Archives for February 2016

Part of our daily rhythm includes thawing the dogs’ morning meal on our wood stove. It can be hard to get out of the tent on a cold morning to get the dog food ready. Tina’s excited chatter when she hears us pick up the metal dog food pail is a daily reminder that this simple action is anxiously awaited by our companions. Often we are greeted by the first rays of sun when we unzip the tent door and greet the crisp morning air. “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity.” -John Muir

This unique Wilderness, our temporary home, is teaching us so much. It is clear that this pristine puzzle of interlaced lakes and rivers is a necessity that gains importance with each passing year. We must work together to protect the Boundary Waters for future generations. Please sign the petition by following the link in our bio and help us protect the Boundary Waters watershed from the proposed sulfide-ore copper mines that threaten our nation’s most popular Wilderness.

#savetheBWCA #WildernessYear #BWCA #Sunrise #BoundaryWaters #OnlyinMN #WeAreTheWild

While Amy and I were taking our polar plunges yesterday Tank was napping in the sun. We will let you decide who is smarter. I would like to point out that Tank cleans himself with his tongue, so maybe it is best to not judge and just respect our differences.

The 159th day of our #WildernessYear to @savetheBWCA is windy and snowy. We are sipping coffee with our dads and waiting for other visitors to arrive. Yesterday felt like the perfect day for a bath. Today feels like the perfect day to visit with family and friends.
#BoundaryWaters #Wilderness #dogs #sleddogs #winter #cute #happy #BWCA

The temperature shot up to 46 degrees today so we hacked a hole through 18 inches of ice and took our monthly dip in the lake. I don’t think the temperature has topped 45 degrees since November. It felt absolutely balmy in the Boundary Waters today. We used our ice auger and our big saw to drill and cut a hole large enough to jump through. It took about an hour, but it was warm and sunny so it was a fun challenge. After the hole was ready we stoked the wood stove in our @SeekOutside tipi tent and between the sun and the stove the tent quickly turned into a viable sauna.
Five guys hauled in ten days worth of food today. They arrived just in time for the sauna and plunge through the ice hole. Soon they were piled in our tent getting ready for a polar plunge as well. We were happy to be able to share the hole that we worked so hard to create. There was a lot of laughter, some grimaces and a couple screams as everyone took quick dips into the freezing water and ran back to our warm tent in their socks.

We are thankful for all the volunteers, donors, businesses, and organizations that are supporting our efforts to @savetheBWCA. Please join the movement. Sign the petition by following the link in our bio.

#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #wilderness #ice #polarplunge #onlyinMN #fun

I emerged from the tent to a land blanketed in tiny crystals of ice shimmering in the sun’s first rays. I stood in the cold silence, waiting for the sun to rise high enough to warm my face. Breathing in the cold air, I watched the ice crystals on our axe handle slowly lose their brilliance and melt. Immersed in the silence of an untrammeled Wilderness like the Boundary Waters causes us to slow down and appreciate the minute natural wonders happening all around us. The sun is most certainly melting tiny ice crystals on windows, lampposts, street signs, asphalt, and car windshields, but in our hectic lives how often do we stop and observe this simple act that makes life on this planet possible? Could we live without clean, unfrozen water? I find that hard to imagine. The unique glimpses into our natural world that immersive Wilderness experiences promote are assets that can be hard to quantify. However, if we expect to leave a healthy planet where future generations can thrive, the clarity and direction these glimpses provide must not be underestimated.

This Wilderness is worth protecting. Please join us in our efforts to @savetheBWCA for future generations.

#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #ice #winter #wilderness #simplicity #healthyplanet #keepitwild

We stopped for lunch in the middle of Hoist Bay on Basswood Lake. There was no wind and it was warm, so there was no need to look for a sheltered spot. The dogs always provide plenty of amusement. Acorn and Tina start to groom themselves as soon as we stop for lunch. Tank just stands around seeming to wonder why we aren’t going, occasionally barking and lunging in his harness. Grooming doesn’t seem to be part of his routine, except when Acorn or Tina get overzealous with their grooming and start licking his legs and paws. It sounds strange, but they actually groom him from time to time.
The dogs are like people; they have their own personalities. It has been fun getting to know Tina, Acorn, and Tank. Before we know it spring will arrive, the ice will begin to melt, and it will be time to say goodbye to our new friends and switch back to traveling by canoe. Luckily March often affords some of the best traveling conditions, so we still have plenty of adventurous miles ahead of us with our four-legged friends.
I was struck by the silence today as we skied along. There was no wind and the low clouds seemed to muffle the air, leaving the Wilderness totally silent. Please remember why we are out here. This place is just too precious to risk. Please join the movement and take action today. Visit @savetheBWCA to learn more, sign the petition, and get involved.
Today is the 155 day of our #wildernessyear to #savetheBWCA. Please share our journey with your friends. Use our adventure to start conversations and educate others abut the proposed sulfide-ore copper mines that threaten our nation’s most popular Wilderness.

#BoundaryWaters #BWCA #onlyinMN #Dogs #dogsledding @patagonia @kleankanteen @granitegear @clifbarcompany

Today has been filled with writing and camp chores. Acorn and Tina followed us down the lake during our daily firewood gathering mission, but with a wet snow falling and poor travel conditions, we spent most of the day poking around camp and writing in our tent. Acorn curled up at our feet, switching between napping and watching. She rarely moves or makes noise except while dreaming. Legs twitching and muffled barks seem to indicate she is a long way from our campsite, caught deep in a dream world. Maybe she is running the Beargrease Dogsled Marathon; we will never know.
Amy is busy digitizing her handwritten journals and I spent most of the day working on several blog posts and processing photos. We hope to publish a book about our Year in the Wilderness as a way to share our story more broadly and continue to advocate for this Wilderness. I am very thankful that Amy has the discipline to sit down and write in her journal every day. It is much easier for me to try to capture a moment in a photograph or write a 500 word blog post. I hope our work will compliment each other’s and our shared dream of publishing a book will come to fruition. People have been telling us we should write a book for years. Kayaking around Lake Superior, crossing the Amazon, our 3 year journey across North America, Paddle to DC, and many of our other adventures are books waiting to be written.
I believe it is the overarching goal of protecting the Boundary Waters that keeps us writing and documenting our #wildernessyear to @savetheBWCA, and provides an added incentive to write a book. We must all use every tool available to us: letters to the editor, emails, blog posts, social media posts, scientific papers, conversations, books – there are many ways we can voice our support. Please make your voice heard; sign the petition by following the link in our bio and take action today. “The idea of Wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders.” – Edward Abbey

#savetheBWCA #dogs #winter #boundarywaters #BWCA

I think people often wonder what we do all day with no TV, movies, malls, shopping, restaurants, video games, limited internet access and power. What do we do? Meditate? Count pine needles and snow flakes?
The reality is we don’t have a lot of down time. Basic things like washing clothes don’t happen with the turn of a knob and the push of a button. We don’t wash our clothes often, but when we do, it is a process. It is something that can be enjoyable and relaxing on a warm sunny day or finger-numbing this time of year.
Gathering firewood, hauling water, transforming basic ingredients into nourishing, fulfilling meals, caring for the dogs – these basic tasks fill our days. When these are combined with writing, filming, photographing, and documenting our #wildernessyear to @savetheBWCA, there is not a lot of downtime.
Probably our biggest form of entertainment is listening to the radio. We have a tiny radio that a person I guided last summer gave me after our trip. In the mornings we listen to Minnesota Public Radio while we sip our coffee, but there are always chores to do, memories to make, and moments to share that easily fill our days.

Simple tasks are not easy or boring; they do not make me yearn for a washing machine, faucet, or thermostat. Our often repetitive, time-consuming routine is filled with moments we enjoy and others that we would happily give up, but they are intertwined. Numb fingers are part of washing clothes in February as well as photographing them stiff as boards catching the morning’s first rays. Clean clothes and an image that can be used to tell our story and lift up the conversation about protecting this special place are our rewards.
Wilderness removes the noisy clutter, whittles things down to the most basic. What a wonderful gift. Moments to be cherished, remembered, and shared. Everyone should experience this simplicity, it is more valuable now than ever.

#savetheBWCA #simplicity #wilderness #chores #simple #BoundaryWaters #BasswoodLake #BWCA @patagonia @mprnews

Sun, glorious sun! The snow that constantly sluffed off the tent all night gave way to sun this afternoon. The fresh, untracked snow glistened as we gathered firewood. The lake is extremely slushy, so we decided to wait to move on – hoping it will freeze.

Our tent is perched in a protected grove of trees with a commanding view of Pipestone Bay. It is a lovely place to wait for the conditions to improve. The starry night bodes well for a cold night that will help freeze some of the slush.
Wilderness helps us put things into perspective. Let’s work together to @savetheBWCA so future generations can reap the benefits of this untrammeled maze of lakes and rivers.

#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #wilderness #winter #fun onlyinMN #dogs

The sleet that had been soaking us all morning turned to snow as we skied down Jackfish Bay. Slowly slogging through snow the consistency of partially cured cement interspersed with the occasional pocket of ankle deep slush was getting old. The only real rays of sunshine were: it was above freezing so the slush didn’t freeze to our skis and sleds, and it wasn’t the full-on rain that pelted our tent all day yesterday.
The snow made it feel like winter rather than spring. Surrounded by white, we slowly traveled down the middle of the bay. It was quiet and beautiful. Despite the less than ideal conditions, it felt good to be on the move again. I found my mind wandering, recalling past winter treks with dogs and skis and dreaming up future wilderness journeys across blank spots on tattered maps.

The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth … the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need — if only we had the eyes to see. — Edward Abbey

This place is just too precious to risk. Our jobs and our way of life are tied to the Wilderness. The sulfide-ore copper mines being proposed along the southern edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness threaten to pollute this vast maze of lakes and rivers for generations. A mine of this type has never been built anywhere in the world without causing significant ground or surface water pollution. Please sign the petition at @savetheBWCA, learn more about this important issue and share this with your friends. We all must act to save this national treasure. #savetheBWCA #wildernessyear #Wilderness #WeAreTheWild #dog #sleddog #dogsofinstagram #winter #BoundaryWaters #BWCA

Acorn poked her head out of the tent before retreating to her dry, warm bed. Rain is pelting the tent. I know there is plenty of winter ahead of us, but it feels like winter is coming to a close all too quickly. Our 150th day in the Wilderness to @savetheBWCA would be a miserable day to travel. It is a perfect day to relax in our warm, dry @seekoutside tipi tent and cook a big meal. We haven’t decided what we will make yet. Perhaps a chocolate cake with chunks of a chocolate bar that Joseph and Jacob Goldstein brought us. Maybe some extra cheesy quesadillas, or @patagoniaprovisions sampa soup. Who knows, maybe we will make them all.
Wilderness has taught us to slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures that life affords us. There is no place I would rather be on this rainy February day. Good food, good company, and a warm dry place to find shelter, what more do we need?
#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #simplicity #BoundaryWaters #Wilderness #BWCA #dog