Archives for September 2015

Most of the time Wilderness travel and spending time in nature are good opportunities to leave your cell phone at home, unplug, and get away from the stresses that come with always being connected. However, for Amy and me sharing our experiences during A Year in the Wilderness is an important part of our journey. Because of this we have some cameras and other electronics with us, which would usually be left at home when we head out into the Wilderness. People often ask us how we can keep our satellite phone and other electronics charged. Well, we carry a couple of small, portable solar panels and battery packs made by GoalZero. When the sun is out we lay these on top of our canoe to collect energy from the sun. We do not have an unlimited supply of power, so we have to be very conscious of our power consumption. We usually use a journal to organize our thoughts and write a first draft with pen and paper. Then we turn on our ipad, type the final draft, add a photo, send our entry to the internet, and turn off our electronics. Then it’s back to enjoying all the wonders that the Wilderness has to offer. We don’t want to miss something because we had our nose glued to the screen. Spending time in the Wilderness has helped us understand how important it is to unplug and spend time outside in nature. We hope that you can set aside a little time each day to spend outside, with your electronics turned off, observing and enjoying nature. #BWCA #bwcaw #boundarywaters #wildernessyear #savethebwca #solarpower #wilderness

Clear Lake was covered in a blanket of fog this morning when I climbed out of our tent to light the camp stove to boil water for oatmeal and coffee. The low temperature during the night had been below freezing. As we ate breakfast the sun slowly burned through the fog. After breakfast we finished packing up and loaded the canoe to head southeast towards Bald Eagle Lake. We portaged our canoe and all our supplies from Clear Lake into the South Kawishiwi River and were soon stripping of layers of warm clothes as the sun rose higher in the sky.
Today we paddled through Little Gabbro Lake and Gabbro Lake. Twin Metals has been test drilling about a mile from Gabbro Lake and less than a 1/2 mile from the Wilderness boundary. Last year Amy and I portaged a canoe from Gabbro Lake to one of the test drilling sites just outside the Wilderness. I guided numerous canoe trips through Gabbro and Little Gabbro this summer and every time I paddle through this area I think about portaging to that test drilling site, how close it is to Gabbro and Little Gabbro. The edge of the Boundary Waters, our nation’s most popular Wilderness, just isn’t the right place to build a copper mine in a sulfide-ore body.

I am going to sign off now and watch the family of otters playing off our campsite. This is a special place, a place worth protecting. Please help us speak loudly for this quiet place. Sign the petition at http://ift.tt/1x2erSX. #savethebwca @savethebwca #OnlyinMN #sunrise #moon

We saw the swans on Clear Lake several times again today. It was such a beautiful day, perhaps a day to rest if you’re a swan rather than migrating, which seems like a lot of work. We spent most of the day paddling and portaging from lake to lake, enjoying the warm and sunny weather. First, we made a trip into Eskwagama Lake. Then we went back into Clear Lake and the North Kawishiwi River in order to access South Farm Lake. As we paddled west along the North Kawishiwi River we noticed a solo paddler heading towards us. We soon recognized our friend Elton, who had paddled into the Wilderness to find us. We enjoyed our visit with Elton and we paddled together for several miles before he turned around and headed home. His smiling face and the fact that he came out looking for us was a welcome gift, but he also brought us chocolate and fresh tomatoes and beans from his garden! For the entire rest of the day we paddled to the rhythm of the song he sang for us. Thank you Elton!

When we returned to our campsite Amy announced that it was time to bake a cake. Today is my birthday and so we baked a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting! We can bake just about anything you can bake at home in a conventional oven using a neat little pot with a special lid called a FryBake. The cake was delicious and we have one small piece left, which we plan to split as a special breakfast treat tomorrow. #wildernessyear #savethebwca #birthday

After breakfast we packed our lunch, rain gear, and water quality testing equipment into our Frost River day pack and paddled South towards the portage between Clear Lake and the South Kawishiwi River. A pair of Tundra Swans looking out of place with a small flock of Canada Geese floated near the first of the 10 portage portages. We rarely see Tundra Swans in the Boundary Waters, this pair must be migrating South for the winter. We have only seen a couple loons and they have already lost their summer plumage. Every time we hear their haunting call I wonder when we will hear it for the last time this year. Soon the Geese, Swans, and Loons will all have migrated South. We will say farewell to them for the winter. Luckily some of the hardy birds like the Grouse, Ravens, and Bald Eagles will stick around for the winter. Most of the Eagles migrate South, but even in the dead of winter we occasionally catch a glimpse of an eagle soaring overhead. Today we saw 4 eagles scattered along the Kawishiwi River. This one circled over head several times before landing in a large, dead tree along the waters edge.
The wind has died and we are cooking dinner on a large rock overlooking Clear Lake. Two loons are calling to each other in the distance. I hope we continue to hear them for many more days. Its hard to imagine a Boundary Waters Canoe Trip without the sound of a loons haunting calls across the lakes still surface at dusk. #wildernessyear #savethebwca #eagle #boundarywaters #bird

This morning we packed up camp and paddled North up the Kawishiwi River. A hint of blue sky appeared as we were loading the canoe and within an hour the sun was out for the first time in 4 days. We are measuring water quality in the deepest part of each lake that we visit. The Kawishiwi River is 50ft deep in front of our campsite, which is the deepest point for many miles, so we only paddled a few hundred yards before stopping to lower our probe into the water. I worked to keep the canoe from drifting while Amy slowly lowered the probe, taking readings every meter from the surface down to 15 meters. It took about 15 minutes to record all the data and then we paddled on. It seems novel today, but soon it will become part of our routine.

We paddle and portaged for several hours and are camped on my favorite site on Clear Lake. A gentle breeze blew all day and we have spent much of the afternoon on a large rock by the waters edge soaking in the sun. We even went for a swim and Amy wondered if September 26th will be our last swim of the year. It feels like a summer day, but we know this weather will not last long, so we better enjoy these fleeting warm days while we can. We lingered on the rock as the sunset cast a warm glow over the lake before disappearing below the horizon. #wildernessyear #savethebwca #boundarywaters #sunset #onlyinmn

We had our first visitor join us today! Steve Piragis paddled out to visit with us for a few hours and brought us chocolate and a giant bag of purple beans from his garden. We paddled over to Bruin Lake together to collect water quality data and walk the mile long portage from Bruin Lake to Little Gabro Lake. The leaves are starting to change and it was a real treat to walk through the woods on such a beautiful day. Steve loves to collect mushrooms and he helped us find many different mushrooms growing along the trail. Some were poisonous, but we found several editable varieties of mushrooms, which we brought back to camp and cooked up for dinner. We chopped up one of these bright orange mushrooms and sautéed it in olive oil with a little salt, pepper, and basil. They were a yummy addition to our pasta. We are planning to pack up camp tomorrow and move deeper into the wilderness. We are feeling rested and are starting to fall into a routine. More than anything I am struck by the silence of the wilderness and how peaceful it is out here in the Boundary Waters. There is no other place like it on earth. #boundarywaters #wildernessyear #dinner #mushrooms #savethebwca @savethebwca

Yesterday evening Amy and I paddled our canoe up to the first of the many campsites we will visit over the next year. We set up our tent, cooked a quick dinner, and crawled into our sleeping bags. We were really tired because we have spent that last month working none stop to get ready for our year in the wilderness. It feels so good to be out in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, surrounded by nature, listening to the wind rustle through the trees and Canadian Geese fly overhead. We spent the day resting and settling into life in the Wilderness. We will probably spend a few more days on this beautiful campsite getting organized and resting before we head deeper into the Wilderness.
Many of you have been asking us where we will sleep and what type of tent we will use. Well, welcome to our new home! For the next year we will be living this 8 person SeekOutside tipi tent. It has a collapsable wood-stove inside, so we can heat the tent when it is cold. In the winter we will also cook our food on the stove. The tent, center pole, wood-stove, tent stakes, and ground tarp only weight about 15 pounds. Plus, we will have plenty of room when visitors join us from time to time, and our tipi tent is easy to set up and carry with us from one campsite to the next.

We look forward to sharing our adventure with you! #wilderness #savethebwca #wildernessyear #boundarywaters #camping #seekoutside #tent

Today we paddled out from River Point Resort and Outfitting Company cheered on by about 85 supporters who want to help #SavetheBWCA. We’re excited to begin our journey and share stories from out in the wilderness. #wildernessyear #bwca #bwcaw #boundarywaters @savethebwca

Amy and I would like to thank the 120+ people that packed @patagoniastpaul for a #wildernessyear send off celebration. We will carry your stories with us through out our Year in the Wilderness. Share your stories widely. You are the voice of the Boundary Waters and now is the time to speak on behalf of the Wilderness. @savethebwca #boundarywaters #patagonia #wilderness