A Boundary Waters Blog

End of the blog

2007-03-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

The spambots overran things, so after deleting their hard work, I thought I'd do a little spamming of my own.

For more information on the Boundary Waters, please see:

BWCAWiki.org
Wikipedia

Some great photos can be found at:

Flickr.com

Fall is fine

2005-10-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

Doug Mell of the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram writes an AP article on the solitude found paddling the Boundary Waters in the autumn:

It is hard to describe what it feels like to be on enormous lakes, hundreds and hundreds of acres, with bluffs rising right from the shoreline, and know that you have that lake to yourself.

Building of bear center begun

2005-10-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

Groundbreaking on the North American Bear Center took place last week in Ely:

The North American Bear Center will be built in phases and consist of indoor and outdoor exhibits, a bear enclosure and viewing area, interpretive nature trails and a mini-theater, among other features.

Previous post here.

A voyageur journey

2005-10-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a write-up of a voyageur-esque trip along the Border Route, from Rainy Lake in the west to Grand Portage and Lake Superior in the east:

The storm was short-lived and gave way to a spectacular reddish glow in the east and west. A rainbow emerged from the rosy aura over the pines, and wild, cloud-to-cloud lightning fractured the sky. As the stormy evening subsided to dusk, the sonic buzz of the mosquitoes began and the haunting, melancholy call of the loons served as an apt benediction to the day.

A friend and I made a similar trip several years ago, although we went the other direction and ended further west (Kenora, Ontario, at the far end of Lake of the Woods). It was amazing covering so much ground in a canoe, paddling every day for weeks. By the time we reached the end of our planned route, I felt like paddling until the water froze, heading further north and west, up towards Lake Athabasca or Hudson Bay, perhaps.

Coming soon to a lake near you(r wilderness area)

2005-10-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

From the Star Tribune:

Peterson is just one of a growing number of land buyers descending on the north woods; they're streaming into the area from all over the Midwest and from as far away as Maine. The market is hot. Developable land is growing scarce. Prices are rising.

"Developers see what's happening and want to get that land and make that dough," said sales agent Gary Roderick of Bear Island Land Co. in Ely.

I'd rather be swimming

2005-10-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

The warm weather earlier this summer had heated up the lakes in the Boundary Waters enough that by the time we arrived in late July, they felt downright comfortable. My memories of the water temperatures up there come from my summers working at a camp, where we would show up in early June and scream every time we jumped into those cold, cold lakes. But not '05 -- we swam every day, just jumped out of the canoes at the end of portages, in the middle of lakes, before dinner, whenever we felt the urge. We practically swam the length of French Lake as a breeze pushed our canoes to the far portage for us. And the lunch break on the ledge on the Canadian side of Knife Lake, where the bright summer sun illuminated the lake, showing us the bedrock drop-off sinking into the depths, inviting us to dive off and away.

There is something about swimming in the middle of an enormous lake, by yourself, with hundreds of feet of water below your toes. It's almost like floating in space.

Mother Nature runs rampant!

2005-10-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

News today regarding the Bush Administration's controversial roadless rule change. A group of environmental organizations have sued the government, claiming a failure to study the environmental impact of the decision to allow road-building, logging, and development in non-wilderness U.S. Forest Service lands.

"These are the last wild areas of North America, and there is overwhelming public support for their protection from development,'' said Kristen Boyles, a staff attorney for Oakland-based Earthjustice, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs.

[...]

''If we let Mother Nature run rampant, we're going to get these 100,000-acre fires, and it will take centuries for those areas to recover,'' [Chris] West [vice president of the American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry group] said.

What about West's claims that those 100,000-acre wildfires could be prevented with roads and logging? Not quite. Consider the 138,000-acre Hayman fire of Colorado (2002):

Significantly, the only fuel modification deemed to have "stopped" the fire was recent fire (rather than thinning).

And we all know that Yellowstone will take centuries to recover from the fires of 1988.

62,000 acres of roadless areas are located in Minnesota, most near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. There was a similar lawsuit filed in September by three states' attorneys general.

Fancy travel-writin'

2005-10-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

About the Gunflint Trail from the Quad City Times:

Leaves of the birches fall upon us like golden coins. The wild red of mountain ash berries is everywhere this autumn, ferns are green and wild aster still put on a show despite a couple killing frosts along Gunflint Trail.

Snow in the BWCA?

2005-10-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

In today's Star Tribune:

No snow is expected in the metro area, she said. But northern Minnesota along the border and as far south as St. Cloud could see some flakes.

The only accumulation will be north, along the international border, she said.

The beginnng of winter? The National Weather Service confirms the forecast for Ely:

Thursday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. Breezy, with a north wind 11 to 14 mph increasing to between 19 and 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low near 26. North wind 18 to 21 mph decreasing to between 5 and 8 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. North wind around 5 mph becoming east.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 24.

Fish tales

2005-10-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

That's a big muskie.

A western perspective

2005-09-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

Having lived in the Western U.S. for the past 8 years, I've become sensitive to perceptions of "West is best". This description of the BWCA from an Oregonian was interesting:

The canoe trip was great. The boundary waters is a different wilderness than anything out west. Lake after lake. 10 days worth. Pretty much every lake was a gem. Piney forest, polished granite shores, loons calling, huge Pike lurking in the inky waters.

Having spent many summers in the BWCA, I know it's special. But it's cool to hear impressions from other people, especially those from out west.

Time for a campfire

2005-09-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

The air's getting colder at night, fall's comin' on. I wish I was sharing a good campfire with some friends, up in the woods. Ah well. We enjoyed it while we had it. Next summer we'll be up there again.

Where to go? I'm curious about the far northeastern BWCA: Mountain, the Pikes, Pine, Clearwater. Or perhaps Lac La Croix? A Tofte entry point? I'd be keen on the Quetico, except for the high cost of permits and the logistical hassle of crossing the border nowadays (apparently US Customs is requiring paperwork now, too).

That's what cold fall evenings are for: remembering trips past while planning the next one.

Trail maintenance

2005-09-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Rovers Outing Club, who built and maintains the Border Route hiking trail, gets written up in the Pioneer Press for their trail clearing trips:

"This is a local trail, and we can keep it open and pay our dues back,'' he says. "It's also a lot of fun, to get out in the woods and hack and smash and throw stuff around. And every once in a while, we'll have some hikers come along, and they're really happy with us.''

Prescribed burn maps

2005-09-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

The new Superior National Forest website has some interesting maps:

completed prescribed burns in the Gunflint Ranger District (400kb jpeg), of which the south Seagull Lake / Magnetic Rock area is by far the largest
all planned prescribed fire treatments in the BWCA (large pdf) -- a suprisingly large amount at a glance, including large areas around Seagull, North/Gunflint, Knife, Kekekabic, and Rose lakes that have yet to be burned
planned fire treatments for 2005 in the eastern (large pdf) and western (850 kb jpeg) BWCA

The folks at Voyageur Canoe Outfitters (who have an interestingly named blog, by the way) mention that fall '05 burning projects have begun.

While I understand that fire had a natural role in the ecosystem of the BWCA before modern fire suppression and the forest will be better off for it (not to mention prevention of a catastrophic "nuclear" fire across all of the Arrowhead region), part of me wonders how significantly fire will delay and change the nature of the forest's recovery from the Blowdown. The blowdown areas I saw this summer (Agamok and Knife come to mind) that had not been burnt were full of exponentially-growing saplings, already 5 - 15' tall. The burnt blowdown around Seagull and Jap lakes had only small (1-2') saplings. It will be very interesting to look at those areas 10, 20, and 50 years from now.

Some light reading

2005-09-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

A few articles I found on the web today:

A Minnesota Public Radio story on the 20th anniversary of the 1978 BWCA Act
A look at the history and future of the BWCA, from the Minnesota DNR's Volunteer magazine
A website about the Rootbeer Lady and the museum dedicated to her in Ely

Foggy Omega

2005-09-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

photo credit: Axis of Dave (cc)

Tree of the month: Abies balsamea

2005-09-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

The balsam fir is the only fir native to the northwoods, firs being identified apart from spruces by their needles. Remember, "firs are friendly, spruces are spiky," and fir needles are generally horizontal whereas spruce needles radiate in all directions from branches. Fun facts from the Compendium:

Can live up to 200 years and mature trees reach 40-90 feet in height
a late-successional, shade-tolerant species that easily establishes beneath existing canopies
susceptible to outbreaks of spruce budworm, which results in 70-100% mortality
one of the most easily-burned species in the northwoods
branches eaten by moose during the winter
may hybridize with subalpine fir in the western part of its range (Alberta, Canadian Rockies)
commonly used as a Christmas tree

Photo time

2005-08-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share another photo from our Boundary Waters trip last month.

We camped at our "meadow" campsite on Knife Lake (it's currently a meadow due to near 100% blowdown on the point), and the next morning we got up early to paddle all the way to Saganaga. The warm water combined with cool air produced some fantastic fog before it burned off in the morning sun.

Bush Administration wants to redefine National Parks

2005-08-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

From the Los Angeles Times comes a report on proposed changes to what land uses and activities are and are not allowed in National Parks, including Voyageurs National Park.

Members of the group said they were particularly concerned about policy changes that would allow snowmobiles to travel over any paved road in any national park in the winter; elevate certain activities already occurring in some parks, such as grazing and mining, to "park purposes" — which would ensure their continuation; and change the acceptable level of air quality from "natural background" to air that has been altered by human presence.

[...]

Since its inception in 1916, the Park Service has been charged with maintaining parks "unimpaired" for future generations to enjoy. According to current policies, when park officials determine an activity may lead to impairment, officials are authorized to ban the activity.

The proposed changes would alter the definition of impairment from "an impact to any park resource or value [that] may constitute an impairment" to one that can be proved to "permanently and irreversibly adversely [affect] a resource or value." Critics say the new definition would set a standard that is impossibly high.

These revisions come from Paul Hoffman, deputy assistant secretary of the Interior within the Bush Administration, who oversees the National Park Service.

Alpine Lake fire -- conclusion

2005-08-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

The fire has been 100% contained, helped by 1-2 inches of rain late last week. I believe the acreage stands at 1335, of which ~300 were intentionally burned as a firebreak.

This episode has gotten me interested in the fire history of the Boundary Waters. In the Sag-Seagull area for example, we've had now the Alpine Lake fire of '05, Sag Corridor fire of '95, and Roy Lake fire of '76. But prior to that? This very interesting article from the Duluth News Tribune tells us of fires in 1864 and 1801:

This month's fire wouldn't even merit an asterisk next to the 1864 fire that burned 400,000 acres in the same area -- the event that established what much of the Boundary Waters forest has looked like ever since. And we won't even talk about the big blaze at the same spot in 1801.

[...]

"That's the most fire-prone area we've found," Frelich said. "Instead of seeing major fires every century or so, that area historically gets them every 50 years or even more often."

I've heard of these old, forest-defining fires, but only as references. The Compendium's Lake Commentaries refer to large historical fires, but I can't find their primary source. I am curious to read The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem, by Miron Heinselman, which allegedly has maps(!), but perhaps there are other sources? Anyone know of any? Scientific journal papers? I haven't been able to find anything online. A new research project!

Caribou moss

2005-08-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Actually a lichen. What the woodland caribou used to eat in the BWCA, when they used to live there.

More info on the species in the Wikipedia.

photo credit: Bien Stephenson (cc)

Alpine Lake fire update 2

2005-08-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

The MNICS has predicted complete containment by August 20, and the size remains at 1335 acres.

There are some interesting canoe's-eye view photos of the fire on Flickr (1 / 2 / 3 / 4).

Backcountry skiing, BWCA-style

2005-08-14T23:49:00.000-07:00

Wow. Steve Piragis makes cross-country skiing across the frozen waterways of the BWCA sound like more thrills than the back-bowls at Vail:

Protected from the ravages of spring sun, north facing bays can be smooth even until noon on a warm day. There’s not enough Os in smooth to describe the feeling. Your skis carve elegant diagonals, leaving ephemeral evidence of your passing. To discover such a bay with pure virgin snow is the best reward of all.

Out on the lake’s wind blown middle, early morning can be dicey at best. There, icy patches offer risk and reward. With a light breeze at your back, you can double pole at outrageous speed. With a fall out there, you’d be better off wearing motorcycle leathers than spandex tights. The sun-eaten surface resembles a billion knife blades all aimed at the first elbow or hip to touch down.

Back to school '06

2005-08-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Last winter, I wondered what a Boundary Waters curriculum would look like. Well, here's at least one course that's for real.

Tree of the month: Thuja occidentalis

2005-08-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

First off, if you haven't yet checked out the Swanson's Boundary Waters Compendium, go check it out. There is just so much stuff in there. From the Compendium, a look at a common BWCA tree, the white cedar:

They can live to be 800 years old, making them the oldest-lived species in the northwoods!
very slow growing
prefer moist sites along creeks and lakeshores
wood resistant to decay, but susceptible to fire
foliage rich in vitamin C, was used to treat scurvy
fallen trees with functional roots are able to change growth direction as well as send new roots down at contact with the ground (called layering).

The Amazing Peanut Butter Rescue™

2005-08-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Did I ever tell ya 'bout the time we nearly lost the peanut butter? Hold on, let me get a beer...

...so there we were: day 4 of a 7-day canoe trip deep through the Boundary Waters, we're camped on Crooked Lake (that's the one in between Gillis and Mora now, not the larger one out west of Basswood), it's mid-morning, and we've all loosened up with some faux-yoga. Now, we're loose, but we portaged hard the day before, see, and so the coffee's takin' it's sweet time kickin' in. At least for me. So we're packing up camp, getting ready to move on, and there I was, organizing the food pack.

Now, you gotta understand that this campsite was one of those sites perched beautifully above the lake on a bedrock ledge, and this particular site was generally flat but with a 4-foot drop-off down to the water on the lake side. Anyways. So, lunch goes on top, right? So I'm puttin' the pasta into the food pack, I'm puttin' the granola into the food pack. When I get to the lunch stuff, I grab the 2 1/2-pound peanut butter jar. Now, we actually had two of these jars, five whole pounds of PB, and we were still on the first, so this one was full, unopened. Anyways, being less than 100% functional, I drop the jar of peanut butter. It's plastic, so it just bounces. And starts to roll. I go to get it, and it starts rolling faster, away from me, towards the lake. Like I said, I wasn't feeling the coffee, and so in my attempt at catching the pb I just end up following it. And whoops! There it goes, over the edge of the drop off into the water. No biggie, I'll just fish it out with a paddle, I think to myself as I approach the lake and expect to see the jar bobbing in the lake. No jar. Nothing. I stood there for a second, looking at the rock and the water, kind of dumb-founded, until I said something like, "Uh, guys, the peanut butter sank."

The next thing I know, I see a pair of feet above and to my right, practically over my right shoulder. It's this guy on our trip, Sea-bomb, and he's come out of nowhere and is currently diving mid-air into the lake, like a full-on superman dive. My jaw is probably hanging open at this point. He hits the water and is gone, disappeared as quickly as the peanut butter. Now this drop-off, it's just 4 feet from our campsite into the water. But it keeps on going underwater for who knows how long. There are a lot of cliffs in the BWCA that are 20, 30 feet high, and they can just as easily be under water as above it. So there I am, again, simply dumb-founded at the edge of the lake, looking at nothing.

Then, out of the dark depths of the lake, I see something. It's a peanut butter jar, and it's rising straight up at me! It breaks the surface, with Sea-bomb behind it, holding the jar like he was the statue of liberty or something. Or superman. And we had plenty of peanut butter the rest of the trip. Sea-bomb estimated that the peanut butter had been teetering on an underwater ledge about 15 feet below the surface. Good thing at least he was feelin' the coffee that morning.

Alpine Lake fire update

2005-08-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

Now at 1000+ acres, with some success at containment. The Minnesota Incident Command System (MNICS) has a detailed location map and summary.

Apparently it is the largest forest fire in the BWCA since the south side of Saganaga Lake burned in 1995. For those familiar with Seagull Lake and the Seagull River, the old fire-scarred trees (and subsequent regrowth) on the northeast portion of the lake and the west shore of the river resulted from the "Roy Lake" fire of ~~1979~~ 1976.

The Alpine Lake fire was started by lightning on July 30; this was the same day we finished our canoe trip, and we paddled off Saganaga trying to skirt around several large morning thunderstorms. Spooky.

UPDATE: (8/12/05) Corrected year of Roy Lake fire. Alpine Lake fire at approximately 1300 acres, with continued success (26% containment). Also, other nearby areas that have been burned recently include Seagull Lake's Three Mile Island (no, it doesn't have a nuclear reactor on it) which was a prescribed burn in 2002 and the south shore of Seagull (to at least as far as Paulsen Lake, 1.5 miles south), also a controlled burn, in 2003. From the Duluth News Tribune:

Combined with past fires -- including a 1,000-acre intentional fire in 2002 on Three Mile Island, a 4,000-acre fire on the south shore in 2003 and another big fire planned this fall on the lake's south shore -- some residents say much of their beloved lake's shoreline will be charred.

Alpine Lake fire

2005-08-09T10:56:00.000-07:00

500 acres, lightning started, located between Seagull, Alpine, and Grandpa lakes. From the Duluth News Tribune:

The Alpine Lake fire is burning a little more than two miles from the nearest structures, which include cabins, homes, resorts, outfitters and campgrounds at the end of the Gunflint Trail on Saganaga and Seagull Lakes.

[...]

Jim Sanders, supervisor of the Superior National Forest, said a campfire ban may be enacted throughout the blowdown area this week if ample rain doesn't fall soon. Much of the region has gone more than five weeks with below-average rainfall.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a map here. Check Google News for more.

Trippin' '05

2005-08-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

We're back from the Boundary Waters, and I'm back to the internets (for an hour, anyway). What a great trip! Thunderstorms, sun, wind, calm, fog, friends, swimming, fishing, campfires, food, portages, critters, berries, etc.

I'll have more to share next week, including The Amazing Peanut Butter Rescue™, Observations and Reflections from the Blowdown -- Six Years On, and Jap Lake: Revealed!

Dragon boats

2005-07-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

Following in the theme of summer festivals & events, here's one happening two weekends from now, in Grand Marais. Sounds exciting, if not exactly "northwoods-y". There's more on the concept here.

'Gunnel pumping'

2005-07-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

The annual canoe races are on Gunflint Lake tomorrow. I remember hearing about the races back when I went to summer camp on the Gunflint Trail, particularly the "gunnelling". Standing on top of a canoe's gunwhales, a gunneller pumps his legs up and down, which pushes the end of the boat into the water and it squirts forward during the rebound. We used to try our hand with our own boats, and it was pretty fun if you could stay on.

photo credit: Judie Johnson, Cook County News-Herald

Wish you were here

2005-07-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

Ross Lake was amazing! I've never paddled in the mountains like that. The actual paddling could have easily been the Boundary Waters, with brilliantly clear water and rocky shorelines alternating between coniferous forest and bedrock cliffs and ledges. But once the clouds blew out, the peaks surrounding the lake were amazing and may have stole the show for me. The lake is at 1600' elevation, and is surrounded by 8000' - 9000' peaks, still clinging to snow and glaciers at their summits.

The access to the lake was a bit of a challenge, but went well. We put in on Diablo Lake (the reservior below Ross), paddled about 5 miles to the Ross Lake Dam, and to save $50 we portaged around the dam ourselves. It was steep and long, climbing 600' in a mile, but portaging along a gravel road made it much easier. And it wasn't as hard the second time, going downhill. We'll be ready for that 1.6 mile, +220' portage we'll be doing in the Boundary Waters next week!

I've posted more photos from our trip on Flickr, and there are topo maps and air photos of the Ross Lake Dam area on Terraserver (although I like the satellite imagery from Google Maps better). I've also been working on adding more information to the Wikipedia article for Ross Lake (there wasn't one previously).

Now it's time to finalize the menu and double-check the logistics for the Boundary Waters trip... we'll be in Minnesota on Wednesday!

Warm-up trip

2005-07-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

We'll be spending the weekend warming up for our Boundary Waters trip by doing some paddling in the North Cascades. It's not the BWCA, but Ross Lake looks pretty nice in its own right. We'll be doing some mondo portaging, too, to get there (+600', ~1 mi). I'll post a picture or two next week.

Bookshelf III

2005-07-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

I just picked up my own copy of Song of the Paddle the other day, and I am amazed at author Bill Mason's ability to span the gap between old and new. Published in 1988 (my copy anyway), Mason's writing is a refreshing mix of canvas and nylon, wool and neoprene. He's old enough to be an old-timer ("If I could have only one canoe, it would be the original Chestnut wood-canvas 16 ft. Prospector"), but wise enough to recognize the new materials for the advantages they give. The book is worth finding just for the beautiful photos of the Mountain River (NWT, Canada) and various canoes crashing through crazy Canadian whitewater.

I've also been enjoying a pair of old books I found used: Canoeing Western Waterways: The Mountain States and CWW: The Coastal States, by Ann Schafer. Both published 1978, they offer descriptions of nearly every canoeable river and lake in the Western U.S., including the since-obliterated Spirit Lake below the cone of Mt. St. Helens. I really like the Author's overview writing style, favoring general descriptions, historical information, and personal accounts over hydrographs and maps. If I find an intriguing destination in CWW, I'll do further research on the details anyway. No mention of the Boundary Waters, but great for ideas about other destinations despite being 27 years old now.

I've also been reading John McPhee's The Survival of the Bark Canoe, but I don't have much to say about it yet... I hope to re-read some Sigurd Olson while I'm up in the BWCA later this month.

Mosquito resistance tactics

2005-07-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

Now that our BWCA trip is less than 2 weeks away, I've been trying to get mentally prepared for the Great Buzzing Scourge of the North (otherwise known as mosquitos). The following techniques have worked for me at various times in the past:

denial ("Bugs? What bugs?")
machismo ("Bring it on!")
active defense ("My long-sleeved shirt renders me invincible!")
- clothes to cover up skin
- building smoky campfires
- spending as much time as possible underwater
- slathering yourself in mud and hunting the hunter a la "Predator"
- strategic retreat into the tent to regroup
(I won't use DEET -- it's as nasty as the mosquitos)
zen ("The mosquito and I are one.")
- consider the yin & yang of the mosquito biting you on the arm and your hand coming to slap it

I try to avoid reaching the terminal stage: insanity ("wwwhhaaaauugghhh!!")
And I don't worry about West Nile...

New bear center in Ely

2005-07-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Looks like there'll be a new place to learn about black bears in Ely. The North American Bear Center plans to break ground later this summer, and although it isn't affiliated with the International Wolf Center, also in Ely, its goal sounds similar:

Educating humans about the behavior, personalities and intelligence of black bears is the primary mission of the soon-to-be-built North American Bear Center.

[...]

"It's always been my passion to have people know more about bears," said Rogers, who's spent 38 years researching black bears. "The problem is that bears have been demonized in the past by humans and we want to correct the rampant misconceptions about bears."

Two bears would live in the enclosure. Rogers said he doesn't know yet where the bears will originate.

The center is looking for donations to help pay for construction.

The great blowdown of '99

2005-07-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

The sixth anniversary of the July 4, 1999, storm that damaged much of the forest in and around the Boundary Waters. From the Saint Cloud Times:

At Voyageur Canoe Outfitters, which is the last resort on the Gunflint Trail, owner Mike Prom remembers the storm six years ago like it was yesterday.
[...]
Within minutes, Prom said his stack of canoes next to shore was literally being blown apart. He and several staff members tried picking up what they could, but the winds were too intense.

I was up there less than a week after the storm, and I remember things looking like a war zone. My friends who were in the storm have stories of canoes flying over their heads and black clouds. Today, I think looking at how the forest is regenerating since the blowdown is one of the most interesting aspects of a trip to the BWCA. We'll be up there three short weeks from now.

Trailside cookin'

2005-06-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

...today in the Star-Tribune, including a recipe for "Scandinavian Macaroni":

Serves 1.

This is one of those simple dishes kids love to make at home, but it's also a tasty and quick camp lunch. It was developed by a camper who ate it nearly every night while on a 1,300-mile hike through the mountains of Norway and Sweden. Adapted from "Beyond Gorp."

• 2 c. water
• 1 c. uncooked macaroni
• 1/2(2.4 oz.) pkg. instant dry soup mix, such as Knorr Tomato Basil, or 2 tbsp. tomato purée
• 1 clove garlic, peeled or crushed
• 1 tbsp. dry nonfat powdered milk, optional
• Few pinches of dried basil, oregano or other herbs
• 1/4c. grated Cheddar or Parmesan cheese
• Pepper, to taste

Cook pasta in boiling water; do not drain. Add soup mix, garlic, milk, if using, and herbs. Stir well. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and pepper.

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 735 Fat 15 g Sodium 1,708 mg
Carbohydrates 124 g Including sat. fat 7 g Calcium 215 mg
Protein 28 g Cholesterol 30 mg Dietary fiber 11 g
Diabetic exchanges per serving: 8 bread/starch exch. and 3 fat exch.

Entry point quota map

2005-06-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

For your spatial-data pleasure, a map of BWCA entry points plotted by the size of daily overnight permit quotas set by the U.S.F.S. Ely dominates, with Fall, Moose, and Snowbank Lakes, as well as Lake One and the Kawishiwi River. On the other end, Seagull and Saganaga anchor the activity at the end of the Gunflint Trail. Permits elsewhere seem to be pretty spread out. Note that these are availabe permits (not permits used), so actual visitation may vary. Also, entry points with quotas of 1 group per day or less are not shown. Total daily overnight quotas = 280.5 groups per day.

See also: BWCA use statistics 1 / 2 / 3

Base map lifted from bwcaw.org.

How 'bout the weather, eh?

2005-06-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

Sounds like it's been wet in Minnesota. Ted Young, up on the Gunflint Trail, has been watching the weather up there. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has some long-term climate forecasts out that suggest Minnesota may see cooler than average temperatures this summer, as well as near normal precipitation.

Listen up

2005-06-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Public Radio's Midmorning program talks with Daniel Pauly, author of a new guidebook, about the Boundary Waters and wilderness tripping, and they take callers' questions. Audio link here.

New trips, new photos

2005-06-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

Folks are beginning to post photos of 2005-season canoe trips over at Flickr. Bass Player N8 has a set, as does treknorth. The Dharma Bum has also blogged on his reflections from time spent Up North recently.

photo credit: quas (cc)

Wilderness music

2005-06-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

Matthew Miltich writes of his appreciation for the Boundary Waters in the Cook County News-Herald:

A wilderness journey is like the silence after a song. It helps give meaning to the rest of life by providing a profound, if brief, contrast to it.

Of course, this isn't the first musical metaphor used to describe the Boundary Waters.

Two months and counting

2005-05-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

The spring has been flying past, and we're now just a couple months away from our put in date. To do: reserve our second canoe (we've decided on kevlar over aluminum this year), plan our menu, buy our plane tickets, and sort through duluth packs and dry bags the night before in Minnesota. I've been looking back on those summers of my youth spent entirely up in northern Minnesota, on the lakes, in the woods, in the sun and rain for weeks on end. Very fun. We'll do what we can to have fun for our week this summer, too.

photo credit: MaKeR i (cc)

Gypsy moths on the move

2005-05-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports on the spread of the ravenous gypsy moth into northern Minnesota (article -- registration required). According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, each larval gypsy moth can eat up to a square meter of leaves from trees, defoliating entire forests. They have more information on their website.

New guidebook

2005-05-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

The Cook County News-Herald reviews Exploring the Boundary Waters by Daniel Pauly, and they like what they see.

Walleye fever

2005-05-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a number of articles out today about walleye fishing. They remind us that:

The Minnesota state record walleye tipped the scale at 17 pounds, 8 ounces, measured 35.8 inches and was caught in the Seagull River in Cook County on May 13, 1979, by LeRoy Chiovitte of Duluth.

That's right at the end of the Gunflint Trail, a stone's throw away from the BWCA. I heard rumors as a kid of a "Walleye Horkie" haunting the waters around Saganaga... maybe this is where the stories came from.

Put the boats in the water

2005-05-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

The ice is gone, which means it's time to start canoeing. From the Ely Echo:

Accordig to the MN DNR, “Even lakes that typically keep their ice the latest, like Vermillion, looked blue to airplane pilots on April 19. The last two years Vermillion was still iced until the end of April. Shagawa Lake, just north of Ely, lost its ice 10 days ahead of average. Most lakes in northern Minnesota were ice free seven to 10 days ahead of average.

By Monday, April 25, all Minnesota lakes were ice free. The last lakes to lose their ice were the Canadian border waters of Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods, both ice free April 23.”

Roadless rules

2005-05-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

The Bush administration has scrapped a Clinton-era decision to ban all road-building in existing roadless areas of our national forests:

In the Superior forest, much of the land designated as roadless would have been near the BWCAW.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has not yet committed to any proposal for the 62,000 acres of potential roadless area in the 2 million-acre Superior National Forest.

Minnesota environmental groups Thursday called on Pawlenty to immediately file to protect all 62,000 acres. But Scott Dane, executive director of the Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers Group, urged Pawlenty to leave the land open to new logging roads to make more trees available for mills.

The Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness have posted their response.

UPDATE: The Ely Echo reports on the Forest Service's ground-level view of forest management plans along the Echo Trail.

Increasing wolf populations

2005-05-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

...in the upper Midwest, with a MN-WI-MI population estimated at 3,800 wolves. Article here.

Navigation

2005-05-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

Paddling canoes across large, complicated lakes to me feels very nautical. Sitting in the stern of a canoe, I am the the ship's captain with my hand on the wheel (paddle), gazing out to the horizon. Or the Ojibwe, paddling to greet the friends camped at the far side of the lake. Or a crazy viking-pirate, drunk on the howling wind, echoing the distant rumble of thunder with his laughter. Humans have been using boats as transportation for a long, long time, and to be able to share in that tradition is really neat. The water may be fresh, but there certainly are times when big Saganaga or other huge lakes feel like the sea.

On an unrelated note, I believe this photograph was taken just before the July 4, 1999 windstorm and blowdown. See more of Seanich's photos on Flickr. (cc)

That's a long walk

2005-04-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

Andrew Skurka, a 24 year old from Massachusetts, is spending a year hiking from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Three weeks ago, he hiked through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, from Grand Marais to the Gunflint Lodge and then to Ely:

He also knew this 66 mile section of hiking would be through "deep snow, without structure." (Andy's snowshoes sink 18 inches or more into the snow as the snow melts from the bottom). Shortly after leaving the Gunflint Lodge area, the metal tip of one of Andy's snowshoes broke. He tried to repair it with available materials, but the repairs did not hold. So, he was left with no option than hiking without snowshoes in three feet of snow. In five hours he traveled just four miles (under one mph instead of his normal pace of about 2.5 mph).

Check out AndrewSkurka.com for the rest of the story. He's currently in North Dakota.

Just another pretty picture

2005-04-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

The summer is on its way, slowly but surely.

photo credit: MaKeR i (cc)

Trail food

2005-04-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

Mmmm, thinking about our upcoming Boundary Waters trip this summer has got me thinking about trail food. Having an easily-satisfied stomach, I've enjoyed basic camping staples such as burritos, pasta, those Lipton-type noodles and sauce things, etc. I do think that burritos with hot sauce have to be one of the most satisfying meals on trail. Of course, fish are delicious if you can catch 'em (maybe we'll try this year). Anyone else have a favorite camp menu?

They really are from Duluth

2005-04-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

For anyone who has ever been curious to the history of the ubiquitous Duluth pack and its imitators, the Duluth Pack company has a brief history on their website:

On December 12, 1882, Camille filed for a patent on a new type of packsack. It was a canvas sack that closed with a buckled flap, had new-fangled shoulder straps in addition to the traditional tumpline, a revolutionary sternum strap and an umbrella holder (for portable shade in this newly cutover country).

The universal campfire

2005-04-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

Gazing into a campfire the other night, I began thinking about some of the other fires I've enjoyed, particularly those in the Boundary Waters, on lakes like Saganaga, Kekekabic, and Angleworm. The deeper I gazed, the more I saw the fire as a symbol, a mirror of sorts. By looking into the campfire I could "see" many of those past campfires, the friends around them, and the rocks, pines, and loons on the water. I've felt this before in the moon as well, looking up at a disc that is shining back down on all other places on earth. Both the campfire and the moon are universal symbols of the great outdoors, shared by the Boundary Waters and all the other exciting places around the world.

So you want to go to the BWCA

2005-04-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

An article on packing light from the Cook County News-Herald.

Flat is fabulous

2005-03-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

A comparison of the BWCAW with the many mountainous wilderness areas of the Western U.S. brings up some interesting questions. Because the demographics of visitors to the Boundary Waters are different enough from those visiting, say, the Weminuche Wilderness of Colorado or California's John Muir Wilderness, there may be some regional misconceptions out there.

Is it just a midwestern inferiority complex? I don't know, but I do think that rather than being "better" or "worse" than each other, the main point is that the BWCAW is just different than its western counterparts. The Boundary Waters' lack of the rugged alpine topography that defines such places as Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Park is what makes it special. Indeed, without it's relative lack of topography, the BWCA we love would not exist. The flat nature of the Boundary Waters (less than 1200 vertical feet separate the highest and lowest elevations) is what allows the complex interconnected network of waterways throughout the BW.

In fact, I would go so far as to argue that this very lack of mountainous terrain (although parts of the Boundary Waters are quite hilly -- try hiking the Border Route) is what makes the Boundary Waters more exceptional than the western alpine giants. The Boundary Waters, along with perhaps Everglades National Park, is the U.S.'s only waterway-based wilderness (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

Yep, the West has a lot of big mountains, and the midwest doesn't. But that's ok. Westerners can come out to Minnesota anytime they'd like to experience 1000+ miles of interconnected wilderness waterways (in an analogous ecosystem to that of the mid-elevation Rockies, I might add). And I would encourage midwesterners to exchange the favor.

Paper or plastic?

2005-03-21T00:20:00.000-08:00

More like aluminum vs. royalex vs. kevlar. If money was no object, I know what I'd choose, but it's not, so I no longer do. Is kevlar really worth paying triple the cost to rent an aluminum canoe? I don't know, but we'll need to decide amongst ourselves relatively soon, with it being spring and all (summer must be just around the corner). Only 125 days until our put-in!

Those windy days

2005-03-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

It just seems like some lakes have got your number, and without fail are able to produce howling winds every time you set paddle to them. Gunflint Lake, for me, is one such lake. Every time I've been on Gunflint, it's been whitecapped, in our faces, except the one time we foolishly backtracked with the wind to find a campsite, hoping it would die down by the next morning. It didn't, of course.

But there are real reasons for these apparently malevolent phenomena: these are large lakes, and the wind often blows, and blows generally from west/southwest to east/northeast during the summer.

For more weather & climate fun, check out the Climatology Working Group at the University of Minnesota. Did you know there is a 3 to 4 inch mean annual precipitation gradient across the BWCA, increasing from west to east?

Lost Lake

2005-03-12T15:43:00.002-08:00

Off the beaten track, the glimmer of light on the water through the woods. A secret place that, like some amazonian explorer, you've stumbled onto, still clutching your map and swatting mosquitos. All alone, you wonder what there is on the other side. You slide your canoe into the lake and paddle into the unknown.

I remember the tiny Toe Lake, as well as Skindance Lake, as some of my own "lost lakes" of BWCA trips past. Do you have your own "lost lake"?

photo credit: seanich (cc)

I'll meet you at Ben Franklin

2005-03-12T09:13:00.000-08:00

A Grand Marais landmark turns 64.

College of the Boundary Waters

2005-03-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

What if you could major in BWCA studies? What if you had to design the curriculum? If it was up to me, it'd look something like this:

BW101: Introduction to the Quetico-Superior Wilderness
BW202: Ecology of the BWCA. Fire history, predator/prey relationships, and aquatic ecology.
BW205: History of the Fur Trade. European exploration, the Voyageurs.
BW215: The Literature and Legacy of Sigurd Olson
BW300: Indigenous Peoples and Cultures of the Northwoods
BW315: Wilderness Management
BW340: Political History of Wilderness
BW350: Geology & Limnology of the Boundary Waters
BW370: Seminar - Climate, Ecology, and Global Warming
BW400: Independent Study
BW450: Senior Thesis

What would you add? (or subtract?) If this was a vocational college or community college, we could add some "hard skill" courses, such as canoeing I, canoeing II: whitewater, and fishing. Any ambitious home-schoolers out there, feel free to dig in. Just don't ask me to proctor your final exams. I'd love to read some BWCA senior theses, though.

Behind the scenes

2005-03-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Posting here at A Boundary Waters Blog will be less regular than it has been the past month or so. I'll be in and out of the woods (Oregon, not Minnesota) for some good work/fun, and as you can imagine, internet access will be scarce. Just lettin' you know.

La Verendrye Provincial Park

2005-03-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

From what I can tell, the new (ca 2000) La Verendrye Provincial Park protects the waterways and shorelines along the Ontario-Minnesota border, from Magnetic Lake (or futher?) in the east to the eastern edge of Quetico Provincial Park on Saganaga Lake in the west.

I wonder what, if any, new protections this designation provides these areas. With private residences still on the Canadian shores of Saganaga, I can't imagine this new park comes with a motor ban. Permits? Logging? There's not much information yet on the 'net. Anyone know anything?

By the way, La Verendrye (the explorer) is worth learning more about, as well.

Mosquito issues

2005-03-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

I try not to be too worried about West Nile Virus. From the CDC:

About one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop severe illness.
Approximately 80 percent of people (about 4 out of 5) who are infected with WNV will not show any symptoms at all.

And maps from the Minnesota Department of Health show only a single case of human WNV in St. Louis, Lake, and Cook counties in 2002-04.

I haven't used DEET-based bug juice in years. In my experience, the only failsafe method of preventing mosquito bites is to stay indoors. In the BWCA, I prefer long sleeves and when they're really bad I'll use a bandana, hood, or escape to a tent. Mosquitos in the face is bad enough, but reeking like chemicals and melting holes in your drybags? (not to mention that new Gore-Tex jacket...) No thanks.

Topographic maps

2005-03-04T20:39:00.000-08:00

There are a number of places to find online maps, but I like the Minnesota DNR's offering, which includes a nice pdf-generating print feature. Of course, if you want marked campsites you'll have to stick with Fisher & McKenzie as far as I know.

This week's reading

2005-03-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

An extensive history of the Ojibwe people. These were the inhabitants of the great lakes region and the BWCA at the time of the fur trade, and the current residents of Grand Portage, MN, among other places. (thanks to the Compendium)

Is it summer yet?

2005-03-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

It felt like summer here in Portland today. Driving around with the windows down, digging in the dirt, soaking up the sun. I can't wait to be out on a lake in the woods.

photo credit: Will Bragg (cc)

National Geographic approves

2005-03-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

This is old, but National Geographic Traveler magazine named the Boundary Waters as one of the 50 Places of a Lifetime, sharing the list with Paris, Torres del Paine, New Zealand, and the Taj Mahal.

New boss at VNP?

2005-03-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

News today that the Superintendent of Voyageurs National Park is stepping down. Apparently she was controversial with regards to National Park-local community interaction, or lack thereof, and has accepted a new job with the NPS in New Mexico.

The balancing act between federal and local interests seems like one of the trickiest parts of managing wilderness and parks. On one hand, there is the legal designation of these places as being in the national interest, preserving landscapes, ecosystems, scenery, and recreation in perpetuity for all American people. But on the other, there are people who live near or sometimes within these places, who were there before the legal definition was applied, and are directly affected by any management decisions. What to do? Does this issue go away with time, as local populations become younger than the designated parks? Or are federal land managers always seen as outside adversaries?

The joys of an aluminum canoe

2005-03-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'm not joking. As loud, bright, and uncomfortable as those old Alumacrafts and Grummans are, there's just something about them. Maybe it's how wide, flat, and stable they are. Or how their stability allows the sterner (in flat water anyway) to sit on the very end of the boat, using the stern seat as a foot rest.

I'm sure quite a bit of the "joy" is nostalgia on my part, but these are the workhorses of the BWCA, used by summer camps, outfitters, scout troops, and a lot of others. There's also something cheerful about the flash of aluminum across a wide lake.

Don't get me wrong -- I would take kevlar or royalex over an aluminum canoe most days -- but I do think aluminum has its place and deserves respect.

photo credit: Photo Story (cc)

The geography of visitors

2005-02-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting breakdown of BWCA visitors by the home state of the trip leader (again averaged summers '03 & '04). The clear majority of permit holders are Minnesotans (59%), and most of the other visitors come from around the Midwest. But all 50 states are represented, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. Notice the precipitous drop-off in visitors across the U.S.-Canada border -- the BWCA is really an American wilderness.

For these figures, I defined the South as Texas-Virginia, the Northeast as Pennsylvania-Maryland-D.C.-Maine, and the Midwest as North Dakota-Kansas-Missouri-Ohio. Gray = zero visitors in '03-'04.

Where do you fit on these figures? When I reserve BWCA permits, I use my parents' address in Minnesota, so I'm one of the crowd. I imagine this data is slightly skewed in favor of MN, since "in state" members of a multi-state group are probably more likely to assume the role of "trip leader", at least as far as making the permit reservation.

Wilderness visitor statistics II

2005-02-27T21:37:00.000-08:00

The average total number of visitors to the BWCA on reserved permits between May 1 and September 30 ('03-'04) is 135,000 people. Dividing by 120 days, I calculate, on average, 1,124 (unique) visitors per day.

Now, if we ignore the complication that these visitors are staying longer than one day, we can divide the area of the BWCA (about 1.1 million acres) by this number to get the density of visitors if everyone were distributed throughout the wilderness evenly, which is 979 acres (4.0 square km). But we also know the average group size: 3.7 people. So then, distributed evenly, each group of 3.7 people gets 3600 acres (14.6 sq km) to themselves.

Ah, but is the entire Boundary Waters habitable? What if we say swamps, inaccessible woods, etc. take up 4/5 of the BW? Then our area allotment shrinks to 720 acres (2.9 sq km). Again with even spacing, there should be 26.9 acres between you and the next group, which is just over a mile.

If you believe that number, remind yourself of it next summer when you're the third group in line waiting to portage -- there are uncrowded places in BWCA waiting for you.

Wilderness visitor statistics

2005-02-27T20:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Kristin with the U.S. Forest Service in Ely, I've acquired a big pile of data describing visitation of the BWCA wilderness. I'll be crunching the numbers for a while, but I'll share anything interesting as it is computed. For starters, here's a look at the overall numbers of visitors to the BWCA during the summers of 2003 and 2004, by month. No real suprises here: June, July, and August are the busiest, with the 2-year average showing a nice rounded curve peaking in July. It is interesting, however, that the two years varied so much. August '04 is only 55% of Aug '03. Hmmm...

More to come.

John Beargrease

2005-02-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

Sled dog marathon starts on Sunday. ~~142 miles~~ 381 miles from Duluth to Trail Center on the Gunflint Trail and back.

One January a friend and I were headed up to the end of the Gunflint Trail to go winter camping, and as we were driving along, a team of sled dogs burst out of the woods and crossed the road -- the Beargrease.

For the story on the race's namesake, look here.

Update: more coverage of the race here.

Update 2: we have a winner.

Bookshelf II

2005-02-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

Bill Mason (1929-1988) is a legend of Canadian canoeing. He wrote a couple of beautiful books on the technique and art of canoeing. Path of the Paddle is Mason's classic canoe technique guide, updated by his children Paul and Becky in 1996. Most of the book focuses on whitewater skills, but also covers flatwater strokes and canoe rescue. The emphasis is on wilderness canoe tripping and camping in Song of the Paddle, also by Mason. I've never seen anyone else so canoe-photogenic.

Drinking the depths

2005-02-24T21:42:00.000-08:00

I remember my first "guide" to the Boundary Waters, when I was 12, and how he advocated drinking straight from the lakes. This was before the constant paranoia about giardia and other waterborne nasties as far as I know. Out in the middle of a big lake, he claimed that he would jump out of the canoe and dive straight down. While still swimming towards the bottom of the lake, he would open his mouth wide, swallowing big gulps of cold, deep water. I never saw him do it, so I'm not sure if he ever actually did this. But I think I believe him.

Grand Marais bloggin'

2005-02-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

Just found the self-proclaimed "best blog on the internet about life in Grand Marais."

Angry trouts are good to eat

2005-02-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

The Duluth News Tribune writes about the Grand Marais waterfront institution.

Global warming, the BWCA, and moose

2005-02-22T13:03:00.000-08:00

Will Steger and Paul Douglas (yep, the Twin Cities weatherman) get in on the climate change-BWCA ecology action. From the Duluth News Tribune:

While global warming is most accelerated in the Arctic Ocean, Steger said there was little doubt Minnesota also would see more volatile weather events, longer summers and shorter and warmer winters. "This is an issue where you can run but you can't hide," Steger said.

The article also mentions a possible connection between warmer summers and declining moose populations in northern Minnesota.

Canadian geologic maps

2005-02-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

Maps of the bedrock geology of Ontario here and here, with a detailed geologic map of the Quetico here (warning: 20 MB pdf file).

The general geologic pattern in the Quetico seems to be granites and gneisses with thin belts, running NE/SW, of metamorphosed volcanics and sedimentary rocks. These are the "greenstone" belts, which include basaltic lavas more than 3 billion years old, some of the oldest rocks in the world.

The blowdown, 6 years later - Part III

2005-02-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

A forest ecologist from the U of M wrote an opinion piece for the Duluth News Tribune on 8/25/03:

Thus, the Boundary Waters is becoming a mosaic of birch and aspen mixed with conifers, and spruce-fir-cedar forests. Species that for centuries were dominant -- the pines -- are now a minor component of the forests. Those that were minor -- birch, aspen, fir, spruce and cedar -- are now becoming dominant.

It's a much different forest than that witnessed by the fur traders during the 1800s, and there seems to be no way for the forest to regain its historical status.

Eelpout

2005-02-21T15:41:00.000-08:00

Anyone have a story about catching one of these in the BWCA?

The North Country's only freshwater representative of the primarily ocean-dwelling Codfish Family
An ugly, eel-like freshwater cod of deep waters and nightmares

Geologic maps

2005-02-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

For rock dorks, bedrock geologic maps of Minnesota can be found here and here.

Interpreting the maps, the basic rock types present in the BWCA appear to be granites centered around Saganaga in the east and Crooked Lake & Lac La Croix in the west, gabbro and basalt in much of the SE and central, as well as miscellaneous lavas, sandstones, and shales from Ely up through Knife and Ottertrack and also in the NE. Some metamorphic rocks may also be found around Basswood Lake.

In general, the younger rocks are the gabbros and basalts closer to Lake Superior, but everything in the BWCA is older than about 900 million years, well before the rise of complex life. In other words, really old. The age of the Earth is 4.5 billion years, so about 20% of the history of the earth has passed since the rocks in the BWCA were formed. Old.

Art in Ely

2005-02-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

MPR reports on Ely's increasing appeal as a place for artists to live and work (story also picked up by the AP). I believe there's a similar trend in Grand Marais.

Emerald Lake

2005-02-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

The clearest lake I have ever seen was in the southern Quetico, not far off Knife and Ottertrack lakes. As we paddled into Emerald Lake, the midday sun pierced the water, illuminating huge boulders and ledges ten, fifteen, twenty feet below in a brilliant green glow. The sensation was almost as if our canoes were flying through the air, being able to look over the edge and watch the ground drop off below us.

I don't really know what makes a lake that clear, beyond the observation that clarity is the absence of impurities. Tannins, natural substances made by plants, often impart a tea or rum tint to water, particularly waters that drain marshy areas. Therefore, it's reasonable that the greater the surface area draining into a water body, the better the chances of such staining. Bedrock geology may also play a role, as water chemistry might affect clarity. I believe tannins are the cause of the tea coloration of the western BWCA in lakes such as Basswood and Iron.

Old photos

2005-02-19T00:45:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Historical Society has some great old photos of the BWCA, from as early as 1890.

The blowdown, 6 years later - Part II

2005-02-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

Apparently I was wrong. A story by MPR on the fifth anniversary of the blowdown suggests that regrowth consists of fir, spruce, cedar, and paper birch, while an MPR story from May 2002 says the new growth includes unexpected amounts of "southern" hardwoods such as red maple, bur oak, and dogwood. The suggestion is that the "southern" trees are extending their range to the north due to warmer winters, which may be symptomatic of global warming (although Ely hit -45°F on Jan. 17).

The stories also claim that the saplings in the blowdown are growing 1-2 feet per year. Wow! I still have hope for the pines. Next time you're up in the BWCA, roast some jack pine cones over your campfire to open them up, and toss 'em into the woods. Almost as much fun as making smores.

(MPR audio from 7/4/04)

MPR story on '78 BWCA Act

2005-02-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

Interesting story from Minnesota Public Radio reflecting on the 25 years since the passage of the 1978 BWCA Wilderness Act, which further limited motorized use, and on the politics of wilderness.

(MPR audio from 10/21/03)

On foot

2005-02-16T10:43:00.000-08:00

Despite the (deserved) attention the BWCA gets from canoeists, there is another way to experience this wilderness. Backpackers have their choice of trails including the 42-mile Kekekabic Trail, which is the only trail to traverse the central BWCA; the KTC has been maintaining this and other trails in the area. The Border Route Trail runs between the long, skinny lakes of the eastern BWCA for 38 miles. The BR and the Kek can be combined into what would be a week+ of northwoods jungle adventure, and allegedly the 205-mile Superior Hiking Trail now connects with the eastern end of the Border Route. These three trails have been proposed as parts of the huge North Country Trail. These and other trails (Angleworm, Pow Wow, Sioux-Hustler) offer solitude equal or beyond that of most Boundary Waters lakes. Route-finding skills are important, and the trails can be clogged with downed trees in places. The Border Route I remember as a teenager was one of nearly mythical challenge, mystery, and triumph -- it would be fun to hike it again someday.

(Maps here and here)

Height of Land

2005-02-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

The portage between South and North lakes in the eastern BWCA may not appear out of the ordinary, but it marks a hydrologic feature as impressive as the Rocky Mountains. Running ENE-WSW through the Boundary Waters, the Laurentian Divide separates the watersheds of the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, and the Atlantic to the east from those of Hudson Bay to the north. Futher west, the Laurentian Divide separates the Mississippi River and Hudson Bay drainages. The French-Canadian Voyageurs of the 18th and 19th centuries marked the occasion of crossing Height of Land with a ceremony:

The novice took off his hat, and knelt. The oldest guide present, probably thirty years of age, cut off a stout cedar bough, and dipped it in the water. He lashed the initiate until he was drenched to the skin, and then in French, the language of the fur-trade, administered the oath. It required two promises, one, on his honour never to permit a new-comer to pass over the height of land without a similar ceremony, and second, never to kiss another voyageur’s wife without her consent. A cheer, a burst of gunfire and a toast highlighted the occasion. From that moment he was entitled to make the boast that commanded respect "Je suis un homme du Nord." "I am a man of the North."

Very fun.

Bookshelf I

2005-02-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

For anyone who is interested in the Boundary Waters but has not read any books by Sigurd Olson, I highly recommend them. Olson was the Boundary Waters' own Muir, Thoreau, and Aldo Leopold, writing in a simple, observant, and reflective style. Probably his most famous book of essays, The Singing Wilderness is a classic of northwoods nature writing. I'll be re-reading it up north this summer.

I'm reading David Backes' biography of Olson (A Wilderness Within) right now, and it's interesting to learn how much he did politically. Sigurd Olson not only helped lobby for wilderness protection for the Boundary Waters, he also was instrumental in creating Voyageurs National Park and advocating for National Parks in general. He was president of the National Parks Conservation Association as well as the Wilderness Society.

Thoughts on the blowdown, 6 years later

2005-02-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

I'm eager to get back up into the blowdown again this summer. In July of 1999, when the damage was fresh and the sound of chainsaws reverberated through the woods, I saw the blowdown as a tragedy, feeling loss at every shattered pine. But now, nearly six years on, there's a whole new excitement in observing the forest's response: saplings bursting out of the undergrowth into the sunlight, new flowers, opened vistas, and old survivors towering over the blowdown like battle-tested giants.

I'm not a professional ecologist, but I wonder if the blowdown won't be ultimately beneficial for the charismatic old-growth red & white pine species, opening up the landscape and giving saplings a chance to take the places of the fallen. And those lone survivors can reseed the hills during the next 100 years. I'm optimistic.

Geography trivia

2005-02-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Saganaga Lake is deeper and contains more shoreline than any other lake in the BWCA? It's also the largest after Lac La Croix and Basswood Lake. Interestingly, most of the deepest lakes seem to be concentrated in the eastern and east-central Boundary Waters. I wonder if this has to do with bedrock type, perhaps.

UPDATE: Largest motor-free lakes: Crooked, Knife, Brule, Insula.

Wildfire, prescribed burns, and the '99 blowdown

2005-02-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

Checking Google News, it looks like recent climate trends have been moving in the wetter & warmer directions in the BWCA. This, in turn, directly affects Forest Service efforts to perform prescribed burns in the Superior National Forest. The result is that less blowdown has been burned than was planned, but there have been fewer wildfires than expected.

Forest Service officials said the fire danger from millions of downed trees will remain at least until 2008, until the dead trees rot. They'll keep plugging away until they finish the 70,000 acres or until it's clear the remaining wood won't burn ``even if it takes longer than seven years,'' said Superior National Forest spokeswoman Kris Reichenbach.

It only takes 9 years for logs to rot in northern Minnesota? My guess would be more like 15 to 25, or more. Maybe they only need to soften up a bit...

Canada lynx

2005-02-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

Cool research going on by the University of Minnesota-Duluth, tagging and tracking the elusive predator and wilderness icon in NE Minnesota. ABWB version of cat-blogging : )

The mystery of Jap Lake

2005-02-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

One of the lakes I've designed our upcoming summer '05 Boundary Waters trip around is Jap Lake. Located south of Seagull Lake, Jap appears to be a remote, less-frequently visited lake of mystery. The first rumors I heard of Jap centered around 1) fish and 2) The Portage.

Now, I am at best a fair-weather fisherman, usually opting to leave the rod & tackle at home in favor of paddling those extra few miles. But Jap was rumored to be home to a hearty population of lake trout, which are nearly as mysterious as Jap Lake, being related to salmon and living at the bottom of the deepest, coldest lakes during the ice-free summer months. Also, lake trout are reported to be good eatin'.

The Portage compounded the intrigue of Jap: a 500+ rod portage, rumored to be variously muddy, rocky, steep, long, poorly maintained, and worth it. Portages of these lengths were legendary in the far north of the Quetico, but in the middle of the Boundary Waters? The very existence of such a monsterous portage begs the question, "why?" What is it about Jap Lake that motivates people to portage far greater distances than anyone ought to carry boats on their shoulders?

Geographically, Jap Lake is also unique, as it offers one of only about three routes through the line of hills stretching from Kekekabic Lake in the west to Magnetic Lake on the Canadian border in the east (the other two routes being Agamok/Mueller Lakes and the Gunflint Trail). So not only is Jap a fish-filled, remote, hard-to-get-to lake, but it actually holds the key to connecting the Saganaga/Seagull/End-of-the-Trail region with the east-central heart of the Boundary Waters. Crossing both topography and local watershed divides (1 or 2 lakes south of Jap) only adds to the excitement!

But is Jap Lake even Jap Lake? Huh? Allegedly, in 1971 the U.S. Board on Geographic Names changed all geographic features named "Jap" to "Japanese" to eliminate this ethnic slur from maps. But as of 2003, officials are recommending the name be changed from "Japanese" Lake to "Paulson" Lake. What?!? Well, apparently, the name "Jap" never referred to anyone of Japanese origin but was rather an acronym for John and Addie Paulson, operators of an iron mine near the Gunflint Trail in the 1880's! The Fisher & McKenzie maps I own still say Jap, so I guess I'll stick with whatever the map says, but it'll be interesting to see whether the old-time map companies of the BWCA will revise the name in the future.

And then there's the constant excitement of someplace new: what will the lake look like? Are there any "classic" campsites? How much damage did the forest around the lake recieve in the Great Blowdown of '99? What's around the next corner, point, and bay? We'll have to wait until July to see.

UPDATE: It looks like Jap Lake is in one of the hardest hit areas of the blowdown.

A first post

2005-02-13T11:18:00.000-08:00

I've been eagerly planning another trip up to the BWCA this July with some buddies, and I've seem to run out of interesting Boundary Waters-related content on the web. I tried the message boards (1, 2, 3), the quasi-capitalistic paddling sites (1, 2), and various individuals' websites. I've decided I just need an outlet to vent my Boundary Waters enthusiasm, and hey, why not blog? It's free, it offers as much interaction as a message board (given readership), and it's creative. I'm hoping to write posts of a few different types:

share what I find elsewhere about the BWCA, ranging from trivia to logistics to history
open-ended ponderings, what-ifs, and musings about future trip possibilities
discussion of BWCA-related current events, ecological happenings, and politics
creative writing-style anecdotes and memories from my summers (& winters) in the BW

I'll get around to introducing myself a little more in the near future. Yah-ta-hey!