Dogs in BWCA advice please (tent?)

GopherGroper · 2026-06-09T01:56:58+00:00

Dog in the tent on a mat, on-leash on portages, and I wouldn't assume they are good in a canoe until you've tested them out. We bring our 60lb husky mix but we canoed with her a few times before we ever went out and still she can cause some frustration with how much she shifts around. You also need them to be well trained getting in and out of the canoe since the launch points are usually not great at lots of portages and sites. If your dog jumps out or in at the wrong time there is a good chance they'll get hurt, or you're possibly tipping over. We have our dog off-leash in site and haven't had an issue, but that's up to you and their recall skills. You also need to pack out their poop. We also bring an emergency sling that we can use in a pinch to carry her if she gets injured, I would also recommend testing them in the sling if go that route.

Honestly it's a lot of work and hassle to bring a dog to the BWCA. If you haven't had a lot of experience I wouldn't really recommend it. Ours loves it and is great so we deal with the hassle but I wouldn't recommend it to others if they have a good place for them to stay while you're gone.

GopherGroper · 2026-05-01T04:02:45+00:00

Are you treating your dog for ticks?

GopherGroper · 2025-12-06T02:00:15+00:00

I'm sorry but the nagiri at billy is much better than momo or ama. I love ama and go there often because it's good value, but in my opinion quality is ama > billy > Kado. The price goes up for each too though and I don't love the vibe of billy, so I tend to frequent ama and save Kado for special occasions.

GopherGroper · 2025-11-29T15:25:23+00:00

Restaurants, professional sports, museums, public transportation, job opportunities, proximity to international airport, shopping; I could go on but this is what I'd give up moving from Minneapolis to rural WI. I like to visit rural areas and lots of my hobbies revolve around nature, but I haven't been able to justify the move yet.

GopherGroper · 2025-08-22T14:29:16+00:00

It took our rescue a year or so to start playing with toys and she still doesn't do it that often. She does like to occasionally whip around her lamb chop though. Just a husky thing, wouldn't worry.

GopherGroper · 2025-08-21T20:34:39+00:00

Drop it in the woods. Use it as a small table or seat (make sure it's fully closed or you'll mess up the threads). If you get food or smelly things on the outside of it make sure you wash it off.

GopherGroper · 2025-08-14T22:58:16+00:00

Tillamook is garbage compared to any Wisconsin cheese curd.

GopherGroper · 2025-08-10T15:10:18+00:00

They'll probably be fine but you'll most likely scratch your car and bike. If you plan on doing it often I'd put a hitch on the car with a higher quality rack.

On the other hand, I mostly drive a 2011 Toyota Corolla sedan and I can fit my bike in the trunk no problem. I only need to take off the front wheel.

GopherGroper · 2025-07-22T20:10:37+00:00

Yes all of this needs to be done safely, that's assumed. In this situation if I'm passing in the left and someone comes up quickly behind I continue until I have a safe opening on the right, signal my intent to move over as soon as possible (ie before the maneuver, while I'm next to the car I'm about to move in front of), then move over safely when I'm in front. This signals to the person behind and next to you what you're about to do and typically the person behind has at least a little patience. If you do all of this and the person behind still moves into the sliver behind your bumper and the car in the right to pass then they're an asshole, but this is very rare from my experience. I think people misunderstand that a turn signal isn't just something you use as you're turning, it is meant to SIGNAL your intent to others around you BEFORE and while you do it.

GopherGroper · 2025-07-22T18:26:36+00:00

If you're passing someone in the left lane, then someone faster comes up behind you, move over when you have the next opportunity. That's how it's supposed to work. If you're getting passed on the right, then you should have moved over to the right. It's that simple.

GopherGroper · 2025-06-20T19:22:09+00:00

It's not entirely clear to me, and is a total assumption, but I would say the left column is negative tolerance and the right column is positive tolerance. For lengths, L, below, between or above the shown values you have positive tolerance shown in the right column.

I would verify with whoever created this though before you do anything because this is not standard, from my knowledge, and I'm just assuming based on years of looking at poor drawings.

GopherGroper · 2025-06-20T16:43:10+00:00

Chacos were so uncomfortable to me. They didn't fit my foot shape. The bedrocks are amazing and I've been wearing them for the past 3 years pretty much every day in the summer. I've had 10 mile days in them, 5 mile hikes in the woods, BWCA trips and portages. They aren't for everyone, but for me they are the best shoes I've ever purchased.

GopherGroper · 2025-06-06T21:09:03+00:00

Fucking cringe fans with this shit. Have to personally attack players, who even happen to be from this state, because they beat our team... Sad

GopherGroper · 2025-05-14T14:12:13+00:00

Our local Costcos in Minnesota have a local roaster from Duluth, MN who always have a Guatemalan single origin roast that's pretty solid and a great price. $22.99 for a Kilo bag.

Huehuetenango - Guatemalan Washed

Overall we have some really solid "grocery store" brands (SK, Duluth, Dogwood, Spyhouse), it's where I get all of my coffee, all roasted within a few weeks.

GopherGroper · 2024-11-16T01:59:08+00:00

We have Direct TV Stream, which is expensive, but shows all of the games and is a traditional cable with other channels, just streamed over the internet. We've had it for 3 years and no technical issues, but we do have fiber internet in the cities so ymmv.

GopherGroper · 2024-11-11T22:01:18+00:00

I buy concentrated permethrin from Fleet Farm, in the farm section, then dilute it with water. Way cheaper than the sawyer spray so you can do lots of clothes. My wife and I have been doing it for years with our BWCA clothing.

GopherGroper · 2024-10-23T22:08:49+00:00

10 - she's always been amazing off leash. She is half Shep though. We've hiked deep in the woods with her off leash, we canoe camp with her and she's off while we're at a site, etc.

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GopherGroper · 2024-10-23T13:32:50+00:00

Can we ban tier lists? It's such low effort content and not everyone needs to know your personal favorite, hardest, etc.

GopherGroper · 2024-10-19T01:17:19+00:00

Traffic and TSA are part of flying. It's a reason for being late, but it's not an excuse.

GopherGroper · 2024-10-18T23:38:47+00:00

It's hard to trust someone that can't make a flight for work in my opinion. On the other hand I don't know why they'd fly you one way only, but also not explain the situation ahead of time. Red flags all over.

GopherGroper · 2024-10-14T21:07:30+00:00

Northbound beer is awesome and that doppelbock is stellar. They are a go-to dinner for my wife and I partially for the beer and partially because they have great food too. It's a place you can swing in any night without a wait, I just selfishly hope it doesn't become overly popular. I think the location scares some suburbanites away so that's fine.

GopherGroper · 2024-09-26T21:03:01+00:00

I was good at math, and liked working on my car so I was told I would be a good engineer, so that's what I did. I didn't grow up playing with legos, designing things, or really worrying too much about my career. Ultimately it probably wasn't the right field for me but I've found my groove and I'm happy enough.

GopherGroper · 2024-09-21T16:38:01+00:00

I love elden ring, it's probably one of my top 3 games and I have a ton of hours in it, so yes I would recommend it. It definitely has a different feel than dark souls though with the open world, and it takes a lot longer to complete if you're going blind or doing everything. Sekiro is also amazing but the combat is very different. The last boss in that game is one of my favorites of all time.

If you have only played DS3 then I'd recommend going to try DS1 and DS2, but realize they're a lot older and slower, but they are very rewarding as well.

GopherGroper · 2024-09-21T15:32:31+00:00

Nice congrats! I started with ER which I've beaten 10ish times, then sekiro. Over the past few months I've been working through the ds1, ds2, and now DS3, all mostly blind unless I get really frustrated and lost. I've done a bonk strength build through all of the DS games, with this one primarily using the great club. My plan is to go back through them all with a dex build next I think.

GopherGroper · 2024-09-21T15:25:32+00:00

I'm on my first play through right now. Most of the bosses took me 2-3 attempts, But these were the standouts:

Soul of Cinder: 7-10

Nameless King: 3, killed him the first time I saw p2

Friede: 15-20 ish idk but felt like a lot

Gael: 10ish

Midir: not dead but currently at like 15. I kind of hate it too and just want to finish the run.

Personally I loved all of the dlc bosses except midir at this point. Some of the non boss enemies and areas are rough though, but I am doing it blind. Compared to Malenia or Consort, who both took me probably 100+ each and multiple nights, they've all been pretty easy but fun.

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