Stories inspired by the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
and Quetico Provincial Park
Boundary Waters and Quetico travelers are invited to add
stories about their own trips into this great wilderness. Trip reports,
campfire stories, poetry... anything is welcome. Do you have a story
to share?
A Special Trip Up The Beartrap River
"Through the years the groups that I have taken canoe camping
in Canada and/or the Boundary Waters have always been groups of four
or more. Matthew, my grandson, began going with me three years ago at
the age of twelve. The 2007 trip was to be his fourth trip and maybe
his last."
(91KB)
by Owen Secoy
Don't Stop Dreaming
"Back in the thirties my Great Uncle Rufus began a yearly
trek that took him into the West Arm of Lake Nipissing wilderness area
of Northern Ontario. Rough gravel roads played havoc on his vehicles,
but his persistence started a family tradition that lasted nearly sixty
years."
(67KB)
by Owen Secoy
Into Lonely
"A hint of wind blows across the bow of my Prism. I soak in
the sights and sounds of the lake. Beaverhouse. That name conjures up
Voyager exploits, a rich history of native people, fur trading adventure,
and a logging era long dead."
(114KB)
by Jim Jelak
Solo Reflections
"The area in Quetico we were entering was called Hunters Island
— so called, because the area is actually ringed with a paddelable
and portagable ring of lakes and rivers, creating a mammoth quasi-island.
Parts of this series of lakes and portages were originally used by the
voyagers as part of the 18th Century fur trade route from Saganaga Lake
to Crane Lake."
(103KB)
by Neal Oberlee
Kahshahpiwi - Quetico Trip - 2006
"The area in Quetico we were entering was called Hunters Island
— so called, because the area is actually ringed with a paddelable
and portagable ring of lakes and rivers, creating a mammoth quasi-island.
Parts of this series of lakes and portages were originally used by the
voyagers as part of the 18th Century fur trade route from Saganaga Lake
to Crane Lake."
(173KB)
by Al Freeland
Of Wind, Water, & Wilderness
"What was settled on became an eight day loop which would take
us into the desired fishing destinations of Jean, Burntside and Bentpine
Lakes. The final day would be one of travel, traversing a series of
lakes to the south featuring Snow, Your and Badwater.."
(137KB)
by Bill Kuntze
Rendezvous in the Bush
"On December 7th, 2004, Bushwhacker Jamboree's day of infamy,
Stumpy posted map coordinates for his proposed Rendezvous. The destination
was revealed as a small, nameless lake between Cairn and Kawnipi lakes.
Internet characters with curious and sometimes colorful ID's such as
Intrepid Camper, Woods Walker, Magic Paddler, Pittsburgh Portager, Quetico
Passage, Kawishiway, Rangeline, Hexnymph, and many others soon applied
for June entry permits with the purpose of accepting Stumpy's challenge."
(71KB)
by Jim Carrier
Tripped Up
"The #4 Duluth pack has been carefully packed and sits upright,
waiting, next to the front door. A medium sized compression sack, occupying
the bottom of the pack, contains my clothes for the week. I packed light
but did include my favorite fleece jacket to keep the September early
morning chill at bay."
(37KB)
by Jim Jelak
Adventures... West of Quetico
"A total of six scratched and patched war horse Grumman canoes,
a collection of assorted aging boat motors, numerous bottles of premixed
2 cycle fuel, uncounted Duluth packs, artillery sized fishing pole transport
tubes and kids all got affixed or loaded into the old canoes."
(51KB)
by Bryan Whitehead
My Piece of Heaven
"My adventures and accomplishments in Quetico were never ending.
Each new day and each new experience brought growth, strength, and admiration
for my husband."
(25KB)
by Sandra Walters
My Paddling Partner
"My paddling partner and my life partner are one and the same.
I wouldn't have it any other way."
(466KB)
by Lynda Childs
A Through-Paddle from Ely to Atikokan
"Troop 214, Salina, Kansas sent four crews (32 people) on a
high adventure trek through the Boundary Waters in Minnesota and Quetico
Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. Two crews started in Atikokan, and
paddled south, and two crews started in Ely, MN and paddled north."
(63KB)
Rod Franz
A Dad and his Daughter
"It
seems to me, that there are many significant things that happen in our
lives that we don't recognize as a special event, at the time it occurs.
Taking a trip to the boundary waters with my daughter is special and
I knew it, as soon as we began to prepare."
by David L. McHone
Wet Behind the Ears
"Our
first Quetico trip is a fifteen year-old blur. I attempt to conjure
it up; it resists focus. It is an onion of memory. Yes... an onion.
Savory stuff will eventually waft out, but only after processing. Just
now, peeling skin off raw memory, it smells pretty bad and I shed tears
of pity for three canoe country newbies, remembered here as something
less than voyageurs."
(66KB)
Jim Carrier
North Country Sunrise
"The
first time I decided to try a paddle at night, I decided to bring it
up with a rambunctious group of boys going on a 6 day trip. At first
they didn't really listen, as most of their attention was preoccupied
with the 14 year old girls that they were flirting with around them.
I waited until later when their attention was more on the trip and brought
up the idea again."
(43KB)
by Patrick Doty
Paradise and Beyond
"It
was that time of year when the hustle and bustle of a 24-7 resort and
outfitting operation was quieting down, fall colors were almost peaking,
and to leave behind the stresses of ever day life and head into the
Quetico for my annual fall get-a-way."
(49KB)
by MooseTrack
Quetico Solo - a
20 day trip report of a solo Quetico trip
"Loneliness...
I was lonely at times. Especially around the evening campfire. One day
I thought about moving up to the front of the canoe for awhile to take
a break from myself. Yes, I spent alot of time laughing at... to...
and with... myself."
(84KB)
by Doug Clark
Of Inukshuks and a Stroll Through
the Park
"Days
later, when we parted, Big Ed would pull me aside and say, "Jim,
your son, Ben, is a really good man." Our go-fer, my rising twelfth
grade son, this soon-to-become-man, fully blossomed during this trip.
Ed's words served me as a coming-of-age benediction for Benjamin. I
acknowledge him as a full partner in all we might share, in and out
of Quetico."
(76KB)
by Jim Carrier
High Falls on the Namekagon
-
a destroyed canoe and lessons learned
"I
asked my boys what the best thing about this trip had been? They weighed
the amazing fishing, the thundering water falls, but decided that in
the end watching the fathers labor on the sunken canoe had provided
the most memorable moments. Remember, as my Grandfather said, there
are no hard jobs, just jobs done with the wrong tools! "
(317KB)
by Bryan Whitehead
The Summer of the Wolves
"We
paddled to the deer, getting very close as I turned the canoe, and with
my paddle I proceeded to push the deer out of the mud, while noticing
the fresh open wounds on the neck and rump made by the attack!"
Curt Iverson
Why
"A
man child I know of insulted me in that he told mutual acquaintances
that I was a fool and not of sound mind to visit the wilderness solo.
That any one that did such a thing was crazy. So be it.
We are crazy. Let the faint of heart never know of our rite of
passage."
by Bryan Kegler
First Time in the BWCA and Solo
"Across
Bruin to Little Gabbro, the sweat and insects, my neck locked in a vice
from the carrying thwart, the wood crushing down on my shoulder, the
seventy-five pound pack on my back and the mud sucking at my boots,
each step became a question posed of my will to be answered and followed
by another and another and another until at last I saw the water shimmering
through the trees like heaven itself.
by Ben Savitt
Solo Sucks
"What
happened next was only going to be a series of ill events which would
put a heavy damper on the rest of this trip. As I blew out the candle
lantern I proceeded to use the palm of my hand to close the gadget.
Any of you who have seen these little demons know that they collapse
in half and have a metal top, which gets really, really hot."
by Phantom Jug
The Challenge of the Portage
"It
doesn't take much thought to discover a major flaw with the normal technique
of the double portage: The portage is, say one half mile long; you carry
your canoe over, you walk back, you then carry your pack over.
That's three trips over the half mile portage. The half mile turned
into a mile and a half. Hiking back, the extra half mile is considered
by some to be a rest break!"
by Tony Baroni
Cache River Passage
In
hindsight, our fine progress to that point may well have been our undoing.
We were, perhaps, a little too cocky. Throw in the fact that Gary's
duct tape boot patch wasn't holding up so well and maybe our subsequent,
rather confounding, decision becomes better understood. In a burst of
mid-life, testosterone-induced foolishness that I have lived to regret
(fortunately), I exclaimed, "Yo, Chief. Are you up for an adventure?
How about trying a shortcut?"
by Jim Carrier
When Things Go Wrong
"We
still don't know who came to our rescue to this day."
by William Lilly
Best of Friends
"A
friend of mine from work was always telling me about his trips into
the Boundry Waters and how great the fishing was there. He said, "the
fish there don't even know what lures are, they will hit anything you
throw at them". I was the one who was hooked."
by William Lilly
The Trip
"funny
how just the sight of the old wood canoe conjures up thoughts of great
adventure long before the craft is portaged, long before the paddle
is dipped into the water."
by Jim Butler
Going
Alone – A Trip To Canoe Country
(This is an off site link from Michael Furtman, outdoor writer and long
time canoe country advocate. Michael once worked for the Forest service
and was stationed in the Boundary Waters. If the name doesn't instantly
ring a bell check out the rest of his site and it probably will.)
"Not
that he didn't feel bad that it had to be this way. But his wife and
bow paddler of forty years was gone now and there was no one else that
really understood. Not his kids. To them he was an old romantic fool.
He hoped that someday they might understand."
by Michael Furtman
First Quetico Trip August 1994
Quetico Trip Report
"This
was our first trip of 7 so far in Quetico. I'm sure my son and I will
be traveling here long after I retire."
by Art Scoular
Mike's
Solo Canoe Trip (This is an off site link)
"On May
17, 2002 I ventured alone into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
for six nights with a canoe, some camping gear, and a digital camera.
This is my report."
Be sure to pack extra food
in the Fall...
"This
is a bear story from 1978 - one that I've told dozens of Scouts and
to my kids dozens of times."
by Bryan Whitehead
Island Bear
"Trust
me, when they give you advice on how to avoid bears, follow it to the
tee and you will better your chances of not loosing your food!"
by Chris Bridson
Beaverhouse to French Lake
Quetico Trip report
by Dennis Moon
Pow Wow Trail Trip Report
A very detailed and interesting account of a solo backpacking trip on
the Pow Wow trail in October.
"I sit
at the campfire as the darkness closes in. Now that the sun is going
down, the snow is starting to stick longer. About 7:30 it starts snowing
very hard once again, putting my fire out and forcing me into the tent.
I change into the same "pajamas" I wore last night and settle down for
a long winter's nap. I didn't manage to get my third pair of socks dry."
by Larry
Ricker
Angleworm Lake Trip Report
Saturday,
November 25, 2000 - "Despite my exhaustion, I spend a restless
night. Soon after I get to bed, I have to pull on my polypro thermal
underwear. And, I still wake up chilly from time to time -- not dangerously
cold, just chilly. A change of position and I'm able to get to sleep
again but, wake up again a little early."
by Larry
Ricker
Homer Lake Trip Report
New
Year's 2001 "We're forced to make our way along the shore to
avoid the thin ice long before the first 6 rod portage. Our progress
is slow since we have to force our skis through the tangled grass lying
under the deep snow."
by Larry
Ricker
To Touch A Dream
"For
those in the busy cement cities who suffer from the "call of the wild,"
the north woods is home, a timeless life that tugs at your heart strings
and captures your soul in a single visit..."
by Breezy (aka. Wendy Cook)
Wilderness Learning: Quetico Style
When
you have time here's good one about a one way route sure to give anyone
a real sense of accomplishment. Clay Lake to Prairie Portage, via the
Wawiag and Carin Lake.
"As we moved along the creek, I was startled when Nathan suddenly
yelled as we came around a bend, "Backwater... we are about to
hit a big boulder!" Complying, I began to backwater, and as I
looked around him in front of the canoe, I saw the enormous rump of
a Moose, with its head down under the water, feeding on bottom delicacies."
by Harold D. Rutan
Yum
Yum Portage
"One thing
the old Fisher maps lacked was contour lines. Had we known what was
ahead on the Yum Yum to Khashapiwi portage we surely would have reconsidered
our route."
by Paul
I'll Always Remember
"I still
have the paddle I bought, after all these years and all these moves
around the country. I rationalize that if it got me through three weeks
on that trip, I don't want to be up any crick without it."
by D,P. - Denver
Bears and Bacon
An account of
a solo trip during a fire ban. Bear encounters seem to be more prevalent
when the Blueberry crop is affected by a dry spell. Lake names were
changed to protect author's favorite spots.
"After looking both ways he continued down the shoreline, only
now his pace quickened, he looked longer, sleeker, more bear-like. Every
step was perfect. He moved like a cat. He was silent. He was beautiful.
He was heading for my camp!"
db QuietJourney.com
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