My wife and I have been married for 28 years, we are in our mid-fifties.  I wanted to go to the BWCA for many years but she was reluctant to go.  We eased into it very slowly.  First, we started staying at cabins in the Ely area, and then we stayed at a cabin on Farm Lake that had a canoe which we could paddle into the BWCA during the day and go back to the cabin for the night.  Then, we stayed at another cabin but this one required portaging the canoe into the BWCA.  Finally we made a short camping trip into the same lakes we had visited from the cabin.  Then, we were both hooked and since then we usually make two trips each summer, for one week each trip.  One trip is just the two of us and the other trip includes our daughter or our daughter and a friend of hers.  I have always wanted to go to the Quetico and after many years of going to the BWCA, this year she suggested that we go to the Q and we are planning a great trip.  We both want to take a much longer trip one of these times.  She is very strong with paddling and portaging.  We get along great.  It's nice to have the time together without distractions.

We tried a solar shower but we prefer a collapsible bucket that we fill with water and set in the sun when we first get to the campsite, or first thing in the morning and we have a small plastic dipping cup to pour the warm water over our heads to clean up.  We tried many different buckets but some tip over and spill the water, etc., and we finally found the perfect bucket, it is dark grey with a black bottom to absorb the sun, it's wider than it is tall so it won't tip.  We usually go during the hottest part of the summer and we work very hard and get dirty, sweaty and sticky, so not cleaning up is not an option.  We also swim several times throughout the day depending on the temperature.

Nice topic.  My paddle partner, adventurer is my wife. Been married not near as long as others here - 3 years and been partners for 8 eight years. We spent our honeymoon in Q and continue to enjoy it every summer. Although most of our paddling is Nopiming Provincial Park and other areas in the shield country up in Manitoba we always manage and prefer to paddle together.
CM

Dang gotta love that story! And the color of that boat...WOW

Puckster wrote on Mar 15^th, 2009 at 9:02pm:

Thanks for that! That is pretty much what we did - got married on the shore of Brule Lake, then entered on Sea Gull for a week. We ended up with about 40 guests - most traveling hundreds of miles to see for themselves that grandpa and grandma were really getting married. Many of the guests thought it was the best wedding in the best place they had ever attended!

-aj

Why not get married on a lake that abuts the BWCA, allowing guests to stay in lodges, or whatever, then after the outdoor ceremony, and when the party is over, you and your dearly-beloved jump in a canoe and paddle off into the wilderness...way better than a car with a bunch of cans tied to the back.  You could even have a tent set up on the other side of the lake waiting for you.

My wife and I were married in a conventional church, but then spent the next 2 weeks backpacking in Zion National Park...great memories.

Good luck.

prouboy

A dream of mine and of my fiancee is to be married in the Boundary Waters, but we don't know how to make it happen...

We have found a priest who long ago spent many years in the BW and who is well along in age but very willing to make one more trip to officiate over our ceremony (bless his heart!).

But, it looks as if there are at least 25 other people who also would like to see us tie the knot. This would bend the one party/nine person rule for BW campsites a bit. Hmmm...

We feel that entering on a lake that allows motor boats (such as Fall, Seagull, or Snowbank) would allow us to get the many expected non-paddlers to the site and back for the day. One good friend doesn't want to get into a boat of any kind...

If anyone has any experience or thoughts on this, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

-aj

Spartan2,

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE keep making photos that Stu doesn't like . . . I consider a rejection notice from that rag a badge of honor! 

firstmate5:  I have found it very difficult to get anything into Boundary Waters Journal!  Stu and I don't see eye to eye on what people want to read, and he rarely publishes photos that actually go with a particular story, so having photos taken on your trip is not all that helpful.

It is hard for me to make photos that would appeal to him, since he really wants only photos with people doing things together (there are only two of us and one is the photographer), photos of canoes (again, there are only two of us, so if I am on shore taking the photo, I am not in the canoe. . .) and photos of people holding up big fish (we don't fish).

Of course, I cannot comment on the quality of either your writing or your photography, but I will tell you I have tried several times and gotten nothing but rejection.  The piece in the spring issue wasn't a "paid" submission--he may have printed everything that people sent in.  I was pleased and surprised that it appeared in the magazine.

I would certainly encourage you to submit something and give it a try.  Just have a very thick skin when you read his comments regarding your work!   

Several regulars on QJ have had articles published, so perhaps some of them will respond to your inquiry and give you good advice. 

My trip journals have a narrative and several hundred photos.  Some of our friends read them every year, but mainly they are just for us--for the memories.  We are 61 now and we probably can't continue to do this for too many more decades.  (But we hope to keep it up a good time longer.)

aje:  it is interesting to hear your comments.  I have never canoed with anyone other than my husband, and cannot imagine (at my advanced age) ever wanting to do a solo!  Good for you!

Our longest trip was 22 days.  At the end, I was in tears because I didn't want it to end.  I have people tell me that they couldn't spend 22 days in "solitary" with their spouse doing ANYTHING, but I guess if you are doing something you love, and your spouse is your best friend. . . . . .

We love "newbies" on this board.  You should consider, if you find the board interesting, becoming an Inukshuk.  It supports the QJ site, and it gives us the opportunity to communicate through the IM, in case the topic is something that might not be of general interest to everyone.

My husband introduced me to the boundary waters.  Since then I have been the one to research, plan our trips, and do the navigating.  I've gotten so good at planning out the food that he even wants me to help him with the food when he goes with his buddies.  We have done 4 day trips up to 8 day trips.  One trip we covered 60miles.  Once we get the rhythm down we work together really well.  In fact we get along better in the bwca than we do on a project at home.  Both of us have gone up with friends and I did a solo last year, but we both agree our favorite trips are when we are together.