Pandemic Changed Things

For those of us in the Midwest, the Boundary Waters was the go to wilderness canoeing experience. Since the pandemic, permits have been very scarce. Used to be, last minute changes to entry date or entry point could easily be accommodated. Now, if plans need to change or should change (for safety reasons), it’s basically a “wait til next year” proposition.

I’m wondering if it will ever go back or if it’s forever going to be a case of use it or lose it, and crowds are going to thin out to non-amusement park levels.

It's the same thing in other wilderness areas. No permits are needed when hiking in the White Mtns of NH, but if you arrive late to the trailhead you'll find the parking lot full with no on-road parking, and if there is you might have to walk a 1/2 mile to the trailhead.

We've had a similar pandemic surge in visits to the Adirondacks...record crowds at the easy to reach hiking and paddling spots.
Much of this surge has already abated. When the less motivated crowd fully realizes that all that nature and fresh air stuff comes at a cost (calories and precious time) many of them just fall back to their more sedentary lifestyles.
Reminds me of the folks I meet at lift served ski areas...Some folks see my gear and ask about back country skiing. I offer to ski a few spots with them off trail, invariably, reality sets in when they realize that they don't have the skills to match their desires.
And look at the pandemic surge in bicycle sales...now, a couple years past, you see all sorts of used bikes for sale. Again, the desire for fresh air, isolation and fitness fades when the realization sinks in at they have to spend (here it is again) calories and precious time.
Same for wilderness paddling and camping in the ADK's...I meet first timers that admit they will likely not return to that sort of primitive experience. Too much effort, too few comforts.

Admittedly, some of the folks that surged into these outdoor activities do stick around, but by and large, the big crowds are subsiding.
At least, that's been my jaded observations.

Same thing happened here. With all those people not going to work and discouraged from their usual entertainment, the obvious option to relieve boredom was to head for the hills. Being retired, I was already spending more time in remote places, but suddenly, everyone else was out there too. Outdoor supplies were suddenly the big demand and in short supply.

It's moderated some since folks are back to work, but weekends are still a good time to avoid.

The bike industry and mountain bike trail networks got absolutely slammed for a couple years. Some of the trails are still zoo’s I avoid on the weekends. It’s slowly backing off, and when it comes to buying bikes or bike parts, you can’t beat the sales at the moment. It’s why I choose to build up a bike this year instead of buying a canoe to go with my wife’s. There won’t be a better time for a long time.

I think it was the same everywhere. I know that, here in PA, we were encouraged to get outdoors during the pandemic (even though the State Park restrooms were closed... that got interesting...). I still regularly see people on hiking trails that used to have so little traffic that they were barely discernable.

While I miss the solitude, I do find it encouraging that I'm seeing less evidence of back woods bonfires and less garbage as the uber casual "hikers" return to their play stations and the newly minted outdoorsmen progress along the learning curve.

I'm not sure you'll ever again be able to grab a BWCA permit for spur-of-the-moment tripping but, remember that there's a lot of acreage in Superior National Forest that is not part of the BW. Some of them, like Freer Lake (SE of Hog Creek entry point #36) even have portages & campsites marked on paddleplanner.

Maybe it was said best by the gentleman I met on the Rib to George lake portage: "The well-kept secret of the BWCA isn't a well-kept secret anymore" (and maybe that's not a bad thing. More people enjoying the resource might mean more people caring about the resource)

I go to a fairly large gathering (COTS) hosted by the local 1st nations and a couple of environmental groups every fall that requires a long (3+hr), hazardous drive on old logging roads, some of which haven't been "officially" maintained in 40 years (except for tree trimming and digging out some of the higher,and pointier rocks by users)and manages to trash at least one vehicle annually. this year one person lost their front swaybar, bent one tie rod, and snapped the other, fortunately there are enough licenced mechanics and shadetree bush mechanics to make safe, solid repairs.
pre-pandemic there would be 40-50 attendees, during the pandemic numbers rocketed to close to 100, this year I believe the # was 65, a lot of the casual paddlers stayed home, but some of the younger generation have stayed on because they acknowledge that care for the environment and desire for true wilderness adventure appeals to them.
In that way the pandemic was good- the isolation caused many people to break out of their shells and find out there's a whole world out there for them to see and people to meet, but as reality sets in, many are finding the wilderness is hard work, and it requires a lot of preplanning and investment in time, energy, and cash, so the less hardy or dedicated people slowly dwindle away while more dedicated younger ones stay to continue the various improvements and projects, injecting badly needed new blood as the original ones are starting to hit the 60, 70, and even 80 year mark, and need that new blood to maintain the trails, campsites, and portages and continue to fight for the protection of them

When it comes to the BWCA I prefer October, self registration and many fewer people and lots of open campsites especially during the work week. I never minded the cooler weather and actually prefer it.

All this makes me think there’s soon to be a glut of barely used recreational gear out there ready to hit the resale market.

I have noticed my local reservable sites are more open. I seem to no longer have any issues booking the site I want, when I want it. Especially now that fall is here. I can sneak in another trip and doing some preplanning all my usual spots are wide open. Don’t people know fall camping is the best?

The local put in, which is actually on conserved land and isn't supposed to be there, went from one boat stashed there pre-covid, to seven or eight just sort of scattered around willy nilly post-covid. Then most of this summer there were maybe three boats there neatly placed on the rack the land manager provided. But as of three weeks ago, when cooler weather finally hit, there are seven boats again, indluding three that pretty much block the better water access point.

I subscribe to paddle planner and they track cancelled permits, there were many days of 50 cancelled BWCA this year. I was able to change a permit to my preferred location right around the 4th of July. Once you get past Sept 15th there are a lot more openings and as said previously October is great. I have plans for a trip the first weekend of November, bet I won't see anyone.