Fall Colors in the Boundary Waters, Minnesota

The Trip

There is a land of lakes and loons lying beneath the northern lights, where the boreal forests and the Canadian Shield extend into northern Minnesota for nearly 150 miles along the Canadian border. This region is the largest wilderness lake country in the world.

Minnesota started protecting the area south of the border that became the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in 1958. It, together with Quetico Provincial Park which is contiguous to the north, forms a vast wilderness with thousands of sun-kissed lakes, countless miles of rivers and streams, a millions of acres of boreal forest, abundant wildlife, superb fishing, thousands of miles of canoe routes, and some of the best flatwater paddling in North America. National Geographic named the Boundary Waters as one of 50 destinations of a lifetime. Paddling.com rates our trip timing here as one of the eleven best fall foliage paddles in the US.

Each year, visitors come from all over the world to sample this maze of waterways, and few go away disappointed. Our small group will spend a week experiencing the stillness, silence, and solitude of this amazing area while paddling pristine rivers and lakes. . We will paddle canoe routes used for centuries by the Sioux and Ojibwa people, French Canadian voyageurs, traders, and adventurers. By avoiding the busiest and buggiest paddling months, we will enjoy the strength and solitude that a true wilderness experience can provide. You will paddle among towering red and white pines, white birches, and beautiful bogs in the home of eagles, loons, beavers, otters, moose, lynx, black bears and the eastern timber wolf. You could see a variety of wildlife—all in this truly spectacular setting. We will camp beside the lakes and rivers. You will awaken to see the rising sun burn mist off of a mirror-still lake while you hear the call of a loon in the background. Amazing sunsets will greet you as daylight dwindles away; and you may be lucky enough to hear the distant howl of wolves in the darkness. "Primordial forest" and "crazy as a loon" will probably take on concrete meanings. We will hear silence. We may be lucky enough to see the northern lights. No city lights will interfere with stargazing in the silence of the northwoods as our campfire dies down. This outing is geared toward the enjoyment of the wilderness and the sharing of information about environmental and wilderness issues.

Permit and logistical considerations force us to limit the trip to just seven participants, plus the two leaders.

Day 1: Departing at 8:30 a.m. from Minneapolis we will get acquainted on our drive to Ely, MN with lunch en route (the first meal of the trip) We will visit the North American Bear Center and check into our motel. Dinner will be at a local restaurant in Ely (not a trip meal.) We will stay at an Ely motel (double occupancy.) We will divide up group gear and double-check all of our gear and packs on Saturday night.

Day 2: After a shuttle from Ely, we will proceed to our entry lake and paddle to our first campsite.

Days 3-6: We will continue our route through lakes and rivers, camping at established campsites next to the water.

Day 7: After lunch, we will paddle to our pick up location at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Then we will return to motel for hot showers with time to experience Ely and have dinner at another local Ely restaurant (not a trip meal).

Day 8: Following a continental breakfast, we will visit the International Wolf Center and drive back to our Minneapolis hotel with lunch en route. The trip will end at the hotel in the late afternoon.

Getting There

We will meet at a suburban hotel where we have set up a room block near the Minneapolis airport. Availability will not be an issue, but the pre/post trip rooms are not included in the trip cost. The trip will start when we leave the hotel at 8:30 a.m. Saturday; so you will need to arrive sometime Friday. We will return to the same hotel on Saturday at the end of the trip, arriving late afternoon. Do not plan to fly out that day.

Weather and unforeseen factors can influence this or any trip. We will be in a remote area where evacuation may be difficult and will be expensive. Participants should consider trip insurance to cover such things or the need for evacuation in case of a medical emergency. 

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

The first trip meal will be lunch on the first Saturday, and the last will be lunch on the last Saturday. We will spend the nights before and after the trip in Ely in comfortable motel rooms with double occupancy. Our dinners those two nights at popular Ely restaurants are not included in the trip cost. 

We will be wilderness camping for six nights in the Boundary Waters at established campsites, which is required, and will strive to "leave no trace". Plan to work together and do your share to make camp, prepare, and clean up meals. The trip leaders like to cook and eat, so count on interesting, varied, and nutritious meals. There will be plenty of food. If participants wish, they can bring their additional between-meal snacks. There will be limited extra space in the beer cans. We will do our best to accommodate vegetarians and medical dietary restrictions. Those with challenging restrictions may be asked to bring some of their food and the means to prepare it to supplement group food. Please contact the leader if you require accommodation.

Trip Difficulty

Physically this will be a moderately difficult trip. We will be on flat water, including river portions of the trip. The current is generally minimal, and we will portage around any rapids or waterfalls. Participants should have experience with fall weather canoeing and camping. Although the record temperatures run from 90 degrees down to 10 degrees, the average highs are likely to be in the low 60s and lows around 40 on average. Other than a forest service fire grate, there will be no facilities except for a wilderness latrine where we camp. Participants must be able to manage a canoe in at least light wind and small waves. We will need to portage our lightweight Kevlar canoes, but portages will not be excessive for a BWCA trip. Canoe partners need to be able to move gear and canoe across a portage -- it could be a few yards, a quarter mile, or more. All of your gear and your share of group gear must fit in a single waterproof pack, plus a small day pack for items needed while in transit (e.g. raingear, water, etc.) to make portaging manageable. Plan to work cooperatively as a group in completing portages, continuing to assist until everything has been moved as well as doing your share for all other aspects of the trip. We will spend about six hours, including breaks and lunch, most days in transit, i.e. paddling and portaging. This may vary depending on wind, weather, and other factors. The leaders will finalize the trip details based on the capabilities and experience of the group.

Equipment and Clothing

Lightweight Kevlar canoes, paddles, and PFDs are included in the trip cost.

When we are camping, cooking and water purification equipment and camp tarps will be provided. We will have a group first-aid kit for emergencies. However, you will need a personal first-aid kit with prescription medications, and OTC items like Band-Aids, aspirin, ibuprofen, etc. We plan to provide one bear canister per participant for group food, individual snacks, etc. Participants must bring their own water bottle/bladder, mug, bowl, spoon, tent, sleeping bag, and camping gear. Temperatures can range from the upper 30s F at night to the upper 60s F in the daytime. A good two-piece waterproof rainsuit is required. You will want wool or quick-drying synthetic clothing that can be layered. Participants must have a 70 to 115-liter dry bag with shoulder straps to carry personal gear, with enough space left to hold some group gear and a bear canister (9" diameter x 13"). Additional waterproof stuff sacks inside the big pack are strongly recommended for critical gear, e.g. sleeping bag and dry/warm clothes. It is unlikely but possible that we will need to remove some deadfall or other portage trail obstacles. Packable leather work gloves may be useful for this task and for making camp.

Detailed equipment and gear lists will be provided to participants after they are accepted for the trip. With some planning, most gear, including packs, can be rented on an individual basis; and a few items may be loaned by the leader. Please contact the trip leader if you have any questions.

Conservation

This area is vibrant in tradition and history. Nearly 50 years ago, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Boundary Waters, Bill Romo’s Canoe Country Outfitters, Sigurd Olson, and others fought long and hard to keep this a wild region against strong and ugly protests from loggers, miners, resort owners and developers, motorized guide services, private cabin owners, and many outfitters. 

The fight never ends. Urgencies now include the proposals to mine sulfide ore in the watershed of the Boundary Waters where discharge would be disastrous. Twin Metals and others have been working for several years in the area around Spruce Road and Birch Lake just south of Ely and right up next to the Boundary Waters line. They have proposed a vast underground mine that could be followed by open pit mining for copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, and gold.

All these useful and valuable metals are tied up chemically with sulfur in the form of sulfide. The problem they cause is when the waste rock (with some sulfide in it) is exposed to the air and rain, it forms sulfuric acid, releasing toxic metals into the watershed. Sulfide ore mining is the most toxic industry in America according to the EPA. Hundreds of old mine sites out West are now toxic. We simply cannot stand by silently and watch this kind of mining begin in the pristine watershed of the Kawishiwi River, the main artery of the waters running through the Boundary Waters and onto Voyageur National Park. There is no evidence of a clean sulfide ore mine. It makes no sense to have one running pollution right into OUR wilderness.

Very much like in Alaska, where local people stood up and said NO to toxic ore mining in the watershed of Bristol Bay, the local citizens have founded a national campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. Join with us in asking the President of the United States to set aside the watershed of the wilderness we all love as a “no mining zone." Read more at: http://friends-bwca.org/. In the summer of 2023, many years of litigation over the various Twin Metals projects ended with a twenty-year mining ban. For now. https://queticosuperior.org/twin-metals-loses-lawsuit-seeking-renewal-of-mineral-leases/

More information about this and other conservation issues is ongoing upon request and will be shared before and during the trip. Participants are encouraged to bring and share a bit of information about conservation issues in their home areas, or national and global issues of interest to them personally.