Archives for June 2016

We wish our dads and all dads a happy Fathers’ Day from the Boundary Waters. Our fathers both brought us to the Boundary Waters for the first time when we were kids and we are happy to know there are many dads out here enjoying the Wilderness with their kids right now.
Introducing the next generation to wild places is really important and we feel lucky that our parents helped us foster an interest in nature and wild places.
Our Wilderness trips have changed over the years. In the beginning we were following along with light packs and they were doing all the cooking, cleaning, and heavy lifting. Now the roles are reversing, which is how it should be, but our Wilderness sojourns with our fathers are just as fun and offer a wonderful chance to set aside our busy lives and just be together.

We find ourselves remembering our earliest trips with our dads as we paddle through lakes and lug our gear over portages we traversed with them many years ago. Just the other day we were near an entry point where Amy and her parents started their first Wilderness canoe trip. She smiled as she talked about how they brought new outfits for every day and many unnecessary things that they would leave behind on future Boundary Waters vacations, but she also remembers the sheer enjoyment of lying of lying on a rock at the water’s edge, listening to the sounds of nature.
So today we are working to @savetheBWCA for all the fathers of the future, past, and present who help pass the singing Wilderness on to their daughters and sons.

Our dads joined us in the Wilderness for four days in February. We drank lots of coffee around the wood stove in our @seekoutside tipi, solved all the world’s problems, and told lots of stories. We hope all dads are having a wonderful day and we look forward to seeing our dads again soon. #bwcadad #bwca #bwcaw #boundarywaters #savethebwca #wildernessyear #fathersday 📷: Josh Bryant

One of the best parts of our #wildernessyear to @savetheBWCA has been the people who have joined us. Jerry Vandiver was bitten by the Boundary Waters bug many years ago and has been making regular pilgrimages from Nashville ever since. Eric Frost has also been coming to the Boundary Waters for 20 plus years. Like Amy and I, Eric and his wife Jessa now live in this amazing watery wonderland sandwiched between Lake Superior and the Canadian border. Amy and I never sing, we don’t play instruments,heck I think it’s fair to say we are not musical people. Eric and Jerry on the other hand are talented, professional musician and Jerry has been a professional song writer for many years.

We were thrilled when Jerry shared his idea of writing a song inspired by the Boundary Waters and A Year in the Wilderness. However, we were not sure how we could help. Amy kept saying, ” I sure hope they aren’t expecting me to sing!” Jerry and Eric worked hard on the song before they paddled out to see us, but we were able to help compose the final verse and be part of the song writing process, which was really fun. So we send a big thank you to Eric, Jerry, Amberly, and Nick for joining us, and we hope you enjoy our song.
This Quiet Place

This stream that flows so clearly
And seems to know how dearly
Each turn, each tumble, each drop so humble
Each sparkle of light gives its gift of life

To this lake that only wants us to listen
To the fate of is endless mission
Unspoiled unchanging yet always rearranging
From winter’s deep cold to the beauty that holds

The birch, cedar, white pine and spruce
That whisper a timeless chorus
With their deep and far reaching roots
That echo the steps of all those before us

This ground that lies so sacred
And sound as it awaits us
With so much at stake we shoulder its fate
And its preservation for all generations
Standing proudly, we must speak loudly
For this place, this quite place
This quiet place.

#quietplace #wildernessyear #savethebwca #ThisQuietPlace #bwca #boundarywaters #bwcaw #WeAreTheWild #onlyinmn

Turtles clambering onto land to lay eggs and a pink eruption of lady slippers blossoming in shaded forest nooks signals the arrival of summer.

Today is day 269 of our #wildernessyear to @savetheBWCA.

Rigorous scientific evaluation shows a high likelihood that sulfide-ore mining operations being proposed on the edge of the Wilderness would pollute the Boundary Waters if they are developed. Multiple studies, including one published recently in the Journal of Hydrology, show a high probability that pollution from these proposed mine sites would flow into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Please join us in urging the Forest Service to deny the expired leases held by Twin Metals along the edge of the Wilderness! Speak up today! Share this with your friends, family, and neighbors and urge them to sign the petition and take action.
#SaveTheBWCA #Wilderness #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #WeAreTheWild #summer #onlyinMN #flower #ladyslipper

Recemtly, Jerry Vandiver, Eric Frost, Amberly Rosen and Nick Hoins paddled out to visit us. Yesterday was Amberly’s 30th birthday. Jerry and Nick baked her chocolate brownies for her birthday. Jerry led us in a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday as Amberly prepared to blow out the candles.
Today Amy, Jerry, Eric, and I put the finishing touches on a new song that Eric and Jerry have been composing. The song was inspired by the #BoundaryWaters and our #wildernessyear to @savetheBWCA. The new song, This Quiet Place, will debut on WTIP’s Roadhouse this Friday evening.

#SaveTheBWCA #Wilderness #BWCA #WeAreTheWild #birthday #ThisQuietPlace

As the days get warmer and summer progresses, Tank prefers relaxing in the shade, but our mostly silent partner is always ready greet out next visitor. If you head out into the Wilderness this summer and see a couple with a large, tan dog, feel free to stop and say hello. You won’t be the first people to paddle up and ask, “Are you Dave and Amy Freeman?” It cracks me up every time it happens and reminds me of the phrase “Doctor Livingston, I presume?” There is a interactive map on the @savethebwca Facebook page that you can use to see where we are and track our progress. As long as we can limit our total group size to 9 people and 4 watercraft, we are happy to visit as long as you want about our #wildernessyear to #savetheBWCA.
Please make sure to sign and share the new petition to the @u.s.forestservice asking them to protect the #boundarywaters from risky sulfide-ore copper mining.
#bwcaw #wildernessyear #BWCA #Wilderness #dog

After traveling hundreds of portages over the last 8+ months, we have really grown to appreciate all the work that goes into maintaining the portage trails that connect this maze of lakes and rivers. This is why we are really excited about the Northwoods Volunteer Connection.

Northwoods Volunteer Connection is a new non-profit organization dedicated to preserving recreation and natural resources on public land in northeastern Minnesota through the work of volunteers. This summer, NVC is partnering with the Superior National Forest to offer volunteer opportunities inside and outside of the BWCAW. They have three, 5-6 day Wilderness projects planned where volunteers will be clearing trails and repairing portages. NVC will provide most of the equipment and tools that volunteers need and the Forest Service will oversee their work.

These are great opportunities for people to experience the Wilderness in a new way and to help preserve it for future generations. They are also organizing shorter volunteer projects throughout the summer including invasive species removal and trail clearing projects. You can find more information on their Facebook page or their website, mnnvc.org. Amy and I are hoping to help repair the boardwalk between Big Moose and Cummings Lake in September, we hope you will learn more about NVC and consider volunteering as well.
#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #Wilderness #volunteer #portage

We are so excited about the announcement the @u.s.forestservice made yesterday. The U.S. Forest Service is “considering withholding consent for lease renewal” of Twin Metals leases. As our Becky Rom at @savethebwca said, “In recognizing the incredible value of the Wilderness and the dangers posed by sulfide-ore copper mining, the Forest Service’s announcement is an important acknowledgement about the need to protect the Boundary Waters.” Please sign the new petition to the Forest Service and urge the Forest Service to deny those leases! Speak up today! Share this with your friends, family, and neighbors and urge them to sign the petition and take action. Thank you!
#WildernessYear #SaveTheBWCA #Wilderness #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #WeAreTheWild

Bearing witness to this iconic Wilderness is a team effort. We are lucky to be working with a passionate network of staff and volunteers at Sustainable Ely and the Campaign to @savethebwca. They are supporting us every step of the way and are helping us amplify our message and the importance of acting now to protect the Boundary Waters from the massive industrial sulfide-ore copper mining zone that is being proposed along the edge of the Wilderness. We use our Delorme InReach to communicate with Levi, our expedition manager, and other members of the team. The next time you are in the Ely area stop by Sustainable Ely, say hello to Levi, and learn more about this important issue.
In the meantime visit http://ift.tt/1x2erSX: sign the petition, donate, and help us protect this national treasure. Now is the time to act, the Wilderness needs your help.

#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #BoundaryWaters #BWCA @MTIAdventurewear

We have explored 307 lakes and waterways during the first 259 days of our #wildernessyear to @savetheBWCA. You can help us protect this national treasure by signing the petition at http://ift.tt/1x2erSX, and sharing our journey– and the threats that proposed sulfide-ore copper mines bring to the Wilderness– with your community.
Our clothing and equipment have taken a beating, but continue to keep us warm, dry, happy, rested and fed most of the time. After nearly 10 days of muddy portages and cold, windy, wet weather today’s sunshine provided the perfect opportunity to patch our rain gear!

@patagonia #wornwear #wilderness #patagonia #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #savetheBWCA

Seven of the lakes we visited today were new lakes, bringing our total count to 322 unique lakes, rivers, and streams visited during the first 261 days of our #wildernessyear to #savetheBWCA. Please sign the petition at http://ift.tt/1x2erSX and help us protect this national treasure.
Sulfide-ore copper mines like the ones being proposed along the edge of the Wilderness have a horrible record of leaving pollution and struggling communities in their wake. These pristine lakes and river are the lifeblood of the Wilderness and our economy. They are just too precious to risk and now is the time to act. Please donate to @savetheBWCA, sign the petition, contact your elected officials, and speak loudly for this quite place.

We went swimming during our lunch break today on West Fern Lake. The cool, clear water was warm enough to actually enjoy swimming for the first time since early October. Amy and I floated for several minutes letting our skin soak in the glorious water and then sprawled out on a sun-soaked slab of smooth bedrock to dry off and each lunch. It feels like summer has crept up on us. The portage trails are dotted with wildflowers and everything is vibrant and green.
After traveling 16 miles through 11 lakes, we are enjoying breeze that keeps the bugs away and watching the light slowly change as the sun inches towards the western horizon. We released all the lake trout we caught today so we are having @patagoniaprovisions salmon with our pasta for dinner.

#Wilderness #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #flowers #wildflowers