UpNorthica

Saturday, rescue teams had to bail out two separate parties of canoers –– ten people in all –– from the rapids off of Fall Lake in Ely.
A sure reminder that even in the otherwise serene and placid Boundary Waters, be sure you know what you’re getting into, before you get into it. End of lecture.

Think you’ve had a few grueling portages worth bragging about (or whining about)? Before you do either, meet Jim Kurz. The 63-year old resident of Ladysmith, WI is toting his aluminum canoe and 320 lbs of gear, on a very long portage to the BWCA. Seeing as how he’s not been there since his days [...]

In the weeks before our family trips to the BWCA, my dad used to warm up by portaging our canoe around the block. This wasn’t a bad idea, or even uncommon today. But the thing isn’t exactly street legal and it’s hard to hand-signal your turns.
So, earlier this year, I asked a trainer at my [...]

I couldn’t even begin to cover half of the presentations, speakers, demos and exhibitors scheduled this weekend for Midwest Mountaineering’s Outdoor Adventure Expo. I certainly won’t be able to attend all the ones that I’d like to. So help a guy out and go to the Expo yourself. We’ll compare notes and share our goodie-bags [...]

…but i do know which end of the paddle goes in the water at least! Will you fare better? Test your Canoeing IQ on this quiz, over at Field & Stream. I answered a shameful 9/16 correctly. How’d do you, bigshot?

This promo for a canoe poling clinic, feels like a waterborne version of all the Rocky movies’ training sequences.
Now don’t get me wrong… I would be thrilled, no! Most Honored to learn the lost art of Canoe poling. I would even kneel and submit to the teachings of rare experts like Dr. Palmer here. [...]

Dang, this looks fun enough to try, and soon! And it’ll be even better without the extra-thick syrupy rendition of Kaw-Liga being piped in for a soundtrack.

I can imagine this guy out on a lake as other paddlers approach, warmly admiring the fine craftsmanship. Admiring, that is, until they begin to feel nauseous from the smell of rancid wasabi. The craft is made up of 7382 chopsticks and its builder, Shuhei Ogawara of Japan, will be launching it this spring.
I’m still [...]

Neither had I, or at least not as an actual technique, until I read this article on ‘canoeing without a paddle.’ Advantageous for navigating shallow waters as well as scouting rapids, poling seems best suited for travel on rivers. Definitely something that would be fun to learn. Although, by loose definition, I’ve ‘poled’ my way [...]

I’m still reeling from the sensory overload of the Far North Symposium, held this last weekend in St. Paul. Organized by the Minnesota Canoe Association, it was the first paddling symposium I’d been to… okay, it was the only symposium of any kind I’d ever been to. The program had described seasoned paddlers sharing their [...]

If you’ve been to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, we want to hear from you. We’re starting to build an online planning tool that will be a fresh, unique resource for folks like all of us. Yeah, we’re pretty jazzed about it.
This site will be for you. So we really need your help and [...]

I’ve never taken a kayak into the BWCA, but while touring a stretch of the St. Croix a year ago, it didn’t take long to see some differences between kayak-camping and canoe-camping. Wish I’d read this article by seasoned kayaker Rob Lyon, there are great tips you can take away, even if you can’t afford [...]

And one or two of the sailors who had been oldish men when the voyage began now grew younger every day. Everyone on board was filled with joy and excitement, but not an excitement that made one talk. The further they sailed the less they spoke, and then almost in a whisper. The stillness of [...]

Voyageurs has announced it will be developing 73 new campsites in addition to its 233 current sites. Increased camper traffic and the changing needs of both paddlers and houseboaters, spurred a committee to spend a couple of years to evaluate if, when and where to develop.
The prospect of fewer trees and more footprints feels unavoidably [...]

Just how good do you look while carrying your handheld gear on the trail? Still using fanny packs? Please, no style whatsoever. Or those silly pockety photojournalist vests, so very silly and… and pockety? No. If you are truly rugged and tough, then say so! with a Grabit Pack. Its three pouches may carry harmless [...]