My Kekekabic Trail Hike

 
I hiked the Kekekabic Trail from its western terminus near Ely, MN to its easter terminus on the Gunflint Trail, and back to the west with my wife on October 3 to October 8, 2020.

This was Kelly's first thru-hike and she set a Female Supported Fastest Known Time for the trail - see FKT page!

Journal   Map   Gear   Food   Expenses   Stats
 

My Gear

My pack weighed 27 pounds with including 7 days of food.
No new gear was purchased for this hike.

Item	Oz	$$	Notes
G4 backpack	16	$0	made myself from pattern. Comfortable, light, and plenty of room for all my gear. I used my old green one for one last? hike.
Sleeping
shelter	30	$0	We used my Bear Paw Wilderness Designs La Garita shelter with 2-person bug net includes stakes. It worked wonderfully.
sleeping quilt	40	$0	I made this quilt from a pattern for my AZT hike.
blue CCF pad	10	$0	cheap, indestructible, and comfortable enough.
Cooking
alcohol stove	1.1	$0	Just boiling water.
fuel	28	$7	disposable bottles of alcohol
cook kit	5.8	$25	includes spoon, pot, foil lid, stand, windscreen, and lighter.
food cozy	.8		insulates food package while the hot water is heating it up. Saves fuel and works super.
food	8 lbs.	$0	7 days of food.
Water
water filter	4.2	$0	Sawyer Squeeze filter continues to work wonderfully.
water bottles	1.2	$0	two .6L throw-out bottles - cheap, easy, light.
water	2lb.		water is plentiful most of the time, 2.2lb/L
Clothes
baseball hat	3.5	$1	with home-made sun cape to protect ears and neck.
wicking t-shirt	11.2	$0	light, synthetic. Same old one refuses to wear out!
long sleeve nylon shirt	12	$0	for sun protection.
BSA zip-off pants	17.2		light and sturdy
Darntough socks	2.9		Second pair - they replace them when they wear out!
underwear	4.2		3 pr.
shoes	26	$0	Astral Footwear
bandanna	2.0	$1	2 of them, too many uses to list here.
down jacket	16	$70	REI sale, evening warmth and used for pillow wrapped in bandanna.
Electronics
cellphone	5.2		LG Stylo 3. This is my watch, alarm, phone, camera, gps.
tracker	4.2		pings to satellite with my location. Batteries last three weeks when on for 12 hours/day.
headlamp	.5	$0	Awesome photon light. One set of batteries lasts about 10 days.
batteries	2.0	$10	4 AAA lithium backups for tracker, and 4 CR2016 coin batteries for headlamp - purchased online for pennies.
Venza Maps App	0.0	$0	These electronic maps are great tools and they weigh nothing.
Other
trek poles	14	$0	Still using Walmart pair that refuse to die
rain poncho	3.4	$4	cheap disposable to cover me and pack from rain - taking 2.
rain skirt	2.0	$1	Just a garbage bag cut open and cinched around waist.
guide	4	$17	Kekekabic Trail Guide
food bag	9	$90	we each have an Ursack Major S29.3 AllWhite bag
1st aid kit	3		basic personal items - bandaids, pain relief, tape, liquid skin, CPR mask, gauze pads, allergy meds, ...
compass	1.1
knife	1.1		tiny, single blade.
toothbrush	1.3		includes paste
ear plugs	0		I'm taking a bunch, just in case.
toilet kit	2.8		TP, Purell
misc.	12		2 garbage bags, whistle, clippers, thermometer, and other small items
duct tape	1.5		Duct tape has many uses, but I'm taking bright orange for high visibility.
stickers	3		As usual, taking some Hiking Dude stickers to hand out to folks I meet.
Total	~29 lbs - total weight

My Food

• Breakfast: 2 protein bars & cocoa
• Lunch: salami and crackers
• Snacks: Austin crackers, peanut M&Ms, smokehouse almonds, jerky
• Dinner: Food for Sole meals, chicken pouch
• Drink: just water. lots and lots of water.
• Daily vitamin

My Expenses

• travel to trailhead and back - $40
• food - $47 restaurants (in transit), $100 trail food
• Total - ~$200

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Kekekabic Trail Statistics

States	Minnesota, all within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Distance	81.2 miles - 40.6 each direction
Total Elevation	not very much, lots of hills, but no mountains.
Terminus	East: Gunflint Trail West: Snowbank Lake
Highest Point	1920ft - site of old lookout tower
Lowest Point	1430ft - bog near west terminus
Map	Click for Interactive Map
Terrain	The trail has a challenging tread of rocks, bogs, and overgrowth but there are no big climbs or summits. The trail is not blazed like the AT or PCT and advanced navigation skills are required.
History	The trail was built in the 1930s by the CCC and USFS to access fire lookout towers. It became unused but was reborn as a recreational trail in the 1960s. The USFS stopped maintaining the trail in the early 1980s so use fell off. The Kekekabic Trail Club was formed in 1990 to recover and maintain the trail. The KTC became a chapter of the North Country National Scenic Trail Association in 2014, and the NCT was rerouted to use the Kek in 2019.
Challenges	Overgrowth of brush and ferns obscure the tread over the spring and summer. Very little trail markings. Limited campsites.
Time Window	May through October. Snow and snowmelt make the trail swampy early. Weather and tree colors make September a prime time to hike.
Time to Hike	Typically 3 to 5 days.
Permits	BWCAW permit required.
Thru-hiker Tally	not tracked

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Trail Links

Google Earth	View Trail with google earth
Full Maps	Interactive Map
Agencies	North Country Trail Association

 

Land Managers and Partners of the Kekekabic Trail

Forest Service

Partnership for the Nat'l Trails System