Canoeing the Northern Tier
Thursday, August 13th, 2009“This is lame,” Nathan grumbled as he stumbled from the comfort of his cabin at the Boy Scout Northern Tier high adventure base camp in Ely, MN.
Down at the lake, ten strangers wordlessly outfitted their canoes until Nathan gingerly stepped into his to confirm it wouldn’t tip. As suavely as a 16-year-old can muster at 5:00 a.m., Nathan shifted his weight to the one foot in the canoe.
An unexpected expletive escaped when his foot slipped. His long legs seemed to bicycle the air as his head hit the sand three feet below Moose Lake’s cold surface. Thoughts ranged from ”I’ll never forgive my parents for ruining my summer like this” to “My summer is ruined!” Wasn’t it enough that I agreed to go to Philmont with the troop last month? Wasn’t that enough?
Nathan’s blazing eyes shot out of the water to warn, “Don’t say a word!” One of the Scouts subtly turned his head to hide a smile. Total silence followed until the guide said, “Don’t swear on this trip; or you’d better have a good reason.” After a few seconds he said, “Good enough.”
Uproarious laughter began weaving the tie of brotherhood that firmly bound these Order of the Arrow (OA) members by the time they returned to base camp two weeks later.
Nathan was among 70 Scouts that OA—the Boy Scouts’ service arm into which troops elect Scouts—invited on a voyage through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), located in the northern third of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota.
The BWCAW is comprised of nearly 1.3 million acres that extend about 150 miles along the international boundary between Canada and the USA. The park boasts 1,200 miles of canoe routes, 15 hiking trails and a couple hundred unparalleled campsites. It was set aside in 1926 to preserve its primitive character and made a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1964. Visitors can canoe, portage and camp in the spirit of the French voyagers of 200 years ago.
“That first day, we paddled a long time until we got to where we all hoped was the end,” remembered Nathan. “The guides showed us how to portage over 850 pounds of canoes and gear for the next mile and a half, and we couldn’t believe it when we had to set everything into another lake and paddle for another 30 minutes. I was even madder at my parents when we pulled into a junky looking campsite where we stayed for the next week. That turned out to be a nice site because trees blocked the sun from waking us too early in the mornings. I’m not a morning person.”
These 16- through 18-year-old Scouts spent their first week repairing a 1.5 mile expanse of trail. After paddling, portaging, paddling, and then setting up camp, the young men hiked to the top of the trail they were to repair and pulled out buckets, sledgehammers, and other tools. The guide pointed to a pile of large rocks and said, “You’re going to break up all those rocks over there and cover this trail first with softball-sized pieces, then over that with golf-ball-sized pieces, and finally with pea-sized pieces. Make it half a foot deep.”
The boys were shocked!
Not-so-fond thoughts of his parents provided extra momentum as Nathan forcefully swung a sledgehammer into the middle of one of the largest rocks. He couldn’t believe how much his hands hurt, so he dropped the sledgehammer and shook his hands.
OA crews from around the country each year make a lasting difference in the BWCAW by repairing sections of trail damaged by rain and snow during the winter. They earn the trek of a lifetime by checking dams, water bars, turnpikes, or making gravel like Nathan’s crew did. While laying down the gravel they make, Scouts learn about preventing erosion. They feel great about themselves and how much they’ve helped others enjoy this beautiful place.
“We finished up exactly on time a week later,” said Nathan proudly. “They rewarded us with a bunch of jalapeno cheese. Then we started our voyage the next day.” He knew he was forever changed.
The crew portaged between 57 lakes and paddled over 100 miles during the next week. Memorable sites included the Otter Track near Canada, where the boys caught largemouth bass they cooked for dinner. They learned about the Root Beer Lady, who lived for 57 years on Knife Lake serving her delicious root beer to thousands of travelers each year. They enjoyed the water and scenery and even spent time learning to pause in silence to enjoy nature.
“My crew and I started out as strangers,” said Nathan. “The trek made us feel like brothers.” We went lots of places, did lots of stuff, did some work to help out the Forest Service and shared some great campfire stories.”
The trip transformed him.
Nathan enjoys sharing travel adventures with friends and family at http://www.discounttravelhangout.com and would love to hear about your adventures too.