5 Days In The Boundary Waters
Welcome to my first travel blog post. Freedom Through FI is primarily a personal finance blog where I document my own journey towards financial independence and share some of the lessons I am learning along the way. However, when I started this blog I always intended to write about some of the other areas of my life, including travel.
There are several reasons I want to share some of my travel experiences:
- First, I want you to get to know me a little better. This will help to better connect with me, making my personal finance content more meaningful.
- Second, some of the places I have the privilege of traveling to are pretty amazing. I’d like to share those experiences with you in the hope that you may want to add some of these places to your own list of travel destinations. I’ll try to offer some tips that could help make your trip a little smoother as you plan your own getaway.
- Third, I believe traveling is part of the reward on both the path to FI and once we reach FI. Most of us in the pursuit of financial independence begin to realize that experiences are more important than material things, and this includes traveling. As you get your financial house in order and work towards FI, you can begin to save and budget for these experiences. I don’t believe you should wait until retirement to travel the world; you should plan your finances and budget so you can begin making these memories now. As I do this in my own life, it will hopefully inspire others to have similar experiences.
- Finally, I enjoy writing and just want to blog about some of the places I visit.
In this post I’d like to write about a recent trip I took to the Boundary Waters in June 2019. While many trips I take are far away from home, and often in other countries, this trip reminded me that you don’t have to go too far from home to have some of the best experiences.
I took this trip with my two oldest sons, who are 16 and 14 years old, and their scout troop. This was my first time to the Boundary Waters and it was an amazing experience. I saw some of the most beautiful wilderness in the entire world and the experience of being completely off the grid was priceless. But going to the Boundary Waters is a trip that requires a lot of planning ahead of time. The degree to which you plan and prepare can make all the difference in the type of experience you have.
What are the Boundary Waters?
When I first moved to the midwest, I kept hearing people talk about this place called the Boundary Waters. I wasn’t sure what it was but it sounded like a pretty neat place. So I don’t want to assume that everyone knows what the Boundary Waters are.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) Wilderness (more commonly referred to as just “The Boundary Waters”) is an approximately one million acre area of wilderness within the Superior National Forest on the border of northern Minnesota and Canada. It is composed of a network of interconnected forests, glacial lakes, and streams. Below are some maps to help you better understand where the Boundary Waters are located.
As the name implies, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area is very popular for canoeing as that is really the only way you can get around and explore this vast area of wilderness. The BWCA is very popular and draws approximately 250,000 visitors per year. Reservations are required for overnight visitors during the high season to limit the traffic to this protected wilderness refuge.
Part of the appeal of the Boundary Waters is that is completely cut off from the rest of the world. There are no power hook ups, cell towers, or WiFi hotspots. Camping here is the proverbial “roughing it.” You won’t see any “glamping” in the BWCA. The only “luxuries” there are predug latrines (without any walls, just a toilet seat in the middle of a small cleared area) and a fire pit at each campsite. Other than that, you are on your own. You need to filter your own water and make sure all of your food is protected from wildlife, including bears.
When you explore the Boundary Waters by canoe you quickly become familiar with what is called portaging. This refers to carrying your canoe on land from one lake to the next on a trail. By portaging you are able to go from lake to lake and explore a large amount of this incredible wilderness area.
It is important to understand that portaging can be tough and requires you be in good physical condition. When portaging, you carry the canoe overhead by resting it on your shoulders and balancing it with your arms. The pads on the canoes are balanced such that only one person carries it. Some of the trails have significant hills, as well as rocks and boulders you have to traverse, all while carrying this canoe. Some portages are short, maybe only 50-100 feet, while others can be quite long. The first portage we did was a mile long and it was physically very challenging.
How To Plan a Trip
If you are contemplating a trip to the Boundary Waters, there are many things to consider when planning. The first thing you need to do is decide the type of trip you want to take. There are a whole variety of different experiences in the Boundary Waters ranging from self guided to professionally guided tours, canoeing trips, hiking trips, fishing trips, combination trips, trips with your own gear, outfitted gear, etc. I won’t try to cover them all here. There are excellent resources online where companies and enthusiasts share their experiences and advice. I’ll just share the details of our experience, which was a self-guided, partially outfitted, 5 day canoeing trip.
After deciding the type of trip, time of year, and number of attendees, we had to get a reservation called a quota permit. This type of permit is required for any overnight trip to the BWCA between May 1 and September 30. While there used to be a lottery system, this was discontinued after 2018 and it is now done online on a first come, first serve basis. 2019 was the first year with this new system and there were some significant technical problems when it was launched on 1/30/19. The online traffic was so high that the site crashed the first day pushing the new reservation date to 3/4/19. I’m not sure what the dates will be this year, but if you are interested in a trip in 2020, watch what happens on Recreation.gov closely.
Each permit is limited to a total of 9 people and 4 watercraft. If your group is larger than 9 people, you will need separate permits. Each permit is specific to a certain date and entry point into the BWCA. Larger groups with multiple permits are not allowed to combine groups after entering the BWCA. We had a group of 26 people, so we split into two groups of 9 and one group of 8, requiring 3 separate permits for the same day with adjacent entry points.
Prior to entry you have to pick up your permits at the issuing supervising station on either the day of entry or one day prior. We picked up our permits the day before entry at the Gunflint Ranger Station in Grand Marais, MN. Be sure to check what hours the station you are using is open and plan accordingly.
What Gear Do You Need?
One of the biggest questions I had before going to the BWCA was what gear would I need?
Let’s start with the obvious. If you are going on a canoeing trip, you need a canoe. Most people don’t have their own canoe and don’t plan to purchase one for the trip. This is where professional outfitters come in.
If you do a Google search for anything Boundary Waters, many of the top hits will be on professional outfitter websites. There are many to choose from and they offer everything from fully equipped and guided tours to renting out a single piece of gear that you request.
Our group rented 12 Kevlar canoes (4 for each group), paddles, and life jackets. All the equipment was in good condition and they had it waiting for us at our entry point, so it was very convenient. We had a good experience with this and I’d recommend it. Beyond this, we provided our own gear.
This is NOT a comprehensive packing list by any means, but here are 5 essentials that could make or break your trip:
Insect Repellent – Wilderness + lakes + summer = bugs, and lots of them. Don’t forget to bring an ample amount of some type of bug spray or you will be miserable. This is not the time to try and go with some natural ingredient bug spray, you need the strong stuff, the more DEET the better.
Sunscreen – Make sure you not only bring sunscreen, but you USE it. When you are canoeing, you don’t realize how much sun you are getting, but if your skin is not protected, you can get burned really bad. One of the member’s of our group was wearing shorts and didn’t put any sunscreen on his legs. He paid for it and had lobster red legs for the rest of the trip.
Proper Footwear – I was really unsure about what type of footwear to bring. I knew you might have to get your feet wet, and I knew there would be hiking required when portaging. I did a ton of internet searches and the answers were all over the board. Some recommended fully laced up hiking boots and to just accept the fact you were going to have wet feet. Others recommend old sneakers since they’d dry out quicker. Still others recommended some form of sandals but were readily scorned by proponents of boots since there was no ankle support. I ultimately decided to bring a pair of Keen sandals for canoeing/portaging and some running shoes for around camp.
Now, after having lived through it once, let me say that this combination worked out really well. Every time you portage, you have to get into and out of your canoe in the lake. The canoe cannot be on rocks, so you end up being in the water (and mud!) up to your knees and sometimes higher. So your shoes and feet are going to be wet. If I had been in boots I would have been miserable. My Keens dried out really quickly once in the canoe and provided plenty of support for my feet while portaging. I’d recommend Keens or Chacos; flip flop sandals don’t offer enough (or any) support. I was also really happy to have a lightweight pair of comfortable shoes to wear around camp, especially when it was a little cooler at night.
Dry Bags – A dry bag or dry sack is a waterproof bag/pack you can put gear into so it won’t get wet. Remember, your canoe can capsize and everything in it will end up in the water. Imagine how miserable you would be if your tent and sleeping bag were soaked in water, and how hard it would be to dry them out if it also happened to rain for two days straight. While you may not be able to prevent your canoe from capsizing, you CAN prevent your stuff from being soaked when it does.
I brought a small dry bag that was quick and easy to unpack. I used it for day trips and to keep my camera readily accessible while in the canoe. I also had a large dry bag to keep the rest of my gear in, only using it to pack everything in when we first arrived and when we left. If the budget doesn’t allow for dry bags you could also use a regular backpack combined with heavy duty garbage bags to keep things dry.
Food – It may seem obvious that you need to bring food, but make sure you bring plenty of it. Before going on our trip I talked to several people who had been there before and thought they would fish for their food. Most ended up cutting their trip short or being very hungry most of the time. Despite the number of lakes, most people find fishing in the Boundary Waters to be quite difficult. Our group had a similar experience. Thankfully we had plenty of food. We primarily used dehydrated backpacking meals since they are light and easy to prepare.
I think it is a great idea to bring your fishing gear if you like to fish, just don’t count on it being a source of food. Anything you catch is just a bonus. Also, don’t forget to bring or purchase a Minnesota fishing license if you intend to fish.
Base Camp
We discussed two different approaches to canoeing in the Boundary Waters. The first option was to set up a central base camp for the duration of our time there. Each day we could then take the canoes out exploring, along with a daypack filled with food and water, and return to the base camp at night. The other option would be to pack up all of our gear each morning and take it with us everywhere we went. With this plan we would move to a different campground every night.
Each of our groups decided to take the first approach with a central base camp, and I am very glad we did. We may not have been able to see quite as much of the Boundary Waters, but what we were able to see and do was much more enjoyable. More of the trip was spent experiencing the Boundary Waters rather than packing and organizing equipment every day.
My Favorite Experiences
During our five days in the Boundary Waters there were many memorable experiences. We saw a number of different animals including moose, beavers, eagles, turtles, and loons. The trees and flowers were breathtaking. I also loved seeing the stars and Milky Way at night. You are so far from civilization that there is absolutely no light pollution, allowing you to see the universe like never before.
One of my favorite experiences was watching the sun slowly rise one morning over the lake. The quiet and solitude were like medicine for my soul, wearied from the stresses and distractions of our everyday normal lives.
My favorite part of the trip was being able to share this experience with my two oldest boys. I’m starting to feel like an old man now that they are 16 and 14 years old. It seems like just yesterday I was pulling them both as toddlers around our neighborhood in Rochester, MN in a bike trailer. It saddens me to think they are growing up so fast and won’t be in my house much longer.
These are the types of experiences that the path to FI can allow you to have and I will be forever grateful for them.
Who Should Go To The BWCA?
I would recommend everyone try to take a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness some time during their lifetime. It is one of the most beautiful wilderness areas left on this planet. And for those that live in the midwest, it is right in our own backyard.
Getting away from EVERYTHING and completely unplugging is something we all need from time to time.
If you are interested in visiting the Boundary Waters and have more questions about it, please feel free to email me. If you have been there before and have more to add, please leave a comment below.
