Yurt to Yurt Skiing

     I always get great gifts for my birthday and Christmas and this year was no exception.  Mike and the kids gave me a free cross-country skiing adventure.  It is truly a gift because it is usually one of the only times Mike will go cross-country skiing with me.  The past two years he has done this; one year we skied in to a cabin at Tettegouche and the other year we skied into a yurt.  I have a choice this year between those two options or a stay at a B & B in Canada with cross-country skiing during the day.  I’m leaning towards the Yurt to Yurt Skiing because it is in my favorite area, right on the Gunflint Trail.

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   Boundary Country Trekking is a business on the Gunflint Trail that specializes in adventure type packages.  They transport you to the beginning of the Banadad Trail where you begin your 8-mile ski to the yurt.  They bring your gear to the yurt, get the fire going, haul the water up from the lake and will even cook a Mongolian Hot Pot Dinner for you.(When we went for my birthday Mike decided to cook dinner for me.)   The yurt is cozy and warm with a wood stove for heat and a gas stove for cooking.  The night we spent there it was 20 degrees below zero but we never got cold.  There is a small wilderness lake for water and an outhouse nearby.  I’m not sure if some people spend more than one night at the yurt but on our trip we cross-country skied the 12 miles through the wilderness back to Boundary Country Trekking.  

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     It was an awesome wilderness adventure that I will never forget.  I highly recommend this trip to anyone who loves the solitude of the Boundary Waters and the magic of winter.  It sounds like the perfect gift for me!