We worked our way up a small rapid along the Basswood River shortly after leaving our campsite yesterday morning. After another mile we unloaded our canoe and prepared for the mile long portage around a series of rapids and falls flowing out of Basswood Lake. As we prepared to leave, a energetic man bounded down the portage trail with a aluminum canoe on his shoulders. Soon more men appeared at the end of the portage. We recognized one of their leaders and realized it was a group from the Voyageur Outward Bound School. We visited for a minute as we adjusted our pack straps and then said goodbye.
When we reached the other end of the portage a voice called from a canoe that was just landing on the portage. It was Steve Johnson, arguably the most experienced canoeing guide in the Boundary Waters. Amy and I are spending a year out here. I bet Steve is approaching 10 years the Wilderness over the last 30 plus years.
After visiting for a few minutes we turned to walk a mile back across the portage trail to pick up our second load. After 20 feet we met three men from the Voyageur Outward Bound group. They had carried our packs across the portage for us. After thanking them profusely we loaded our canoe and headed out across Basswood’s calm, vast expanse. Later I realized that the group of men were probably military veterans, now I wish I would have thanked them for their service, not just for carrying our packs.
Outward Bound brings several thousand people, including many veterans, into the Wilderness every year from their base, which located in the middle of the area where Twin Metals is proposing to build a mine along the edge of the Wilderness.
The staff and instructors at Voyageur Outward Bound, canoe guides like Steve Johnson, and all of the people they expose to the Wilderness are a critical part of our local economy. This encounter on the portage reminded us that it’s not just the water flowing past us on the Basswood River that is threatened by sulfide-ore copper mining, it’s our jobs and our way of life that are at risk.
When we reached the other end of the portage a voice called from a canoe that was just landing on the portage. It was Steve Johnson, arguably the most experienced canoeing guide in the Boundary Waters. Amy and I are spending a year out here. I bet Steve is approaching 10 years the Wilderness over the last 30 plus years.
After visiting for a few minutes we turned to walk a mile back across the portage trail to pick up our second load. After 20 feet we met three men from the Voyageur Outward Bound group. They had carried our packs across the portage for us. After thanking them profusely we loaded our canoe and headed out across Basswood’s calm, vast expanse. Later I realized that the group of men were probably military veterans, now I wish I would have thanked them for their service, not just for carrying our packs.
Outward Bound brings several thousand people, including many veterans, into the Wilderness every year from their base, which located in the middle of the area where Twin Metals is proposing to build a mine along the edge of the Wilderness.
The staff and instructors at Voyageur Outward Bound, canoe guides like Steve Johnson, and all of the people they expose to the Wilderness are a critical part of our local economy. This encounter on the portage reminded us that it’s not just the water flowing past us on the Basswood River that is threatened by sulfide-ore copper mining, it’s our jobs and our way of life that are at risk.
Please visit http://ift.tt/1x2erSX and take action today. #wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #BWCA #canoe #getoutstayout
