Has anyone been on the Border Route Trail in MN this year? I was planning to do the SHT in Sept but now they are saying there is a water shortage for hikers, so I am thinking about doing the Border Route instead.

The Border Route was part of Andrew Skurka's "Ultralight in the Nation's Icebox" trek last January. (listen to podcasts here at BPL) IIRC, he reported a single day on the Border Route where he encountered a large number of deadfalls (200??)

The current conditions page at www.shta.org starts out with "Unless you plan your trip very carefully", implying that it'll be possible to plan a successful hike. I've section hiked the entire SHT, many sections multiple times and from what I recall plus the detailed report from the trail assn I think it'd be possible to hike the trail using the reliable water sources and "camel techniques" plus about half a dozen water caches.

Also, the area received a little rain the last couple days and the forecast for the next week includes rain as a possibility on about half the days ... so it bears watching.

Tammy,

I would agree with Jim that The SHT is still doable if you are willing to carry 4 to 5 liters of water and hike about 15 miles per day. The weather up here is starting to turn cooler so the amount of water you would need to carry should be less compared with a few weeks ago when it was in the upper 80's. I am planning a two night trip on the SHT next week and I will report back on conditions if you are interested.

My understanding is that the western end of the BRT was part of the fires on the gunflint this spring and may not be hikeable. But as far as I am aware the eastern part of the BRT has not burned yet so it would be passible if the blowdowns have be cleared but you might end up doing a fair amount of route finding. (disclaimer: everything I said about the BRT is second hand info, I have not been on the trail this year)

Thanks for your input. Yes, I would be interested in how you do next week. Again, thanks for the information.

Tammy,

As you have probably seen on the SHTA website we got some rain up here this week. I went for a day hike yesterday on the section near Jay Cooke state park and it felt like I was hiking in a rain forest. The temp was in the upper 60's but the humidity was near 100% and everything was still wet from the rain monday night. Every creek had water in it but only half the creeks had flowing water.

I am getting out tomorrow for an overnight on the section just north of two harbors. If you are still interested I will let you know what the water situation is like on that section.

To the OP,

I was out last weekend on the SHT and the water conditions are just fine. Smaller creeks and streams are dried up but if you check the SHT's website they have a pretty accurate description of what water sources are good.

I tend to carry 2 letiers of water when backpacking. Even during the dryest part of the summer I never ran into problems with water. Whenever I came accross a good water source I simply topped of my hydration bladder and never got thirsty. Personally I think carrying 4-5 liters of water is overkill, and I drink a lot of water (8 liters a day)

On a side note the fire ban has been lifted on the SHT and the fire danger is moderate.