It has been quite a while since my friend Ian and I have hit the trail. With a weekday night available for a quick getaway for us both we settled on Woods Lake on the NPT. There are a few campsites along the trail side of the lake and another off a spur trail to the west.
The pull-off parking area was recently plowed and a large berm of snow separated us from the trail. We climbed over the snow and followed the red trail which had remnant tracks from other people. Was not difficult travel on the packed trail even with a few inches of snow on the firm base. Off trail was completely different; deep snow even with snowshoes. It was less than a half mile to the campsite. As we neared the previous tracks split off, one towards the lake while the other stayed on the trail.
We passed two closed campsites before reaching our destination. A few boats were here on the point overlooking the lake. We setup our gear and went scavenging for wood. As previously mentioned, offtrail was difficult. I took my pulk aways back down the trail and scavenged a small amount of wood. The area nearby the campsites was picked clean, evidence of significant camping pressure.
We had enough for a small fire to keep us company. The temps were mild, and warming up. The sky would transition from blue sky to overcast, then a snow flurry and back again. Some winds off the lake chilling, but when they subsided the temps were reasonable.
The sun set and the temps stayed mild. The moonlight cast shadows on the snow. Quite pretty. Clouds would roll in darkening the woods and then depart.
Eventually we climbed into bed. The changing weather continued all night although it stayed rather warm.
After some great sleep I arose at first light. Some heat in the firepit signalled potential buried coals which I coaxed back to life. Soon a small fire crackled with the burnt ends leftover from our previous night's campfire. We cooked up some bratwurst for a morning snack. Packed up and headed home.
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