Outfitting Canoe Trip Adventures for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico Provincial Park
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Season's Greetings!
Another year has slipped by and I wonder where the days went. Last year went so quickly I didn't even have time to do my annual Christmas letter. With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas approaching rapidly my thoughts drift off to things I am thankful for… Abby is a thriving 6-year old Kindergarten student this year. She hops on the bus at 6:28 AM and travels the 56 mile, 90 minute bus ride to Grand Marais each morning. She is doing terrific in school and the teacher and her classmates seem to really enjoy her. She kept busy this summer and fall playing t-ball, soccer, and practicing ice skating in town. She really enjoyed summer and having a "staff" to hang out with. Her days were spent swimming, hiking, picking berries, canoeing, fishing and riding her bike. She also earned some money with a lemonade stand on a couple of our busier days. She is a thoughtful and caring child and demonstrated this recently when I told her we weren't going to have kids bring birthday presents to her birthday party. She asked why and I explained that not everyone can afford to buy gifts and wouldn't she rather every one is able to come even if she didn't get presents? After a long pause she replied, "Mom, maybe I can bring some of my toys and give them to the kids who can't afford their own." Josh is an active 4-year old Pre-School student in Grand Marais. We drive him to town on Mondays and Thursdays where he spends the afternoons with his buddies. Having Abby gone at school all day hasn't bothered him and he seems to really enjoy having the run of the house and all of the toys. He loves to play, can ride a bike without training wheels, and runs faster barefoot than his sister can with shoes on! He is a giving child who is always willing to share his possessions as well as his affection. Mike is the businessman of the family and still enjoys owning and operating Voyageur as well as taking on other entrepreneurial pursuits. He is currently the President of the Professional Paddlesport Association and has kept busy attending meetings, conferences, and classes all over the United States. He is still an active member of the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department and even took the time to coach Abby's T-Ball team this summer. He has somehow learned, over the years, to take care of almost all things necessary to run a resort. He can fix a Kevlar canoe, tile a floor, build whatever needs to be built, manage employees, pay taxes, do a million other things and still be a great dad and husband. My sister Angela and her family are all doing well in Sauk Rapids, MN. I have two wonderful nieces who are growing up way too quickly and who have less and less time to spend with their Aunt. We did get to spend time together in Minot, ND this October. The dads went hunting for ducks and geese and we got to stay at a hotel that was connected to a mall and had an indoor water park. Mike's family is adjusting to having Scott in South Korea for a year of duty in the US Air Force. Steve and Jessie are both still in the Twin Cities and the kids like to go there to visit. On recent visits Josh got to go to a Gopher football game and Abby got to go to the Minnesota Zoo. It's always nice for the kids to have special time with their Aunts and Uncles. Mike's parents are still busy with their Insurance Agency but do get time to enjoy their cabin at the end of the Trail. Abby and Josh love it when Grandma and Grandpa are up here because then they can hang out over at their cabin eating smoothies and who knows what else. Dad and Marge are keeping as busy as ever with pool, bowling, church, and family. They did get to spend a few days with Abby and Josh this October and even saw Abby's Thanksgiving play at school. We don't get to see as much of them as we would like but that makes our time together even more special. We have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit with a lot of our extended family over the past year. We love our Aunts, Uncles and Cousins dearly but there just isn't enough time to spend with them. We have been blessed with some great friends during our life and we really appreciate having them in our lives. We have grown to appreciate them even more over this past year. A good friend of mine Alison, who also used to work for us, suffered a stroke this summer. She is recovering and is doing ok now, but when a 29 year-old has a stroke it makes you think. Don, our friend and manager at Voyageur, suffered an aneurysm in September. He spent 14 days in intensive care in Eau Claire, Wisconsin but is now home and is experiencing a remarkable recovery. We were lucky this summer to escape our 2nd forest fire during our time at Voyageur. This one was just as stressful as the first one but with the help and support of neighbors and friends we made it through it fine. We did have to say good-bye to a few of our furry friends this year. Our cats Agila and Heshe, and our female dog Ambri have all moved on to pet heaven. We still have Lanie, our cat, and Jasper, our dog. We (Sue, Abby, & Josh) are thinking about expanding the furry family but the jury (Mike) is still out on that. I have been keeping busy as usual. I have become a pretty good juggler of activities including my role in Voyageur, the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department, Gunflint Trail Association Past-President, Early Childhood Family Education Committee, soccer coach, and member of the Dork Softball team. My most important role as a mom is of course the most challenging of all. It is of course the most rewarding as well. The family and I are all anxiously waiting for the snow to pile up so we can get out and cross-country ski, snowshoe, snowmobile, ice fish, and enjoy winter. We all enjoyed our big road trip last fall and are excited about going to Mexico this January. We will spend a few days in St. Cloud for Christmas and then come back to the Trail to celebrate some more. We love our life at the end of the Gunflint Trail and feel very fortunate to live here. During this holiday season and throughout the New Year we wish you and your loved ones continued health and all of the happiness your heart can hold. Mike, Sue, Abby, and Josh Holiday Photos Holiday letter in .doc Be a guest of Voyageur! We have plenty of openings available for canoe trips, and in our cabins. Ask about our last minute "deals." We would love to see you up here! Our Lives Began at the End of the Gunflint Trail Blackstone Lake in the Quetico Park A Luxurious Camping Trip Paddle? We just had a baby! 4th of July Storm New Arrival November 10, 1999 |
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Our Lives Began at the end of the Gunflint Trail Blackstone Lake in the Quetico Park We started our trip to Blackstone Lake right from our dock. We were dropped off by towboat at Hook Island and headed to the Quetico Park. After checking in with the ranger and purchasing our overnight camping permits we paddled to Silver Falls. We portaged across Silver Falls, Mike carrying the canoe and a pack and Sue carrying a pack and paddles. The Silver Falls portage is a long, 125 rod, somewhat challenging, beautiful portage with awesome views so be sure to take the time to look! A swim at the end of the portage is a good reward to look forward to. Onward we went toward our destination of Blackstone Lake. We took the creek path to get into Blackstone. It was a beautiful paddle through narrow waters and over beaver dams. We saw a cow moose and to our surprise a buck deer! This was quite rare to see a deer that far north so we took our time paddling closer to him while he was drinking from the creek. We made it into Blackstone and headed for a campsite. We chose a beautiful site and had the lake all to ourselves, what a treat! We had a great time camping in Blackstone. We explored the other portages, tried our luck at fishing, paddled around the perimeter of the lake and relaxed at our campsite. We didn't see any other groups while camped there and this was in July! It was extremely hot during our trip, so a lot of time was spent in the water cooling off. Lying in the hammock, listening to the loons and breathing in the fresh air; the joy of a canoe camping trip. We took the portage route out of Blackstone Lake and headed back towards Silver Falls. It was a bit more exhausting travel, but we just took more breaks. The creek route in was more of a tedious time consuming route, with pulling over beaver dams and pushing through shallow waters whereas the portage route required more endurance. We lunched on a rock and took dips to cool off after portaging. This too was a gorgeous route to paddle out of the Quetico Park. Blackstone is a great lake to set up a base camp in and do some fishing. It usually requires a full day of travel on each end of the trip to get in and out with the use of the tow boat service. If you choose to paddle from our dock, then plan an extra half of a day for each way. If you're looking for a good 5-6 day base camp trip in the Quetico, then try out Blackstone Lake this summer. Top |
A Luxurious Camping Trip There is a difference between staying in a Motel 6 and a Marriott Suites. This difference is similar to a canoe camping trip in comparison to a boat and motor trip. As avid canoers we had never taken a boat and motor camping trip up here. With Abby being only 8 months old this July, we decided we would try it, just so we could get out into the woods. Boy, were we pleasantly surprised with our boat and motor adventure. We motored across Saganaga to the Northern Light Portage, a flat 20-rod, easy, portage. We were smart and brought a surrogate Grandma Darlene with us to help with Abby during our camping trip. She kept Abby busy while Mike and I hauled things across the portage. Luxury items such as a screened in tent, camp chairs, and even a cooler with ice! Then the necessities, motor, gas, food and other camping supplies. We managed to get it all into the boat we have stored in Northern Light Lake and shoved off for our campsite. Mike and Darlene had fished Northern Light Lake a number of times, so they knew where we were headed, Abby and I were just along for the ride! We pulled up to a beautiful island campsite and started to make camp. The amenities we had with us would have made living at this campsite a breeze. The campsite turned out to be magnificent. Our screened in tent housed our portable dining table and chairs, which also doubled as our card table. We could eat and relax in comfort without the bugs bothering us. Our meals were terrific, since we had ice along we could feast on great, fresh food and ice cold drinks. Mike and I ventured off to find some fish for dinner one night while Grandma and Abby held down the fort! We were only anchored for a few minutes when the walleye started biting. We were catching fish left and right and then we heard a splash in the distance. A moose had wandered down to shore to get a bite to eat herself. We watched her and kept catching fish until our marine radio filled our ears with Abby's cries. It was time to head back to camp. We were out for less than an hour but had a great time catching fish and watching the moose. We went exploring the big body of water one day. It was a rainy, windy, and cold day, so Abby and Grandma stayed at camp. We checked out campsites, found the pictographs and explored the lake. It was a quiet day and we hardly saw any other boats even closer to where the resort and cabins were, about a 45-minute boat ride from our campsite. We were sad to be packing up camp on our last day. The weather was of course beautiful with the sun shining in our faces as we headed home. |
Paddle? We just had a baby As an outfitter we hear lots of reasons why people are not taking a canoe trip this year. One we hear quite often is that, "we just had a baby." Well we had a baby last November and did not want this to keep us from taking a canoe trip this season. We thought Abigail would enjoy herself and it turned out to be an awesome experience for all of us. Although taking an infant on a trip may not be for everyone there are a few things that can make the experience easier. Here are some things we did to paddle with Abby.
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Voyageur Canoe Outfitters Welcome the Newest Voyageur to Their Crew!
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4th of July Storm
On July 4th 1999 a straight-line windstorm blew through the center of the BWCA downing many trees in its path. This storm is believed to be the worst in 1000 years. Many of our guests were out to witness this spectacular show of mother nature. There were no casualties an the BWCA and Voyageur and it's guests didn't even have any injuries. Some groups came off of the water in the next 24 hours not knowing if they should continue on or come back. Others had the idea they were in the wilderness and this is what it is all about and continued their voyage. Within weeks the Forest Service crews cleared nearly all of the portages and the campsites so that the canoeists could continue to use the wilderness. About 2/3rds of the BWCA suffered little or no damage and the Quetico was unaffected. The windstorm is part of what the idea of what wilderness is all about and will provide some new opportunities. This may start the regeneration of the aspen-conifer forest and may benefit species such as grouse, deer, and moose. The addition of prey will also help it's predators like the timber wolf. There are also some new vista which otherwise were blocked by dense trees. The downed, dying timber has created a more likely prospect of forest fires. To reduce the fuels outside of the BWCA the forest Service is removing it by logging, work contracts, and prescribed burns. Inside the wilderness it will be left to nature to decide. There is always potential for fire in the BWCA. We have been here for 7 years and have experienced 2 fires. The blow down increased the fire potential therefore the Forest Service is taking steps to educate the users of the BWCA on how to help prevent forest fires as well as what to do if you are on a trip when one is burning. We may see more fire restrictions like no open fires (cook stoves only) or certain times you can have fires (6pm to midnight) when conditions get dry. People come to the BWCA to have a wilderness experience. There are certain inherent risks taken when camping in the wilderness. Forest fires have been a part of this area for thousands of years and will be for thousands more. If you have any questions or concerns then please call us to discuss them. We look forward to hearing from you. Join us this summer to expedience the forever-changing wilderness of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. |
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