UpNorthica

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the July 4th, 1999 storm that caused so much devastation in the BWCA.

As in so many natural events, it seems difficult to resolve the violence with the idyllic beauty we expect. Thankfully though, if you’ve been up to the BWCA recently, you can see the evidence of the storm is being erased in nature more quickly than in our memories.

I was working at a camp in northwestern Wisconsin that day. We caught the bottom of that storm and spent most of the day surveying damage and making sure the campers were safely accounted for and sheltered. Later, we learned just how easily we’d gotten off. A couple weeks later I saw the Blowdown area firsthand, while clearing trails with a chainsaw.

Where were you that day?

The kayaking world lately seems fixated on Highest Waterfall Drop record-setting. Glad to see somebody’s out to set a record for Most Fun.

This video was shot in Austria, but snow kayaking really needs to happen right here in Minnesota, right now. Or six months from now (I’m just trying to be emphatic. whatever.) I’m thinking Lutsen is where it should start. Do they have any jumps that would land you in the Lake? That’d be like, a total twofer… Via The Adventure Blog.

There’s nothing quite like fumbling around neck-deep in underbrush and mosquitos, trying to spot an adequate tree from which to hang your food bag:

Lessee, you tell yourself, there are those jack pines nearby, but the branches won’t support more than my fleece hat and a t-shirt, soaking wet. That birch, on the other hand, has sizable branches — but the trunk itself is so light, my grandma could push it over. Hmm, we may have to compromise the ‘10 feet up, 4 feet out” rule tonight…

Still, Prevention Is The Key To Late Night Furry Critter Visits, so hanging the bag is a necessary evil. Or not?

We’ve recently tried caching as a critter-proofing alternative –should you?

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It’s the closest thing to a rock tour, you may ever see in the Boundary Waters.

The Canoe the Heart Expedition begins today with the launch of a 24-foot voyageur canoe in Atikokan, Ontario. Paddling the tour bus-sized craft are rangers, parks staff and wilderness advocates from both sides of the border.

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What chance does a birch bark canoe stand against the motorboats, float planes and big waves of Voyageurs National Park?

Well, solo canoeist extraordinaire Erik Simula has lived to blog about it. We’ve been following this canoe builder/ranger/musher/wilderness guide since April, when he set out to circumnavigate Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region. Sounds lovely, but don’t be fooled by the serene photo above; it looks like one of his few peaceful moments in the last few weeks. Read on for more.

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A simple but fantastic way to cook your fishes without the dishes.

I’m a huge fan of cooking with the flames, coals and ashes of a campfire — the meal always tastes better. This is gonna happen in my near future. You bring the catch and I’ll get a fire started. Via Backpacker.

Tensions over copper sulfide mining near the Boundary Waters are mounting, as the Duluth News Tribune reports. Over 100 companies have vied for exploratory drilling permits in the last 2 years; 70 have been granted them.

Cause for alarm? Uh, just maybe — since all the rivers flowing through all of the proposed drilling sites, flow into the BWCA, according to Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness:

“These exploratory drilling sites pose their own impacts, with access roads and drilling pads and tree cutting, possible contamination of the water,” she said. “But the larger issue is the very real likelihood that, if even only a few of these sites turn into mines, we’ll see acid drainage into the wilderness.”

An estimated 4,000 acres could potentially be affected over the next 20 years by exploratory drilling alone. And that estimate doesn’t include private or state lands to be affected.

Shmeaceful shmolitude — it’s high time for a frickin’ all-out canoe marathon in the Border Region!

The kind with like, grueling 8000-rod portages. Lots of whitewater (they’d have to fly that in.) Perilous swarms of mosquitoes. Flocks of camp-raiding, gorp-stealing whiskeyjacks. And speed — sweaty, cussing man-powered speed. Oh, and injuries; a few good paddle-to-the-face ones. Maybe even airdrop some wolverines over the portages, just to keep it from being a total walk in the park/pleasure cruise.

A race we shall have: The Cross Quetico Classic Marathon Canoe Race (that’s a mouthful) is coming on August 8-9. Granted, it won’t likely be as nasty as my imaginings and it’ll only touch on Minnesota’s side of the border. Even so, it’s a brilliant way to help celebrate the provincial park’s centennial. Plus, a little competition to stir up the waters is long overdue — by almost 50 years.

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Every so often, we’ll see a photo on the Boundary Waters Flickr Group Pool that’s worthy of mention.

“Words Can Not Begin to Describe,” (above) left us a little speechless.

Taylor, a photography major at University of Central Missouri, also has several others he’s taken in the Best Place on Earth Ever. Speaking of which, Matthew — which lake *is* the picture taken on? Beautiful work!

Still looking for something to do with the old man this weekend? If you happen to be near a National Park or Monument this weekend, you can get in for free.

Fee Free Weekends means over 100 parks that usually charge entrance fees, are waiving them during a few select weekends this sumer. In Minnesota, that means you can get in to Grand Portage National Monument and Pipestone National Monument for free the weekends of June 20-21 (Father’s Day weekend), July 18-19 and August 15-16. If my family is reading this: it’s been awhile since I’ve been up to Grand Portage, hint hint.

… And so do all the locals in Ely and Grand Marais, but they won’t tell it to your face.

So have a look at this list of 5 Items Needed To Be an Outdoor Poser (Vehicle Edition) and find out just how far down that road you may’ve gotten.

Myself, I fared pretty well, with only one item to my name: My decidedly un-cool Kia KindaSorta still has a roof rack for the kayak I sold last fall. Scoring a “1” ain’t bad, plus I think my Yosemite Sam mudflaps would technically cancel even that out, bringing me to “0.”

How’d you do? Let us know —right after, that is, you’re done scraping the “Cowgirl Up” decal from your back window.

This looks curious: Chemfire Capsules are a new product that, when paired with a few drops of solution, start your fire chemically.

Potential as a UL alternative to a box of waterproof matches? Hmm, maybe. But unscrewing a glycerin capsule, setting half to the side, then reassembling the thing, all in the rain? At least it looks less physically demanding than a bowdrill. Via Gear Talk.

It’s coming this July: Canadians and Americans paddling the Boundary Waters together in a voyageur-style canoe — trading perspectives, forming friendships and sharing resources under the banner of preserving our Border Lakes Region.

Just please tell me that hitting the Trail Center for beer and Goober Burgers, figures into that somewhere. You just can’t leave that out, okay?

The Heart of the Continent Partnership is a cross-border effort between Voyageurs National Park, the USFS, Quetico Provincial Park and other groups including The Nature Conservancy. Reaching across man-made lines, their aim is to protect and benefit North America’s largest expanse of public greenspace (which *so* reminds me of those comic books where the Marvel superheroes teamed up with the DC ones.)

So, what about this ‘voyageur’ thing?

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A message to all you holdouts who still use Hefty Bags to haul gear into the BW:

Granite Gear loves you and they just want to help.

Yes, it’s true that tall kitchen garbage bags could be considered within ultra-light weight class. And the newer models with Country Lemon Scent, do cut the odor of the hiking socks. Just listen, though…

Products with silicone-impregnated nylon have been around for a while now and what’s more, a couple new offerings in Granite Gear’s AirVent DryBloc line, could help you with your problem.

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It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Erik Simula, the wilderness guide who’s paddling across Minnesota’s Arrowhead in his birch bark canoe.

So what’s he been up to? Oh, poling up rapids, hacking through 6-mile portage, meeting bear and cougar — in the same night… Stuff like that. Read on for the latest of his adventures.

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