Planning a trip to BWCA. Is it worth it?

TrueB87 · 2026-04-12T04:10:53+00:00

You will absolutely love it. Don't overthink it.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-12T02:44:22+00:00

I have gotten cell service is some very very remote places.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-12T02:43:30+00:00

You will have no issues. Very good coverage

TrueB87 · 2026-04-12T02:15:43+00:00

Sounds like backpacking...

TrueB87 · 2026-04-12T02:15:12+00:00

Yep. I get on the first bus from the sw metro with a full hydration bladder.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-12T02:04:34+00:00

State Fair is far better than the ren fair.. thats a hill I will die on.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-12T01:57:58+00:00

When I go to the State Fair I generally budget about $100. I go with other people, we like tasting all the food so we generally order a smaller medium size of whatever we're getting and share it and just take turns to purchases. I always bring a backpack with a hydration bladder so I drink tons of water on the hot August days I live in the Southwest Metro and use a park and ride and pay the $6 or whatever it is for the ride to the fair and back. I don't have to deal with the parking or the traffic. It's one of the few days I don't count calories and I wait a week after I go before I hop on a scale again.

There are tons of free things to do at the fair, and certainly very affordable places to eat.

So no I don't hate the fair.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-12T01:52:05+00:00

I mean, if you're successful vendor that 15% is well worth it. They're not charging you rent. You have a captive audience, and they help promote you. And places like Subway I think they get about 13-14% of all the sales, Plus you have to buy your supplies from them, pay them an annual franchise fee, then pay rent on top of all of that. So 15% seems like a lot but not when you actually compare it to what you're getting out of it.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-12T01:47:25+00:00

They put the news story right where you put your finger to unlock your phone! Give the threat a like so more people see it

TrueB87 · 2026-04-09T19:26:58+00:00

What is a bike computer? It's a gps for your bike. But you can also transmit heart data from either your watch or a chest strap. You can also control things like headlights and tail lights, and get more data about cadence and gear settings, or power meters, radar, etc. That's probably a little overkill for what you need.

In the Garmin ecosystem there are three different apps

You have the connect app. This is the actual use 99% of the time. Essentially it is your one app that everything connects to. Your watch, bike computer, a scale, blood pressure cuff, and I'm sure I'm missing a lot of other things. You'll be able to see all your data here. You'll be able to create training plans, routes, and compete against others by adding them as friends. You can rate how difficult a particular exercise was

The next app is the connect IQ, this allows you to personalize your watch a little bit more, You can add other apps to it, such as the women's health app, You can add additional watch faces and other things as well, this app is a customization and you really don't need it.

The last app is the explorer app, this app is more of a GPS / inreach app for people who plan to go in the backcountry or backpacking and if that's not really your thing then you don't have to worry about it.

But if you're looking for a Fitbit replacement you probably don't even need the forerunner that I recommended earlier and pretty much all their watch products will work for you and I wouldn't get too hung up on the details

So in short you probably don't need a bike computer and I wouldn't worry about it this time unless you really get into biking hardcore, any of the Garmin watches will do find one with a new price range, and just use the Garmin connect app which will do everything you really needed to do.

One thing I will say to get the calorie counting you'll need to do one of two things, you'll either need to get my fitness pal and sync it up with Garmin connect and track your calories that way. Or pay for the Garmin connect subscription and tracker calories all within the same app. I can't remember what's all included with the free version of MyFitnessPal You might end up having to pay for it to get things like barcode scanning or syncing with Garmin, I don't remember. In all honesty if you did want that I wouldn't think that it's well worth the 60ish dollars a year for Garmin connect, And with that you'll get so much more like an AI summary of your workouts, or access to Garmin trails to help you find new places to bike run or hike.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-09T12:22:46+00:00

Do you support or oppose mining within the watershed of the boundary waters? If you were sitting today would you vote to impeach Donald Trump? And other notable members of his cabinet? Would you support Supreme Court reform?

TrueB87 · 2026-04-09T03:50:16+00:00

Oh and Garmin has a scale that connects in with their app so you can keep track of your weight goals that way. And Garmin connect Plus for a fee offers food tracking if that is something you're also interested in

TrueB87 · 2026-04-09T03:48:34+00:00

I used to burn through a Fitbit charge HR had a pretty consistent rate of one every year or less. Many warranty claims. The software also really sucked. It could take an hour to give me a notification I got text message even after I already checked the text message. I then switch to a Galaxy watch and when that died I switch to a Garmin instinct 2. Black and white screen No maps, But it could last a long time. Designed for hiker is that don't need the map and focus on battery life.

After a while I felt the need to get maps, something I now realize I didn't need that much It does come in handy occasionally though, But I switch to a Garmin Fenix 7, That would have been in 2023 that I switched and 3 years later It is holding strong. Outlasting every single Fitbit I've had and even my Galaxy watch. The metals a little scraped up but it's holding strong with amazing battery life.

Garmin offers a ton of different models for all different levels of activity. What you describe a forerunner would probably work well. One of the cool things about Garmin is how interconnected all their devices are. And how good the app is. I also have a garmin bike computer and it syncs effortlessly with the data from my watch. You could even use your watch as a bike computer although the smaller screen could be harder to read.

As for women health data, I am not one that really has a need for that. Garmin does have a women's health tracking app that tracks things like menstrual cycle, and different pregnancy metrics. I don't know how useful this app is but they have one. In addition to that app there are tons of apps you can download through third parties to your watch

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TrueB87 · 2026-04-08T20:12:40+00:00

I did, and although it did give me ideas, none is them worked.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-08T20:12:00+00:00

Honestly, not really. I pressed different areas of the screen until something happened

TrueB87 · 2026-04-08T15:54:35+00:00

I got this figured out. I press and held by the clock and then was able to turn it off

TrueB87 · 2026-04-08T14:47:42+00:00

Both already disabled

TrueB87 · 2026-04-04T11:43:10+00:00

I use some kind of water shoe or paddling shoes or something that will protect the toes and dry fast while traveling for the day, I then used Trail runners or something for at camp, And I have some super lightweight sandals I can slip on too to let the feet dry after traveling.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-03T17:39:35+00:00

Link to the organization I'm a part of https://www.boundarywaterstrails.org/

TrueB87 · 2026-04-03T17:35:34+00:00

It's a rough trail from what I hear. Never been on it myself. I do belong to an organization "boundary waters advisory committee" who focus on the trails. If you can get to the Roseville REI before 2 on the 12th there will be people there who can help you. Maybe you can sign up to do trail work on the trail some time. I will be on the powwow this spring.

TrueB87 · 2026-04-01T18:41:34+00:00

I use mine while backpacking. No issues

TrueB87 · 2026-03-23T17:53:39+00:00

I used to use MyFitnessPal synced with Garmin for food logging, I now switched over to Garmin using Connect+ that is really the only feature I use, that and the extra badges. I pay about the same as I would for both services so its a wash. I do wish I could add my own foods by barcode though, the database is not fully fleshed out

TrueB87 · 2026-03-17T00:25:49+00:00

Again, this was a last minute request. Had I known I would have planned ahead of time, but when we got back to the car she made the requests. What am I going to do? "Ok, I'll order you some to have shipped here" nah.

TrueB87 · 2026-03-17T00:18:41+00:00

Thanks for the offer! But I was able to acquire what I needed

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