a new appreciation of the lightness of living simply, and can set into one’s soul gratitude for the bounty that affords the luxury of camping trailside.

While I generally do one or two additional winter trips every year, the solo solstice trip holds a special place for me.  The labor of love that makes available the newer sections of the North Country Trail through the Paul Bunyan and White Earth State Forests, and works to build and maintain the trail across the North Country, is deeply appreciated.