Submitted By: Tyler Kobilarcsik

Trip Completed By: Tyler Kobilarcsik and Justin Wirth

Trip Date: 10/13/2025

Disciplines: Trail Run, Canoe

Total Time: 43:33:00

Trip Report: Justin and I parked at Round Lake and began our run at 6:10am on 10/11/25. We had tremendous conditions on the run, starting at around 30 degrees and reaching a high in the mid-50’s, things would change on the paddle however. We ran from there to the Kek trailhead on the Gunflint (around 1.8 miles) and began and ran the Kek to Snowbank trailhead (40.5 miles), then hiked to the Snowbank Lake Entry Point (1.8 miles) arriving there at 5:50pm (total run 44.1 miles, 11h50m). Justin battled cramps to the point where I (Tyler) had to tie his shoes for him and get off the main trail to find extra water. We did make it out and met Jim and Raif at the trailhead, where they had lasagna and cake from Jim’s mom, as well as all our paddling gear. We began our paddle well fed at 6:40pm on 10/11/25 from Snowbank to Ima Lake, traveling around 10 miles ending at 11:16pm that night. We took a slow morning on 10/12/25 traveling around 37 miles that day ending at 1:43am of 10/13/25 at Round Lake (91 miles total). We battled a head-crosswind of 20mph with 35mph all days with light rain in the evening. We chose a route with many (49 total!) portages; many were in the 5-rod range, but also some lengthy ones that seemed rarely used. Things got brutal that night and we made the decision to do whatever we could to not pitch a tent that night, which ultimately led to us catching some shut-eye in the Grand Marais Laundromat around 4am that morning on our drive back down to Duluth. We saw a bull moose on the drive up the Gunflint, countless grouse on the run, and any beavers on the paddle. It would be exciting to see what time could be accomplished on this route in other seasons and with different paddling routes. We had 3 main routes we considered paddling and chose our route due to the high wind and it involved the least amount of extra running mileage, but the portages certainly add up to the time. I am sure this route could be paddled much quicker with fairer winds. 43:33:00 Running the entirety of the Kekekabic Trail (Snowbank to the Gunflint or vice-versa) and canoeing back Tyler Kobilarcsik and Justin Wirth on the full loop, supported by Jim Schwinghamer and Raif Olson on the paddle

Leg 1: Trail Run 44.1 miles – 11:50:00

Leg 2: Canoe 47 miles 13.26 miles – 31:43:00 including camping 1 night