This year is my 40th year of paddling in the BW/Q. My first trip was a flyin to the old ranger station on Irving Is on LLC. We crossed the Blackrobe enroute to Minn, where we spent a week. The fishing was lights out and I was hooked for life. I knew that when the time came I would hook my brother (Snowdog, who was 5 at that time) also. If Mom only knew...

How many years since your first visit to BW/Q? and what do you remember most about your first trip?

wow congratulations! 40 years is quite the accomplishment! thats nearly twice as many years as ive been alive.

this summer marks the 5th anniversary for my group. what i remember most about that first trip wasnt that big one that got away, but instead the terrible thunderstorm we had on the last day. i had never seen winds that strong or rain that heavy before in my life, but we paddled through it and made it safely out of the park. since that trip, whenever we see rain or winds up there i always just remember back to the first time and think 'we made it through the worst weather ive ever seen on the first trip, so we can handle anything now.'

Congrats on 40 years, OS! Hope you can have 40 more  :D

I made my first trip to the Q only 17 years ago (I was much older than you when I got started ;)) We did a loop from Prairie Portage up through North Bay, up the S Chain, over to Agnes, to Kawnipi, then back down through Kewatin, back through Agnes and out again.

The thing I remember most about that trip was the very first portage I ever did in the Q. It was the lovely cadillac portage from Bailey Bay to Burke--sand landings at both ends, nice wide portage trail, etc. Anyway, we single carried back in those days, so I'm hauling two packs over a portage for the first time, and about half way through, I was thinking that it was not the most pleasant thing I'd ever done. I got to the end and finally dropped my packs and thought that was truly a pain the arse. Our group leader told us that was the best portage we'd ever do, and I thought he was joking!! He most definitely was not. But I sucked it up and actually took to the challenges of all of the portages on that trip. By the time we tackled the Meadows portages toward then end of the trip, I was a portaging machine  ;D

The other thing about that trip I'll never forget was that we weren't 30 minutes out of Prairie Portage, and an eagle plunged into the lake, almost in the middle of our canoes, and pulled an awesome northern out of the lake. I've never seen that again in all my trips back up there.

All in all, a great trip and I'd love to do that loop again some day.

Congratulations on 40, Old Salt.  This will be 39 for us, and we have a permit for the BWCA to go in at Cross Bay on June 22nd.  I hope we will be able to do a decent trip, but my lower back is giving me fits, so it is still up in the air if we will go and if we do, I suspect Spartan1 is going to carry more than his share on the portages.  Much as I hate that, he is willing, so perhaps I'll let him do it.  I had an epidural last Thursday, but so far it isn't helping much.

We are headed to Minnesota on Friday with our granddaughter for a week at HoHo's cabin on the lake near Ely, and a few day trips will give us a chance to test the waters.  

To answer your question though, what I remember most about my first trip:

getting sunburned, hating that canvas tent, learning a lot that I had never known about my husband (all of it good stuff), and completely falling in love with the canoe country!  We did the Namakan River loop and by the time we got to Myrtle Falls I was totally hooked.  As we came back down the Namakan Narrows I was already planning the next trip!  25 trips later I am still doing that.

This year will be 33 years for my wife and me. She introduced me to the Boundary Waters area after doing trips there as a teenager. I'll always be thankful to her for that because it has provided us with a lifetime of great vacations, a bunch of new canoeing friends and many great memories.
I remember the first night in we endured a hellacious thunderstorm followed by hordes of mosquitoes in the still humid air that followed. Our rented canvas tent had so many leaks and rips it could hardly be called a shelter from either the rain or bugs and it had no floor! But we endured the first awful night to wake up to the same swarm of mosquitoes that we fled before having breakfast. We paddled till the sun was well above the horizon and then stopped on a breezy bug free point to have brunch. I was eager to break out the fishing gear and while Dede prepared our food I assembled a fishing rod rigged with a #5 Mepps spinner. I remember making 4 casts in a row from that point and catching a fish each time. I was hooked for life.
The following year we spent (invested) all of our savings at that time on brand new gear including a canvas Eureka Timberline tent, an Old Town canoe and the first bent shaft paddles I had ever seen. It's been a good and adventurous three decades. Congrats Old Salt on 4 decades.

My buddy and I will celebrate our 10th consecutive year this Sept.
Plan on visiting many of our early campsites and fishing spots.
Our first trip we based at Wed. Bay in Crooked on day 2 of a 6 day trip.
On day 3 a sow and her cub ate half of our food.
We re-hung the pack, went fishing, returned and watched them eat the rest.
We were hooked!

43 years. I had been a counselor for two years at Camp Easton  on Little Long lake and had heard canoe trip stories during that time.  After camp the second year six of us from camp went on a six day trip and I experienced what the stories were about.  The others were experienced so I was able to learn the correct methods from them.

Congrats Old_Salt, or should we call you Old_Timer now?  ;)   Let's see... how long ago did you take me on my first trip?  I believe it was 9 years ago.  Been loving it since!!  Thanks my friend!

Bruce

Thanks to all for posting! I am very thankful to have made this milestone. As some know, I have had some health & fitness issues over the past several years. The knee replacement last year woke me up to realize how hard I would have to work if I wanted to return to Q. Our upcoming trip will let me know if I have what it takes to keep returning...(I think the answer will be affirmative).

I think my best learning is to take each day as it comes, and enjoy it, because health is a precious commodity that can be lost with little or no advance warning...

Oh, the other thing I remember about that first trip, (prompted by KF's post) is the woefully inadequate equipment we had, a cheap Kame Apart tent, drenching downpours, mosquitos, trying to sleep in a wet sleeping bag, trying to build a fire with wet wood (what stove?), ...those were the days, my friend...

Congrats to all you guys for your early starts on something great. It's only been 12 yrs for me, 10 yrs of soloing.

I'm headed to Nunavut for the 3rd year a row this summer (16 days), but Q is always nice to return to.

I thought everything was really cool on my first trip to Q. I'd been trying to hookup with a group for years and finally got asked to join an experienced group. Soon after that I decided once a year wasn't enough and started soloing to add extra trips.
Whenever I take someone new it reminds me of my first trip. It is a very special place. All our outdoor friends need to go once in their lifetime.

16 years, I believe.

I remember every detail of that trip, and every trip since.

What impressed me most was the vastness of the place, especially the sky.

At night, the clarity was stunning. I sat up night after night, sipping bourbon in a cold metal cup just watching the stars shift.

During the day, huge billowy clouds seemed to sit in a sea of blue, the color of which seemed painfully pure to someone who lives across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.  And the sky seemed frozen, as if on canvas.

But then the wind would suddenly rise up and the personality of the place would change, becoming unpredictable and dangerous and demanding respect.

We came out of Stanton, headed through Dore to the Sturgeon Narrows and out Fern and the three B's.

I remember ....

.... my poncho flapping from the bow of the canoe when a sheet of rain rose up over Blueberry Island and hit us full force in the middle of Sturgeon. (different equipment now)

.... a rainbow on Olifaunt (pictures are inadequate).

.... tangy smallmouth, an hour from lake to stomach (a taste I never tire of).

... waking in a panic to a bear's soft grows and grunts, not realizing for a full minute that it was only snores from the other tent.

... the subtle smell of pine needles and strong smell of pine smoke that seemed to permeate everything -- tent shell, clothes and tongue (a smell that even today evokes the Quetico experience).

... the anxiety of my first big waves in a canoe (waves that today would rank maybe in the top 50).

... cringing as the old guy in the group (someone's father) used and lost what surely had to be antique lures.

... the thrill of my first Northern, and the scratches its teeth left on my lure.

I could go on.

but congrats, Mr. Old Salt, on 40 years. I hope I live long enough and stay healthy enough to talk about my 40th year in the Q.

-- kypaddler

Wow 40 years, nice.

My first trip was delayed because I have Jury Duty next week.   :'(

Hey Old Salt, congrats on 40 years and especially that new knee.  It's amazing what they can do these days when it comes to joint replacement.  I was out of canoeing (hell I could barely pull my socks on) for 15 years becasue of my hips.  About 6 years ago I had my second hip replaced and I suddenly got 20 years younger.  Three months after that second surgery I was hiking with my wife in Algonquin and I realized, "I can do this again!"  What a blessing, I'm hopping around now like a young gazelle and so grateful to be able to get back into the bush again.  My wife and I will be doing our first (hard to believe after all these years of tripping) trip into the Q this summer -  three weeks from the middle of August.  I hope your new knee gives you the same pleasure every day as I get from my hips.  Stay in shape, my friend, and you'll have 40 years more.

This year marked me turning 40 and my 30th consecutive year going to BW/Q.  The past 10 years since I moved back to MN I have been fortunate enough to go 3-5 times a summer.  Usually short 4 day weekend trips but makes the summer last longer.

The first ever trip was a family trip with my parents, brother and 2 sisters.  It was a great trip but a time prior to pumping water.  On the way out we saw a lady shaving her legs in the lake that we had been drinking from.  It was enough for my one sister, and she has not been back.  The rest of them family have made several other trips together and individually.  

Congrats Old Salt. Where better to spend 40 years of vacations?

If you count my first trip with my parents to Crane and Sand Point when I was 6 mo. old, this will be 54 years to that country.
My first real trip by myself was in 1972 when I was 16. Another 16 year old and 2 14 year olds went to LLC and McAree and Minn for 9 days.
What were our parents thinking????? I'd never let my kids do that now days. ( Well OK maybe, they are probably better prepared than I was ).
My wife and I will celebrate 34 years of going to Q this summer with our usual 2 week trip the end of July. ( Doing the Cache - Trousers portages for the first time ).
Memories from when I was 16 .... Catching more fish than even a kid knew what to do with. We fished until our arms hurt and we ate more fish than you'd think humanly possible. I caught an 8 lb Walleye. Awesome weather, great company, wolves howling at night. We had a red squirrel get into our food pack - it took 3 days but we finally killed it with rocks and sticks. Revenge is important as a kid...
I camped in the same spot last summer, things have changed a lot, but the important stuff is still the same.... quiet, peaceful, beautiful, relaxing, good fishing. It is a good place to refresh the mind, body and spirit.
Memories from my first trip with my wife in 1978 ( our 2 week honeymoon ).   I can't believe that I was able to talk my wife into going to the Q for a 2 week honeymoon.... Darky River, Brent Lake, Argo Lake.... is there a more beautiful place to spend the start of a lifetime together? We started in a downpour and ended with a beautiful sunset 14 days later. ( My line for the rain was "Big drops, won't last long" ) 3 hours later the sun was out.  She had never camped or canoed before. 34 years later, she can't imagine not going to the Q for vacation.

Lots of random thoughts but I wouldn't change a thing about all my years of paddling in Quetico Park. Thanks OS for the trip down memory lane.

GeneM

Hi, my name is Snow_Dog and I'm an addict.

As noted, I have Old_Salt to thank for my 34 years of addiction.  The stories I could tell (and probably should, someday) of that first trip!  

Thinking back, the misery probably outweighed the high moments by a large margin, yet I recall knowing down to my core that the suffering was worth it.  

This is how it goes with addicts, right?  

The fleeting moments of an incredible Quetico high drown out the hours of pain willingly endured.  

The lies we tell ourselves in order to continue to feed the addiction (next year, I'm sure it won't rain as much...next year, I won't lose that fish at the boat...next year, we'll get some better gear).  

Spending way too much time between trips dreaming about how great the next high is going to feel.

Taking foolish risks to keep that high rolling (like filleting fish on a rock island barely larger than the canoe while a massive windstorm is mere minutes away...or trolling for lakers in wind and waves that only a total imbecile or a total junkie would even dream of tempting).

Covered in mud, staggering to the end of hellhole portages that no sane person would ever attempt.

Spending way too much money and time to tweak my gear and systems in an attempt to make every high a little better than the last one.

Going to canoe expos to meet other junkies I met on the internet who continually reinforce my addiction.

Yeah, I'm willing to admit my addiction...but unwilling to end it.  I think that's the telltale sign of an irredeemable junkie.

That's a long time O_S, feels good I bet. I prefer not to think about being unable to go at some point. This will be my 30th. Missed one year because I was too young and dumb to negotiate vacation time at one job I needed or I may not have wanted to go that year and needed an excuse. I know early on I once paddled out swearing I'd never be back for numerous reasons. Now I just couldn't imagine a year without at least one trip.

My first was a college art course. Early May, 18 people, mostly women. Most of us had no clue whatsoever. One, "The Princess" would only last a week. Slept on a logging road and started out of French. The water level had been raised and lowered a few years before. Scary looking dead trees and mud banks - ugly- I wondered what I had gotten myself into.

Ate prunes for the first time ever - no one seemed to want them and I was hungry. DOH!

Froze my butt off and only dozed in and out due to shivering in my damp Ted Williams bag many nights. 3-4 day stretch of cold rain/drizzel and ill prepared from my head to my frozen toes. My tent partner almost burned down our tent one night. I was hanging by the campfire when someone asked if that was my tent and why was it so bright. As we studied the sight imagining causes, there was a sudden Ouch! ... Oouch! !Zip, zip and out comes a flaming plate of candles to delight the audience.

Going out shooting with the professors was vary enjoyable. I still bushwhack back to a couple very unique spots every time I go that way. I love seeing how places change in different conditions and over the years.

One night another student and I went out to a nice sunset location on a different corner of the lake. The sunset (Mount St. Helens era) lasted forever and then we waited for northern lights. After a while we realized everything looks the same after dark and we didn't really know which island our campsite was on.

And I remember stuffed lakers for our end of semester critique. That became a nice tradition we continued for a long time. Those I miss. I miss Roger Thew when I drive by his place too.

I wasn't all that enthused after my first 4-5 trips. For me the draw became stronger every year. The earlier trips were a means to end. Often uncomfortable sometimes downright miserable, a necessary evil. It took 20 years to be relatively assured of comfort in challenging conditions and fish to eat. It takes a lot longer when all you have is your week or two a year, a book or three and a quarterly to get ideas from.

40 years is a good long time, congratulations on that old salt. Nice when you find something you really like.  :)

It's coming close to 20 years since our first time up there, but I don't remember using any canoes that first time  :-? We did take our first canoe trip the next summer... only about canoe 8 trips total so far.

A few things I remember from that first trip to the Ely area are those big pine trees, starting to realize the enormity of the area, the number of lakes and the way they are connected, and all of the other sights, sounds and smells that go with it. We really had no idea where we were until I noticed the map on the wall of the outfitters. Completely floored me. We ditched the cabin and loaded up some extra gas to go camping for a few days on Basswood... never travel without the camping equipment. No bad experiences that I remember, but a lot to try and learn along the way. When we came back from that first canoe trip in Wabakimi, I noticed my hiking boots still contained the sweet pine scent from the duff stuck in the treads.

I wish you another 40 years of tripping old salt, you guys have all set the bar pretty high.

OS,

Twenty years for me.

This was trip #1 in 1990 =     (You need to Login or Register  ;  never underestiimate the newbie/moron factor!

Wish I could have could have hooked up with you forty years ago; I'd be that much more ahead of the game by now!


Jimbo   8-)

I have only been Tripping in the BW/Q since the late 90's ...I'll die a rookie...

I remember my first canoe paddling experience though.. I was eleven

it was church camp, a week long, had to qualify to take out the canoe and then get a counselor(probably 16) to ride along on paddles... Me and my canoe buddy would always get the same girl,   I can't remember her name but she was beautiful and I had a crush on her the whole week..it was hard to concentrate or sleep...  and I'm not talking about the canoe...

My first trip was 12 years ago. It was a trip with ROTC. We stayed on Insula and then took a day trip into Alice. We almost got wind bound on Alice with all our gear still sitting at our site on Insula. The thing I remember most is that it was the first trip that I was able to easily portage a canoe by myself. The summer before we did a trip up the Vermillion River and I guess I just wasn't strong enough to do it well that year.

OS  Hey Ho 40 way to go!  Keep up on the glucosamine and chondroitin before the second knee limits you.  Quetico is waiting for you again ;)  My first trip was back in 1987 with my cousin Roger.  Up through Moose, Newfoundland, Sucker to PP.  Into Basswood riding fast with a tailwind out of the south we rigged up a spinnaker out of the rain fly and two paddles.  Made 7.5 miles in an hour, camped on White island and had every storm come directly over our site.  Had to dig a sluice around the tent to keep dry.  Big northern and fiesty smallies that flexed in our hands.  Way too much whiskey and Yukon Jack than two people should have carried and consumed. Waking up on Burke lake quietly watching our island neighbor hanging out something to dry on a line wearing only a sweater on top and cute naked little buns glowing in the morning sunlight.  Damn I was hooked alright.   Oatmeal never tasted soo goood.  Paddling out across Bayley bay through a downpour drinking Canadian Club and singing the theme song to Gilligan's Island.  Named our canoe The S.S. Minnow and getting a quick tow back to the landing at Moose lake.  Finally taking a shower back at Doug Johnson's on White Iron lake and passing out from exhaustion under the warm clean water.  Next trip was already in the planning stage on the ride back.  Did I leave any thing out? ::)  Marc