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.