Minnesota Border Route Challenges

The Border Route is a well-established 260-mile classic canoe route from International Falls to Lake Superior, following the international boundary between Minnesota and Ontario. The western half consists mainly of large open lakes, including Rainy, Kabetogama, and Namakan Lakes in Voyageur’s National Park and Lac LaCroix, Crooked, and Basswood Lakes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). The eastern half consists of numerous pristine wilderness lakes and streams, connected by frequent short portages and brimming with history from the fur trade era. Most paddlers complete the route from west to east, hoping for tailwinds and a light-weight food pack by the end when they reach the historic 8.5-mile Grand Portage down to Lake Superior. Each September for the past four years, a growing group of paddlers have come together to paddle this route, in order to experience the best of Minnesota’s canoe country and undertake a personal wilderness challenge.

In 1968, professional canoe racing pair Verlen Kruger and Clint Waddell were starting to plan a once-in-a-lifetime canoe journey across North America. In order to test themselves in preparation for the big trip, they determined to attempt to set a fastest known time along the Minnesota/Ontario Border Route. Verlen had read of George Simpson, Governor-in-Chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the mid-1800s, who reportedly made the journey from Fort William on Lake Superior to Fort Frances on Rainy Lake in just six and a half days with a picked crew of voyageurs. As far as he could tell, that record remained unbroken, so he and Waddell decided to make their own attempt. Setting out from Sha Sha Resort near the western end of Rainy Lake, they paddled nonstop for 80 hours 40 minutes to reach the Grand Portage Stockade in a record time which still stands today, 50 years later.

Kruger and Waddell went on to become paddling legends, completing a 1971 cross-continental journey from Montreal to the Bering Sea in a single paddling season. Verlen died in 2004, having paddled over 100,000 miles in his lifetime. Clint Waddell still lives in central Minnesota in a log home he built with his wife Beverly. He loves to reminisce about his adventures with Verlen, and he still paddles stern (his favorite position) as steadily as ever.

Since 2015, as a commemoration of Kruger and Waddell, a Florida-based paddling group of which Verlen Kruger was once a member (WaterTribe) has organized an annual challenge along the Border Route. The informal event brings paddlers of all skill levels together and has three challenge route options. The Kruger-Waddell Challenge is the longest route, 260 miles from International Falls to Grand Portage. The Voyageur Challenge is 200 miles from Crane Lake to Grand Portage, crossing the full length of the BWCA. The shortest route is the Moose Lake Challenge, 125 miles from Moose lake near Ely to Grand Portage, crossing the eastern half of the BWCA.

In 2017, Bob “BeaV” Vollhaber established a solo record for the Kruger-Waddell challenge route of 91 hours, impressively close to Kruger and Waddell’s original 1968 tandem time, and the second fastest known time to date. The 2018 challenge event was the largest so far, with twenty paddlers starting out. Launching from the Ranier City Beach on the western end of Rainy Lake at 8:30am on Saturday, September 15 were fifteen Kruger-Waddell challengers, forming teams of up to six paddlers each. Other groups started the same weekend at Crane Lake and Moose Lake. All had the same goal – to reach Lake Superior at Grand Portage within the eight-day time limit. As a special treat for the challengers, Clint Waddell was invited to Grand Portage to welcome and congratulate the finishers. The grueling route was made more difficult by unseasonably cold temperatures, prevailing headwinds, and thunderstorms. The challengers paddled as many hours at night as in the daylight, the stormy cloud-covered night skies offering little or no moon to show their way.

Challenge Coordinator Lori Johnson waited for the finishers to arrive at the Grand Portage Stockade. Wednesday morning, just 98 hours after starting at Rainy Lake, tandem paddlers Matt Peterson and Peter Wagner arrived at the Fort gates and dropped their canoe into Lake Superior. The next day a large group of six including BeaV reached the Fort in 122 hours. Next came Voyageur Challengers Isaac and Melissa Pardon-Varde, having completed their first Boundary Waters canoe trip. Then came Mark Przedwojewski (owner of Kruger Canoes) and Mack Truax, relieved to be finished portaging their heavy Kruger Sea Winds. Finally came David May and Russ Anderson, both in their early seventies and still paddling strong. Others were unable to complete their challenges because of bad weather and other troubles, but all still came to Grand Portage for the finish celebration.

The WaterTribe group spent hours around a fireplace at the Grand Portage Casino sharing stories of the adventure. Master of Ceremonies BeaV presented each challenge finisher with a medal and sprinkled them with a wet cedar bough, according to the old voyageur initiation ceremony. Clint Waddell shared memories of legendary canoe journeys, describing his and Verlen’s experiences on their 1965 Atikokan Canoe Derby win, their 1968 nonstop Border Route paddle, and their 1971 cross-continental trip. Brought together by shared wilderness experiences along the Border Route over the years, whether on fast-paced journeys or relaxed excursions, everyone was already looking forward to next year.

For those who would like to participate in 2019, the next round of Border Route challenges is scheduled to begin on September 14, 2019. It’s just a few day’s paddle to the Grand Portage Fort – be sure to arrive with a canoe on your shoulders!