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The Lost BWCA Entry Points
The Boundary Waters have always been steeped in discussions of how to manage the number of people who visit it. Unlike western wildernesses, there is no natural filter which prevents large numbers of visitors from enjoying it. Many wilderness areas are remote, buffered by dozens of miles of existing land that one must travel through…
In the Context of Wilderness
Earlier this week, September 3rd, was the 59th anniversary of the 1964 Wilderness Act which established the BWCAW and 53 other areas as newly defined wilderness. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has since gone on to become one of the most well-known and widely-beloved wilderness areas in the country. In examining the BWCAW today,…
How to Chase the Northern Lights – A Short Story
Article writing can be a process for me. I usually have five or six partial articles in the queue and sometimes take long breaks from one before coming back to it again. Sometimes there are complicated graphics or illustrations to put together or lots of research to be done. Very rarely is an article reactionary…
Map Mondays – Week 12 – Little Indian North to Moose River North
As part of our continuing series on the “route planning game,” we are creating routes using randomly selected entry points, exit points, and number of days to create unique and fun BWCA routes. This route works through parts of the BWCAW’s far western end from the furthest west EP of the BWCA through big lakes…
How to See the BWCA in One Trip
When it comes to planning trips, I can be a bit of a dreamer, and if you’re anything like me, you spend a great deal of time thinking about what could be possible. I may not have the days lined up or the permits pulled yet. I may not even know which friends will…
Is it possible to visit EVERY lake in the BWCA?
This is one of those funny questions. I don’t know if other major BWCA trip enthusiasts have had to encounter it, but I certainly have. It usually comes from someone that isn’t that familiar with the Boundary Waters who, upon hearing of your adventures and how much time you’ve spent, wonders if you’ve been to…
A Fire Perspective: 200 Years of Wildfires
Few natural processes inspire the fear and awe that wildfires do. In nature, fire is a seeming paradox of death and new life. Gigantic, swirling infernos that engulf the landscape in an unheeding wall of flame become landscape-level scars healed by green shoots and wildflowers. And here on the southern edge of the boreal forest,…
How to Plan a BWCA Route: The Treebear Way
Amidst guiding, outfitting, and plenty of personal trips in between, I’m blessed to have “crossed the line” into the BWCA 88 different times. I look back at all those incredible memories and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Boundary Waters still has plenty of surprises in store and so many more breathtaking moments to come. I also believe I…
The Comprehensive Guide to Portaging Like a Pro
We all took our first portage somewhere. From those first tender rods on wobbly legs, we each struggled to carry all our gear from lake to lake. For many of us, this was also a time of questions: “Why did I bring so much gear?”, “Why is my canoe so heavy?”, “Am I in good…
BWCA Superlatives – Setting the Facts Straight
It all goes back to a BWCA trivia contest. That’s when it sank it anyways. I consider myself a BWCA nerd, down to the root, so maybe these things are more obvious to me. In any case, an organization that should have been experts in the topic were incorrect in the answers they provided for…
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