BWCAW 2020 Season Backpacking & Hiking Kickoff

Come to get fresh ideas for BWCA backpacking trips in 2020

Many beautiful and remote campsites await the wilderness hiker in Minnesota's Boundary Waters. This backpacking kickoff event will inspire you to travel the BW by foot, carrying on your back what you need to be safe and comfortable while experiencing the intimate setting of a forest path.

Keynote Speaker:

• Dr. Mark Neuzil, Chair of Dept. of Emerging Media, University of St. Thomas
• Title: Canoes: A Natural History in North America
• Abstract: The canoe is the most important vehicle in the story of human settlement in the upper reaches of the North American continent. Dr. Mark Neuzil of the University of St. Thomas will discuss the history of the development of the canoe in what are now the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Quetico Provincial Park, along with the rest of the continent. Although the materials of the canoe changes over time, the basic shape of the craft remains unchanged for the past 10,000 years.

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Mark Neuzil is professor and chair of the Department of Emerging Media at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He is the author or co-author of eight books, most with environmental themes, and numerous articles and essays. He is a former summer park ranger in Iowa and licensed wilderness guide in the BWCA. He has been a Fulbright fellow at Charles University in Prague and a Distinguished Visiting Professor in Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota-Morris.

Attending BWAC's fifth annual Backpacking Kickoff, you will learn about the 200+ miles of hiking and backpacking trails just a half-a-day drive from the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The Kickoff is an annual clearinghouse for information about all of Minnesota's wilderness trails and the trail advocacy clubs that steward them.

• Kekekabic Trail Club
• Border Route Trail Association
• Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWAC)

Highlights

• Presentations about the Kekekabic, Border Route, and Powwow Trails.

• Pizza lunch - load up on carbs for your next hike adventure!

• Backpacking clinics - Stoves, Water purification, freeze dried food, and "What's in my pack"

• Trail resources - what to know before you go, how to get started

Attendance limited to 50. The $5 per person charge will offset lunch and venue rental expense. Sponsored by the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee, this event is to benefit all wilderness trails in MN.

Door prizes sponsored by Trailtopia, Frost River, Kollath Design, and Cary Griffith, author of "Lost in Wild".

Sponsored by Trailtopia https://www.trailtopia.com/