Boundary Waters Reflection: Our 2018 Trip

Are you planning a Boundary Waters trip this summer? Or at least thinking about it? An experience in the Boundary Waters is like none other. We are so blessed with the beauty of the wilderness and all it has to offer. I hope that by reading this trip report you will be inspired to plan your own trip! We document our journey in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWACW) during the summer of 2018. It was our second time in the Boundary Waters and a memorable one! If you followed our first experience in the Boundary Waters from 2017, it was a steep itinerary for first-timers to the BWCAW. Our 2018 trip was more laid back but still full of plenty of adventures, portages, paddling, and fresh fish!

We decided to take an easier approach in 2018, which included only 6 total portages and roughly 25 miles of paddling round trip. Our route was inspired by the planning guide book Exploring the Boundary Waters by Daniel Pauly. We highly recommend this guide book as it outlines detailed descriptions for a variety of levels; whether you are a first-timer or experienced paddler, this book will be beneficial to your planning.

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Since it’s a far drive from the Twin Cities, we spent the night before entering the BWCAW camping on the Superior Hiking Trail near Bally Creek Road just outside of Grand Marais. This made it an easy drive to get our permit Saturday morning at the Gunflint Ranger Station. There are plenty of outfitters if you prefer to sleep in a bunkhouse the night before. We opted to camp on the Superior Hiking Trail because it is a free night stay and adds to the adventure. The Bally Creek sites are a short hike in from the trailhead. With just 2 of us, it’s easy but for bigger groups, we’d recommend a bunkhouse.

Our route began at entry point 58, South Lake. To get there, we had to paddle across a couple of lakes on the outskirts of the BWCAW starting with Gunflint Lake. It is a large lake with choppy waters on the Candian border and took us nearly 2.5 hours to paddle across. Be prepared for large rolling waves as you paddle. Sarah was exhausted after just an hour of paddling, but if we stopped, the headwind would blow us back to where we came from. In addition, if we stopped, our canoe would be spun parallel to the waves, greatly increasing the chance of a capsized canoe.  No matter how exhausted we were, the safe and obvious choice was to keep paddling forward along the shoreline. The Boundary Waters can give us many life lessons; one being that all experiences in life are temporary. I was reminded of this lesson as we paddled across Gunflint Lake.

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I was happy when we got to Little Gunflint and Little North Lakes because these were much calmer and more shallow waters. After paddling the waves, it was rejuvenating to paddle in shallow waters where you can see the bottom, with lily pads scattered amongst the glass-like lake and fish swimming under your canoe. Portaging from Little Gunflint Lake to Little North Lake was easily avoidable by pulling our canoe up a channel. It was a nice stretch for our legs to get out of the canoe and walk through the shallow rapids. We then paddled through Little North Lake into North Lake. After we left North Lake, we were brought to our first portage, 80 rods, which was was the official entry point of the Boundary Waters and led us to South Lake.

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Our first night’s camp was on South Lake. Our first impression of this campsite left an uneasy feeling as there were trees knocked over all around, making it clear that a storm had knocked them over at some point. It was also overgrown, which meant the campsite isn’t touched by people too often. We had the lake to ourselves it seemed. We were so exhausted that after we set up camp and made our brats for dinner, we were in the tent sleeping by 6:30 PM.

Sunday we woke up and hit the lakes for an easier paddling day to Rose Lake. We had to take a 65-rod portage connecting South Lake to Rat Lake (video below). The 65-rod portage was muddy… as most portages are in the BWCAW. Take your time on portages like this and stay on the logs and dry path as much as possible, otherwise, you’ll end up in nearly knee-deep mud as I did. From Rat Lake, we took a quick 4-rod portage bringing us to a channel that leads to Rose Lake. For a 4 rod portage, it’s easy to leave all of your stuff in the canoe if it isn’t too heavy and carry it over with 2 people, avoiding carrying the canoe over the shoulders. There was one campsite located on this portage, which would be a perfect camping spot as a “halfway” point in this trip if you wanted to stretch your trip out longer.

We made it to Rose Lake campsite by 12:30 PM and set up our base camp for the next two nights. Having a base camp for 2 nights made it more relaxing compared to our trip last year which we took camp down and paddled to a new campsite each night. Having a base camp also allows you to be able to take day trips and paddle to other lakes without having to portage with all of your belongings.

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We were able to chill for the rest of the day and take in the vast wilderness meditating to the sounds of nature. We also had fun trying out some of our near camping gear including the Platypus water filter and camp stove.

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Monday was another day to take it easy and enjoy some hiking along the Border Route Trail. From our campsite on Rose Lake, we paddled to the nearby Stairway Portage which connected us to the Border Route Trail. We left our canoe at the beginning of the portage and were able to take an easy hike with just our day pack. The Stairway Portage is exactly as it sounds, steep stairs connecting you between Rose and Duncan lakes. We passed one couple along the stairway portage with their canoe overhead and I can only imagine the extra balance it takes to carry the canoe while walking down (or up) a flight of steps. After hiking up the stairs, you are connected to the Border Route Trail which overlooks the Boundary Waters with Canada in the distance. Vast wilderness in its most natural form creating a perfect snack spot to ponder upon all of life and its beings. As we rested upon the cliff, there was one canoe that paddled across Rose Lake below and it looked so tiny amongst such an open body of water. We, as humans, are something so small in a world that is so big and full of exploration – paddle on!

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There are many gifts that the Boundary Waters gives us, one of them being the night sky. It was a perfectly clear night for stargazing and listening to all of the wildlife speaking to one another and calling out their goodnights. The night sky and sounds of the Boundary Waters are a magical experience that I wish for all people to have the experience of in their lifetime. We took a sunset paddle onto the glass-like lake. This paddle was the most peaceful paddle of the trip as the calmness of the lake brings on its own unique experience. As dusk fell over the sky, beavers swam across the lake and loons dove for fish underneath and called out goodnight with their calls. We watched the eagles soar above us looking for fish in the water beneath them. The sound of Andy’s fishing rod casting into the lake made for a perfect soundtrack to the BWCAW experience.

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Any experienced paddler to the BWCAW will tell you to paddle early. This is true and was proven to us when we began our paddle at 5:45 AM on Tuesday morning. The lake was still like glass from the night before and we must have been moving at double the speed compared to the couple days before in the waves and wind. We went a total of 12 miles on Tuesday to Gunflint Lake. At the end of the paddling day, I felt like I could paddle more. We both felt much stronger compared to our first day. We took our time paddling to our campsite and stopped along the shorelines to cast the fishing rod, make coffee, check out the historic train tracks, and take in the last full day’s experience. Andy caught a handful of what he called “fish sticks” near the stream.

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This was our first trip where we were really strict about our food portions and rationed an exact amount of snacks and meals each day. We didn’t allow any extra food to be taken with us, which we wouldn’t recommend, especially if traveling in large groups/with children. You should always pack an extra 1-2 days worth of food just in case you are stuck at camp due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances! Typically I always pack extra snacks and meals. Why did we do this? We wanted the challenge and we wanted to prove to ourselves it was possible for your body to burn energy from minimal amounts of food. By the last night of camping, all we had left was one pack of rice, a handful of beef jerky, 2 protein bars, and 2 bags of nuts. Andy and I had lots of conversation around the topic of food rations and how we live so differently at home. Like many in our culture, we shop at Costco and buy in bulk, our fridge is always well stocked with produce and we graze on food throughout the day. We live a very comfortable lifestyle when it comes to food. But this trip was a reminder of the life lesson to us that we can live more simply through experiences and on less. In our Middle America culture, we are so food-centered and there are so many options, conveniences, and abundance. But what if we took that center away and focused on the experiences around us rather than the food pleasure we unknowingly seek? How would that change the experience? It reminded us of patience and the importance of simply being in the moment with one another and of course self-discipline. It was a reminder to eat with intention and purpose.

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We made camp on Gunflint Lake, which is outside of the BWCAW limits. This meant from our campsite we could see the cabins, lake homes, and resorts along the shorelines. I suppose it was our way of “easing” back into civilization and society. We couldn’t help but think about what our following weekend would entail at a lake cabin with family/friends. The final paddle back on Gunflint Lake was even more challenging than the first day. Once again, the wind was against us and waves were rolling in full force. The front of the canoe had a constant up and down bounce from each wave passing by. The paddle took 2.5 hours and was a total of 6.2 miles. As we got closer to the landing on the other side of Gunflint Lake, the waves started to calm a bit and we were able to paddle quicker. We had a mug of hot coffee brewed that morning with us on the canoe but we couldn’t stop paddling to enjoy a sip. We were back at the car around 10:30 AM and a sip of coffee never tasted so well deserved.

What adventures are you looking forward to this summer? If you need some tips on packing, check out our packing lists, and get your adventure started! Want to send your kids to a Boundary Waters camp this summer? We recommend listening to our recent podcast with Ashley and Dan Bredumus who are the directors of Birchwood Wilderness Camp, a camp that brings youth boys into the BWCAW!

Peace, love, and hike thru life!