It's difficult to describe the wondrous adventure that awaits you when you journey into Minnesota's beautiful BWCA for some canoe camping!
We will travel by canoe up to 5 miles per day, camping on different lakes, portaging our equipment from one lake to another. It is moderately strenuous but well worth the effort!
Wild Hearts will provide all of the necessary equipment, food, guides and transportation from the Twin Cities area.
Our plan is to launch from the Gunflint Trail, spending the first night in a bunkhouse and launching the next morning.
We generally leave the Twin Cities area around 9am on Wednesday and return approximately 7pm on Sunday. Transportation is provided from the Twin Cities to the launch site off of the Gunflint Trail, which is East of Grand Marais. The drive is about 5 hours. We may stop in Duluth and/or Grand Marais for food and souvenirs.
Wild Hearts will provide all of the equipment, food and guides.
You are responsible for:
We will paddle about 4 - 6 miles each day and will camp in designated campsites each night. We like to get into camp before 2pm so that we have time to set up camp and then relax or explore. Some folks will take advatage of the time to do some fishing. We will probably eat dinner around 5:00pm, with your guides doing all the cooking while the participants will be tasked with set up and clean up. The food will be plentiful and delicious! We also provide snacks for your enjoyment throughout the day. For water, we will filter all drinking and cooking water (or boil if necessary).
We will have the opportunity to have campfires both in the mornings and evenings. At times, we will take advantage of this time together to have conversation as a group.
If you desire to fish, you may do so if you have a current Minnesota fishing license. Great fishing can be had from either the shoreline or from the canoes! Some folks ask about swimming; this is usually not recommended as the water is usually fairly cold and the shoreline is generally very rocky and can be dangerous.
Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Participation packets will be available approximately one month prior to the trip. We will also schedule a group Zoom meeting with participants approximately 2 weeks prior to the trip.
Important stuff will show up here when needed and when available! Check back often if you are going on an adventure with us because there could be some really, super-important stuff here. No, really, it could be the kind of stuff that decides whether you have a great trip or not like... oh, a list of things to pack, for example. That could be crucial. Actually, there's no "could" in that... it's definitely crucial.
As a 6-year old growing up on the outskirts of Duluth, my summer days were spent running through the woods and fields with my neighbor buddies. At age 11 I got involved in Boy Scouts, earned the Eagle Scout award at 14 and at age 16 I began spending my summers on staff at a Boy Scout camp in northern Minnesota. I spent six summers at the camp; my final year as Program Director. Over the years I have led numerous groups on canoe trips in the BWCA, backpack trips in the Rocky Mountains, and mission trips to Central America.
