Freeman Explore

  • Buy our Book!
  • A Year in the Wilderness
    • Bear Witness (Short Film)
    • Read the Book!
  • About
    • Videos
    • Media Resources
    • Media Archives
  • Education
  • Speaking
    • Speaking Resume
    • Testimonials
  • Expeditions
You are here: Home / Updates / July 06, 2016 at 07:57PM

July 06, 2016 at 07:57PM

July 7, 2016 By Dave Freeman

Well fortified by the 4th of July brats, yogurt, fruit, and other treats that Cindy Lou and the crew from Sawbill brought us, we packed up camp on Alton and headed north. The bog between Kelso and Lujenida is one of my favorite places in the Wilderness. An hour’s journey from the Sawbill entry point, you enter another world filled with pitcher plants, irises, tamaracks, and a menagerie of life thriving in the floating bog. Smooth granite outcrops offer pleasant places to stop and even on the busiest summer day it is easy to find solitude here.

I bet I have paddled through this bog 100 times over the last 25 years, yet there is always something new awaiting me there. One interesting feature near the north end of the creek is commonly referred to as the dolmen. This larger rock is balanced on three smaller rocks on a lump of granite in the middle of the bog. No one knows for sure how the it was created, but some theorize that it is a dolmen, made by ancient people from Europe. Others think it was constructed by the men working for the CCC that built the Kelso Mountain fire tower, or perhaps it’s a geologic anomaly left by the receding glaciers. Regardless of how it came to be, it is an interesting spot to stop and ponder this massive rock perched in such an unusual way.

After visiting the dolmen for a few minutes, we set our sights on the Lujenida Portage. This 1.5 mile trail weeds out most Wilderness travelers.
We have been on a steady diet of an unusual kind lately and we were excited to be able to single portage for the first time in a long time. Our “diet” has consisted of sending out as many unnecessary items as possible. Over time it is too easy to accumulate extra odds and ends.
The Boundary Waters belong to all of us and it is imperative that we all speak loudly for this quite place to ensure its protection. Sulfide-ore copper mines like Twin Metals are considered by the EPA to be the nation’s most polluting industry. This place is just too precious to risk and now is the time to act. Please visit http://ift.tt/1x2erSX and take action today.

#wilderness #wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #onlyinMN #CaptureMN #getoutstayout

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: Updates Tagged With: instagram

Comments

  1. Doug Wilkowske says

    July 22, 2016 at 10:25 pm

    Thanks for adding this to your blog! My sons and I (Doug, age 73, from Willmar, MN) just returned from a short but sweet 4 days in the BWCA where one of our goals was to find and inspect the dolman. My take on this rock phenom agreed with a Sawbill Outfitter staff member’s opinion that it could have been lifted from the surface of the bedrock by a Civil Conservation Corps crew in the 1930’s. My son the geologist believed it could go either way depending on how the glaciers left it sitting on erosion-able material. My second son, the opera singer said “Wow”! ๐Ÿ™‚ In any case it provided a great activity after we set up camp at the north end of Kelso Lake.

Order our Book!

Recent Posts

April 29,...

April 29th, 2018

Wow! What a day! We started the day with a presentation at Westminster Church in Minneapolis, and th[...]

April 28,...

April 28th, 2018

Join us Monday April 30th for a live streaming Q and A through Kickstarter Live! We look forward to [...]

April 27,...

April 27th, 2018

Happy Friday! We have just ONE WEEK to go on our #PedaltoDC @Kickstarter. Join us in speaking loudly[...]

April 26,...

April 26th, 2018

As we pedaled down the last few miles of the Munger Trail today and then worked our way south on old[...]

April 26,...

April 26th, 2018

We are making a quick stop at the Post Office in Hinkley to sign and mail a book that someone reques[...]

Archives

  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • April 2015
  • December 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014

Contact Us

Do you have questions or comments? Perhaps you would like to join us on a wilderness adventure, or have us speak at your business, school, or event.

Contact us!

Connect with the us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
image

Copyright 2014 Freemans Explore ยท Log in