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Lake Superior Day Trip – Grand Marais to Fall River and Beyond
The short paddle from Grand Marais to the Fall River (4.5 mile round trip) makes for a great short outing and the paddle from the harbor to Terrace Point (10 mile round trip) adds some distance to your trip.
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Adventures in the Hills: The 2006 Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup
The Custer State Park Buffalo Round was the destination of Bryan Hansel and Steve Hauptli in the Fall of 2006. This trip report has nothing to do with paddling, but sometimes a trip that doesn't include paddling can be a good thing. This travel story includes beautiful photography.
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Up a Lazy River: A solo canoe trip in the Boundary Waters
This is an account of Shipp Webb's solo six-day trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, a trip that covered 13 lakes, 4 rivers and 28 portages totaling about 72 miles. Thirty-one hours quickly passed paddling and portaging. It was a trip with varied weather and an abundance of wildlife sightings including eagles, moose, deer, and most importantly a wolf.
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An Electric Paddle On Buffalo Creek
I’m not worried about it,” remarked Chris Sickert about the electric fence that crossed the creek in front of the canoe. “Okay,” I said back. I imagined in terror that Chris would grab the electric wire as we drifted under it, and the current from the live wire would travel down the water in the bilge of the canoe and shock me. I rearranged my feet outside of the water, and wondered if the rubber bottoms on my Teva’s would block the current. “Did I every tell you about the time my father took a pee on an electric fence?” “No,” said Chris. “I doubt that they would have the…
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Day Trip: Top Falls in the BWCA
The 8.5 mile day trip from Bearskin Lake to the Stairway portage is a classic day trip in the Boundary Waters. The reward at the portage is a beautiful waterfall and one of the best views in the Wilderness Area.
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Vern River Loop
Route Name: Brule Vern River Loop Route: Brule, Juno, Vern, Vern River, Weird Lake, South Temperance Lake, and Brule Distance: 21 miles Total Days: 2 Description of Boundary Waters Route Five hours of bush whacking, route forging, and pulling your canoe up and over miles of blow downs await the brave canoeist that tackles this fine route. The route starts out on the picturesque and big Brule Lake, but quickly ducks into Jock Mock Bay and then does a quick loop through the Vern River, which if paddled once a year, it would be considered a good year. The Vern River if cleaned out and some portages added would be…
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Canoecopia 2006: Trip Report
As I write this, we’re getting pounded by snow blowing sideways in an almost complete whiteout, which is in contrast to the great weather we had over the weekend at this year’s Canoecopia. I have to think, yet another Canoecopia, the show that signals the start of spring for me. This year, I spent two days in Madison, Wisconsin at the show, and these are the following observations that I made. The Sales Floor The sales floor completely changed in arrangement this year. They created a large main isle down the center of the show and then had the booths branching off the center isle. All similar products where then…
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Along the Banks of the Saskatchewan: A Kayak Trip Down the Saskatchewan River
Robert N Pruden returns to the pages of Nessmuking with a tale of adventure. For this installment, he paddled his homemade kayak from from Edmonton to North Battleford on the North Saskatchewan River. Along the way, he discovered a connection with the wilderness as well as a corpse...
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Interview With a Solo Canoeist: Part Two
During a 9 day, 200-mile solo canoe trip, solo canoeist, Bryan Hansel, interviewed himself. His trip started in Voyager National park and ended on Lake Superior. Since Bryan didn't get enough out of himself, he decided to interview himself again. Here is the follow up interview.
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Interview With a Solo Canoeist
During a 9 day, 200-mile solo canoe trip, solo canoeist, Bryan Hansel, interviewed himself. His mid-September trip started in Voyager National park and ended on Lake Superior. The Interview BH: So, Bryan, I’m going to interview you on the forth night of your trip across the Boundary Waters. Sound good? ME: Sure why not. I’m game. After all, it’s just me on this sandy beach right now, and I have nothing better to do except drink spiked hot chocolate and watch the northern lights. BH: Good. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to rough you up. Anyway, why did you decide to do this trip? ME: Well, I should say,…
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Canoecopia 2005: Trip Report
“It’s a Star Trek Convention for canoeists.” – Kevin Callan, he was asked what Canoecopia was by a border guard when crossing from Canada into the US. This was the third year that I’ve attended the Canoecopia, the world’s largest paddle sport expo, and this year was the first that I could fully enjoy the show. The last two years, my old employer, a large retail chain, sent me to get ideas and spy on the competition, so this year, I went on my own. I drove 10 hours down to Madison, WI, camped out at Blue Mounds State Park, and attended two days of the show before driving back…
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Disaster at The Saskatchewan Crossing
First marking on map: Start Saturday, June 01, 2002, 1000h. Elevation 1424 m, location N 51 degrees 59.023 minutes H 116 degrees 47.799 minutes. I am taking this reading just before I launch myself onto another page of my own history. I am excited, thrilled and nervous. I feel like a voyageur keeping careful track of an adventure into the exciting unknown. At 41 years of age, standing 5′ 10″ and very fit despite neck and back injuries from a car accident, this will be the first time I have ever gone off anywhere alone and for so long. This is supposed to be three weeks of external exploration and…
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Solo in the Boundary Waters – Fall 2003
A Journal by Bryan Hansel 9-22 Day One Baker Lake, Peterson Lake, Kelly Lake, Jack Lake, Weird Lake, S. Temperance Lake, N. Temperance Lake, Sitka Lake, end on Cherokee Lake (site west of last portage) approximately 11 miles. Put in today at 10:00 AM after driving threw the night and only stopping at a rest stop for 3 hours. I missed the turn for Baker Lake and drove a little further, so I’m going to cut the gas close for the return trip to town. On the drive from the ranger station to Baker I saw a dog like animal standing in the middle of the road in the haze…
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Summer Journal 2004 – Canoeing the Namekagon, St. Croix, and Mississippi Rivers.
By Bill Collett, Bettendorf, Iowa August 3, 2004 Pre trip plans hardly exist. I intend to solo paddle the designated National Scenic River Way of the Namekagon River. It is uncertain if I will paddle beyond that or not. All I know is that my wife and daughter are visiting relatives and friends in Duluth for a week and they can drop me off on the Namekagon. The option exists for them to pick me up on the way home, or if I am feeling good, they are to go home and I will continue to paddle. I’m operating under the axiom, when packing for a solo trip, weird and…
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Boundary Waters Solo, September 2004
September 19th, Sunday Portaged into the Boundary Waters today using the 320-rod Skipper/Portage Lake entry point. Because I double portaged it, total 15,390 feet of hiking. Now that’s a long portage. The leaves on the portage were turning colors as most of them were younger bushes and trees; the tallest pines and birch were all blown down and charred from a burn. The trail itself was being closed in by a tremendous amount of growth energized by an open canopy that allowed the sun to beat down. About a third of the way across I passed moose tracks, and about half of the way across I crossed an old road.…
