How is this for a new topic...? Let's humble ourselves and briefly admit our biggest back-country blunder...if for no other reason than the fact that some of us might certainly learn from each other's mistakes.

Mine was my first trip to the boundary waters in 1972...my friend and I were two weeks after graduating from high school and wanting some kind of outdoor adventure. With no planning of any kind, we took off from our homes in Sheldon, Iowa heading for Ely and the BWCA. We rented a canoe from a guy on Burntside Lake and with only our noon day lunch and two bottles of cheap wine...Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill, as I remember...we took off across the lake. We had great weather and had a ball exploring the numerous islands etc...until we noticed the sun getting low and decided to turn back. That was when the trouble started...we had NO idea where we were. With all the cris-crossing and island exploring we were totally lost. No map, no compass, no over-night gear and all the food and wine was gone. All we could do is figure out from the setting sun which way west was and we reasoned that we had to head east to get back to the canoe rental place. All the bays, islands and our own stupidity caused us to flounder out there for hours. Finally some hard-core, experienced canoiests, with all their gear and mosquito nets came by and told us to simply follow them as they were headed in basically the same direction as we were "hoping" to go. Got back after dark. The guy at the rental shop just laughed at us. Essentially, being 18-years old...my friend and I did just about everything wrong that two people on a lake with a canoe could do...no plan, no map, no gear, no compass...no brains!!

Posted by Randy B on November 12, 1999 at 11:14